It’s almost a year since my website went live, and I have been thinking about how to celebrate its first birthday. Top of my list would be a glass of champagne, but the reality will be a cup of tea, as I’m busier than ever, currently night nannying for gorgeous twin boys – I’ll have to save the champagne for a quiet week!
I began to think about how I celebrated the first birthdays of my own four children. My eldest had an elaborate barbecue with over 40 family and friends, my second had a birthday tea with grandparents and neighbours, my third had a birthday tea with his cousin, and by the time my daughter was one, we had enough children of our own for a party and just celebrated as a family!
Every baby’s first birthday is incredibly special and marks a huge milestone in their lives, and their parents too. I thought of other ways to celebrate and create traditions around a first birthday and asked friends what they have done. Their ideas were so original and creative, here are some of my favourites:-
Record some film of your baby on their birthday…just a few minutes – opening presents, blowing out candles etc…then do the same every year. One day they’ll make a fantastic home movie and you can watch your baby grow up before your eyes!
Buy a Pandora charm that reflects that year. When she is 16/18 give it to her. Otherwise good old cake with a candle does the trick in our house.
We took a new photo at each birthday and put it over top of the one from the year before (in a frame)…easy to keep record, year by year
Fancy dress all the way!
Don’t go too crazy – it’s a first birthday and I think that means you celebrating the year in which your life changed forever!
We all go a little crazy about the 1st birthday of our first-born – I suspect it’s got a lot to do with the “we all survived, utterly sleep deprived, but no one was maimed or certified”!
I have taken a photo of her on the day, whether opening presents or blowing out birthday cake candles or holding a card and intend to make a framed collage of printed image for her, with the pics of her first birthday and 21st birthday in the centre.
I traced his hand on his birthday and will do each year. Then cut them out in different colour paper and put them behind each other each year in a nice frame so you will see how their little hands grow.
Just remember that whatever you do for number one you will have to do for the rest too! The only things I try to do are keep a note book of funny/disastrous events involving your children to scribble in whenever something really good/bad happens and every month I keep ONE picture and glue it into a scrapbook – you can’t keep them all!
However you decide to celebrate your little ones first birthday, I hope that you have a great time and give yourself a huge pat on the back for surviving the fist year of parenthood and find time to celebrate with your partner or loved ones, the year in which your life changed forever!
Happy Birthday!
© Sarah Wheeler 30th June 2014
Makes me feel guilty for not having a collection of photos recording all my childrens’ birthdays but perhaps now they are all over 40 it is a bit late to start!!!! Am I forgiven?? X