If you’re lost on how to plan baby’s first birthday party this post will give you a full step-by-step guide. Plus, stay organized with our free printable first birthday party checklist for easy reference.
Hi friends,
Baby’s first birthday is ahuge milestone and celebrating the love of your life is the best feeling ever! Planning an entire birthday party is no easy task but I’m here to help break it down for you!
First, we’ll go over the steps you’ll need to take to plan an amazing birthday party. Then, we’ll go over a few tips to make sure everything goes smoothly. Last, I’ll provide you with three extremely helpful first birthday checklists to keep you on track and organized!
This post is all about how to plan an amazing first birthday party with our free checklist!
Be sure to grab your FREE first birthday party checklist here or below!
How To Plan Baby’s First Birthday Party
These are all the things you need to think about and plan for in my suggested order that I believe will help you stay the most organized.
1. Set your budget
Setting your budget should definitely be the first thing you sit down and plan out. Go over all the different things you’ll need to be purchasing in the next few weeks and jot them down. Then, go and decide how much you actually want to spend on each item.
Luckily for you, I went ahead and wanted to provide you with a free first birthday party budget planner. This planner has a lot of things I assume you’ll probably be needing and room to add anything else you want.
You can find this and more details about the printable over here on this post.
2. Create a guest list
Next, time to start really planning.With your budget in mind, you probably have a ballpark idea of how many guests you can afford to invite and cater to. Sit down and write out a list of names.
When thinking of guests, my biggest tip would be to not think of each “guest” as an individual, but as a family. Keep in mind how many other guests this adult might be bringing with them – this may include other children, siblings or step family.
So, instead of “Kelly Smith from church” I’d count it as “Smith Family” and be sure to write down how many adults and how many children will be counted as well. “Smith Family of 5: 2 adults, 3 kids”
Luckily for you, I created a FREE guest list printable available for you to download here!
3. Pick a venue
Now that you have your guest list and know approximately how many people you’ll need to occupy, you can decide on where to have your party!
Personally, for a first birthday, we tend to keep it semi low-key and do things at home. We like the simplicity of it and have enough room to comfortably accommodate a smaller guest list. If we had more guests, we’d probably opt for a venue instead though. They both have their pros and cons!
At home – FREE. No lugging supplies and decor around. Can easily cook food. Can set up the night before. Don’t have to worry about availability. Baby might be more comfortable in their own environment.
At a venue – Can accommodate more guests. Sometimes offers additional services that may be more convenient for you. No worrying about anyone being in rooms you don’t want them in. You can come back to an already clean home when the party is over.
4. Pick a date and time
Now, you need to figure out what day you want your party to be on and during what hours.
With your guest list in mind, figure out what day you believe would work best for the majority of your guests. Is anyone who you really want at your baby’s first birthday going on vacation? Will Kelly’s ex husband be taking her kids out of state that weekend? If you’re using a venue you’ll also need to be planning around their available dates of course.
Additionally, think about the time of day. The time of day determines so much. If you plan a party for at 11am, you’ll probably want to plan to provide some type of lunch as opposed to if you set your party for 2pm after most people have already eaten. If baby normally takes a nap at 3pm, you probably won’t want a bunch of guests over at that time being loud either.
One big tip – add an ending time too! I see too many invites that only state what time the party starts. Adding an end time is a nice way of telling your guests “All the fun sh*t is over, please get the hell out now so I can take a nap before I go crazy from this long ass day“. Trust me on this one.
You more than likely won’t be able to plan out a perfect date & time that works for everyone and every situation but keeping these key things in mind will hopefully help you land on the best option.
5. Pick a theme for your baby’s first birthday party
Finally, the fun stuff on the birthday party checklist!
Picking the perfect theme for your baby’s first birthday party is hands down the most exciting part of all of this planning!There are so many incredible first birthday themes, the options are endless. Scrolling through Pinterest will send you down a rabbit hole of beautiful instagram-worthy themes!
Actually, I went ahead and threw together a few of my favorite first birthday party themes into a post of their own. Head right over here to be instantly inspired! The list includes girl themes, boy themes and neutral themes.
{Related Post: 9 Creative First Birthday Theme Ideas With The Word One That Totally Impress Guests!}
6. Decide what foods you want to serve
Earlier, we briefly talked about how the time of day you decide to set your baby’s first birthday party for will influence what food you serve. With that in mind, decide on if you’ll be serving a meal or just snacks.If you’re serving a full meal, there are a few different options:
First, if you’re on a tight budget, consider having your party potluck style! Alternatively, you can also save some money by cooking your own food and serving up something easy and made for the masses like hot dogs or spaghetti. Ordering something super cheap like a few Little Caesars pizzas is another affordable option.
If you have a little wiggle room in your budget and want to be “extra” you can also make your own theme-related foods. This is a lot of fun for guests and super cute but also takes a lot time and can quickly become very tedious. If you’re not in the mood to mess with any of it, consider just paying for connivence by having the party catered.
Lastly, if you chose a time of day when most people aren’t eating huge meals, you’re in luck! Grab a few different liters of soda, some chips, fruits and veggies and call it day. Or, you can be extra as well and create a fun table full of theme-related snacks!
7. Order your cake
Number 7 on your baby’s first birthday party checklist – cake!
Another reason we made sure the guest list was one of the first things we did! We need to know how big of a cake to order.Contact your local baker and see how far in advance they recommend placing an order. Depending on what type and size of your cake, you may need to order it a few weeks out.
You can go on Pinterest for some beautiful birthday cake inspiration!
8. The smash cake
A baby’s first birthday party MUST is a smash cake!
If you’ve never heard of a smash cake, essentially it’s just a small cake meant for only baby to enjoy. Baby will more than likely go hard digging into it, completely smashing it as they go to town eating and exploring the cake. Plus, smash cake photos are the absolute best!
Some people prefer to bake their own smash cake since it’s “special” and specifically just for baby. Since this is the cake that baby will be eating the most of, it makes sense that many parents would want to make it themselves to ensure its healthier than a store bought version.
It’s totally up you though, you can make your own healthy smash cake at home or you can order one at the same time you order your larger cake. Your choice!
9. Plan games and activities for baby’s first birthday party
So, with this being baby’s first birthday party, they probably won’t be playing too many games. No pin the tail on the donkey, no musical chairs or anything but you can definitely still have fun!
First, you can put together a happy, upbeat music playlist. Be sure to mix in some “adult” mainstream music as well as ones for the littles like “Baby Shark”. A good playlist is super important to keep the atmosphere light and exciting.
For the littles, you can keep it simple. Set up a good quality bubble machine, bring out a few musical instruments, a water table if you’re going to be outside and maybe a small ball pit. Balloons also make great entertainment for little ones, just be sure to keep a very close eye on them.For the adults or bigger kids, consider putting together a cute questionnaire all about the birthday baby! The winner can win something easy and simple like a special homemade crown or maybe a $5 Starbucks gift card.
Another fun idea is set up a photo booth! I think these always look so dang cute, I love it! Get some fun props, a backdrop and create a hashtag for everyone to tag. You’ll love being able to easily scroll through everyones photos over the next few days as they post on social media.
{Related Post:TOP 5 SPECIAL FIRST BIRTHDAY IDEAS: WAYS TO MAKE BABY’S FIRST BIRTHDAY MEMORABLE}
10. Send out invites for baby’s first birthday party
Lastly, its time to send out them invites! You have several options when it comes to how you want to send out party invitations.
You can go the classic route and purchase some simple invites at Target, write them up and mail them out. Another option is look online and find some super cute, personalized invites and order them pre-filled to have sent out. Or, you can simply create a Facebook event and invite people this way. This is great because you can easily invite people from your friends list, post gift registries for those who ask what baby wants and provide updates at any time.
Whatever route you choose to go for invites, make sure you keep up with who has responded. I’ve included a guest list to help you keep track of who has RSVP’d, how many guests will be coming with them, what gift they brought and a checkbox to make sure you sent them a thank you card.
11. Get shopping – Buy decor and supplies
Lastly, we’ll go over all the things you’ll need for baby’s party with your “baby’s first birthday party checklist” free printable that you can download. Print this out and keep it handy to make sure you have everything.
Here a few links to some fun ideas you may want to get you inspired and in the shopping mood:
Cake topper, banner and crown
Baby 1st Birthday Boy Decorations WITH Crown
Monthly milestone garland
Monthly Milestone Photograph Bunting Garland
Rose gold 1st birthday party balloon pack
Rose Gold 1 Balloon for First Birthday – Large, Pack of 11
Wild one party supplies pack
Cieovo Wild One Birthday Party Pack
Boy photo booth props
Boy First Birthday Party Photo Booth Props Kit – 10 Piece
Girl photo booth props
Girl First Birthday Party Photo Booth Props Kit – 20 Count
Bubble machine
Durable Automatic Bubble Blower for Kids
Large ball pit
Foldable & Portable Large Fabric Ball Pit
Cute donut snack display
Gold Foiled Treat Yourself Donut Wall Party Display
Guest book for baby’s first birthday party
First Party Baby Anniversary Event Celebration Keepsake Book
Instant camera for guest book photos
Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Instant Camera
Happy birthday inflatable
6 Foot Tall Inflatable Happy Birthday Cake
Baby’s First Birthday Party Checklist – Free Printable
This post was all about checklists for how to plan baby’s first birthday party!
Related First Birthday Posts You’ll Love:
TOP 5 SPECIAL FIRST BIRTHDAY IDEAS: WAYS TO MAKE BABY’S FIRST BIRTHDAY MEMORABLE
7+ CREATIVE FIRST BIRTHDAY THEME IDEAS WITH THE WORD “ONE” THAT WILL TOTALLY IMPRESS GUESTS!
