[TheDivinePuЯple]

I have a question concerning birthday parties...

do you typically open presents, then have cake... or have cake and then open presents?

a lot of people say cake 1st, then presents, but my kid's turning one and the big thing with that is letting him tear apart his own cake and make a mess of himself

so would it disrupt the flow of the party to do gifts first, then cake?

it's a 1st for me, so idk what's proper or what's to be expected...

[TheDivinePuЯple]

oh, and i welcome anyone else that has parent-related questions to ask them here if theyd like to!

[Pirate]

I've never thrown a 1st birthday party but logically...I'd do gifts first. Reason why is because if you let him have cake first, he's gonna get cake everywhere when he's eating it and then you'd have to wash him up before presents. Washing him up in between cake and presents might interrupt the flow of the party because I dunno about Jackson but Dakota hates getting her face and hands washed and she pitches a fit every time. If he does throw a fit when you wash his face and hands, do presents first. You don't want him being cranky.

[TheDivinePuЯple]

oh yea, jack hates being washed up... and loves grabbing the cloth or my hands and giving them a big shove lol

i figured thats what i would do, i just didnt know if thats what people expect at a party or what, ya know?

last kid's party i went to was for a 3 yr old, and of course they had cake then presents

[Choklit Cow]

You have officially reached the psycho-detail-oriented mothering stage. I think its best to sit back, relax, and reflect upon how worried you are about other people when it comes to birthday traditions. Plus, its your kid.

[Pantyshot]

Choklit Cow, on 03 September 2010 - 10:21 PM, said:

You have officially reached the psycho-detail-oriented mothering stage. I think its best to sit back, relax, and reflect upon how worried you are about other people when it comes to birthday traditions. Plus, its your kid.

No kidding. Just let it all happen.

[danni mcdannidan]

I really do not inderstand the making a mess of the cake thing. Is it just in America? Just seems filthy and a waste of money.

And personally, a waste of cake!

[a.n.t]

Presents before cake. I mean presents as soon as they've woken up, and if any kids brings presents to the party then I'd be inclined to go with after cake. You don't relegate cake to second place for anything.

[TheDivinePuЯple]

Choklit Cow, on 04 September 2010 - 12:21 AM, said:

You have officially reached the psycho-detail-oriented mothering stage. I think its best to sit back, relax, and reflect upon how worried you are about other people when it comes to birthday traditions. Plus, its your kid.

Quote

No kidding. Just let it all happen.

thank you! things do need to be put into perspective sometimes!
ive had a lot of people tell me im going overboard, but it's a celebration for me too, so its kind of a big deal to me to have a nice, big party
my parents think it should just be family having dinner and cake after, but i feel like thats no different than any other day we go over for dinner, just with cake at the end



i see its going to rain that weekend, so im having it indoors (wanted it outside at the local park)... but i wanted jack and the other babies coming to be able to crawl around on the ground, so now im not sure about the indoor party. i can sweep and mop beforehand, but now im wondering if it would be weird to ask ppl to take their shoes off before they come into the party room to make sure the floor stays clean?


the guest list has to be reworked, but otherwise i think it'll be a good time!

Quote

I really do not inderstand the making a mess of the cake thing. Is it just in America? Just seems filthy and a waste of money.

seems to just be the tradition around here... jack's getting his own small sugar-free cake to go to town on

[eviscera]

My niece's first birthday party went presents as soon as we got there, and then cake after everyone showed up. Our family gatherings are very laid-back, though. Sometimes people don't show up until well after the time things begin.

I wouldn't worry about what people expect, either. Children are unpredictable, why should their parties be any different?

[Deb Disaster]

Choklit Cow, on 04 September 2010 - 12:21 AM, said:

You have officially reached the psycho-detail-oriented mothering stage. I think its best to sit back, relax, and reflect upon how worried you are about other people when it comes to birthday traditions. Plus, its your kid.

A-fucking-men to that.

Next thing you know, she's going to organise seating based on food allergies, or something.

[Broken Apart]

Well... I see where you're going with that but I think the food allergies thing is actually kind of important and not obsessive at all to do, if there are actually children who will be attending with food allergies. You don't screw around with that.

[Deb Disaster]

Broken Apart, on 06 September 2010 - 12:32 PM, said:

Well... I see where you're going with that but I think the food allergies thing is actually kind of important and not obsessive at all to do, if there are actually children who will be attending with food allergies. You don't screw around with that.

*Sigh* Nevermind.

[xhryzt]

How come when I was a kid, no one had to worry about food allergies. Now all of a sudden every kid is allergic to something.

[a.n.t]

It's a sorry state of affairs when people are allergic to food.

[Broken Apart]

Deb Disaster, on 06 September 2010 - 10:52 AM, said:

*Sigh* Nevermind.

Okay? I'm just going off of what you wrote.

[xhryzt]

a.n.t, on 06 September 2010 - 01:27 PM, said:

It's a sorry state of affairs when people are allergic to food.

Indeed. Pretty sure kids in third world countries don't have "food allergies".

[CK_]

xhryzt, on 06 September 2010 - 06:14 PM, said:

Indeed. Pretty sure kids in third world countries don't have "food allergies".

There's no food for them to eat, how are they going to know if they're allergic to something?

[Broken Apart]

I assume it has to do with our artificial environment - the chemicals, additives, hormones, etc. that we're all exposed to from day one. Exposure just gets worse as time goes on... there's more in our food and everything else we touch with each passing day. All these weird allergies and disorders these days may not be entirely caused by it but there's no doubt in my mind that it at least contributes.

[TheDivinePuЯple]

Deb Disaster, on 06 September 2010 - 12:28 PM, said:

A-fucking-men to that.

Next thing you know, she's going to organise seating based on food allergies, or something.

i didnt really think i was being obsessive over the whole thing... ive just never thrown a children's party before, so i wasnt sure of what order things were typically done