I am hosting two first birthday parties for my daughter; one with family at home and one with friends at a park. Should I have a smash cake at both parties, or skip it at the park?

Smash Cake is the precious tradition of baking your one-year-old birthday child her very own cake that she can do whatever she likes with…mainly it makes for a great photo that will be treasured for years to come.  Often people make two cakes on the first birthday occasion…one to share with friends and family that looks beautiful and may match the party theme and a second one with the birthday child’s name on it that is meant to be destroyed by her. 

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TIP:

Many parents want a fabulous cake at their 1-year-old’s birthday so that they can get that all-important cake picture, but they also want the cake to be healthy! If you are concerned about this and are looking for alternatives to the sugary-sweet traditional cake and frosting, check out this article on WholesomeBabyFood.com. From apple and carrot cakes to ice cream and cream cheese frosting, you are bound to find a recipe that suits your child’s taste and yours in this article.

If you don’t want your 1-year-old to be on a sugar high at his or her very first birthday party, here are some alternatives to serving a big piece of regular birthday cake:

• Serve mini-cupcakes (and mini-doses of sugar!).
• Make a small, somewhat healthy cake for your birthday kid, like a banana or carrot cake.
• Substitute an alternative sweetener for sugar in your cake recipe, but make sure to note the differences between regular sugar and the sweetener before you start to bake.
• Serve a small piece of ice cream cake.

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