Birthday Party Ideas for Your 1 Year Old

Tired of the boring ‘I’m 1!’ birthday paraphernalia out there? Want to have a birthday party theme of something other than teddy bears or jungle animals? It’s hard when your baby is only turning 1, they probably don’t have any favorite heroes or characters they adore. Here are a few ideas that I came up with when planning two 1 year old birthday parties:

Fish
There are plenty of cake pans out there either new or used in the shape of fish, or make cupcakes and put Swedish fish on top. Use goldfish as the party favor or bubbles. You can do a fishing game for older kids – get some inexpensive plastic fishing poles, a baby swimming pool and try to ‘hook’ some fish.


Underwater
Use the same cake pans as above for the fish theme, or an octopus, whale or seahorse. Use bubbles as favors or swim goggles. For an activity you can go to a local pool or use your own pool or sprinkler.


The Very Hungry Caterpillar (or any Eric Carle books for inspiration)
Make cupcakes and frost them green with one red one for the head and arrange on a table – you have a caterpillar cake! For party favors you can get butterfly nets or make butterfly cookies the kids can decorate. As an activity you can have the kids design their own butterfly or caterpillar and you can read the book out loud.

Additional Theme Ideas by Season

Spring
Flowers
Baseball

Summer
Beach
Red, White and Blue

Fall
Apple Harvest
Halloween

Winter
Sledding
Skating

How to Throw a Fire Truck Themed Birthday Party on a Budget

If you are looking to throw your special little guy a firefighter/fire truck/ fire station themed birthday party here are some great tips to make it a success.

1. Location – call your local fire station to see about getting a tour. Most of the time it’s free and as long as no calls come in during the tour all the focus is on your birthday boy and his friends!

2. Invites – you can make your own invites by getting plain white invites at your local office supply or super store. Find a fun fire truck or fire fighter graphic and design the invite from your own computer.

3. Favors – make fire truck shaped sugar cookies.

4. Craft – have the kids decorate the cookies with red frosting (white frosting with red food coloring works great) and some sprinkles.

5. Cake – Fire truck cakes can be pretty easy. There are lots of cake pan molds available or get really creative and craft one on your own. Do a search online for fire truck cakes and you’ll see some great pictures.

These 5 steps will get you on your way to throwing a great fire truck themed birthday party that any little boy will love! And remember, kids remember the fun they had at the party, not how much it cost!

Teacher Gift Ideas - That Teachers will Actually Like!

Looking for the perfect gift for your child’s teacher? Tired of the same old chocolate or coffee cup? Wishing it actually was something you know the teacher would want, well here you go – 10 gifts teachers will actually like!

1. Gift cards – the perfect gift for any teacher. Get one to the local coffee shop, ice cream store, grocery store or craft store. Depending on your budget you can go as high or as low as you feel comfortable with.

2. Hand-made cards from your kids. Don’t overlook the value of a homemade card. Put a little thought into it, maybe print out a picture of your cutie, add a poem, and have your child sign it or draw in it. It’s sure to melt their heart.

3. Baked goods. Whip up some homemade mini banana bread or pumpkin bread and wrap with fun colored cling wrap.

4. Bring them lunch. Make some yummy summer salads for them to enjoy. Or make some soup that they can freeze and save for a quick lunch or dinner on the run.

5. Low maintenance plants. Bring some green into their classroom with a small indoor plant that is easy to take care of, and easy to take home for the summer or school vacation weeks.

6. For women teachers – some fun jewelry. Maybe some cool earrings or a bracelet – kid friendly of course.

7. A donation in their name. If they are environmental nuts – adopt a tree or a whale, if they are dog or cat lovers donate to the local SPCA in their name. There are plenty of good causes out there to support – pick the one that fits your child’s teacher best.

8. A gift basket. Fill it with whatever you think they will like – maybe some fresh fruit and jam from the local farmers market for summer, or around the holidays some chocolates, warm socks, and gloves. Try to stick with a theme so everything doesn’t seem random.

9. Homemade thank you notes. Buy some inexpensive blank cards at a craft store and have your child decorate them with fun pictures. Write one line inside or on the outside cover – Thank You. Now the teachers will have thank you notes to send out to all the other parents who gave them gifts!

10. A memory book. Fill a small journal with memories your child has of his/her time with the teacher. Add some pictures and quotes, and of course artwork from your child. It’s the gift every teacher will remember for a long time.

5 Easy Summertime Recipes For Kids

Looking for fun and easy summertime recipes that don't break the bank or take all afternoon to prepare? Here are a few of my family's favorites:

1. Chocolate banana pops - Take a ripe banana, stick a Popsicle stick in one end and put in freezer. Melt some semisweet chocolate and coat the almost frozen bananas, place on parchment paper and stick them back in the freezer for about an hour. You can also add sprinkles to the pops before you freeze them or switch it up with white chocolate. Yummy!

2. Swizzle sticks - Swizzle sticks are simply cut up cubed or other fun shaped fruit (cookie cutters work best in circles, hearts or stars), pop them on a skewer, and stick them in the freezer for a bit. You end up with a great frozen treat that your kids can eat as-is, or stick them in some fun fruit juice, water or lemonade for added pizzazz.

3. Dirt - There are many variations to this recipe out there so feel free to find your favorite. The idea behind this one is you take pudding, whipped cream, Oreo cookies crushed up, and any other sweet treats you can think of and layer them in a bowl. To get really creative, wash out an old beach pail or flower pot (without a hole- or cover before you begin) and layer in that - it's great to bring to a friend's house for a BBQ treat! We like to add gummy worms to our dirt as the topping for a cool effect.

4. Scotch-a-roos - A chocolate and peanut butter spin on rice crispy treats. Put 6 cups of rice crisp cereal in a bowl. Melt 1 cup sugar, 1 cup kayro lite syrup and 1 cup peanut butter (you can leave this out if you are going somewhere where nuts are a no-no) in a sauce pan. Stir frequently until everything is combined and it comes to a slight boil. Pour sugar mixture into the rice crisp and mix up well. Quickly put into an 8x10 backing pan and pack down. You can use sandwich baggies to cover your hands so you don't get the sticky mess all over them. Melt ½ bag semisweet chocolate chips and ½ bag of butterscotch bits in a pan until melted, pour over the rice crisp in the baking pan and chill for about 30 minutes. Cut and enjoy!

5. Coconut smoothies - Now these might take a little planning to make sure you have whole coconuts in your house, but they are worth it! Take whole coconuts, gently break in half with a small hammer on the floor (on a towel), and take any broken bits and scoop out the coconut meat as well as any juice that is in the coconut. In a blender - take ½ cup yogurt, ½ cup ice, coconut juice and meat, and any other fruit you'd like to add like pineapple, banana or strawberries. You can also skip the authentic coconut part and just get some coconut juice in your local grocery store and use fun plastic cups to serve your summertime treat.

5 Inexpensive Ways to Entertain Your Kids This Summer

Summer is here and the kids are done with school for the next few months. Here are some great ways to entertain your kids of various ages at home without spending a ton of money in the process.

1. Turn on that sprinkler! Save some money and instead of visiting the local pool, turn on your own sprinkler that you water your garden with. It should entertain your kids and their friends.

2. Have a picnic without leaving your house. Simply make some sandwiches, cut up some yummy summertime favorites like watermelon and strawberries, grab some juice boxes or water and head outside. Grab an old quilt or beach towels and make a large area for your little ones to sit on.

3. Run a neighborhood iced tea or lemonade stand. Grab a small table, make a quick sign and mix up some drinks. Your kids will love that they can make a few dollars and they learn the value of money.

4. Make an obstacle course. You can use your existing outdoor toys like your sandbox, swing set, baby pool and bikes to create an obstacle course your kids will love. You can even go as far as to award prizes to the kids who perform the best at each obstacle - like swing the highest or make the best sandbox. Just grab some computer paper, a marker and some scissors and make quick prize ribbons that you can stick on with double sided tape.

5. A fun nighttime activity is to grab some chairs and head outside with old spaghetti sauce jars and try to collect fireflies - kids are amazed and so are adults at how cool those little bugs can be! Just make sure to poke some holes in the lids for the bugs and to release them the next morning.
6. Another fun nighttime activities is to watch a movie outside. If you work in an office, borrow a projector that you can hook up to your laptop, hang a sheet on the side of your house, and throw some blankets and pillows outside to watch a movie. For those areas where the bugs are too annoying at night, try putting up a tent outside and projecting on the side of the tent. Outdoor movies are Instant fun for kids of all ages.

These are just a few ways to keep your summer days fun, cool off a bit and enjoy the summer the economical way.

About Me

Hi, I'm Katie Jacques and this is my first personal blog.

I am a mother to 2 young boys who keep me very busy and I work full-time for a software company.

As a working mom, I am constantly trying to make the time I have with my kids fun and easy. Easy recipes, fun crafts, outdoor activities and fun places to visit are just a few of my favorite things to read about and write about.

Check out my blog when you can about these great topics and also reviews of great, 'can't live without it' mom products.