My daughter turned one a few months ago, but we didn't actually do goodie bags. Like you, the adults-to-kids ratio was in favour of the adults, and we didn't really think about doing goodie bags because of this.
But now that you mention it, I kind of wish we had!
So I've had a think about what you could put in the goodie bags, and here are a few ideas I came up with:
- Bubbles.
Who can resist blowing bubbles. It'll look pretty cool if everyone joins in, and the birthday girl can take part in wobbling around trying to catch them.
- Stick on tattoos
I guess this depends on what you think of tattoos in general, but stick on ones are good fun for kids and adults alike.
- DIY Lego jewellery
I would be pretty happy to get something like this in a goodie bag (maybe not the pink one though).
As for games to play, I'd go with the Lego theme again! Adults and teens love building stuff with them, and one year-olds enjoy smashing things.
And since you're already committed to picking little plastic bricks off the floor at the end of the show, you may as well throw a piñata into the mix!
Pass the parcel is a game I remember getting pretty excited about when I was younger, and musical chairs is another classic.
If you want to be a bit more modern, you could just keep people entertained with video-games.
The Mario Party series for Nintendo Wii is an excellent party game! (as the title suggests). It's easy to play and people get very competitive over it.
In the end though, it's going to be a special day whatever you do. So my advice is just to have fun and enjoy your daughter's first birthday and people will follow suit.
My final tip would be to make sure your daughter gets plenty of rest before the party. Otherwise the people and commotion will make your baby tired and moody.
