On First Birthday Parties

If you think first birthday parties don’t matter, you probably won’t like this party deep dive.

Our party spread, all but one sausage roll devoured.

Our youngest turned one and we threw a little party for family, godparents, and some beloved baby friends. The party brief was reasonably simple;

• a classic, nostalgic and good vibes kid’s birthday

• dairy free (for the birthday girl) with other allergy options (for the guests)

• vaguely farmyard themed (think, a red checked tablecloth but no hay bales)

People will say that a first birthday party is not for the baby, it’s for the parents. In a way, this is true. For our family, this was a celebration of a year as a family of four that has been a rollercoaster and feels like a big achievement for us. But it also IS for the baby. It’s affirming the worth and value of the birthday girl or boy to all the adults and bigger kids in their life who are setting aside time to come and celebrate, to think about that baby and how life is different with them around which will only strengthen their relationship with her as she grows. I truly do think it’s a special moment to mark that this little person is not only here to stay but their own person with a place in your little society, which is worth making fairy bread and sausage rolls for.

♡ A Birthday Party Menu ♡

The Birthday Cake

The most important part of any birthday party is a good place to start. Old photographs of homemade birthday cakes are, to me, synonymous with happy childhood memories. For my daughter’s first cake, I made a Victoria sponge, with a minimal amount of buttercream and jam in between and on top. Not too sweet and dairy free for our birthday girl with a cow’s milk protein allergy. I am not a talented cake decorator and so I’m a very big fan of the trend of putting toy animals on top of your cake and calling it a day. I was, however, up at 11pm the night before the party making a little fence out of paddle pop sticks for her farm animals. You don’t want to serve so much food that the cake is ignored and, I think, you do want to do sparklers for any child too young to blow out the candles.

Toy animals are notoriously badly behaved on top of birthday cakes, like the wonky brown sheep here.

Butterfly Cakes

These are probably an optional extra if you’ve made a cake too, but I love the look of these little cupcakes with their butterfly wings, made by cutting the top off the cake and arranging it back in halves, stuck in place with jam. They’re also a good opportunity to sneak in some dietary accommodations to the table. I made these gluten free as well as dairy free to serve the coeliacs and other gluten-free people at the party. I like that you don’t have to slather them with icing like a regular cupcake and that they add a nostalgic feel to the spread.

Fairy cakes with raspberry jam, one already stolen before I could get a photograph.

Fairy Bread

A birthday party essential in my corner of the world. It’s sprinkles, butter and bread, but it’s also the backbone of an Australian childhood and birthday party. We outsourced this to the birthday girl’s godparents, and they hit it out of the park. Adults will pretend they’re not excited and eat two pieces while you’re not looking.

Fairy Bread: A Cultural Institution

Sausage Rolls

A sausage roll is the savoury champion of a classic birthday party (and this is quickly becoming a sausage roll fan blog). I used the recipe from Kate Young whose cookbook I wrote about here and here. They were served hot and passed around the party and I had to chase after the plate to get one for myself. Kate’s recipes are truly delicious. She includes wholefood ingredients including onion and carrot so you can tell yourself that your children are eating their veggies as they devour roll after roll.

Baby Bites

If you’re inviting lots of babies, you are probably also inviting lots of parents with different ideas about whether their baby is ready for Victoria sponge cake. To love parents of every point on the dietary spectrum, I made some low sugar Almond-Apricot Flapjacks (think an oaty slice) from Rebecca Wilson’s book Fast Family Food. They are sweetened with prunes and also dairy and egg free and easily cut into perfect rectangles for little hands to grab.

Baby flapjacks

Punch, Fruit and Crudité

All important parts of a party! Especially one with lots of babies present where fruit and crudité double as baby snacks, but you can outsource these to family members who want to help as they’re quite easy to prepare and bring along. A first birthday party is definitely the time to lean into community and enjoy the gift of a village of people who love your little one.