Your N°1 Birthday Party Resource

With more children’s toys being made in countries that do not have strict rules, it’s hard to know what toys are safe for a baby or toddler. Many toys were recalled last year. They somehow were imported and only later found to have toxic paints, toxic metals, or other poisons, after they had been purchased and given to children.

When choosing baby birthday gifts, remember that babies and toddlers are going to be putting everything into their mouth. For this reason it is very important that the toys do not have any small pieces that the child could choke on.

To help you determine if a gift is safe for the age of the child you are buying for, all toys are supposed to be labeled with the ages that may safely play with them. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough. Children die each year from choking on toys.

Here are some old fashioned, tried and true gifts that are always welcomed with bright eyes and huge smiles, no matter which child receives them.

Teddy Bears - An Old Favorite

The original baby birthday gifts are the never failing teddy bears. Named for President Theodore Roosevelt, these cuddly friends have provided years of comfort and love to children world wide.

Choosing the right teddy bear for a baby is relatively easy. Look for bears that have painted, or printed, eyes, instead of buttons or other doll eyes. Button eyes can be bitten off and choked on, whereas painted eyes can not.

When choosing teddy bears as baby birthday gifts, it is important to take the size of the bears, and the babies, into account. Never choose a bear that is close to the same size of the baby, especially if the child is under two. A large bear could cause suffocation if the child is allowed to sleep with it.

Building Blocks and Duplo Blocks

Building blocks make great baby birthday gifts. For younger babies, choose softer blocks that will not hurt the child if he or she falls on them, or gets hit by one.

Building blocks are a great way for children to build their dexterity, and also a great way to expand their imaginations. Who doesn’t remember building castles and forts as children?

My children especially enjoyed stacking toys that also fit inside each other. We also spent hours together playing with duplo blocks.

Books Make Great Gifts

Most babies and toddlers love to look at books. Books encourage parents to spend time with their child, and it’s also a great way to start developing a love of reading.

There are some great plastic books and board books. Some of my children’s favorites were books such as “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See” (and any other books by Eric Carle), and “Goodnight Moon” and “The Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown. My children also enjoyed the Marc Brown board books about Arthur and D.W.
If you want to get hardcover or softcover books for parents to read to their children, young children especially enjoy books by Virginia Lee Burton (such as “Katy and the Big Snow”), any of the Laura Joffe Numeroff books such as “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” and the book series by Cynthia Rylant about Mudge and the series about Mr. Putter and Tabby.

When buying books as baby birthday gifts, be sure to select books with lots of pictures and bright colors and few words. My one daughter especially enjoyed “Katy and the Big Snow” because the author included a map of the town.

All children love to receive gifts. They don’t have to be expensive and elaborate. Simple and inexpensive gifts are often much better, such as those mentioned above.

Hosting a birthday party can be extremely fun or extremely stressful, or anywhere in between. Planning for the event is one of the best ways to make it enjoyable.

To make your party a hit, and a pleasant experience for you, here are some ideas you could use:

1. Make a list of all the people you want to invite. Send the invitations and have them confirm their attendance ahead of time. Expect about 70% of those people to come.

2. Visualize the setting. Determine where you will put the tables, the food, the music, etc. For example, if you plan to have a buffet, it would be better to properly strategize the location of the table for the food. It will be a poor decision to make your guests go to the kitchen to get their food. The furniture, too, should not get in the way.

3. Plan to prepare more than enough food. It is better to have leftovers than leave your guests resorting to raiding your refrigerator when you run out of food.

4. The kind of food you will serve will also depend on the theme of the party. If it is a child’s birthday party and you want to serve more than cake and ice cream, then hot dogs and chips are a great option.

5. Set up decorations that are appropriate to the occasion and to your theme. These ornaments should set the mood of the event. Thus they should not be too distracting or too loud. Be tasteful in selecting the color, shapes and materials.

6. Do not forget the music. Plan on your audio system ahead of time. Choose the proper songs. They should generally be gay and lively, but not so loud that the guests can’t hear each other.

7. Have a program if the occasion would allow. Determine how long the event would last and choose the right activities for the event. Depending on the time of year you can have outdoor games, jumpers, and pinatas.

8. You should also consider your budget in every aspect. Make sure you do not go beyond it.

9. Have a to-do list to keep track of what you need.

10. Relax and have fun.

Just remember the saying, failing to plan is planning to fail. A well planned birthday party will definitely be a great party!

Birthday party tip number 1: Keep it simple. Don’t wear yourself out to the point that you regret throwing a birthday party.

You can help keep it simple by asking grandparents, uncles and aunts, or other parents to help. At our home my husband and I take care of the food, my older daughter and niece plan the games, and my sister keeps everything moving in an organized way.

Usually the day before the party my kids decorate (with a little help from me). The day of the party we blow up the helium balloons (which usually only last about 6 hours).

Since most of the kids in our family and extended family were born in the summer we combine the party with a swim party. Since we have the pool, that means we host the parties.

That requires a bit more organization since we will have a bunch of kids who need to dry off and get dressed. Thankfully we switched over to a filtering system that does not require chlorine so the kids no longer have to shower after swimming.

We’ve thrown so many parties that everything usually runs very smoothly and after everyone leaves I am not exhausted. In fact, I usually have the energy left to finish cleaning up.