The Big ONE: Sweet First Birthday Ideas

Let your baby dig into her birthday cake, toddler-style. Bake (or buy – whatever works!) a first birthday cake for your guests and then have a smaller smash cake or cupcake that your baby can have all to herself.

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Plan ahead for photo-ops by making the high chair the center of attention. Tape balloons and streamers to the wall behind your baby's high chair (far enough away so they're out of reach) and decorate the front.

Cute accessories, like a birthday sash or tiny crown, can take Baby's big day outfit to the next level. 

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By now, you likely have a few gigabytes of baby pictures. Celebrate your little one by using her sweet face!

Sunny Sweets: For dessert, serve yellow macarons made to look like suns by pushing drop-shaped candy around the rim.

Bright Buffet: Make the food table light and cheery with yellow napkins, plates, and cups. Cut out 2" to 3" strips of yellow and orange paper and glue them around the back of the plates to form suns.

Happy Tunes: Play songs like "Here Comes the Sun" and "You Are My Sunshine" during the party.

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ABC blocks are standard toys in any baby's collection. The bright colors and iconic shape create a great party motif.

Big Blocks: Use stencils to cut out letters from patterned craft paper, then use a thin colored tape to add a border.

Photo Favors: Create photo stands by hot-gluing a colored paper clip to the back edge of a block.

Boxed Cake: Serve petit fours for dessert; decorate each one to look like an alphabet block.

You can't go wrong with a zoo theme for your baby's first-birthday party.

Plastic Parade Set the scene with toy animals wearing party hats – create a conga line of critters. Cut half circles and roll them into cones, then trim if necessary. Glue a pom-pom to the top and 2 thin ribbons inside for a tie.

Take-Home Treat For favors, decorate small brown bags with paw prints (use a 2" and a 3/4" circle punch to create the shape) and fill with animal crackers.

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To save money and personalize your party, try making the decor youself! Click through the next three slides for ideas.