How to Organise a First Birthday Party

First birthday parties are one of the most complicated and significant birthdays to plan, and you likely won't need to prepare one so important until your child's 16th, 18th or 21st. It's a hard measure: who the guests are, what the theme is, and when you should throw the party. That's why we've put together this guide on how to organise your child's first birthday party so that you can run through all those special considerations. 

Step 1: Organise a Date and Time

More complicated than it may seem, setting a date and time is an important first step in organising a party. Consider that you'll likely have children, parents and grandparents involved, so you'll have to avoid work, late nights and the weekly bingo draw. If you'll have children around (and you probably should), then you will have to organise it between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. Otherwise, you're going to have some exhausted kids running around. These times can be tricky for adults, though, as most of us are working between these hours; if you have any VIPs on the guestlist that are busy between these times, we do recommend organising your party on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday) or on a public holiday if any are around your child's birthday. Another pro tip is to organise the date closest to your child's birthday; the closer it is, the more significant the date seems and the less negotiable it appears to a guest. If your initial planned date is two weeks away from the birthday, some partygoers will take this as an opportunity to ask: "Can't you just switch it to this date? It's just as close". 

To keep it short, 10:00 am and 5:00 pm, Saturday or Sunday, as close to the birthday as you can make it. 

Step 2: Choosing a Venue

Whilst there are a few children's party venues across Melbourne and Australia, very few are appropriate for babies and toddlers. That's why we recommend our venue for first birthday parties, as it's designed for toddlers and babies like yours. With safety proofing, set menus and free themes/decorations, it will be easier than organising one at home. That said, you can organise one at home or in a local park. However, they present their own issues, with home parties requiring a lot of setup and cleanup and park parties likely having scheduling/space clashes with other potential party organisers. Try this Pros and Cons table to see the best option for you. 

MinTown Party Room 

Pros:

• Safe for kids

• Designed for parties

• Pre-catered 

• Decorated 

• Minimal fuss - No setup or cleanup

• Play equipment to keep children entertained 

Cons:

• It needs to be booked

• Venue hire fee

Local Parks

 Pros:

• Free

• Sometimes play equipment

• Lots of space

• Flexible in terms of location

Cons:

• It is hard to cater for generally 

• Requires setup and cleanup 

• It can be competitive to find space among other parties

• Can be dangerous/require more supervision in a public space

Home

Pros:

• Free

• Familiar for guests and hosts

• Generally safe

• Easy to organise

Cons:

• A lot of setup

• Much cleanup 

• Looks lower effort

• Can have too little or too much space

Step 3: Choosing a Theme

Generally, choosing a theme will be unnecessary for a first birthday party. Concepts such as dinosaurs and superheroes may still be out of reach for a 1-year-old. Still, there will likely be toddlers and children around, so a theme can still be a fantastic way to engage them; we personally have space, ocean, forest, and dinosaur themes built into our party rooms to keep kids engaged.  These are the most popular themes we see exciting toddlers and young children, but if there are a few older kids (6-10), we sometimes organise themes such as superheroes or princesses. 

Step 4: Organising the Guest List

Consider a few negotiable and non-negotiable guests for a first birthday party. At the top of the non-negotiable list is definitely immediate family. In most cases, we recommend inviting all of the mother's family and, yes, all of the father's family as well. We're talking about all brothers, sisters and parents of both the mother and father. Next, if you've set them, the child's godparents are generally an automatic inclusion. Consider as well some of the other parents you have in your life, family, friends, and members of your mother's group if you're in one. Lastly, close friends, because the day will be big and family can bring pressure, so remember to bring along your closest support system to make sure the day goes a breeze. 

Step 5: Send Invitations

Once you've gone to all that work compiling a guest list, it's best practice to let them know they are guests. Creating homemade invitations can create an elegant and thought-through effect for your guests, and you may choose to handwrite them for that reason. But if you organise a birthday party venue like ours, the venue may offer free E-invites (we know we do, at least). Or, if you want to go digital on your own, there are plenty of free and paid software to invite folks. Some will self-add to calendars, which is a nice touch, but if you want true customizability at a low price, we recommend making your invites with Canva. Just remember this is the key information you should include on a birthday party invite:

1. Who's birthday is it?

2. Which birthday is it?

3. Who's sending the invite?

4. Who's receiving the invite? (if it's a family, name everyone, it adds a nice touch)

5. The date and time of the birthday

6. The location of the birthday

7. Some form of imagery or a joke (no one likes a bland card)

   
   

Don't Make it Harder on Yourself.

If you choose a quality venue like ours, you shouldn't have to worry about decorations, catering, and the rest. They should sort it out for you. Regardless, here's a quick checklist you can screenshot or keep on hand to ensure you nail everything. We hope you enjoyed our quick guide and wish your little one a perfect first birthday.

• Organise A Date & Time

• Choose a Venue

• Choose a Theme

• Organise a Guestlist

• Send Invitations

• Organise Decorations (Optional)

• Organise Catering (Optional)

• Organise Entertainment (Optional) 

• Set Up a Gift Table (Optional) 

• Organise Thank You Cards or Goodie Bags