I have never met a one-year-old who cared what the tablecloth looked like. The theme is for you, not for them: it settles the food, the decor and the invitation in one decision, so you can close the twenty tabs and get on with the nice part.
These are the twelve I get asked about most. Each one comes with the colours, the food and the matching set, so you can pick in about five minutes and be done.
1. One Silly Goose
If you want the safe choice, this is it. More families pick this one than anything else I make, and it has held that spot for two years.
Gingham, daisies and a slightly ridiculous goose. It works because the joke is affectionate rather than clever: the birthday child is the silly goose, and every grandparent gets it straight away. Butter yellow, soft blue and white, with a pink version if you want it warmer. A gingham cloth, daisies in jam jars and one goose balloon is the whole decor brief, and the food is a picnic.
Invitation
Neutral gingham and daisies. Blue and pink versions of the same design exist too.
Shop the invitation
Adoption certificate game
Guests adopt a goose and fill in the certificate. The piece people talk about afterwards.
Shop the game
Time capsule
A sign and cards for notes to open on the eighteenth birthday. Keeps the adults busy.
Shop the time capsule2. Bun Is Turning One
The lowest-effort theme here, because the barbecue was happening anyway. Red gingham, a grill, condiment labels, done.
Best for a backyard where half the guest list is adults who would rather eat a burger than a cupcake. The food plan is the theme: a build-your-own burger bar, labels out, everyone serves themselves. That one decision covers catering, activity and decor together. Skip the balloon arch.
Invitation
The pun that does all the work. Red gingham, a burger, and a date.
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Party bundle
Invitation, signs and labels in one set, so the burger bar matches the door.
Shop the bundle
Drinks and food menu
Names what is on the grill and in the cooler, so nobody has to ask you twice.
Shop the menu sign3. One Cute Chick
The one that has come from nowhere this year, and the strongest theme on this list for a girl without going pink.
Cottagecore chickens, boho daisies, warm neutrals in cream, terracotta, sage and soft ochre. It reads as a farm party without the primary-colour barnyard look that dates badly in photographs. A wooden crate, dried grasses, gingham napkins and eggs in a bowl carry the table, and anything you can serve in a basket works.
Invitation
The gender neutral beige version. There is a pink cottagecore one for a girl.
Shop the invitation
Welcome sign
At the door in the same artwork. This is the piece that makes the party look planned.
Shop the welcome sign
Favor tags
For the goodie bags, and they double as cupcake toppers if you cut them small.
Shop the favor tags4. Teddy Bear Picnic
The one families most often take as a whole set rather than piece by piece, which tells you how little thinking it asks of you.
Tartan, plaid and a vintage bear in forest green, burgundy, camel and cream. It suits a living room in February when a garden is not an option, and it photographs well under indoor light, which most themes do not. A picnic blanket on the floor, every teddy in the house, one plaid ribbon on the cake. Tiny sandwiches and honey cake, with guests sitting on the floor, which one-year-olds prefer anyway.
Invitation
Pink gingham here. Blue and a beige neutral exist in the same design.
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Milestone board
Height, weight, first word, favourite food. This is the photo everyone takes.
Shop the milestone board
Party bundle
The full set in one file, which is how most people buy this theme.
Shop the bundle5. One Happy Camper
Pick this one if there will be older cousins. Little tents, a paper campfire, a s'mores station at kid height, string lights hung low enough for small people to notice.
Pine green, rust, cream and denim blue, with woodland bears alongside the camping pieces. The three-to-six-year-olds get a camp of their own, which is the real problem most hosts are solving at a party where the guest of honour naps halfway through. Set the s'mores station away from the toddlers.
Woodland bear bundle
Invitation and decorations in one set, in the soft woodland half of the theme.
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Welcome sign
The little bear version for the door, if the party is indoors.
Shop the welcome sign
S'mores bar sign
Turns a tray of marshmallows into a station, and gives the older cousins somewhere to queue.
Shop the s'mores sign6. One Big Dill
For parents who find the whole first-birthday-theme industry a bit much. This is the one that gets forwarded between partners with no message attached.
Green, a pickle, one very good pun. Decor effort is close to zero, which is the point: green balloons, a jar of actual pickles on the table, the sign. A pickle bar for the adults and normal food for the children. Gender neutral throughout, so nothing needs choosing twice.
Party bundle
Invitation and decor together. Nine pieces exist in this theme and the bundle covers them.
Shop the bundle
Custom sign
Type whatever you need on it: the pickle bar, the cake table, the favours.
Shop the custom sign
Favor tags
Labels, stickers and cupcake toppers in one file, so the small things match too.
Shop the favor tags7. Chapter One
Guests bring a book instead of a card, and the party leaves behind something that outlasts the decorations.
Wildflowers, butterflies and open books as the centrepieces, in sage, blush, butter and soft ink blue. A tea-party spread suits it, and scones travel well and need no plates. One thing people get wrong: the bring-a-book insert has to go out with the invitation, not after it.
Chapter ONE invitation
Wildflowers and butterflies around an open book. The one most people start with.
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New Chapter invitation
The gender neutral version of the same look, in softer ink blue.
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Welcome sign
The library-styled sign for the door, in the same wildflower artwork.
Shop the welcome sign8. Farmers Market
The cheapest theme here to pull off, because the produce is the decor. You buy food and decoration in the same trip.
Wooden crates stacked at two heights, brown paper, striped bags for favours, whatever is in season piled on top. A fruit and cheese table means nothing needs cooking, and a stall sign at the door turns a kitchen worktop into a market stand.
Invitation
Watercolour vegetables on cream. Gender neutral without trying to be.
Shop the invitation
Milestone board
Locally grown, one year old. The stats board in the same market artwork.
Shop the milestone board
Thank you cards
Same watercolour vegetables. Print them with the invitations and the job after the party is done.
Shop the thank you cards9. Berry Sweet and Cherry On Top
One fruit, three quite different rooms. This is the theme to pick if you want something that reads sweet without reading babyish.
Cherry runs coquette, red and white stripe with a lot of bow. Strawberry runs softer, pink with a single ribbon. Blueberry runs blue gingham on a clothesline, which is the one people reach for when they want berries for a boy. All three suit late spring and early summer, and all three are fed by the same table: strawberries, a berry tart, pink lemonade in a dispenser.
Cherry on Top
Cherry on top, sweet one. The coquette end of the family, bows included.
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Strawberry and bow
Pink strawberries and one ribbon. Softer than the cherry, and it photographs paler.
Shop the invitation
Blueberry
Blue gingham on a clothesline. Berries without pink, if that is what you are after.
Shop the invitation10. One Lucky Duck
One theme that covers the party and the bath-time photographs, which is why people who choose it tend to take the whole set.
Mallard green, mustard, cream and pond blue. Rubber ducks in a galvanised tub, reeds in a jug, a duck-egg blue cloth. Anything yellow on the table, and lemon cake does a lot of work.
Invitation
Mallard and gingham. The version most people start with.
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Green suite
The duck hunt styling in mallard green, for an outdoor party.
Shop the suite
Blue version
The same design in pond blue if green is too dark for your table.
Shop the invitation11 and 12. If the birthday falls in autumn
Between September and November the season picks the theme for you and you can stop deliberating.
Apple of Our Eye
Late August into September. Red gingham, small green apples, apple pie and cider.
Shop the invitation
Little Pumpkin
October. Cottagecore stripes and soft pumpkins rather than orange plastic.
Shop the invitation
Little Turkey
November. Everyone is already in one room and already eating.
Shop the invitationHow far in advance should you send first birthday invitations?
Three to four weeks. First birthdays run shorter notice than showers because the guest list is family and close friends who already expect it, and because parents of small children cannot plan much further out than a month.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 6 weeks out | Pick the theme. Order the invitation and edit it the same evening. |
| 4 weeks out | Send invitations. Digital by text or email counts and gets faster replies. |
| 2 weeks out | Order the welcome sign print, or leave it, the file is ready whenever you are. |
| 1 week out | Print the small things at home: milestone cards, food labels, favour tags, games. |
| Day before | Set the table. One-year-olds nap at unhelpful times. |
What do you need to print, and what can you skip?
Five pieces cover a first birthday. Everything past this is optional and most hosts skip it without anyone noticing.
- Invitation. The one thing everybody sees. Send it digitally and print a few for grandparents.
- Welcome sign. 18x24 inches is the standard size. Send the file to a print shop, or use the free tile tool on this site to print it across ordinary paper at home.
- Milestone sign or monthly cards. This is the photo everyone takes, so it is the one worth printing properly.
- Food labels. The cheapest thing that makes a table look planned.
- One game. Time capsule, adoption certificate, or guess-the-birth-weight. One is enough.
Everything above opens in your browser. You type in the name and the date, the layout holds, and you can come back and change it later with your order number.
First birthday questions people ask
How long should a first birthday party be?
Two hours, scheduled between naps, usually 10am to noon or 2pm to 4pm. Longer than two hours and the birthday child is asleep or crying for the last half of their own party.
How many people should you invite to a first birthday?
Fifteen to twenty-five, mostly adults. The child will not remember it, so the guest list is the people who want to be there. Count households rather than individuals when ordering invitations: one card usually covers a family.
Do you need a theme for a first birthday?
No, but a theme saves time. It answers the food question, the decor question and the invitation question at once, which is why hosts who pick one early spend less time planning overall.
What size should a first birthday welcome sign be?
18x24 inches on foam board reads clearly from across a garden. 16x20 works indoors. There is also a free tile tool on this site that splits the file across ordinary paper if you would rather not use a print shop.
Can you edit these templates on a phone?
Yes, everything opens in a browser, so a phone or tablet works. The welcome sign is easier on a laptop since the text boxes are small on a phone screen.
Ready to pick a theme?
Choose the one that sounds like the family, then take the matching set rather than assembling five files from five places. Every design above is editable in your browser, and there is a free demo on each listing so you can type your own details in before you decide.
Shop all first birthday invitations
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