# First birthday suggestions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515 "2004-05-28T14:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/1 "2004-05-28T14:23:18Z")
The boy is turning one in about a month. It’s been one heck of a ride. One year ago, I would not have so calmly accepted being thrown up on, being urinated on, having diapers explode on me, or being used as a snot rag. Those are the daddy secrets no one ever tells you about. All futer daddies, consider yourselves warned. Any way, Mrs. Magill and I are trying to figure out what to do for Pinky’s first birthday. One set of grandparents is coming down, as are his Aunt and Uncle. His god-parents are coming down as well. We are still in an apartment, so things would quickly get crowded if we had a party at our house. Coupled with the fact that neither one of us gave a party for a one-year-old before, so I was hoping for suggestions. We live on the north side of Atlanta, if that helps. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/2 "2004-05-28T14:26:04Z")
Dagnabit! I forgot to mention. He’ll be turning one over the July 4th weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/3 "2004-05-28T14:28:38Z")
My experience with one-year-olds is that they’re still pretty much oblivious to the fine details of where they are and what’s going on–they don’t much care whether they’re at the zoo, a drive-in movie or a museum. So find someplace that all these adults from out of town will enjoy where a certain amount of noise is accepted, and have a picnic. Say, a zoo, park, amusement park… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/4 "2004-05-28T14:32:42Z")
> [@Maus Magill](#): > > The boy is turning one in about a month. It’s been one heck of a ride. One year ago, I would not have so calmly accepted being thrown up on, being urinated on, having diapers explode on me, or being used as a snot rag. Those are the daddy secrets no one ever tells you about. All futer daddies, consider yourselves warned. > > Any way, Mrs. Magill and I are trying to figure out what to do for Pinky’s first birthday. One set of grandparents is coming down, as are his Aunt and Uncle. His god-parents are coming down as well. We are still in an apartment, so things would quickly get crowded if we had a party at our house. Coupled with the fact that neither one of us gave a party for a one-year-old before, so I was hoping for suggestions. > > We live on the north side of Atlanta, if that helps. > > Thanks! If your apartment complex has a party house, consider renting it for the afternoon. Easy on the toys…they don’t really care about them. Spend more on food (or pictures, movies, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/5 "2004-05-28T15:11:43Z")
Whatever you do, make sure you make a little crown out of construction paper with the number ‘1’ on it and place it on his little head just as you are serving him a slice of his cake. Take a picture, quick! Now, encourage him to eat that cake with his hands and smear his little face with it. Take more pictures! Place those pictures in a box and hide them for 17 years, then give them as 18th birthday gift. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/6 "2004-05-28T15:17:32Z")
Oh, yeah! Pictures! Lots of pictures! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/7 "2004-05-28T16:44:03Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > Whatever you do, make sure you make a little crown out of construction paper with the number ‘1’ on it and place it on his little head just as you are serving him a slice of his cake. Take a picture, quick! Now, encourage him to eat that cake with his hands and smear his little face with it. Take more pictures! Place those pictures in a box and hide them for 17 years, then give them as 18th birthday gift. YES! Abject humiliation of the boy as a teenager is one of the two reasons I took the job of daddy. The other was so I can take pictures of him in whatever clothing styles will be hip and fashionable fifteen years from now and showing them to my grandkids. Thanks for the ideas. Now all I need to do is find a good park around here. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/8 "2004-05-28T17:44:44Z")
A park does sound good! As I’m sure you’ve noticed, a one-year old can only take so much chaos and noise before he burns out, so keep it simple. I have always thrown a barbeque for the grownups and not done anything really for the baby; all the company is more than enough. (We have a lot of family.) Aside from the obligatory cake/photo op, of course. Ours was a pineapple upside-down cake this last time. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-birthday-suggestions/247515/9 "2004-05-28T21:19:47Z")
I gave my nephew Baby Tad from Toys R Us and it proved very successful. Of course, he’s the other side of the world…