Your baby is turning 1. It’s a day you’ve probably pictured since before your little guy or girl was even born.
How will you commemorate this joyous occasion, the first of many happy celebrations to come? The possibilities are endless. Will you center baby’s party on his favorite cartoon character? Or maybe choose something you like best since this might be the only year he won’t have a say?
Here we feature some of the coolest first birthday party themes we’ve found around the web. Whether you’re usually the party planning type or not, we bet you’ll be inspired by some of these super-cool first birthday party ideas.
Have fun planning baby’s first birthday!
Color combos
Choose a color or a combination of a few colors and keep everything in that palate. Your party will look simple and elegant, plus it’s easy to coordinate outfits to match and it lets baby’s personality take center stage instead of an overly-loud theme. The best part? You don’t have to buy any expensive character-themed decor. Plus, can you imagine how much easier it’ll be to make solitary color cake pops instead of trying to mold them into different Angry Birds? You could even consider a fun rainbow theme.
Anchor’s away
A nautical theme is perfect for baby’s first birthday during the summer. Mom and dad can have fun with all the cool decorations and it’s easy to plan some water play activities that line up. This family made adorable mini life preservers using powdered doughnut holes and went all out with red, white and blue accents. It’s smooth sailing with this party theme!
Little princess
It might be your first princess party, but it probably won’t be your last. Like it or not, a lot of little girls prefer all-things-princess before they can even say, “bippity boppity boo.” The great part about a princess party for age 1, though, is that it doesn’t have to be too specific. You can save the Anna and Elsa performers for another year. Go crazy with tulle, glitter and DIY puffballs for this royal theme.
Puppy pals
“Puppy” is a first word for so many little boys and girls who adore their furry family members. If your baby loves dogs, a puppy party is a precious first birthday theme. This party featured a dog-bowl-shaped cake and tennis balls as part of the party favors.
M-I-C-K-E-Y
Sing it with us, “M-O-U-S-E!” Mickey Mouse, of course, is a huge hit with the 12-month set. If your guy or girl has already been lured in by those catchy Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tunes, then you might as well embrace it and throw a mouse-themed party to remember. You’ll find endless Mickey-themed cake ideas and you can make these Mickey cookies using Oreos.
Lollipop, lollipop
Baby might not be craving candy quite yet, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have a cool Candyland party before she develops her sweet tooth. Guests will love to browse a candy bar and everyone will appreciate the bright, colorful and delicious details.
Fairy garden
When it comes to first birthday party ideas, it doesn’t get much more whimsical than a fairy garden party. Grab some sparkly fairy wings for the little ones, some colorful flowers for decoration and the supplies to make a butterfly banner.
What does the fox say?
If it were a contest, this family would score big in creativity points. Their fox-themed party featured perfect paper cutouts, s’mores cups and other adorable woodland accents.
Jedi in training
The Force may not have awakened in your young Jedi yet, but no party theme list would be complete without Star Wars. We’re pretty sure the parents are behind this theme for most 1-year-olds, but that’s OK. After a year of sleepless nights, you deserve it. And who could resist the chance to make a BB-8 cake or Chewbacca cookies?
Camp-inspired party
Camp is synonymous with summertime – and while your wee one is still too small for those overnight camp experiences, you can bring camp to him. It’s never too early to excite your boy or girl about their future camp experience – plus it’s fun for guests of all ages.
Check out this bumblebee party idea, too, for another first birthday party theme.
This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated for 2017.
