Birthday babies
 
A birthday party is all in the making. Follow our top tips for
a stress-free day (if that's possible!) for one-year-olds and toddlers.
Birthdays for babies
Keep it simple
It's easy to lose sight of the fact that you're more excited about your
baby's first birthday than he is. To him, it's another day to be filled
with play, food and sleep. To you it's a mammoth celebration of the day
he was born. The key is to keep it nice and simple, from the food to the
decorations. If you aim for anything more grand, chances are the guest
of honour will spend the time howling in the kitchen while everyone else
looks mortified, as daughter did. Save the big celebration for later in
the evening, once the little one has been tucked into bed, and crack open
a bottle of bubbly!
Crowd control
A room that is full to bursting, even with familiar faces, will overwhelm
a child, with the result that they will end up clinging limpet-like to
you, while screaming and weeping. Keep the guest list to the nearest and
dearest - close family members and perhaps a few friends your child will
recognise from nursery or playgroups.
Discreet décor
When we throw children's parties it's so tempting to become a child ourselves
again, and fill rooms with every available decoration and balloon from
the local party shop. This might be your idea of a dream come true but
it's probably going to be more of a nightmare for your child, with all
the masks, posters, banners, hats etc. The secret lies in choosing things
wisely and sparingly. Decide on a theme, for example, teddy bears or Winnie
the Pooh, and get in a special banner and some pretty plastic plates and
cups. A few balloons are nice but be careful with them around babies -
the loud 'pop!' they produce when burst might scare the little ones, while
the rubbery remains present a choking danger.
Fabulous food!
The all-important birthday cake will be the central point for the celebrations.
Many healthy eating books strongly advise against giving chocolate or
other 'unhealthy' birthday cakes, advising you bake your own, sweetened
with apple juice or similar. It's up to you but a piece of chocolate cake
on this special day is probably not going to do any harm! If you can't
have a treat on this of all days, when can you?
Serve the food at the normal time when your baby would have a meal or
snack. As well as cake, you can put out finger food such as salad sticks
(depending on how well your child can chew), dips (such as yoghurt or
humous or guacamole) and chopped fruit. Avoid anything like nuts, popcorn
or small bits of crisps and pretzels that your child and others can choke
on. It's best to serve the food with everyone sitting down (and with plastic
sheeting underneath!) to minimise the amount of spillage and damage to
your floors, walls, carpets, curtains, furniture …
Don't bring in the clowns
For the first birthday (at least) it's a good idea to steer clear of
clowns and magicians who, while delightful to older children, will put
the fear of God into babies, terrified of an adult with such a white face,
curly hair and a red nose!
Formal party games are not really suitable for this age range either.
Your best bet is to put out some age-appropriate toys (e.g. building blocks,
stacking cups, board books) and let the children at them. No doubt one
child will be fascinated with dismantling your remote control, while another
will be trying to take apart the stair gate, so you're providing enough
entertainment as it is.
Smile for the camera!
Don't you just hate it when someone demands that you pose for them in
front of a monument or while holding a puppy that's trying to bite your
nose off? Well, even the most angelic of babies do not take kindly to
a room-full of lenses following their every move. Adults unfairly demand
that babies perform a whole range of activities for them to capture for
prosperity, while little ones just don't see the point. Forget training
your baby for weeks on how to blow out candles and let her enjoy the day.
Chances are, if you leave her in peace, you'll get some excellent, unposed
shots that will look better in an album than a scarlet, screwed-up face.
The time is right
Timing can be the be all and end all of a party. Get it wrong and there
will be hell to pay. Get it right, however, and peace will reign (apart
from the inevitable tantrums and fights over toys). Don't schedule a party
too close to a nap time - your child should be well rested and in her
normal routine. Keep the party short and sweet - 1-1.5 hours is long enough
at this age. Any more and you'll end up with a hysterical toddler and
a migraine.
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