1st Birthday Invitation Wording

Every birthday is special, particularly in the fleeting years of childhood. But there’s something extra-special about a first birthday. It’s not only a milestone for the baby toddler, but for the parents who have endured numerous late night feedings and messy diaper changes to get the tiny human being to where she is today.

So, a first birthday party is as much for the parents as it is for the kid (who, let’s be honest, probably has no idea why a bunch of grownups and their kids have come over to his house to watch him smear frosting on his face). Unfortunately, the parents still have to do all the organizing for the party. The kid isn’t going to be much help in that regard.

Regardless of whether you’re planning a major themed party or a modest get-together, one of your primary tasks as the party organizer is to send out invitations. Let’s talk about what sort of wording you should use on your child’s first birthday invites.

1st Birthday Party Invite Tips

While planning a first birthday party presents plenty of challenges, coming up with invitation wording is – to use a birthday pun – a piece of cake. That said, before you start your search for the perfect words, there are a couple of general tips you might want to keep in mind:

1. Use a tone that’s appropriate for your guest list. Are you addressing most of your invites to kids or their parents? If it’s kids, you might want a more cutesy tone that appeals to them (or more accurately, the parents who are reading it on their behalf). If there are more grandmas and uncles on your invite list, you might choose more straightforward wording.

2. Show how far your little guy or gal has come. If you’re customizing your invites, one cute idea is to juxtapose a picture of your child as a newborn with a more up-to-date photo. Most of your (adult) invitees will probably marvel at how much things have changed in 12 short months.

Of course, you’ll also want to make sure you have all the key event info on your first birthday invitation, such as date, time, location, and RSVP details. If you have questions about any of this, see our in-depth article on writing party invitations.

Samples

The best way to come up with wording for a first birthday invitation is to look at lots of examples, then adapt (read: steal) something that works for you. Here’s some unique wording we’ve come up with to get you started. Keep in mind that most of these examples are abbreviated and don’t include all the placeholder details you would need on an actual invite.

Winter Birthday

Halloween Birthday

Valentine’s Birthday

Easter Birthday