First birthday party food: feeding the adults while the baby eats cake

First birthday party food is really a question about the adults. The baby will eat a fistful of cake, maybe a spoonful of beans, and fall asleep in the car seat on the way home. The thirty or forty grown-ups who drove across Plano to watch that happen are the ones who need lunch, and by the time the candle comes out they are hungry.

The short answer: plan first birthday party food for the adults, not the baby. Count two of our big tamales per adult and one per child old enough to chew, add rice, beans and chips from your own kitchen, and have the tamales delivered or picked up about an hour before the party starts. For 30 adults that is 5 dozen tamales, $300 at $60 a dozen, in a chafing dish that serves itself while you hold the baby.

I have catered a lot of first birthdays, and I have hosted a few in my own family. The pattern is always the same. The guest of honor has no opinion about the menu. The grandparents, the tías, the coworkers who came because they love you, and the cousins with three kids of their own all have opinions, and all of them are standing in your living room at noon.

Who actually eats at a first birthday

Make a real list before you think about food. A first birthday pulls in a wider circle than any other kids’ party, because it is really a party for the parents who survived the year. Both sets of grandparents. Aunts, uncles, godparents. The friends from the baby class. The neighbors. A few people from work. Their children, who range from newborn to ten.

When a parent plans a first birthday with me, the number that matters is adults, and it is usually 25–50. The kids get counted separately, because a four-year-old eats one tamal and a fourteen-month-old eats the inside of half of one, mashed with a fork. If half your list is under twelve, my guide to estimating party food when half the guests are kids walks through the arithmetic in more detail.

One more thing about the list: first birthdays have a long tail. People arrive late because of naps, and they leave early for the same reason. Food that is fine at 11:30 and still fine at 2:00 is the whole job.

First birthday party food that serves itself

You will be holding a baby, or passing the baby to someone, or chasing the baby, for the entire party. Any menu that needs you at the stove is the wrong menu. Here is what I recommend for a first birthday, our tamales plus a few simple things from your kitchen or the store, and it matches the setup described on our parties and celebrations catering page:

• Pork tamales in red salsa and chicken tamales in green salsa, still in their husks, in a chafing dish or a slow cooker on warm. The husk does the work. Nobody plates anything.
• Mexican rice and beans, homemade or from the store, in their own pans. The beans are the toddler food at this party, and the rice is what the picky six-year-old cousin eats with a spoon.
• Chips, salsa roja, salsa verde and guacamole, out on the counter before the first knock.
• A toppings tray with crema, cotija, cilantro, lime and pickled jalapeños. The adults love this and it needs zero attention.
• Drinks in a tub of ice somewhere away from the food table, so the two lines never tangle.

Then the cake. That is the entire menu. Please do not add a second hot entrée, a fruit-and-cheese board you have to arrange, and a pasta salad that needs to stay cold. Every extra dish is another thing you are tending instead of watching your kid put a candle-shaped piece of frosting in her hair.

Chicken in green salsa is the one to lean on for a first birthday. The tomatillo salsa is mild, the chicken is breast meat, and it is the tamal the older kids will finish. I usually suggest a 50/50 split rather than my regular pork-heavy mix. Every tamal is made with gluten-free corn masa, so the aunt who cannot eat wheat gets a full plate without a special order.

How much to order for a first birthday

Two big tamales per adult is lunch. One per child over three. Nothing for the babies, who will eat off their parents’ plates. Then add a dozen for the plates that go home in foil with the grandparents, because they always do. My article on how many tamales to plan per person explains where those portions come from; our tamales are big enough that reviewers regularly say two is a lot.

Those are the prices on our regular tamale menu: $60 a dozen and $30 a half-dozen, which works out to $5 a tamal. Add one tamal per child to the count, round up to the next dozen, and you have your number. The delivery fee is shown at checkout in our online store, so you see the full total before you pay.

Timing around naps, the smash cake and the photos

A first birthday runs on the baby’s clock, not the host’s. Most parents I work with pick a start time right after the morning nap, which puts the party at 11 AM or noon and puts lunch squarely in the middle of it. That is the easiest schedule for food: guests eat when they arrive hungry, the cake comes out about an hour in, and everyone is gone before the afternoon meltdown.

Plan for the tamales to be in the house 45 minutes to an hour before the start. They go straight into your chafer, and the pans of rice and beans go beside them. By the time the first grandmother rings the bell, the table is done and you are holding the baby, dressed, with nothing on your hands but a bib.

Keep the food open the whole party. Do not close the buffet for the cake. First birthdays have late arrivals, and a cousin who shows up at 1:15 because her toddler would not nap still deserves lunch. Tamales in the husk over gentle steam taste the same at 1:15 as they did at noon. If you need to reheat a second batch later, my guide to reheating tamales for a crowd without a steamer covers the oven and slow cooker methods.

One practical note about the smash cake: put it, and the baby, at least ten feet from the food table. Frosting travels.

Toddler plates, picky cousins and the grandparents

A first birthday is the widest age range you will ever feed at one table, so a few notes on each end.

The birthday baby and the other little ones

Unwrap a chicken tamal, scrape the masa and chicken into a bowl, mash it with a little of the green salsa, and let it cool. That is a real meal for a one-year-old, and it is the way a lot of babies in my family ate their first tamal. Beans mashed with a fork are the other toddler food on this menu. Skip the red salsa for the smallest kids; the pork has a little kick.

The four-to-ten crowd

One chicken tamal, some rice, chips. They will not touch the pickled jalapeños, so keep those on the adult side of the table. Put the kids’ plates and forks low enough for them to reach, and put the plain rice at the front of the line, not the back.

The grandparents

They will inspect the tamales. This is a compliment. Ours are made from scratch, from recipes passed down by the women in my family, with masa and chiles we do not cut corners on. I have watched a lot of abuelas take a second one after the first, and if you want to see what other families have said, our Google reviews are a fair preview. Send them home with a plate. That dozen you added to the order was for this.

Ordering for a first birthday in Plano or Richardson

Every order goes through our online store, whether it is a dozen or two for a small family gathering or ten dozen for thirty adults and a chafing dish. Choose chicken or pork, a half dozen or a dozen, delivery or pickup, and the party date, then pay online. Our ordering page walks through it. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.

We deliver from our Plano kitchen across the northern suburbs, and a birthday in Plano is one of the shortest drives we make. Weekend late mornings are popular for exactly the nap reasons above, so the earlier you order, the easier it is to get the date you want.

Ready to order for the first birthday?

Count the adults and the kids separately, take the dozens from the table above, and lean the split toward chicken. Order Maggie’s tamales for the party date, delivery or pickup, and pay online; on the day, you lift the lid and spend your baby’s first birthday holding your baby. Order online, and if you have a question first, call or text (469) 888-8398.

Frequently asked questions

What is good first birthday party food for the adults?

Food that is finished when it arrives and holds for hours without attention. Tamales in their husks in a chafing dish or slow cooker on warm, with rice, beans, chips, salsas and a toppings tray, serve themselves while you hold the baby. Lean toward chicken in mild green salsa so the older kids eat too. Add the cake and stop there; a second hot dish only adds work.

How much food do I need for a first birthday party of 40 guests?

Count the adults first. For 30 adults and 10 children, plan two big tamales per adult and one per child over three, about 70 tamales, so 6 dozen and an extra dozen for plates that go home with the grandparents. Add rice, beans and chips from your side. At $60 a dozen the tamales for that party come to $420, plus the delivery fee shown at checkout.

What can a one-year-old eat at a tamale party?

The inside of a chicken tamal, scraped out of the husk, mashed with a fork and a little green salsa, and cooled. It is soft corn masa and chicken breast, made with gluten-free masa and no shortcuts. Mashed beans are the other toddler food on the table. Skip the red salsa for the smallest kids, since the pork has a little heat.

When should the food arrive for a first birthday party?

About 45 minutes to an hour before the start time. The tamales go straight into your chafer in their husks, and the sides go beside them, so the table is ready before the first guest. Keep the buffet open the whole party. Late arrivals are normal at first birthdays, and tamales over gentle steam hold for hours.

Can I order for a first birthday party online?

Yes. Every order goes through our online store, from a half dozen for a small family gathering to ten dozen for a party: choose chicken or pork, a half dozen or a dozen, delivery or pickup, and the party date, then pay online. The delivery fee is shown at checkout, and next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day.

What do I do with leftover tamales after the party?

Send plates home with the grandparents first. Whatever is left goes into the refrigerator in the husk and reheats in a steamer, a covered pan or a microwave with a damp paper towel. Most families tell me the leftovers were dinner for two more nights, which is a nice reward after a party that took a month to plan.