How To Celebrate Your Baby’s First Birthday

Your baby’s first birthday is an important milestone (you kept them alive for a whole year - go you!!) which obviously needs to be celebrated. Here are some of my favourite ways to make sure that this important occasion gets the attention it truly deserves. Let’s get started!

Birthday cake.

All of the cake. I don’t agree with the whole argument that baby isn’t old enough to eat cake so what’s the point. The point is that you have earned the bloody cake! Your little one will enjoy smearing it all over their face/clothes/hair/pet cat while you tuck into a slice or two and give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back for doing such a grand job over the past 12 months. Congrats!

This does come with a warning (from personal experience) - don’t start traditions that you can’t commit to. Let me explain…

My Husband decided that he was going to be in charge of making the kids birthday cakes so set off with grand plans of a dinosaur cake for our eldest Son who was dino mad at the time. Bearing in mind he had never baked a cake before in his life, let alone decorated one, I had to admire his grand ambitions. Fast forward to us presenting our Son and wider family with a dripping green cakey mess that only resembled a dinosaur if you squinted hard and tilted your head 90 degrees. That was the first and last time we attempted to make our own birthday cakes, now I leave it to the professionals. Moral of the story? Stick to what you’re good at!

First Birthday Photoshoot

While we’re talking about birthday cake it felt right to move onto a first birthday photoshoot. Notice that I said photoshoot and not cake smash?

In recent years it has become popular to capture baby’s first birthday with a cake smash photoshoot. I’m sorry, what?! Waste a beautiful cake by smashing it into a pulp and covering everything in sight in crumbs and coloured buttercream? And actually, in reality, baby not showing any interest in the damn thing? Nah, not for me thanks.

As you probably know by now, I like to do things differently. Yep, not a single crumb is spilled in my simple, alternative birthday photoshoots as I have an awesome wooden cake! Your baby’s first birthday can be captured forever without any cake being harmed. Hoorah! You’ll also walk away with a gorgeous gallery of images that can be displayed anywhere in the house and suit any decor style. Oh, and you get to save the cake to enjoy with friends and family rather than redecorate with it.

First Birthday Party

This is the fun bit, if birthday parties are your bag. Sure, it’s a lovely way to show how much you love your little bundle of joy, but it’s also a great opportunity to get your friends and family together for a bloody good knees up!

Ideas for the kids:

Hire soft play equipment, ball pit etc (check out Little Panda Soft Play)
Mobile petting zoo
Bubble machines
Party entertainer (think along the lines of baby sensory, singalong, baby yoga etc)
Balloons. Balloons everywhere!

Ideas for the adults:

Photo booth
BBQ
Mimosa station
Bouncy castle (that’s right, the grown ups will enjoy this more than the kids!)

Time Capsule

How about going all Blue Peter and creating a time capsule for them to open on their 18th birthday? Items you could include are:

A newspaper printed on baby’s birthday
Photos (from your first birthday photoshoot)
Cake topper or candle
Their favourite book
Birthday cards
Their first birthday outfit
A handwritten letter

Family day out

If throwing a party for little people isn’t your cup of tea then how about planning a special family day out instead? This is something that we did a lot when the kids were little, and made some amazing memories along the way. Whether its a picnic on the beach or a day at Peppa Pig world, decide what you’ll enjoy as a family and get yo’ asses there. Don’t forget the camera!

Hell, if one day just isn’t enough then why not make a week of it? Imagine when they’re older telling them about their first birthday spent on a beach in Greece or in a cosy cottage in the New Forest? All the feels for more than just one day - and a cheeky getaway - result!

However you decide to celebrate your baby’s first birthday try to make sure that you enjoy it. It’s really easy to put too much pressure on yourself and actually miss out on the celebrations yourself. Your beautiful baby will have a great day wherever they are, whoever they’re with and whatever they’re doing, so relax. You’ve got this.

Have you got any ideas to share with fellow parents on how to make baby’s first birthday special? Drop them in the comments below x

Baby's First Birthday Ideas // How to celebrate your baby turning one