A child’s first birthday brings excitement, but it can also stir up stress. You spend weeks or maybe months deciding on the perfect theme, food and entertainment. Wanting to turn your child’s birthday into a momentous occasion, you read all the magazines that suggest ways to make this day special. Authors suggest inviting only a few guests, scheduling the party around your child’s nap time and keeping it simple. However, they obviously don’t know that your husband’s immediate family consists of at least 30 well-wishers. So you extend invitations to the entire family, his and yours, plus some of your closest friends. Realizing this means 50 people might wind up at your home, you specify a specific start and end time on the invitations, just like the parenting expert recommended in the magazine.
A week passes as you continue to pour yourself into this party. Your mother-in-law calls and demands to know why you don’t want to be around her family since according to the invitations, they can only stay two hours. You calmly reply that you son needed to take his nap since he’d be exhausted from the party. Also, you tell her she can stay longer if she prefers. She says you should have sent separate invitations without a time limit to the family and the other invites to the “outsiders.” Tears roll down your face and you explain that everyone in your child’s life is equally important.
After hanging up and crying on your husband’s shoulder, you draw the focus back to your child. Your plan to make his day spectacular makes you realize you can’t please everyone. So you decide to dwell on your little boy’s happiness and let everyone else’s wishes take second place. Then you bring the fun back to the party planning as you look for the perfect outfit for your little man to wear on his big day. Do you go with a cutesy “my first birthday t-shirt” or a dressier outfit like a polo shirt and cargo pants? The choice is yours, but a polo or button up shirt in a vibrant color will show up best in photographs. It will also make your son look put together and really adorable. Check out all the great options in our baby boy section and have it shipped right to your door.
