9 Valid Reasons Why to Use a Party Planner for a 1st Birthday Party

If you are considering hosting your child's 1st birthday party, give serious thought to hiring a professional planner to assist in the planning, implementation, production, and overseeing, so that your vision for this special event is fulfilled.

Event Planners or Party Planners specialize in overseeing events from start to finish. Individuals, corporations, marketing firms, and associations throughout the world use their expertise.

If you have been to, seen, or heard about an event that WOWs people, there is a good chance that there is a Party Planner behind the scene making sure everything runs smoothly.

Here are 9 valid reasons why you should consider hiring a Party Planner to help produce your child's 1st birthday party.

1. Stress Reduction – Anything new is stressful and the self-imposed obsession to get your child's 1st birthday perfect can cause sleepless nights and conflicts with spouse and family, all adding tension to an event that is supposed to be joyful.  A professional Party Planner can reduce stress and oversee all the details, ensuring a successful event.
2. Network of Professionals – The Party Planner's job is to secure the best talent possible.  Do not rely on a website boasting, slick advertisement, or special reduced pricing.  Use the Planner's network of professional resources.
3. Experience – When your job and reputation is on the line, settling for okay is not an option.  Years of experience has taught these individuals the art of producing a successful party.
4. Creates the Vision – You have a theme, an idea, and a specific way you want your child's 1st birthday party to be, and the benefit of working with a Party Planner is that you only need to explain it once.  Their job is to make your dream a reality.
5. Negotiate Price - Professional buyers know a good price when they hear one and smell the bad deals before the ink dries on the contract. These are the individuals you want working for you when planning a 1st birthday party.
6. Stays Within Budget – Making dreams come true is not cheap, but when you are forced to work within a budget and do not have the power to increase prices, you make things happen.  The benefit of a Planner is the final detachment.  He or she can make decisions based on needs, not wants, allowing the party to be spectacular and on budget.
7. Professional Idea Machine – Pinterest.com is a great place for ideas, but when it comes to making it happen, it is just a website.  What you need in your corner is a person whose professional career is creating spectacular ambiance, not a crafter who takes pretty pictures and posts them on the Internet.
8. Provides Freedom –Let the Party Planner do the mundane jobs. You are the CEO of this event and your responsibilities are just to say "Yes" or "No". The Party Planner does the grunt work and research. After all, as a parent, you have an infant, children, spouse, co-workers, and extended family members all seeking your attention. Free up your time and let the Party Planner do the work.
9. Watching Your Back – Great people know they must rely on quality people to make sure an event runs correctly.  Watching your back is the Party Planner. Like a Vegas Floor Boss, they are monitoring for any problems and correcting them before you or your guests ever get a glimpse that a problem exists.

About the Author

Dale Obrochta is a professional entertainer that has participated in hundreds of 1st birthday parties and consistently works with Event Planners to insure the success of a party.  The knowledge shared has been gained from working with parents and Party Planners.

DYI to a 1st Birthday Photo Shoot

I am the type of mom that likes to do crafty stuff.  For my sons 1st birthday party I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that he was the birthday boy.  I, of course, looked around on the internet for fun pictures.  I found one I thought was fun and put my spin on it.  This is what I did for my son's 1st birthday invite.

1. I used two old sheets.  You need old sheets to do this because it gets messy.
2. I positioned it so that  both sheets acted as one big backdrop.  I had some of it on the floor and some or most of it behind him.  I needed to have it held up by something so we used a couple of ladders.  Two utility clamps fastened it onto the ladder creating a vertical backdrop.
3. I blew up some balloons for abeyance and lucky for me my husband has helium tank, but you can get helium balloons at your local party store.  I found blue balloons with the #1 and  happy birthday on them.  Balloons can be purchased at the local party supply store too.  I have seen them at  Wal-Mart or Target, just check by the birthday cards. Arrange the balloons at different levels around the backdrop. This formed the backdrop for my son picture.
4. I added a spotlight to for more light in the room. It was not a professional spotlight, but an automotive spotlight that my husband had in the garage.  When taking digital picture you want make sure you have enough light in the room. Adding to much light will cause dark shadows, so play around with the lighting.
5. I also bought a hat for him, it was a little something that I was going to have him wear for his party, but thought he looked cute in it.
6. The most important thing, besides the birthday boy, was the cake.  It was a one tier cake I bought at the local grocery store.  You can make one, but for all of the effort necessary to have it look great, it's just easier to buy one.  I know it is a little cheaper to make it but time is money too.

Those are all of the things you will need to do the photo shoot.  Now, for the pictures.  We stripped him down to his diaper because, frankly, it was cuter. Also, I did not have to get more cake into his hair when I needed to take off his shirt. Something to remember at the birthday party.  It's cute to see them full of cake, but it just more mess later for me to clean up.

When he was down to the diaper, I plopped him onto the sheet and tried to get him to stay there until I brought the cake out.  He sat still because he had no idea what was going on.  When I put the cake in front of him there was no hesitation.  He dug right in.

Start taking pictures and don't stop.  I took so many pictures and I had a blast doing it.

By the time I was done taking pictures he was full of cake and needed to take a bath after. However, it was worth it.  Make sure that the bigger part of the sheet is covering the floor, because you DO NOT want cake frosting in the carpet. Unless your getting new carpet, which I wasn't.

Well that is how did my own DYI photo shoot.  I hope that this encourages you to do your own 1st birthday party invites.  It was fun for me an my husband and hopefully, it will be fun for you too.

I have an extra invitation set aside for my son when he gets engages, just to show his fiancé.  Oh, what fun I will have showing off this picture and remembering the memories made that day.

About the Author
Michelle Obrochta, is wife and mother.  She managers and operations and online balloon supply store and work with her husbands balloon entertainment business.

How to Plan A Child's First Birthday Party While Making It Special

Define what you're good at.  Can you cook, craft, bake, organize?  What skills do you bring to the party?

Define what others are good at doing.  My wife has informed me many times, "Honey, I need some balloon decorations, like super heroes." I'm a professional balloon entertainer, no big deal, but my wife would not ask her brother-in-law, the electrician, to make balloon figures.

Network with friends – This may be your first child, but the neighbor down the street is on their seventh child and has a lot of leftover birthday supplies / ideas.  Some of the best decorations are sitting in a closet just waiting to be used, or, better yet, find a new home.

Hire people – Do not expect family to be servers, or relatives to entertain a crowd.  Hire professionals who can make your event special, classy, and unique.

Delegate -  1st birthdays are special, and you will find many people in your family who would like to contribute to your child's special event. Aunts, uncles, and grandparents would be happy to help out on this special day if you ask them.

About the Author
Dale Obrochta is a professional entertainer who specializes in making larger groups of people laugh as one, while adding the personal touch making it extra special for the guest. Solve your entertainment needs like hundreds of other clients by contacting Dale. Its the right solution.