For my daughter's first birthday, we wanted to make it memorable and useful.  As a teacher, I place a very high value on books and on the time parents spend reading to their children. So I decided that instead of receiving toys which my daughter would out-grow, we would ask for books which she could enjoy again and again. After much thought, I decided on a "BOOKday" Party!     For the invites I chose a stamper with Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy and then drew books in their hands. The inside of the card read: Its Makaylah's 1st Birthday!   She's already one. So we thought a BOOKday Party would be great fun!  Makaylah just loves to read and read.  So books are what she'll always need. How excited she'll be as her library grows, Filled with wonderful books from those she knows.  For decorating and food, we chose to follow the Raggedy Ann Theme to make the party still girly and for a baby just turning one. The sky is the limit for what someone could do. Such as choose the child's favorite story character to decorate with or choose several different storybooks to work with.  As a final touch, we asked everyone to choose a Bible verse which they felt was perfect for Makaylah in her coming years.  My plan was to just make a small birthday book for her to read and know how special she is and how much she is loved.  To my surprise, peaople really got into this and brought Bible verses, but many also wrote a personal little message to her.  They were all so special that I bought one of those little Blank hard covered books from a teaching store and wrote out all the verses and notes with an attached picture of my daughter with that person at her birthday party.  This Book is now a Keepsake Treasure my daughter will always have and it is her favorite. The party was a HUGE hit.  My daughter received a wonderful collection of books both board books and collectible books. Four years later she is still using the gifts she received that day! That doesn't happen very often with toys! Family and friends enjoyed choosing new books and books with special personal meaning. And I have had many other moms ask if they could borrow the idea.