[Jule'sMomInOR]

I didn't think we'd have a first birthday party for Juliana but we're finally meeting enough people with babies (yay!) that I'm really considering it. I have some questions.

1. I'm of the school where I'm not giving Juliana any junk food (and that includes cake) before she's 3. What should I serve? Is it possible to find a cake with no sugar and other junk that tastes halfway decent? I'm not sure if I want her having artificial sweeteners like Splenda, either.

2. What activities do you have for one year-olds? I can't really think of games to do. Would hiring a clown be overkill? LOL.

3. We have some friends with kids that are 4 and 5 years old, but no babies. Would it be silly to invite them?

Thanks!

[Hollybear]

As far as the cake, I think the best one with the least amount of sugar and "junk" is a type carrot cake? One of Sophie's friends just turned 1 and they did something like that. I can't remember exactly though...

I'm actually having a "cake tasting party" with a few friends at a local bakery to pick Sophie's cake for that reason! (Her tier will be different than what we eat though, haha) The cupcakes that my friend made for the babies at the easter party were "free" of everything and they weren't that bad....although I am not a super big cake fan.

Activities I am not sure either, I did order personalized coloring pages for the babies. (I have these vegetable based crayons that are safe, lol) I was thinking of maybe getting a little wading pool if it was nice and warm so the babies could play in that too?

I would totally invite the big kids! Our neighbor comes to a lot of our playdates with her 15 month old and 3 1/2 year old. The 3 1/2 year old likes to "mother hen" all the babies which is adorable!

[starrsgirl]

We are just going to do an adult cookout/dinner/party...haven't decided yet. Kids are invited but I'm not really doing games or anything for them if that makes sense. I'll have some toys out and we live next to a park for the older kids too.

At this point, I'm kinda leaning towards skipping the cake for him....I dunno. I'm going to a 1 year olds b-day party this month and they are doing a cake. I'm thinking I will see from that how I feel about it.

[Bridgett_H]

We're also thinking a cookout for family. I always did cake with the older kids, and will do the same for Jr. What a blast watching them dig in and get all messy.

[shockandawe]

I've ordered a two tier fondant covered cake for Maggie's party - way overkill, and it will never happen again til she gets married, but I'm all for it. They get to be kids just once in their lives, and a little cake isn't going to turn them into junk food fanatics. Repetition and readily available junk food every day will.

We did the cupcake smash for Maggie's portraits last month, and it was a blast for both of us. Tons to clean up, but so much fun watching her smile!

We've got mostly adults coming too. So we're doing a bbq, and I'll have a candy buffet for our party favours. I have a colouring book for the only young child who will be here. In terms of special activities...I have toys upon toys upon toys and that's what they can do for this one. I'm not overly concerned about more structured party activities until we're looking at her third and fourth birthday. Right now it would be like herding cats.

[preciousgiftsmama]

1. What should I serve? Is it possible to find a cake with no sugar and other junk that tastes halfway decent? I'm not sure if I want her having artificial sweeteners like Splenda, either. I would google the kind of healthy cake you are thinking of. I would guess there are lots of great recipes for healthy cakes nowadays!

2. What activities do you have for one year-olds? I can't really think of games to do. Would hiring a clown be overkill? I would hire a clown too cute! though some babies might be scared just keep in mind. We will just have family for Ty's birthday, so no babies or games needed for him though I will plan a few games for Julia and my little nieces.

3. We have some friends with kids that are 4 and 5 years old, but no babies. Would it be silly to invite them? I would invite them for sure! All little kids love a party

1. What should I serve? Is it possible to find a cake with no sugar and other junk that tastes halfway decent? I'm not sure if I want her having artificial sweeteners like Splenda, either.

If you have a specialty store you can find mixes to use but if you want one from the bakery I would just ask if they make alternative cakes. A friend of mine has to have no peanut/soy/egg and got a mix from a health place here and made her sons.

2. What activities do you have for one year-olds? I can't really think of games to do. Would hiring a clown be overkill? We wont do actual games. I wouldnt hire a clown because I despise them but the idea is cute.

3. We have some friends with kids that are 4 and 5 years old, but no babies. Would it be silly to invite them? I would invite them. We will have kids between 1 year and 13 yrs there. All family and a few friends kids.

[sfarrow3]

1. What should I serve? I think its possible to find a cake without all the added stuff, like a specialty store. Smash cakes in my opinion is a must, because it just so memorable and cute!! and actually from my experience they don't eat alot of it if anyway! haha I know my son was so stunned that he had icing on his hands that he just cried until we cleaned it off. It was fun watching him smash it though!

2. What activities do you have for one year-olds? I can't really think of games to do. Would hiring a clown be overkill? Im not a clown fan so I wouldn't do that, but if you are having others ages you could have games for them.

3. We have some friends with kids that are 4 and 5 years old, but no babies. Would it be silly to invite them? No it's not silly in my circle we have a ton of toddlers and kids and they will all be invited, plus I have a 4 year old so he would have a blast.

[AmandaEliz]

IMO, 1st birthday parties are for the parents... more like "hooray we survived the 1st year!!!". Honestly, Avery won't care, but as a parent, it's a BIG deal; my baby girl isn't so much of a baby any more. So, do what you want to do.

The cake: You're definitely going to have to go to a specialty store. Honestly, I think the no sweets until 3 is a bit overkill. I say this because I was a crazy person with Ethan's diet & then at around 2 he decided that he was only going to eat what he wanted to eat regardless of what I had been feeding him for the last 2 years. And M&Ms have been awesome potty training bribery. Ethan is 2.5 & he associates cake with birthday parties because that's essentially the only time he gets it. He calls all cakes "birthday cake-cake". I think his 1st b-day was the 2nd time he tasted cake (the first being 2 weeks before at our friends' daughter's 1st b-day). I just limit the size of the slice to a few bites. I'm a moderation kind of Mom.

Games: I would probably only do games if I were going to invite the older kids. I will have games for the toddlers at Avery's party & then just some toys for the little ones.