A Jeopardy!-themed First Birthday Party

We celebrated L’s first birthday almost two months ago now (!), hosting family at our house for an afternoon of Jeopardy!

Let me start by saying I love birthdays. But I grew out of party-planning sometime in early adolescence. I wanted to celebrate, but I didn’t need a theme or favors or a big cake. Dinner with my friends and family or an adventure of some sort was more fun for me.

Pinterest can make you feel like a failure real quick if you don’t plan a picture-perfect, punny birthday party for your 1-year-old. No judgment toward the mamas who make those parties happen! I’m just not one of them.

I wanted to pick a theme that felt appropriate for L based on his interests and that involved minimal prep.

First birthday party theme

We decided to host a Jeopardy!-themed first birthday party because we’ve watched Jeopardy! as a family since L was 5ish months old. I know, I know…”screen time” and all that. But Jeopardy! is a relatively mellow program compared to other shows on TV, with minimal visual stimulation. Plus, L loves dancing to the theme song!

The most time-intensive aspect of party prep was coming up with the categories and clues for our Jeopardy! board. We started a few months before his birthday and slowly added clues to the list.

Here are the Jeopardy! categories we landed on:

Birth Day – Example clue: L made his debut at this time.
Birth Month – Example clue: L’s astrological sign; the “Harvest Maiden”.
Firsts – Example clue: L’s first food, which is rich in Vitamin A.
Favorites – Example clue: L’s favorite stuffies; a trio of friends.
He Got This From – Example clue: Raising one eyebrow. (Answer is mom or dad.)

I wrote each clue on an 8.5×11 sheet of dark blue cardstock and taped them onto a wall in our kitchen to form the Jeopardy! board. This became the focal decoration for the party, and the backdrop for our photos.

I purchased an assortment of blue balloons and balloon stands (because we weren’t using helium), a blue Happy Birthday banner, and blue plates, napkins, and utensils to complete the decorations.

The night before his birthday, after L had gone to sleep, my mom and I went to the grocery store to buy a couple helium balloons to surprise L in the morning! We clipped them to two of his stuffies on his play mat in our living room.

First birthday smash cake

I’m fortunate to have a mom who loves to bake and is very good at it! She made L this sweet potato cake recipe, which we found on Pinterest. We placed his cake on a special birthday plate that I’d made at a paint-your-own-pottery store before he was born.

The cake had blue sprinkles, a #1 birthday candle, and a Happy Birthday topper that I asked my sister to pick up at the grocery store the morning of the party (because I didn’t have everything perfectly planned, ha!).

He wasn’t sure what to do with the cake at first, and he was slightly upset because our reaction to him almost snuffing the candle flame with his hand startled him. He cautiously dipped a finger into the icing first, then pinched off a piece to eat. I’m sure all the adults circling him with phones contributed to his confusion. For his next birthday, I may consider designating one person as a photographer so that he isn’t bombarded with paparazzi.

My mom also baked Nutella chocolate cupcakes for the adults. And yes, I gave L a few bites of my chocolate cupcake because, duh.

First birthday gifts

If you’re looking for birthday gifts for a 1-year-old, here are some ideas based on what L received and enjoyed:

Toniebox – So fun! Especially for a boy who loves music and dancing.
Balance bike – It took some learning, as L wasn’t yet walking when he turned 1, but he got the hang of it real quick.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late – We’re becoming a Pigeon fam… these books by Mo Willems are a hit with L.
Nugget – A MUST for an active, curious toddler!
Clothes – Believe it or not, L had the most fun opening the gift bags containing clothes. He’s worn most of what he received, too! For a growing boy in the upper 90s percentile-wise, clothes were much appreciated.

Other first birthday details

I designed his birthday invitation on Canva and texted it to our family members. I did this because 1. It was fun for me, 2. It was free!, and 3. It made for a cute keepsake when I printed it out as a photo.

L wore a Winnie the Pooh “Birthday Bear” t-shirt, which I plan to add to his box of baby mementos. He loves Winnie the Pooh, so I had to incorporate the hunny-loving bear somehow! The thank-you cards I mailed to family after the party were also Winnie-the-Pooh themed.

We served his birthday cake on a plate I painted the summer before he was born. My sister recommended we create a birthday plate and a milk-and-cookies plate, which I thought was a cute idea! It makes for a fun little birthday tradition.

Lunch was a help-yourself buffet! My parents smoked BBQ and baked sourdough buns, and we ordered sides from a local BBQ restaurant. My mother-in-law baked macaroni and cheese.

We’re grateful to have family who love our little guy so much and were willing to help us plan a fun and memorable day for him! Cheers to 1 YEAR!