Garden Party Ideas for a 1st Birthday

To celebrate the milestone of your child reaching her first birthday, consider holding a garden party. Garden parties work for spring and summer, and they give toddlers plenty of room to run around and enjoy the bounty of nature. Parents can relax and enjoy themselves in a happy atmosphere bursting with fragrant beauty. Keep the food, decorations and activities to an age appropriate level, and your baby's first birthday will be the start of a wonderful new year.

If you have a flower garden, you're halfway there. If you don't, make plans to prepare a few weeks in advance. Look for inexpensive and unique planters--from traditional pots to old wheelbarrows and little red wagons. In the spring and summer, plant vibrant flowers purchased from the local nursery. Place the filled planters in high impact areas. Mix live with silk, and weave long silk flower garlands around porch, patio or banister slats. Set out patio furniture for grownups. Spread out a thick picnic blanket for little ones. Balloons add the final touches; make sure to tie them to decorative weights to avoid any tears from accidental escapes.

Since 1-year-old children don't usually use utensils, make sure all edibles are finger food. Make cute cheese finger sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters. Make a choke-free fruit salad with grapes sliced in half, quartered banana slices and sliced strawberries. Other appropriate finger foods are pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows, animal crackers, raisins, and soft bread sticks. Because most 1-year-old children are still using sippy cups, purchase some that are two for $1, then personalize each one before the party using gel pens and stickers. Fill them with strawberry milk or a mild fruit punch so the guests can drink and walk with ease.

Children 2 and under cannot play regular party games, nor can they interact well enough to get instructions for rules. Instead, hold activities that stimulate all the senses--let them plant seeds in dirt cups or water different things around the yard with their own little watering cans. Give them scarves to dance with and play some music. Hide little plastic bugs or hollow eggs in obvious places in the yard, then have parents help the children find the prizes and put them in a garden basket.