A child’s first birthday is a memorable one, if only for the parents, who will be amazed at how fast the time has gone and should be incredibly proud of themselves. But because their little one won’t be old enough to remember the milestone, it pays to get the event covered so that you can relive that special day with them as they get older.
With that in mind, let’s look at four ways that parents can document their child’s first birthday party, so they can cherish it forever.
Get It All On Film
One way to cover your child’s first birthday party is to get it on film. Whether this means hiring a professional videographer or taking charge of the camera yourself, you will have the special day documented, and be able to watch it at any time.
If you do decide to film it yourself, be sure to make copies (on portable hard drives, discs, etc.), get a copy online (on Facebook, save it to the Cloud, upload it to YouTube, etc.) and make sure that you send copies to all your guests. If you put it on YouTube, you can make the video Private and send passwords to the people who are allowed to watch it.
Hire a Photographer
Everybody loves to look through photographs from the past, but if they are not of high quality, it takes some of the joy away from looking back at those special occasions. For an event as important as a first birthday party, you want it to be covered properly, either by a professional photographer, or by somebody who knows their way around a camera. As an extra special treat, consider getting some head shots of your little one to give as gifts or to have as portraits in your home. Mike Sansone photography is an example of the sort of services available who can give you the incredible shots you need to remember your special day forever.
Set Out a Guestbook
Outside of photos, video and a flood of presents, the next big thing to make your day extra special is to get family and friends who attend the party to put something in writing.
Most weddings have a guestbook for people to sign and write a nice message, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do it for your child’s first birthday party, too. It will make for a beautiful keepsake you’ll be reading back over for years to come.
Create a Testimonial Video
If you don’t want to hire videographers and you want more than just coverage of the event to watch back, a sweet keepsake for parents would be to create a testimonial video for you and your little one to watch back over the coming years.
All you need to do is set up a camera and ask all of your guests – grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and close family friends – to record a message to the birthday boy or girl. It will be a fun and emotional experience watching it back, especially the longer time goes by.