Decorating a child’s birthday party

My first son’s 2nd birthday is fast approaching, and I was thinking to myself…what do you do to decorate a child’s birthday party? To be honest, they really don’t notice the decorations. So beyond balloons — which toddlers love — there’s only a few elements you need to have to make a child’s birthday party go off without a hitch. These elements can be decorative, so if you want, go a little wild on these elements.

Michael's first birthday party

So how’d Mikey get that smear on his face? Yeah, we had a smash cake, which is apparently a must-have at a first birthday party. But you know, I think we could have done without it. He didn’t like the feeling of all the frosting on the smash cake, and its not like it was going to be frozen and saved like the top tier of a wedding cake. But here’s what it looked like before Mikey got to it.

Michael's 1st birthday smash cake

Here’s a tip: when you’re planning your child’s first birthday party, chances are you don’t need a smash cake. Just present him or her with a big piece of the big cake, and let the adorable mess ensue.

Photo by Teri Christian

And don’t forget to decorate the birthday boy or girl. For Michael’s first birthday, we opted to wear red, which seemed to be Mikey’s favorite color at the time. Of course, you can’t see it in this picture, because my husband and I were both wearing black sweaters. But here’s an idea:

Flickr photo by Hoang

How about something the kid of honor can wear, designating him or her as the birthday boy or girl? This was actually a tuxedo T-shirt he was wearing. Etsy shop Little One Birthday Boutique has a bunch of really cute shirts for different ages that can be personalized too!

Good memories!

Most importantly, don’t forget to enjoy your little one’s birthday party. Stop worrying about the decorations and food (I cooked a LOT of food and barely got to eat any of it!) and celebrate your child. I had my son’s birthday party at a park, which could have been a headache since it was New Year’s Day….but the weather cooperated and we had a great party. In fact, the party was so good, I barely got to take any pictures!

2 thoughts on “Decorating a child’s birthday party

  1. Great tips, Darleene! One thing we’ve learned photographing 1st birthday parties is for the parents to get as much help from friends, family, or hired staff to alleviate some of the stress. Have someone designated to pass out cake, write down a list of gifts and who they were from, take photos, etc.

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