Our dear little Miss Maegan will be celebrating her first birthday on May 18, and who should be more excited than her but her parents.

We have been preparing for her first birthday celebration two months back, and it's beginning to feel like a mini-event for the family, almost like when her parents got married four years ago.

The reason I say this is because we started doing up the guest list, and it ballooned beyond our expectations.

It turned out that our friends alone amounted to approximately 30 to 35 couples and 20 children and counting. Relatives were not included at that stage.

Then, to manage the numbers filling in the party venue, we eventually settled on having two parties in a day, one for friends, followed by another for relatives.

Next were the birthday invites, which my husband did, with his keen eye for design. He made one cool birthday card for Maegan which we emailed to all our friends and family. We also anticipated a deluge of presents for her so her father came up with a brilliant plan: to encourage all our guests to make a small contribution to an adopted charity of Maegan's choice, instead of buying a present.

Maegan's turning one!

Then it came to the birthday cake. Initially I opted for an eggless chocolate cake so all the kids could have a bite, rather than worry about egg allergies. But the downside to that was the cake's only available in a normal square shape.

So that idea got thrown out of the window, because a normal square birthday cake is just not 'in' for a child who's turning one. Later, I discovered through other parents' experience how 3D shape cakes are the rage these days, and better yet if they come in the child's favourite cartoon figure like Winnie the Pooh, or Thomas the Tank Engine. We decided on Maegan's birthday cake, which will be kept a surprise for now.

We also prepared goodie bags for the children at the party. We headed to Concourse building last weekend only to blow $130 on simple decor and goodies bags for up to 30 kids (all under the age of 5). I am now convinced that any business catering to children is a sure sign of profitability as long as sufficient variety is provided.

From the goodie bags we went on to the food for guests, which we felt ought to be catered so that none of us would have to toil unnecessarily in the kitchen.

And finally, I decided to rent a bouncy castle for Maegan, something for her age so that the kids can jump along with her, and coupled with some children chairs and tables, which cost us a whopping $460 in total.

I know it may seem extremely extravagant to most parents, even to us, who are frugal beings. But between the chance of Maegan not knowing how she celebrated her first birthday and being able to show her photos of how she celebrated it in style, I'm choosing the 2nd option.

And it's not because we want to show off, or that it's a must for first year birthdays, but we really want her to be surrounded by the people who have welcomed her into this world, love her and care for her.

They say there's always a first for everything so we're taking the plunge. And if it ain't the first birthday, when else?

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