7 First Birthday Party Themes for Your Little Cutie ...

Whether it's princesses for a little girl or Buzz Lightyear for a boy, you can never go wrong with Disney birthday party themes. Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Daisy- the possibilities are endless. A more unisex approach could be Disney in general, choosing one film such as 101 Dalmatians and playing pin the tail on the puppy. Or perhaps having an Alice in Wonderland tea party for everyone, complete with petit fours and scones.

There are so many different things you can do with a carnival theme. You can have a clown, face painting, and a bounce house for the older kiddos. You can create carnival themed games like the bean bag toss, and the balloon pop, all with small prizes to give the winners. Having a cotton candy machine, snow cones, or even a popcorn machine would add to the atmosphere. Hiring a magician or a balloon animal guy would seal the deal on your carnival-themed party and make it one to remember.

A barnyard party is for any little cowboy or cowgirl who loves farm animals. You could have hay rides and a petting zoo, hats and scarves for the little ones in training. Decorate with barnyard themes: red checkered table cloths, sunflowers, and green tractors. The food would be eaten with shovels (spoons) and pitchforks (forks), and the milk out of cow-spotted bottles.

A party with One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish and Blue Fish! There are plenty of rhymes and fun games to be created under this birthday party theme, such as pin the cat on the hat. You can play around with colors and decorations, and you can make Cat in the Hat parfaits alternating between red Jell-O and whipped cream for dessert. Add a photo booth with wacky pieces like Thing 1 and Thing 2 wigs, and you're good to go!

Sometimes, even though the child is young, they have a favorite book. Perhaps it's Curious George, or maybe The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You can come up with all sorts of games and ideas for those themes. You can give out monkeys in a barrel as the party favor for the Curious George party, and make caterpillar kabobs with green and red grapes for a Very Hungry Caterpillar's party snack.

Let's face it: the baby is a baby. There is no way he or she will ever remember this party other than photo evidence, so why not go all out and celebrate you? Have adult drinks and adult conversations, maybe base the theme around your favorite things. Make sure your baby is involved with some small gesture like a smash cake, but tailor the theme to your interests.

When I was a year old, I liked cats (still do). So my parents based my party around cats. I had a cat cake with cat decorations and a whole bunch of other moms with one year old babies came over. It was a great party that was based around me, but socialized around my parents. Even though your baby is tiny, he or she is old enough to have started taking a liking to something, so formulate a theme around them, no matter how simple, and run with the idea. Be sure to have a photographer to capture the moments no matter what!

When you're child is as little as a year old, it can be difficult to come up with birthday party themes or even justify a birthday party at all. I promise you, it's worth it. You want to celebrate the little life that has blessed you so abundantly over the past year. Here are just a few ideas that will help you do just that. What are some first birthday party themes you've come up with?