One is Fun Party  1yr

On Sunday January 22 2006 we held our baby daughter's Alexia 1st birthday party. The theme was One is fun Cake is on me.  We wanted the party to be lots of fun and to have plenty of cakes.  The party took place in our home town Athens Greece.  People are not familiar with theme parties that are well organized and decorated.  Most of the games played were a first time experience for kids and adults alike. The party was held at our home.  The invitation was a big #1 folded.  When the guests received and stretched it open it revealed all the information about the party.  Added inside the invitation was a note from the baby telling them that we would also have a time capsule (box) and to choose a small (inexpensive) item which is a sign of our times, to bring with them so they could place inside the time box. This box will be Alexia's 18th birthday gift. The room was perfectly decorated with streamers tied from the corners of the room to the center in pink and light purple.  Bunches of pink balloons with a big #1 silver balloon in the center were tied in various parts of the room and in the entrance way.  Hand made posters of a birthday cake with a single candle were hung on the walls behind the cake table.   We put up a door decoration from the theme (showing a big #1 and a baby) on a bare wall.  The pull string pinata was hand made by me (mom) of a giant two layered cake with a single candle on it.  (Really a master piece since it was decked out in hand made paper ribbons and paper flowers in the pink light purple and yellow color scheme).  In the entrance hall we pasted on the wall paper bags with each child's name on it and each bag had a big purple paper bow (made from purple crape paper).  They were used to collect prizes and pinata candy, their craft game as well as the thank you departing gift.  The departing gifts were wrapped in red from girls and blue for boys with paper cake flowers as decoration.  I wish I could attach a photo of all the decorations!  The party began by all the children making a cake magnet (craft game by oriental trading company) we used dot glue so there was no mess at all.  They continued by playing pass the gift box (version of hot potato).  This box was wrapped many, many times and passed around while the music played.  When the music stopped they get to unwrap one layer.  The person that reached the gift won it. Another game was paste the candle on the cake (version of pin the tail on the donkey) using the one of the cake posters I described above.  Pop the balloon game.  Balloons were prepared ahead of time for each child.  Inside the balloon we wrapped a piece of paper with a sad face printed on them two contained a happy face and these were the winners that got a prize.  They had to pop the balloons not using their hands or any sharp objects by stepping on them or sitting on them or any other way they could come up with.   We also played the time box all children added something inside and they had to explain what it was and why it is significant in our time.  Mom and Dad added a place setting from her party theme, the plates, napkins, cups, hats, etc. The adults really enjoyed the two guessing games that we prepared for them.  One game was to guess how many (full) bottles of milk we can get out of one formula container.  I striped the container from the original wrapper so no one could see the measures and I pasted my own label of a coloring book page print out of carton of milk I added a brand name Alexia's Baby Formula.  Most of them are parents but none really thought of seeing how many bottles can be made from one container.  They enjoyed the fact that their guesses were really off!!  The second game was guess Alexias weight.  I printed a note telling them her birth weight and of course that they were not allowed to lift her shake her or turn her upside down. Again they were so off!!  The prizes were a square candy dishes (fairly inexpensive but very nice).   We ate lunch and then continued with the pinata and the grand finale the cake. The food was all baby or cake shaped!  Mini sandwiches from mini buns were made to look like a baby face using parsley for hair, olives for eyes, cheese for teeth and ham for a tongue.  The chicken salad with shaped into a cake mayo for frosting, cream cheese with a dab of pink food color was funneled into pink little flowers we toped it off with a #1 candle.  This dish really looked like a cake!  The salad was placed on  cobob sticks / cherry tomatoes cucumbers mozzarella balls and an olive  (pointy tips cut off of course) and then they were stuck on a round loaf of bread this dish looked like an explosion of colors! The kids actually ate the salad !! Chicken nuggets, mini hash brown potatoes mini hot dogs all placed in cake dishes with a #1 candle in the center.   Individual juice boxes were given to the children (this saved a lot on the spills). The pull string pinata was a great treat after lunch and right before the cake.  I took care to purchase soft candies as well as soft mini chocolate bars and wafer bars to fill it with. The cake was custom made (in Europe the pastry chefs are great!) decorated with a baby all dirty from eating her first birthday cake and wearing a bib with a #1 on it.  Of course it  had the inscription Happy 1st birthday Alexia  The flavor was assume vanilla and chocolate moose with white frosting! We hired a professional photographer to take the photos as we wanted to make sure that we would not miss anything from the party. Worth the money!  (Especially on really special birthdays like the first one)  We got the best reviews from the kids as they were leaving.  They were even calling us the day after the party with enthusiasm.  Alexia we love you and wish that you have lots and lots of birthdays all of them to be memorable, special, filled with health, fun and loved ones.