Planning a first birthday party

September 12, 12:11 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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First birthday party digital invite from PurpleTrail.com

Your baby's first birthday is extra special. It marks a remarkable year in growth and love. So of course you to want to celebrate it big - even though baby won't really know what's going on. That's okay.

Most families have relatively small first birthday celebrations with just family and friends. One year olds don't really have many "friends" of their own yet.

Here are some simple ideas to help you plan your little one's first birthday celebration:

• Go green and send digital invites. I used the First Birthday celebration cards (right) from PurpleTrail.com for my daughter Ellerie's first birthday part which is only a few weeks away. Being we're only inviting a few friends, I used the invite site's function to let my guests tell me what time and day works best for them. Once we all agreed, I sent them out to a few more people.
• Pick a simple theme (see below for ideas). My oldest daughter was born on St Patrick's day, so for her first birthday we used that for her theme. I made a simple small cake with a green shamrock on it (see photo, below right). She thought it was the best thing ever, as she'd never tasted cake or icing before.
• Remember, it's the little things at this age. So one candle on a cake is exciting. Getting to blow it out as everyone claps and sings for you is thrilling at one year old.
• You don't need to go overboard with decorations. A balloon or two tied to baby's highchair, birthday plates, napkins, and a birthday cake are plenty. If you want to do more, great. But there's no need to at this age.

You'll want a simple theme so it's not too overwhelming for your little one. Here's a few  ideas:

• Caterpillar turns into a butterfly
• Ladybugs or creepy crawly bugs
• Pick a seasonal theme - fall babies can have a little pumpkin party, winter babies can have snowman parties, spring babies can have a flower party, summer babies can have a beach party.
• Prince/princess or king/queen depending on their personality
• Rubber duckies
• Teddy bears
• Cuddly monsters