Wording guide

First birthday invitation wording

The guest of honour will not remember it. Everyone else will, which tells you exactly who the invitation is written for.

A first birthday table with a small cake and garden roses

A first birthday is mostly a party for the adults who survived the year, and the best invitations quietly acknowledge that. They are warm, a little funny, and they are written by the parents rather than in the voice of a one-year-old, which is charming for one line and unreadable after that.

The practical detail that matters more here than at any other children's party is the timing, because a one-year-old still naps and so do half the guests' children. A late morning or early afternoon window, stated as a start and an end, is what lets parents judge whether their child will melt down before the cake. Saying "cake at 3" is genuinely useful information.

Keep it short. First birthday invitations are the ones most likely to be over-decorated and over-written, with a milestone list, a photograph, a theme and a long message all fighting for the same card. One good photograph and six lines of text beats all of it.

First birthday invitation wording, written out

Warm and plain

Thomas is one We survived. Come and celebrate with us. Sunday, the tenth of May, eleven until two Cake at half twelve 1424 Willow Court, Poway Please reply to Kate by the third

The cake time is the line other parents actually plan around. The second line is the joke that makes it feel like it came from a person.

Photo card style

One Thomas James Whitfield Sunday, the tenth of May, at eleven 1424 Willow Court, Poway

When there is a good photograph, the words get out of the way. Four lines is enough, and the card ends up on a fridge for a year.

Books instead of cards

In place of a card, we would love a book for his shelf Write your message inside it — we will read them all a hundred times

The most-used line on a first birthday invitation, and the second sentence is why it works. It gives the ask a reason rather than making it a rule.

Smash cake and small guest list

Cake, chaos, and about an hour of it Thomas turns one on Sunday the tenth Eleven until half twelve, just family 1424 Willow Court, Poway

"Just family" is doing work: it tells anyone who is not family why they did not get one, before they have to wonder.

What goes wrong

The mistakes worth avoiding

Writing it in the baby's voice for more than one line.
Setting it across the middle of the afternoon, when every guest under three is asleep.
No end time, at a party where the guest of honour has a hard limit.
Cramming a milestone list, a theme, a photo and a long message onto one small card.
Forgetting to say whether siblings are welcome, which for a family party they usually are.

Questions people ask

What time should a first birthday party be?

Late morning into early afternoon, so it sits before or after the nap rather than through it. Give a start and an end, and say when the cake happens.

How long should it run?

Ninety minutes to two hours. A one-year-old has a shorter useful window than any guest, and a party that outlasts them ends badly.

Is it rude to ask for books instead of cards?

No, it is one of the best-received requests there is. Ask warmly and give a reason, and almost everybody does it.

Should the invitation be printed?

This is one where printed is worth it. First birthday invitations get kept, and a digital one does not end up in the box with the photographs.

Want the wording set properly?

Wording is included in anything designed here. Tell me who is hosting and anything delicate about it, and I will set it and show you two versions to choose between. $45 for a First Look concept, back in three days, and it comes off whatever you book.

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