Huggies Baby Forum | Discuss pregnancy, parenting and everything in between.

BooMumma
SA, Australia
Total posts: 7

As the title says... How many people did you have at baby's 1st birthday? Was it an intimate family affair or an all out celebration??

I'm so glad I've started thinking about this now (my son is not quite 6 months) because I really have no idea what to do.

I want to go all out but that's only coz I'm an oragniser and I love parties!

Family alone is 24 people if no one comes over from interstate (they are likey too)

Throw into the mix our closest friends and it jumps to 60 people (about 15 kids in there)

So I really don't know whether to just do a family thing, or do the big party..... What did you do, did it work??

Mum2Em&Madi
QLD, Australia
Total posts: 764

I did just the close family so grandparents, aunties and uncles and 2 close friends with kids. Very small prob around 20 people.

Didn't want to go all out as she wasn't going to remember it anyway and didn't want to have to spend my whole day in the kitchen instead of enjoying my girls 1st birthday.

It's a personal choice and if you feel you want to go all out and have a big party that's fine, so long as you enjoy yourself too. smile

Layla22
VIC, Australia
Total posts: 1620

We had a semi-big party for our DD's first birthday on August 20 - about 45 (adults and kids). We kept waning between keeping it small and wanting to invite everyone so we just invited everyone! We knew there were lots that wouldn't be able to come as they had to travel long distances or were about to have babies themselves, so we invited about 70 I reckon and got 45.

It was a great day - lots of food (BBQ, lasagne, salads, spuds, party food for the kids), games for the kids and a pinata, and a bit of drinking for the adults. wink We started at noon and kicked on - family stayed for tea (leftovers) and we had a few more drinks LOL!!

We were very lucky with the weather though, it was a gorgeous warm day. Our house is tiny so we weren't really sure what we were going to do if it was raining!

All the best planning. It's great fun. They only turn one once!

Former Member
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We had a big party for our twins first birthday! We had both sets of grandparents, godparents and thier children, aunts, uncles and cousins. In terms of friends, I had a few close ones from mother's group and some old family friends too. It ended up being around 50-55 people on the actual day.

It actually worked brilliantly! My mother and a couple of close friends came round the day before, and we did most of the cooking. We made everything that didn't have to be done on the actual day, like the sponge for the cake, and the filling for the sausage rolls. The actual party started at midday, so we had plenty of time in the morning to make other food, like cucumber sandwiches, etc. We made sure there was lots of food for the older kids, and we had a few party games (pass the parcel, musical chairs) as well.

Of course, the choice is up to you smile I personally enjoyed having a large party, especially as it was the twin's first ever birthday. Having so many people there was also good for the kids, as there's always someone there to keep an eye on them! It also worked out for me because some of the cousins were at the 15-18 mark, so they kept the kiddies in check!

Good luck with the planning, and all the best for your son's birthday!

gypsy kylz
NSW, Australia
Total posts: 1499

we kept both of our kids 1st small, we had grandparents and close relatives plus a close friend who also has kids all up each of ours had max 15-20 ppl. i didnt want to spend all day preping and tidying up afterwards etc. we had both at our house and had a BBQ styled celebtation with most nibblies and salads pre-preped the night before. i even did the cakes the night before (i do fancy kids cakes DD was a marshmallow pink poodle cake and DS was a chocolate echidna). for DDs 2nd it was basically the same but with a few extra kids so max 25 inc kids. all were fantastic days and no stress whatsoever. and since we were at home the kids could still have a nap

isaiahs mum
TAS, Australia
Total posts: 3455

we had mediumish lol about 30 people most of dh's side of the family and a couple from mine but it was mostly adults and older kids
i made every thing the day before and some one brought some hot food so i had no cooking to do and they cleaned up for the most part too lol

Maerrie
ACT, Australia
Total posts: 2

I think you should do what you feel comfortable with, you don't want to be stressed out on your baby's first birthday! I think large gatherings can be quite fun (i.e. stress free) if it's warm enough to be outside, is kept to a relatively short time (say 2 - 3 hours), and is catered with basic finger food rather than any kind of sit-down affair. You could also ask people to bring a plate instead of a gift or something. Having the party at a nearby park also minimises the fall-out in terms of cleaning up the house, etc. We're planning to invite the people who have really been a part of our baby's life in the last year, which will be a medium-sized group I think.
Just enjoy smile

**my lil bear**
NSW, Australia
Total posts: 67

I had a High Tea for my DD 1st. There was soooooo much organising and food prep though. Everyone said it was a great party but I missed most of it trying to make sure everything went perfectly sad I was also all caught up in making sure it went 10000% perfect I didn't even stop and think about photos! sad Luckily, my friends did though! So for b-day no.2 I'm handing it all over to the professionals (at the kids play gym here in one of our shopping centres) so I can get in on the birthday fun too! A bit pricey - but once I went thru the costs and STRESS of last year - I think it will definately be worth it smile

BooMumma
SA, Australia
Total posts: 7

Thanks for all the replies! I'm not really worried about catering for a large group, I had my wedding for 85 people at our house in Feb this year - i did everything myself with the help of my mum - and on the actual day I got a family friend to control food and I still had the best day ever!!!!

I think I'm going to just invite them all smile I have also deleted my Facebook so if I don't hear back from the mummy friends I used to talk to all the time on there, then our list will be a little smaller. So far I've not heard back from any of them I've tried to catchup with sad

Anyone in Adelaide? My baby needs friends!! tongue

Rosie Mumma
QLD, Australia
Total posts: 1478

I had 2 parties- 1 for all our "kiddy" friends and mothers group which was about 8 mums and 10 kids.

The other party was for family and my friends- prob around 15 people.