Ok, so my daughter's first birthday is at the beginning of Feb! My husband's is too but we are celebrating his during the super-bowl, and I'm making his cake myself, he loves my carrot cake!

But for Ann...I'm going to invite our family and close friends. I probably expect no more than 20 people or so. It just depends on who is available that day. Anyhow...I want to do a "rubber duck" theme...she loves bath time and ducks!

I actually work at a bakery so I'm getting this huge great cake with blue icing that looks like water and it comes with mini rubber ducks and a huge one in center that she can actually keep and play with! I'm getting it for half price...around $20...normally it would be over $40 because it's a speciality cake. It even comes with a free little "smash cake!"

Anyhow...I did budget this in with the FTJ project because she only turns 1...once! However, I know that once you get to Party City and buy plates and cups and stuff...it can really add up because you get sucked in!

I thought you guys would probably have some good ideas of what I can do for her party! It's just a cake and ice cream sort of thing..I would like to have some kind of h'ourderv (sp?) type of snack food that would go well with cake..plus maybe some kind of neat drink. We don't really need games or anything because it will mostly be adults...it's just a small thing...no sense in doing huge because she won't even remember!

Anyhow...ideas please ladies!!!???????

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Bekah
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My favorite hors d'oeuvre is bruschetta, which is super easy and inexpensive. It's an italian hors d'oeuvre.

Basically, it's thin slices of bread (like french or italian baguette), toasted (in the oven) then top with a "salsa" like mixture of diced tomatos, basil (optional) diced onions, salt, oil, vinegar or lemon juice.

Put a litte mound of this on top of the thin toasted slices. You can also run the toast with a bit of garlic if wanted. They are sooo good, everybody loves them, and they are so inexpensive.

For the paper plates, I always check out the dollar store. Even if they all don't match, I try to buy colors that complement the theme.

Hope this gives you at least some ideas.

Good luck

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Ok, I'm here to help! Been there.....done that! My son turned 1 last February. Total food and decorations, I stayed under $30.00 and it fed 15 people very well.

Our theme was Sesame Street. I had an inexpensive picture book with bold S.S. characters. I glued them to cardstock (because I had it, could use construction paper) and then cut them out. When I cut them, I made sure I did it right around the outline to give it a lot of detail. I then outlined them with black marker. Time consuming? You betcha but very effective and we put them on his walls after. I put them all over the windows and walls around the kitchen table. Remember, you can make a big impact by decorating a specific area of the house as the focus, instead of trying to do something in every room.

If you want to go even cheaper with the cake, I baked cup cakes in various sizes, some chocolate, some white. I had a teired tray that I displayed them on. I made "picks" using little circles of S.S. characters to put into the cupcakes. Cheap Cheap Cheap. PM me if you would like me to email a picture to you. I also used two SS plastic characters from a baby play thingy (don't know what it was called, you lie baby under it when they are tiny). This one was broken, and I was able to have one of them hold a candle, and the other a little balloon.

I had balloons hanging in the center of our kitchen light, and used one roll of streamers (which I kept). Both came from the dollar store.

We did homemade pizza, caesar salad and garlic bread. I had some appetizers left over from Christmas so used them too.

Stick to plain coloured plates from the dollar store, and coloured napkins. DON'T GO TO PARTY STORES! I did, bought a whack of stuff, and then returned it all.

I also printed out invites on my computer and they were great.

This year our theme is Mickey Mouse. I am following the same plan except I do have plates and napkins in the theme. I have had them for over 10 years dating back to when I worked in a card store, and got a huge discount. If we didn't have these, we would be using dollar store stuff or our own white dishes.

Feel free to PM me if you need any other suggestions or questions! My nicname is "Martha", but I refuse to do it on her budget!

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Bruschetta is really easy and inexpensive. If I could make one suggestion though, brush the bread with oil or melted butter before toasting it (or heck, even afterwards). It helps form a barrier between the bread and the topping so the bread doesn't get soggy. There is almost nothing worse than soggy bruschetta!

Your topping can be a simple as chopped fresh tomatoes (seeds discarded), some garlic, fresh herb(s) and simple seasonings or something more complex. There are TONS of recipes online. I really like Epicurious.com: Recipes, Menus, Cooking Articles & Food Guides or Food Network : Healthy Recipe Collections, Party Ideas, Quick & Easy Recipes, Cooking Videos. When you search for a recipe, you can read reviews from people that have made the recipe and I find it invaluable.

I like the brucsetta idea! I love to cook..so I have made it before! Just putting together a menu that makes sense...not to many sugary things...not too many items in general. I need probably 4 food items other than the cake.

I also love the dollar store idea! Even if I can't find the "duck theme"..maybe I will go there for a banner or something decorative..I can just use yellow plates and cups from "The Dollar Tree"...they always have stuff in many different colors! Good idea...I'm trying to stay under $50...the cake is $20....so I have the rest of the food...drink..and decorations.

We are doing a "family phone chain"...no invitations..that's usually how it happens! The friends we are inviting are close friends so I can just call.

My big issue now really is just the menu...what goes well with the cake. the cake is a yellow cake with a fresh strawberry and whipped cream filling. It's the bakery's specialty..it's what their known for locally...so a huge 10 inch cake...serving up to 24 people...for $20...I'll take it!!

But does bruscetta go with strawberry cake?!?!

I love to cook buy menus for some reason aren't ever easy for me!!

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Bekah
Co-founder and CEO of the NOVITZKE FAMILY INC.

oh yeah..well I can do my fruit tray....apples (2 red and 2 green), 3-4 bananas, 1 fresh pineapple..and vanilla yogart (dip)..I could probably do that for about $5. That would go great with the cake....but would bruscetta...I mean I love that....it's a fresh...non-sweet..yummy treat.

So strawberry filled shortcake....fresh fruit tray and dip...bruscetta (do that for about $5 if I use fresh basil...less if I use the dried).

So 2 more things?

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Bekah
Co-founder and CEO of the NOVITZKE FAMILY INC.

I think since you have the fruit and cake ready to go, maybe just some finger sandwiches???

Depends on what time you are having the party. For DS who is turning 3 in a couple of weeks we are doing a small party at a local park from 10am to 1pm. So because of the time, I will be serving a light lunch consisting of a sandwich tray, a veggie, tray and a fruit tray along with cake and a pinata.

For DD who turns 1 at the end of April, we are going all out. It's tradition in our family to celebrate the first birthday in a big way. Not necessarily fancy, but everyone is invited from aunts and uncles, to friends and grandparents friends, etc. So we are renting a small outdoor gazebo at one of our local parks, ordering food from a local Hawaiian restaurant (my family is from the islands), getting a cake from Albertson's, a pinata, drinks of all kinds, games for the kids (there are ton of kids on both sides of our family), and decorations.

But since I am a more frugal mom, I will be hitting the cheap stores for decorations and plates and stuff and spending my money on the food. For DS's first birthday party we rented a community hall at another local park, did cake and pinata, and my sister handled all the prizes and games for the kids.

Wish we had a dollar store nearby. I usually hit either Big Lots, Party City (I get only the 50% off stuff), Tuesday Morning, Target (I get a lot of stuff from their dollar bins), or ebay.

I really want to do a Lilo and Stitch theme for DD's birthday since she looks a lot like a baby Lilo. If not we will do a Hawaiian theme and dress her up in one of many cute Hawaiian outfits that she has.

Sandra