Getting ready to celebrate your child’s 1st birthday? No need to stress and spend thousands of dollars…just keep a few key elements in mind and you will enjoy the day.

Make sure that you understand your child and don’t plan something that is not a good fit. If your one-year-old is fearful of strangers or new places than avoid inviting lots of relatives and friends that the child doesn’t know or think about having the party at home. Loud bangs from party horns and lots of people may frighten your baby so also keep this in mind with party favors and the size of the invite list. For a theme pick a character or color scheme that represents their personality, favorite book or TV character.

For the invites choose something that is personalized. Shop online for lots of great choices including invitations that have photographs. This is a party that grandparents, aunts and uncles will not want to miss so make sure to get the date on the calendar early. By one year old most babies have fallen into some kind of daytime nap routine. Keep this timing in mind when putting the event time on the invitation. If you want to have the party be longer than 1-2 hours than just make sure to make the event timeline works so that cake and photos can happen early and then you can continue to enjoy the party while the baby goes down for a nap.

If you are inviting several smaller babies or toddlers think about having some simple activities that will keep them entertained. Maybe include some musical fun with a nursery rhyme tape playing in the background or bring the group together for some rounds of Wheels on the Bus, Row the Boat or Ring Around the Rosie.

Most importantly stay organized, stay flexible and enjoy the day!