1st birthday party

[xoxodashmax]

My daughter is turning 1 on Valentine's Day and I want to throw her a Hello Kitty (or something along the line of V-day) themed b-day party. I need ideas & help finding a deal on food, games, decorations. It's only my husband paying so we're on a very strict budget - possibly $150 is our limit with 20+ guests.
Althought it's in a few months, I've never thrown a party before and want the best deals I can get.

[radford]

My daughter is turning 1 on Valentine's Day and I want to throw her a Hello Kitty (or something along the line of V-day) themed b-day party. I need ideas & help finding a deal on food, games, decorations. It's only my husband paying so we're on a very strict budget - possibly $150 is our limit with 20+ guests.
Althought it's in a few months, I've never thrown a party before and want the best deals I can get.

If you look around theres a ton of napkins, baskets and plates with Hello Kitty on them. Theres a ton of stuff in Amazon if you cant find it locally. You could get some of that stuff at the lowest price and get a Hello Kitty cake at a local bakery. Sams club also does custom cakes I think -- maybe some supermarket around your area does too at a cheap price.

Theres also candy too with Hello Kitty on them which you could make a little gift basket with, maybe that and some crayons and a small coloring book or something.

You could probably print out Hello Kitty pictures on your printer and cut them out as decorations and buy a few balloons.

Im not sure about the games since 1 yr old babies seem only a few steps above an amoeba so Im not sure what kind of games they could play. Maybe some sing a long if you have some Hello Kitty music.

[claddaghmom]

hello kitty is a good choice for a budget.

We're doing chuck e. cheeses but not a scheduled party. I think you can get even cheaper if you buy non-themed napkins that match...for example, pink napkins for hello kitty. And check out your dollar store/dollar deals. The dollar store near us has a great balloon and party favor section. dirt cheap.

[Smithkids5521]

Hello Kitty is a great V-day theme... I think you can get away really cheap for this 1st birthday party... we parents always feel the need to go all out for the big 1st birthday- but it's more for us than it is for them... she won't remember it, I promise! LOL!!

Just order some pizzas for the grown ups (you can find some great codes for Dominoes on this site!) and... gosh. I can't even remember what a 1 year old can eat. So, get whatever she can eat... and for the cake- your local bakery can create one for you. Just be sure to order a cupcake or some smaller cake- so your baby can tear into it! Those are great pictures- cake all over themselves! haha!!!

Check dollar stores, Ollie's or Big Lots (if you have any nearby) for cheap decorations and forks, knives, plates, etc. Don't stress- just have a good time.
Wait until she gets older to stress- I am trying to plan a party for my 6 turning 7 year old- now that is stress. Every place I check is over $300 not including any food... yikes!!!!!

[caveat_venditor]

You can easily throw a first bday party for $150. Regarding food, if you have your party at 2 or 3, people will have already eaten lunch, and you can get by serving sandwiches, chips, and cake/cupcakes. Rather than buying a bakery cake, save money by making your own cupcakes. There are Hello Kitty cupcake picks (actually rings) that you can top your cupcakes w/.

As for decorations, Hello Kitty is everywhere. I just put search in ebay for "hello kitty party supplies," and there were 378 listings. By getting this early of a start, you can pick up things here and there as you run across them. Good luck!

[LILRAT2]

If you have nice decorations and good food you'll be just fine....buy streamers and lots of balloons these are very cheap but look pretty...buy a cake from Costco or Sam's club and throw hello kitty decorations on it....

[kaort79]

I'm currently planning my son's first birthday also. For favors I am filling empty baby food jars with Hershey Kisses, which around Valentine's day you can get them in red & white wrappers. I am going to make labels for them that say Happy 1st Birthday with the date on them.

Instead of a banner, I am going to decorate poster board with pics of my son throughout his first year. I'm also thinking of using this for quests to write on.

Good Luck!