Where would you start??
Guys, I feel like such a bad mom. I really want to make her 1st birthday special, but it really snuck up on me. We're having DD's party at our house on the 19th at 2pm and other than getting the invites out, I have nothing else planned except for some general ideas. We will have 35-40 people there (10 kids, ages 9 mo - 10 yr). I have no decorations, no food ordered, no games...
Help me get a game plan please!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
LOL, we sound similar!
I got some basic party stuff at the Dollar Store...plates, utensils, party hats, table cloth. We decided on food (pizza), decorations (balloons) and cake(grocery store)and I think that was it!
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
First things first--send out an invitation!
Order cake
Order food (don't bother making it yourself)
Buy decorations! Something like Party City will have everything you need at once. You can order balloons there or at a nearby grocery store and just pick them up that morning (or have a family member or close friend bring them over for you)
Come up with a few games. When I was young, my mom had t-shirt painting and it was a blast! White hanes t-shirts, puff paint and t-shirt paint, and animal shaped sponges.
Clean the house
Keep it simple 
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Keep it simple and colorful. Pick up a few colors or a rainbow of colors and go to town with paper goods and balloons. Get the letter balloons to spell out your LO's name.
Decorate high traffic areas- food and drink table. Balloons weighted down behind a table or pom poms hung from a chandelier.
Serve ready made veggie or fruit platters. In addition to cake for guests, pick up an oversize cupcake for your LO to smash. Even the drink you choose can be simple and colorful- sorbet and gingerale make a frothy punch.
As far as activities go set up stations if you have the space.
Babes and toddlers will likely be entertained with stackable toys or sensory play like messy paint or edible play do.
Little kids like craft projects. Perhaps they can decorate their own Mardi Gras mask or create crown or make paper plate art with dry beans and pastas.
Give older kids puzzles or games to play. Jenga, Pick up Sticks and Connect Four tournament come to mind.
Don't worry about signage and banners, everyone knows its a birthday party.
Don't worry about party favors.
Good luck!
grapefruit / 4669 posts
I second both Party City and the dollar store! For showers I have planned recently, those 2 places have been a big help in finding cute things for cheap (I get basics at the dollar store and splurge on cute napkins/decor from Party City). You could probably get favors from those places, too (if you want them).
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
I would start with a theme, even if it's just a color scheme, like rainbow colors. I'd go to the dollar store and see if there's something cute you like there as a theme to go with. They have lots of cute stuff.
For food I'd stick with easy things like pizza. You could have different snacks out too like crackers, cheese, fruit, veggies, etc. And I would just order a cake.
We didn't even do games for LO's first. People just talked, and the kids played with her toys after she opened them.
GOLD / papaya / 10166 posts
@blackbird: @MRS. LEMON-LIME: You guys are awesome! I've been meaning to thank you for the great advice. It definitely gave me a starting point and I think I have almost everything ready
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@BabyBoecksMom: you are welcome! Have fun at your LO's party!
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
Check out Lala's second birthday on the blog. I threw that together in a week, if I recall.
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
I say work on decor first just because of shipping time if you order from somewhere like Amazon you can at least get things in 2 days using prime. If you keep food simple it shouldn't be too bad. You can do it!
bananas / 9118 posts
Haha, I must have missed this one since I was busy planning Cam's party at the last minute! We had less than 10 people, but I was up till 2 am finishing last minute stuff and up at 8 buying his gift at the last minute. To quote my boy, "baaaa baaa, baaaaad mammmmmama!"
pomegranate / 3983 posts
We've done really last minutes parties before. My first stop is the party store to get decorations and paper goods. Then for food frozen appetizers, snacks, fruit, and cake (that's the only thing last minute). Set up can be done that same day as buffet style and that's it. FWIW for LO's first we didn't really do any games- just had lots of balloons for the babies to play with and some coloring pages for older siblings. The adults just mingled and that was fine.
GOLD / papaya / 10166 posts
@lemondrop: I would be less frantic if we were only having 10 people... that's actually what I prefer! But just between our families, there will be 20 people, plus our close friends puts us at about 40 people, 16 of those being kids. Yikes!
I'm setting up a candy bar for the kids because it's easier than making up 16 goody bags 
And since baking is my therapy, I'm going to bake the cupcakes, and at @Baby Boy Mom's suggestion, I'm going to get some frozen food appetizers. All that we need now is to buy the alcohol. Whew!
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