Around the blogosphere, particularly on several mommy blogs, I’ve noticed that a lot of time and preparation goes into making a baby’s first birthday special. “Theme” ideas are thought about months ahead of time and décor gets purchased well in advance to ensure that the party is full of details that are anything but the norm. Indeed, the task of planning a baby’s first birthday party is undeniably fun – yet it can also become an exhausting undertaking. In some cases, the parents pass the job onto a skilled event planner to orchestrate.
Have you ever visited Kara’s Party Ideas? The site is full of jaw dropping pictures of children’s birthday parties {go there for a plethora of party ideas}. And we’re not talking just “ordinary” birthday parties. We’re talking parties comprised of pricey invitations, extravagant decorations, delectable food, dazzling tablescapes, breathtaking floral arrangements, stunning cakes, adorable take home treats, incredible overall décor – and a photographer that has been hired to capture it all. The parties showcased on Kara’s Party Ideas are fabulous, full of intricate details, and are more than charming - to say the least.
I’ve already been asked by several people what we’re going to do for Ilah’s 1st birthday. And she’s not even 5 months old yet. Because of how often the question is posed to me, it’s caused me to begin thinking about it.
In my opinion, a baby never remembers their 1st birthday – or their second, or even their third. Personally speaking, I only remember a few birthday parties that I had throughout my entire adolescent years, and none that I recall before the age of 5 or 6.
A baby’s 1st birthday is indeed a celebratory day to dote over your wee one and capture an abundant amount of pictures to remember their first birthday by. But nowadays, making a baby’s 1st birthday “special” is taken to a whole new level. It goes far beyond cake and ice-cream and opening a few gifts.
Pictures in my baby album show that my 1st and second birthday “parties” were spent at my great-grandma’s house. I had a big cake, and aside from my mom, dad and sister being there, my aunts, uncles and cousins were there, along with a few neighbor friends. There were pictures taken of me smashing the cake with my hands and pictures taken of me ripping open my gifts {and my sister placing the bows [that was on my presents] in my hair}. And that was about the gist of it. And even though I have those pictures to look at, to show that my 1st and second birthday was indeed celebrated, I don’t remember the day’s events – at all.
As I got older, I had {and went to} parties at Chuck-E-Cheeses and at the beach; parties in bowling alleys, local parks, ice-skating and roller-skating rinks. Slumber parties were always the most fun - in which lots of movies were rented, lots of junk food was eaten, truth-or-dare was played, and everyone stayed up until wee hours of the morning. Going to an amusement park always made for a fun time, and before those middle school years hit, I remember a simple back yard party that I had when I was probably 8….where water balloons were tossed, potato sack races provided lots of laughter, freeze-tag was played, and my dad set up a scavenger hunt for me and my friends. Then we changed into bathing suits and ran threw the sprinklers until we grew tired. Add to that, hot dogs, potato chips, kool-aid and a homemade birthday cake. Those were the simple good ol' days.
Now a days, parents are beginning to throw birthday parties that are more like soiree’s….where dupioni table clothes have replaced the plastic ones that were commonly used, silk napkins are now present next to fancy place settings, favors are anything but simple, and the decor makes you feel like you are more at a royal celebration rather than a birthday party for a tiny tot. Granted, this may not be the constant norm - but nonetheless, my how times have changed.
I think it’s beautiful for a parent to want to celebrate their child’s special day in an extraordinary way but it seems that simplicity has been replaced with overindulgence. And I admit – I, myself, am riding the fence.
No doubt, we will celebrate Ilah's 1st birthday. But in a big way? I'm still unsure. Initially I was amped up to get started on brainstorming ideas for Ilah’s 1st birthday but then my sensibility kicked in and I went from visualizing an all-out fête to a simplistic celebration {not even a “party” per-say} at home.
I’m still conflicted.
On one hand, even if we decided on just doing a small gathering, I would want there to be a wow factor to her big day. On the other hand, I'm not sure I can justify a heap load of money being spent on a birthday party for our one year old child who will never remember the day, much less care about all the beautiful details. I should mention that right now, Ilah doesn't have any cousins {none of our siblings are married or have kids}. And our friend’s who live in Atlanta, or close to, don't have children yet either. So in essence, while although Ilah’s birthday party will be for her, it will enjoyed by probably 50 adults. And even if there were other 1 year olds, or toddlers/small children in attendance, they too wouldn’t remember the day, just as Ilah wouldn’t. Which leads me to think that the parties that we throw for Ilah should happen when she is old enough to remember them, and when she begins making friends that she can have fun with {and then for one of her birthday parties, I can recreate this sweet celebration that I posted about}. Until then, parties done on a large scale are in essence primarily done to just impress the adults. Who agrees?
What's your opinion? What do you think about parties thrown for 1 year old babies? I would really love to hear your feedback. I’ve also put up a poll on the left side of my blog! {EDIT: As a reader pointed it, Ilah's birthday will be in the winter so the option that I noted in the poll about an outdoor bbq or picnic wouldn't work. Since votes have already been cast, I can't edit the poll so just replace those ideas with a small gathering in a family friendly atmosphere}.
Have you ever visited Kara’s Party Ideas? The site is full of jaw dropping pictures of children’s birthday parties {go there for a plethora of party ideas}. And we’re not talking just “ordinary” birthday parties. We’re talking parties comprised of pricey invitations, extravagant decorations, delectable food, dazzling tablescapes, breathtaking floral arrangements, stunning cakes, adorable take home treats, incredible overall décor – and a photographer that has been hired to capture it all. The parties showcased on Kara’s Party Ideas are fabulous, full of intricate details, and are more than charming - to say the least.
I’ve already been asked by several people what we’re going to do for Ilah’s 1st birthday. And she’s not even 5 months old yet. Because of how often the question is posed to me, it’s caused me to begin thinking about it.
In my opinion, a baby never remembers their 1st birthday – or their second, or even their third. Personally speaking, I only remember a few birthday parties that I had throughout my entire adolescent years, and none that I recall before the age of 5 or 6.
A baby’s 1st birthday is indeed a celebratory day to dote over your wee one and capture an abundant amount of pictures to remember their first birthday by. But nowadays, making a baby’s 1st birthday “special” is taken to a whole new level. It goes far beyond cake and ice-cream and opening a few gifts.
Pictures in my baby album show that my 1st and second birthday “parties” were spent at my great-grandma’s house. I had a big cake, and aside from my mom, dad and sister being there, my aunts, uncles and cousins were there, along with a few neighbor friends. There were pictures taken of me smashing the cake with my hands and pictures taken of me ripping open my gifts {and my sister placing the bows [that was on my presents] in my hair}. And that was about the gist of it. And even though I have those pictures to look at, to show that my 1st and second birthday was indeed celebrated, I don’t remember the day’s events – at all.
As I got older, I had {and went to} parties at Chuck-E-Cheeses and at the beach; parties in bowling alleys, local parks, ice-skating and roller-skating rinks. Slumber parties were always the most fun - in which lots of movies were rented, lots of junk food was eaten, truth-or-dare was played, and everyone stayed up until wee hours of the morning. Going to an amusement park always made for a fun time, and before those middle school years hit, I remember a simple back yard party that I had when I was probably 8….where water balloons were tossed, potato sack races provided lots of laughter, freeze-tag was played, and my dad set up a scavenger hunt for me and my friends. Then we changed into bathing suits and ran threw the sprinklers until we grew tired. Add to that, hot dogs, potato chips, kool-aid and a homemade birthday cake. Those were the simple good ol' days.
Now a days, parents are beginning to throw birthday parties that are more like soiree’s….where dupioni table clothes have replaced the plastic ones that were commonly used, silk napkins are now present next to fancy place settings, favors are anything but simple, and the decor makes you feel like you are more at a royal celebration rather than a birthday party for a tiny tot. Granted, this may not be the constant norm - but nonetheless, my how times have changed.
I think it’s beautiful for a parent to want to celebrate their child’s special day in an extraordinary way but it seems that simplicity has been replaced with overindulgence. And I admit – I, myself, am riding the fence.
No doubt, we will celebrate Ilah's 1st birthday. But in a big way? I'm still unsure. Initially I was amped up to get started on brainstorming ideas for Ilah’s 1st birthday but then my sensibility kicked in and I went from visualizing an all-out fête to a simplistic celebration {not even a “party” per-say} at home.
I’m still conflicted.
On one hand, even if we decided on just doing a small gathering, I would want there to be a wow factor to her big day. On the other hand, I'm not sure I can justify a heap load of money being spent on a birthday party for our one year old child who will never remember the day, much less care about all the beautiful details. I should mention that right now, Ilah doesn't have any cousins {none of our siblings are married or have kids}. And our friend’s who live in Atlanta, or close to, don't have children yet either. So in essence, while although Ilah’s birthday party will be for her, it will enjoyed by probably 50 adults. And even if there were other 1 year olds, or toddlers/small children in attendance, they too wouldn’t remember the day, just as Ilah wouldn’t. Which leads me to think that the parties that we throw for Ilah should happen when she is old enough to remember them, and when she begins making friends that she can have fun with {and then for one of her birthday parties, I can recreate this sweet celebration that I posted about}. Until then, parties done on a large scale are in essence primarily done to just impress the adults. Who agrees?
What's your opinion? What do you think about parties thrown for 1 year old babies? I would really love to hear your feedback. I’ve also put up a poll on the left side of my blog! {EDIT: As a reader pointed it, Ilah's birthday will be in the winter so the option that I noted in the poll about an outdoor bbq or picnic wouldn't work. Since votes have already been cast, I can't edit the poll so just replace those ideas with a small gathering in a family friendly atmosphere}.
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