First Birthdays

its been my dream (since like forever) to have a big celebration when my baby turns 1 year old. turning 1 is a big milestone, for the parents as they learn and grow with their baby and, of course, for the baby who moves into toddlerhood. it doesnt take a genius to know that a first birthday celebration is more for the parents than the baby.

planning for a first birthday, for me, would take longer than any other birthday party. the parents obviously doesnt know the personality of the baby, what he likes, what he's inclined to. so you have to google for a few themes before deciding which would suit the baby best. you could also have a no-theme party but that's no fun, is it?

then you need to choose a date - try not to do on a long weekend because many of your guests may have gone for a break. a party on saturday works the best for hubby and me, we can take the friday off to finish any outstanding tasks then rest on sunday (believe me, you need all the rest you can get after the party). timing is also important...lunchtime, late morning, tea time. unfortunately no matter how early you end the party, there will still be people who come after the doors are closed.

i've had 4 different themes for the boys' first birthdays. for amir, it was pretty easy to choose - a football theme. the favours were pretty easy to find, surprisingly. for asyraf, i took the easy way out - no 1 theme (obviously for 1 year old). for ariff, we chose animal theme, which suit him to a T. i searched for the favours everywhere and got them sent over from the US. for akmal, i was out of ideas. i prefer not to have a character-theme but i succumed to thomas and friends for akmal. surprisingly it really suited him, he loves thomas and would just stare at the tv when thomas comes on. the favours too came from the US, they sold so many of them on the net. juling-juling mata.

i think hubby and i have gotten better at planning for the parties, akmal's party was so much different than amir's. we've learned from past mistakes, added here and there, deleted here and there, including:

• delete those who give weird comments when receiving our invites
• stop inviting for the sake of inviting
• dont order too much food
• dont keep leftovers, give them to other people
• have activities for the children to keep them occupied - for akmal, we had colouring and projected movies
• eat before the party because you wont be able to eat until all the guests have left (and that could be veryyyy late)
• its ok to ask for no toys. actually i dont know how the guests took my note on the invitation but i was happy with the presents akmal and ariff got, so i think its ok to put in a little request

another i've learned is - do not bring cakes to a birthday party, i'm sure the host have cakes all prepared, duhhhh.

we spent quite a bit (of energy, time and money) on the boys' first parties because we only have parties at home when they turn 1 year old. after that, we pack some food and cake and send them to the school for them to celebrate with their friends. the next party we may have for the boys will probably be a big one, a combined party for all 4 and their friends. at that time, they would have their own preferences so i probably wont have a long list and would not need to google as much anymore. that's why i overly indulge on their first birthdays.

hubby took some photos during the party but i'm waiting for the photographer to give the formal photos before uploading them on the blog. hope it will soon, hint hint cik adik ila :)