If you are searching for the perfect first birthday party themes you’ve come to the right place! I have built a huge list of popular and unique birthday party themes for girls, boys, and most are gender neutral. First birthday party theme ideas broken down by season so you are sure to have an adorable and memorable first birthday party for your little one.
Why Choose a First Birthday Theme?
A first birthday party doesn’t have to have a “theme” per se. But it is very fun to plan a party around one. There are so many decorations that you can buy or create to pull together the perfect birthday theme. Things like wild animal prints, black and pink, or their favorite Disney movie are perfect themes for a first birthday party, but I’ve got a lot more ideas for you too.
You may have a very opinionated little one already who has strong preferences towards colors or characters which would make it pretty simple to select a perfect theme.
RELATED: Fun Birthday Traditions to Start at One
But more often than not your soon-to-be-one-year-old is still simply taking in the world around them and learning about everything and doesn’t really have strong preferences yet. (Don’t worry, that will change soon and you’ll long for the days of them quietly exploring their surroundings.)
A birthday theme can pull the whole party together. It’s aesthetically pleasing, it helps people identify which party they are attending (if you select a venue like a park or pizza parlor), and it is just fun to put together!
Plus social media makes over-the-top perfectly coordinated first birthdays look normal and essential. While you should not have to feel like you need to “keep-up-with-the-Jones’s” and have a 20-foot balloon tower and a huge matching photo booth to pull off the perfect first birthday party, you can use inspiration for cute colors and themes from your favorite influencers for great party ideas.
40 Perfect First Birthday Themes to Choose From
There are so many amazingly creative ideas for first birthday themes these days. Even when I tried splitting them into “girls,” “boys,” and gender-neutral themes it was still a lot. So instead I’ve chosen to break this list of ideas up into seasons!
That way no matter how girly or masculine (or neither) you want your kiddos’ first birthday theme to be, you can just look into the section for that time of year to get some great ideas.
Don’t forget to check the other seasons that the party doesn’t fall into also because you might just love some of those themes even more! Don’t forget to add in some of these brilliant activities and party games for first birthday parties too.
10 Fall First Birthday Themes
Fall is upon us today! So if you have a fall first birthday that you are quickly planning for, you might love these festive ideas. Fall is a fun time to have a first birthday because you can involve pumpkin patches, apple cider, hot cocoa, or Halloween!
Pumpkin Patch Party
Pumpkin patches are typically pretty affordable entertainment. Invite family and friends to come explore the patch, pick out pumpkins, sip on apple cider, do a corn maze, and maybe even ride a tractor!
Little Pumpkin
A popular first birthday theme is “Our Little Pumpkin is Turning One.” There is no shortage of decorations for a little pumpkin first birthday on Amazon. You can even pick up a single kit with all the decor and tableware you need to make it really simple!
Decorate with pumpkins and fall colors and host the party inside or outside depending on the weather where you live.
Apple Orchard
Another really fun and unique destination birthday party that is perfect for a first birthday is an apple orchard. If there is an apple orchard near you consider inviting your guests to spend the afternoon outside harvesting apples.
Then serve them all fresh apple cider and feature an apple spice first birthday cake. Conversely, you could STILL use this theme at home and serve lots of seasonal fall flavors like apple pie, apple crisp, and apple cider. Decorate with apple birthday decorations and fresh apples too.
Woodland Creatures
A perfect first birthday theme for fall is a woodland creature birthday! There are lots of adorable woodland creature birthday decorations to choose from. Use cute woodland animals like owls, foxes, and deer, with earthy tones and leafy decorations for a nature-inspired celebration.
Harvest Farm Party
Celebrate the harvest season by decorating your house or yard with corn stalks, hay bales, gourds, and rustic farm-style decor. If it’s in the budget, consider having a pony ride or petting zoo. Sometimes you can even rent puppies or kittens to cuddle. Envision a farm theme and let it grow from there.
Boho Fall
Boho is in and you can use a boho theme blended with fall decor for a really unique and en vogue first birthday party. Use natural elements like dried flowers, pampas grass, muted fall tones, and a laid-back bohemian vibe. Don’t forget to feature some macrame and lots of neutral colors.
Rustic Barnyard Bash
Instead of laying heavily into the harvest theme, go for a more traditional kids’ birthday vibe with a barnyard theme with farm animals, hay bales, plaid, and wood accents for a rustic fall birthday. Use red as a main color within this theme and you can easily find barnyard party supplies online.
S’mores & Campfires
If the weather allows try this cozy outdoor theme with campfires, s’mores stations, plaid blankets, and a cozy vibe. Set up a DIY s’mores bar for your guests to design their own tasty treats. If an outdoor party is not a great idea this time of year where you live consider using party burners indoors to roast marshmallows instead
Sunflower Themed First Birthday
A bright fall theme with sunflowers in vases and on the decor and golden-yellow tones for a sunny autumn day celebration is perfect for a first birthday party. There are lots of great sunflower party supplies and decor in the fall so use that to your advantage!
Halloween Birthday
Kids love to dress up and eat candy (but really who doesn’t)? Give them another day to do that this year by turning your child’s first birthday into a costume-party with a Halloween theme!
10 Winter First Birthday Themes
Winter Wonderland
Winter wonderland is an easy theme to pull off for any party. It’s a magical theme that you can easily create with white, silver, and blue decor, twinkling lights, snowflakes, and maybe even faux snow. Think of utilizing as much blue and white snow decor and party supplies as possible.
Little Snowflake
Instead of a full winter wonderland theme, consider narrowing it down to simply snowflakes. Focus on snowflake decorations, glittery accents, and icy blue tones for a delicate winter vibe. You can even get custom posters etc. that read “Our Little Snowflake is Turning One.”
Polar Bear Party
This gender neutral first birthday theme can be built around cartoon polar bears and icy blue and white decor. Cute polar bear motifs, snowy white decor, and soft blues and whites make it feel icy and fun. There are lots of different polar bear party supplies to get you started.
Penguin Party
Have you seen Happy Feet? Imagine a one-year-old birthday party decorated with adorable fuzzy baby penguins! This is one of my favorite winter first birthday theme ideas, I think it turns out absolutely adorable! Use black and white penguin decor, icy blues, and snow-themed games, to create a chilly yet cozy atmosphere.
Hot Cocoa Bar
Creating “bars” with other things besides booze has become a popular party trend. Sort of like the s’mores bar we mentioned above, consider making a hot cocoa bar the center of your party theme! There are even cute hot cocoa party decorations you can use around your DIY hot cocoa bar as well.
Snowman Party
This playful theme can be made using snowmen and snow decorations. You can use sweater patterns in the decor too in addition to icy snowman decorations. You can use traditional snowmen or even feature Olaf if you’d like.
Arctic First Birthday Theme
With this birthday party theme, you can pull together all your favorite arctic animals beyond just penguins. Decorate with everything icy like glaciers, igloos, and icebergs, for a perfect look. Consider decorating with whales, polar bears, penguins, walruses and more!
Christmas Birthday
One of the most fun things about seasonal birthdays is that you can couple them with holidays. Use the Christmas decor you probably already have up and add in birthday elements like matching balloons and streamers to turn your stunning holiday decor into a birthday party!
Frozen Birthday
When considering winter-themed birthday ideas you can’t forget about Frozen! There are of course endless Frozen party supplies and you can either feature only your favorite character or everything from the movie(s).
Gingerbread Birthday Party
A sweet winter theme that brings together the tastes and scents of the season is a gingerbread first birthday party! You can feature many one-year-old-friendly gingerbread activities at your party, like setting up a gingerbread cookie decorating station or decorating your own gingerbread house. Here are lots of gingerbread activities to consider including.
9 Spring First Birthday Themes
One-Derland
This fun play on words is a tea party Alice in Wonderland theme but it’s “One-derland!” Find One-derland party decor online and select your own vintage pieces to decorate with also. Just think of what you’d see at an English tea party.
Flower Party
Instead of more of an English tea party focus simply on a floral-themed celebration! This can be such a fun girly theme to really overdo. From flower centerpieces to floral decor to edible flowers on the food, a garden party is a perfect spring theme for your little girl’s first birthday!
Some Bunny is One
This cute theme has lots of decorations reading “some bunny is one” for you to choose from. Focus on adorable bunnies, soft pastels, and spring greenery, for a perfect sweet spring birthday.
Butterfly Birthday Bash
For you little girl’s first birthday consider a butterfly theme. Butterflies, flowers, and soft spring colors create a whimsical, nature-inspired party theme that is easy to design.
April Showers
For this unique first birthday theme use umbrellas, raindrops, and cloud decorations with shades of blue and white for a playful rainy day theme. It’s a fun opportunity for hanging decor with clouds on the wall or ceiling with raindrops or streamers flowing down from them.
Bee Themed Party
There are so many cute phrases you can use on your card and party decorations for this gender-neutral first birthday theme. “Bee-day Party, “Cute as Can Bee,” and “Somebody Will Bee One” are just a few ideas. Focus on cute bees, honeycombs, and yellow and black decor for a sweet spring celebration.
Fairy Theme
Create an atmosphere welcoming to fairies with floral crowns, soft pastels, and magical touches like fairy wings and wands. Decorate with lots of plants and forest decor as well as magical fairy items. You could even use some of these great fairy garden crafts and coloring pages as party entertainment.
Baby Farm Animals
One sweet thing about spring is all the baby animals. If you have a local farm you can sometimes even host a party there, but if not a baby animal theme is still very cute for a first birthday party theme. Pick some baby animal party decor and if it’s within the budget you can even get a petting zoo at your house.
Baby Lamb Party Decor
Try this soft and loveable theme with lambs and soft fluffy things. Baby lambs are known to be sweet and passive and is a perfect theme for your sweet little one-year-old.
Ladybug Theme
A ladybug birthday theme is vibrant, bright, and prefect for spring. (Really, you can pull this off any time of year). Get bright red and black ladybug decor and use bold colors and spotted prints for this theme.
Summer First Birthday Themes
Beach Bash
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a party with sunshine and water play! You can either host a party actually at the beach or simply use beach decor, water play, and a sand table.
Under the Sea
An ocean-themed celebration with fish, mermaids, seashells, and shades of blue and aqua is perfect for a first birthday! It can be more masculine and just feature sea creatures or be more girlie with mermaids or even The Little Mermaid if it’s your child’s favorite movie.
Tropical Luau
A Hawaiian luau theme with tiki torches, leis, pineapples, and bright, tropical colors like pink, yellow, and green is perfect for a summer first birthday party. Bonus points if you have a pool too!
Ice Cream Social
Who doesn’t love ice cream? And an ice cream social with pastel colors, sprinkles, and a DIY sundae bar is a wonderful way to celebrate your little one. If you are inviting a lot toddlers be sure the toppings you offer are not chokeable.
Summer Carnival
Create a mini carnival with fun games, popcorn, cotton candy, and bright decor. While you can purchase carnival games a lot of them are really easy to set up yourself. Think about ideas like knocking over cans with a ball, races, and throwing rings onto bottles.
Pool Party
Splash into summer with pool floats, beach balls, and water games, using bright, cheerful summer colors to decorate. What’s great about hosting a pool party for a one year old birthday is that you don’t even have to have a full sized pool! A kiddie pool or two works just fine.
Flamingo Party
This theme is quite pink but not too girly. Decorate with lawn flamingos, flamingo party decor, and palm trees too. Pink and green goes well with this fun summery theme.
Lemon Theme
A cheerful yellow theme featuring shining suns, lots of lemons, and iced lemonade in various flavors is the perfect summer theme for a party. There are so many lemon party decorations to use for this vibrant theme.
Camping Adventure
Set up a summer camp theme with tents, s’mores, a faux campfire, and rustic, outdoor-inspired decor. The kids will have so much fun going in and out of the tents playing games.
Surfing Theme
A surfer-themed party with decorations featuring surfboards, waves, and sunglasses is a great idea for a summer bash. Decorate in coastal hues like light blues and greens and set up a kiddie pool or host the party at your local beach if you have one.
Backyard BBQ
You can’t forget the classic summer get-together: barbeques! Keep your theme simple and fun with a backyard BBQ theme by decorating with red gingham decorations. The focus is on the food at this party! Feature some lawn games and let the kids enjoy the sunshine.