One could say that the differences between a 1st birthday and a baby shower is that the child is already born and is not a baby anymore. Although, first time parents don’t really see any differences in the beginning.
If you are viewing the plans on paper, these are just another two parties. The time line, the scheduling, even the type of decorations or food that is needed seem to be exactly the same. Both have games, gifts, similar themes, and all other categories are exactly the same.
You may even see a sameness in the themes utilized for a 1st birthday party and a baby shower, although you can also use different themes for a first birthday. However, that is where the sameness comes to an end. Baby showers usually are just planned around the adults, who quite easily adapt to new things but a 1st birthday party has the unpredictable factor of little children.
This is the reason why many planners advocate keeping the 1st birthday party small, so that it will be easier to have some control with so many children and have them entertained constantly. When dealing with two or three children, there is not so much problem. But multiply those children to a group of eight or ten, and you may have trouble on your hands. For larger parties, make sure you have someone to help manage all the little children and plan some activities to keep them busy.
If one toddler can cause a mess, imagine what ten excited ones are capable of. For example, you’ll be choosing your decorations based on your theme. A baby shower probably posed no problem, since you could make washcloth decorations with straight pins, for example, and know that your guest couldn’t possibly stick a fork into an exposed electrical outlet. You’ll need to check how safe the party area is and make sure that any possible accidents are taken care of in advance.
You can have balloons on the floor to simulate the sea or corals in an Under the Sea baby shower but that would be very dangerous for a toddler’s birthday party. Children have been known to ingest balloons, which just results in a hectic emergency trip to the hospital. Better to tack the balloons onto the walls and have some large toys on the floor for the children to play with.
No less important is food here. While you could conceivably have an all-blue menu for your baby shower, it’s a rare child that will eat blue-tinted marbleized hard boiled eggs or spaghetti dyed blue. Make sure that your food has tried and true favorites on the menu. Safe foods are baby vegetables with a creamy dip, grilled cheese sandwiches or plain cheese pizzas, cold oven-fried chicken, and lots and lots of cookies. Try to think back to when you were a child and your preferences then. Children will also forget to inform you that they are allergic to chicken, maybe, or that they are lactose intolerant. It’s best to get in touch with the parents before the party to find out if some foods are no-nos.
Birthday candles are not present at showers, either, although at first birthdays, a single candle is placed on the cake to mark the 1st birthday. The gifts are also different of course for a 1 year old baby than a newborn.