But on September 4th, 1998, two previously unheard of men decided to set up a new search engine called Google. You probably heard of it. Today Google celebrates their 12th birthday, and it is hard to imagine or even remember an internet without Google. Statistically there’s a very high chance that you have reached this blog and our website thanks largely to Google, and many of us owe a debt of thanks to the gargantuan online engine.

But since it is the weekend, we’re always looking for any excuse for a party. So this Saturday night why not celebrate Google’s 12 birthday? How you do this is entirely up to you, but perhaps you might choose to have a themed party where everybody has to dress up as nerds and geeks! You might hide the beer, forcing all of your guests to ‘search’ for it. Or you may simply rustle up a barbecue, hand out plenty of beer, and then see how many of your guests at the end of the evening can correctly say “I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits,” or “Rubber baby buggy bumpers,” and other tongue twisters found easily thanks to Google!

Just make sure that if you are going to attempt those tongue twisters the children are safely tucked up in bed. You might also see whether you can line up a selection of cocktails which matched the same colours as in the ubiquitous Google logo. Yes, all these ideas are simply excuses for a party. Is that a problem? Happy September 4th!

But of course having said all that you will inevitably want to spend time and effort making sure that everything is just right. After all you only get one chance at getting a first birthday party absolutely perfect. Mind you, you only get one chance at your 37th birthday party, your 43rd birthday party and indeed every single other birthday party in your life. But that isn’t the point. A first birthday party is a truly special occasion, and one which you will want to make sure is beautiful.

It is at around their first birthday that most babies really start to look and behave like little boys or little girls, and most parents, especially new parents, are keen to make sure that their child’s first birthday party is an event at which everything that makes them unique is celebrated in style. By the time they have their first birthday your child is unlikely to have discovered the secret of the universe, achieved world peace, or done much else apart from dribble a lot, get through an extraordinary number of nappies, and discovered at least 14 different ways to throw their food on the floor.

But the one thing they will have achieved by the time they are one is that they will have grown from being a baby into a little boy or little girl, and it is this which is often a key component in the birthday celebrations. For little boys, the wrapping paper has to be blue, the banners have to be blue, and even the cake has to be blue. For little girls there has to be as much pink throughout the house as is conceivably possible.

We have a fantastic range of banners, invitations, cups, table decorations and even cakes that are perfect for your little boy’s first birthday party or your little girl’s first birthday party. They might not remember their first birthday party, but almost certainly somebody there will remember to take the odd photograph or two.

For new parents it can be a little difficult to know exactly what to do for a first birthday party, and after inviting various friends and family along it’s not always easy to know how to fill the hours in such a way that your one-year-old will not feel as though the celebrations are all centring on how astonishingly it is that as parents you have actually managed to survive 365 days without sleep, rest or peace and quiet. It is important to remember that it is your child’s first year on earth that you are celebrating and not your achievement, despite the latter being almost certainly deserving of a medal.

If you attended antenatal classes or prenatal classes then you may have struck up friendships with other new parents, and very often people will invite those parents and their young children to your child’s first birthday party. But exactly what do you do with half a dozen or more one-year-olds? When my child was one we hired a huge ball pool and threw all the children into that for most of the time we were all there.

When I say throw, I clearly mean placed carefully and lovingly amongst the cleaner looking balls. This worked extremely well, and a number of other parents did likewise. If you have any suggestions or would like to share your experiences of your children’s first birthday parties why not send us a comment below?

But when it comes to birthday parties, the fun doesn’t have to end. In fact a LazyTown themed birthday party can be a really great idea, because it gives you a great opportunity to encourage the children to wear themselves out in a variety of LazyTown inspired games.

Never mind musical statues or sitting around with music chairs. Why not get the kids involved in more active games such as music jumps or Simon Says, (or Sportacus Says, with different sorts of exercises?) We have a whole variety of LazyTown party products to help banish the gloom of Robbie Rotten!

No, what I’m referring to are those fiendish little bar tricks people do. They’re always really popular, and a great way to get people talking and having fun. The only problem for most people when it comes to party tricks is that it’s always someone else who seems to know them. Like the punch lines to jokes. Which reminds me, did you hear the one about the Irish chicken who crossed an Englishman with a road? No, hang on a minute.

Never mind – in today’s blog I’m going to introduce you to a party trick which is very simple, needs no preparation or fancy props, and will be guaranteed to have people pleading with you to put them out of their misery! Here it goes.

You’ll need two glass bottles (coke bottles or beer bottles are fine), and you’ll also need a £20 note. If you’ve got a child, a £10 note is fine. If you have more than one child, even a £5 note will be all right. If you can’t even manage a £5 note then just what sort of a party are you putting on anyway?

Stand one bottle up normally, then place the note over the top of the bottle. Next take the second bottle and invert it, standing it on top of the first bottle. What you’ll have are two bottles, one upside down on top of the other, with your money sandwiched in between. The challenge is simple. Just remove the note without touching the bottles in any way, and without the bottles falling over.

The solution? You didn’t think I’d just go right ahead and spoil the fun did you? Go and try it now, and I’ll post the solution in a separate blog post shortly. I’ll also be including some helpful advice on how to deal with glass cuts and scratched parquet flooring.

Instead of blowing up balloons, why not use helium? Yes, that’s the stuff that’s great for doing impressions of Joe Pasquale, and it’s also great for making balloons float. Blowing up fifty balloons is not only hard work, but it also results in fifty balloons all sitting in heaps on the floor, or pinned into bunches in the corners of the room. Helium balloons can be used to create some great displays making your hard work make a real difference.

A lot of people don’t realise that you don’t have to rely on florists or party shops to inflate helium balloons for you. Just order one of our disposable helium tanks and we’ll even throw in fifty high quality balloons to get you going. By tying a piece of string to the balloons you can either give them out to children, who love the fun of a balloon that really floats, or you can get a little creative with displays. Here’s a couple to get you going.

Helium Balloon Idea 1 – The Number Display

Let’s say your little seven year old is, well, seven. Just get a dozen balloons and fill them using one of our disposable helium tanks, (don’t worry, one of our tanks is good for at least fifty balloons!) By tying different lengths of string to each of the balloons, and tying the opposite end of the string to a length of wood on the floor you can create a huge number ’7′ floating against a wall!

Just get each balloon to have a slightly longer string than the previous one to create the slightly angled vertical part, and then a row of three or four balloons all with the same length of string to create the horizontal top to the number. For other numbers, the same idea still works, although obviously some numbers are a little easier than others. If you do this tip, why not send us a photograph of your creation and we’ll post it on here so that others can use it as a guide?

Helium Balloon Idea 2 – The Archway/Entrance

This is a great feature, and is good for weddings as well as birthday parties! Use one of our disposable helium tanks to inflate about 16-20 balloons. Tie a short length of string (about 6-8 inches) between each balloon, creating a long row of balloons. Try to get the balloons equally distanced, and as close to each other as possible, (you might need a friend to help you with this top stop the balloons having a life of their own, or you could just throw a blanket or duvet over them to keep them down). When you’re done, tie a weight to the balloons at either end of the line.

What should happen is that the row of balloons will rise up, creating an arch. By moving the ends closer together you can create a taller, narrower arch, ideal for doorways or entrance ways. Alternatively, spread the two ends further apart to create a long, smooth arc of balloons that are very pretty behind the top table at a wedding. Again, if you try this tip, send us a photograph and we’ll pop it on this blog for others to see your handiwork, and take inspiration from seeing just how beautiful this effect is.

The one problem with helium is that it tends to escape from balloons faster than air. This is because helium molecules are much smaller than air molecules, and so pass through the skin of the balloon more easily. A great solution for this is to quickly give each balloon a quick coat of our ultra high float solution. It only takes a minute, but makes a huge difference, making balloons last much, much longer. It’s what the professionals use – so it’s a good inside tip!

Whatever creative helium balloon ideas you come up with, please share your tips or photos on here – let’s see who can be the most creative!

Is it really worth it, however? Having recently taken a merry band of 8 and 9 year olds there for a birthday treat, I would have to say it definitely is, as long as you do a little forward-planning. Don’t buy your tickets on the day, at the gate; book online in advance and save £7 per adult/£5 per child. Depending on your party size it might be more economical to book a family package, and you get even better prices if booking for a group of 10 or more.

There are plenty of picnic areas within the grounds so take a packed lunch and, if possible, your own party cake, and avoid the overpriced eateries. Our lot loved the sky lift that takes you from one end of the park to the other, and the water rides in particular were a big hit (if you have any room left in your rucksacks then take cagoules…) All in all, an Alton Towers party is a great birthday treat and worth the outlay (and the long car journey!)