This particular email was talking about birthday party ideas. What??? Birthday parties? Not for MY baby! Not YET! But then I looked at the calendar...ooooh my...there are only 5 weeks until my baby turns one?!? After hugging myself and rocking for a bit, I got to thinking, how DOES one plan a birthday party for someone who really won't remember it?
I'm not a fan of the budget-busting, crazy-themed parties that seem to be the rage today, and especially not for my BABY. I don't want to overwhelm him and set us up for a mid-party meltdown.
For my big boys, we often do the family-only party, and let their Mom handle the friends-party because we have a large family who love to celebrate birthdays. And, since you only turn 1 once, I'm predicting that most of the family will try to come celebrate with us. I quickly did the math and if everyone shows up, we're looking at 30 people. And that doesn't include the families of some very close friends who I'd really like to invite (people who are like family to me).
So, my question is, can you have a large-attendance, yet still casual, first birthday party that won't overwhelm the birthday boy?
Julie Daneman is now in party planning mode while working full time as a team leader for a New York-based publishing company.
It can be done! Pick a time of day that is good for him (even if it isn't as good for some of the guests) and limit the spotlight moments to doing the cake. If he's just playing with cousins/friends, etc. it won't be as overwhelming.
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