We just had Emma Rose's first birthday party this past weekend (she was 1 on Monday, but the party was Saturday). We had a big bash as it was also celebrating my having survived the first year of motherhood (a big deal, as I never thought I'd have kids!). Anyway, we had some kids there and got out the paddling pool for them to mess around in, as well as having kid-friendly food and little goodie bags for the kids with age-appropriate things in them (stickers, $2 shop toys, party hats). We had only finger food (except for the cake) -- chicken salad on vol au vents, spring rolls, heart-shaped scones, sushi, brownies, chocolates, that kind of thing. The best decision we made was to have paper plates and paper napkins, and plastic utensils -- there was very little in the way of dishes to do. We also made it BYOB, and provided juice and soda, so that helped a bit. As for the cake, well, we went a bit mad and had the lady who made our wedding cake do Em's first birthday cake, so it was pretty special. She also made a wee cupcake for Em, which we let her eat -- she gobbled it right up, and it saved the big cake from her messy hands!

My husband also made a DVD with all the photos we've taken of Em from the first year of her life, and had it playing on the TV throughout the party. And after the bulk of the guests had gone home, we had a barbeque for the remaining family members -- there were 50 people at the party but only about 10 stayed for the barbeque. All in all, it was a blast. And I'm never doing it again. Well, maybe not for a few more years, at least!

We're doing a birthday special for one of the upcoming OHbaby! newsletters, so are keen to hear about your kids' birthday parties, and see photos of course! PM me if you have any great ideas!