Its exciting isnt it. It really depends on how much you want to do and how much you want to spend. Ive done pretty much every party you could possibly do but for first birthdays i tend to keep it to a minimum. For Sammy's birthday we had a teddy bear picnic theme so the kids brought their teddybears, we had a teddybear cake, honey sandwiches, honey joys etc and hot food. We played teddy bear games like drop the teddybear (drop the hanky) and teddybear statues.

Bouncy castles are great fun to occupy a range of kids though. We have used them several times and they have always been a big bit. The old macdonald farms too with all the little animals as well look great. I actually was interested in doing that for Sammy's 2nd birthday but it is a bit pricey ($400+) so we are going to the zoo instead.

For lolly bags ive done a range from healthy snacks like honey popcorn, dried fruits, right through to the lollies and sherbets etc. I guess it depends on the ages of children coming.

Hope its a blast

Jo