Face paints offer a terrific way to complete your children's dressing-up - turn them into an animal, superhero or flower fairy! Before applying paint to faces of babies and toddlers, apply a small patch first just to check that there's no allergic reaction. Children have more delicate skin than adults so it's just possible that paints might cause a reaction so if this is the first time, proceed with caution. You should also avoid paint in the eyes or on broken or particularly sensitive skin.

You can hire professional face painters for children's parties - just look in your local Yellow Pages, party shop or search on the internet and you'll be able to find someone local to you. Children love having their faces painted and a face painter will add a touch of magic to any party. They'll probably offer some other entertainment too, maybe some magic or balloon modeling.

To remove face paints, wash off with warm water. Never use any make-up removers or other chemical based cleansers on your children's faces.

Face painting is a great way to enhance your little one's pretend play - by painting their faces they can become a tiger, dog, fairy or butterfly.  Your kids will love having their faces painted.  Don't worry if you don't feel you are artistic enough, however your artwork turns out, they're bound to feel the part!

The best face paints to use are sold in palettes like water colours, rather than the crayon sticks that you may know from your own childhood.  You can apply these paints with a sponge or brushes.  Start by creating a wash all over the face using a base colour and then add the detail using brushes.

If your child has sensitive skin or you are worried about painting their faces, then you can simply paint motifs onto their hands or arms.

Here are some ideas for faces to create:-

• Animals: tiger, zebra, frog, butterfly, dog, rabbit
• Superheroes: Spiderman, Batman, Incredible Hulk, fairy
• Antiheroes: Dracula, the Gruffalo, a skeleton
• People: Clown, soldier, pirate

Snazaroo is one of the leading brands of face paints, take a look at their online gallery for inspiration!

People often feel pressured for their children's first birthday parties, especially for the oldest child; there's a feeling that they have to create an amazing spectacle that everyone will remember for years to come.  The truth is that your baby will never remember their first few birthdays, so don't blow a hole in your family finances, do something sensible and make sure you enjoy yourself as much as you hope your little one does!

For the first couple of years, you'll probably want to celebrate surrounded by your wider family rather than having lots of babies over.  The first birthday of your oldest child is a memorable milestone for you more than for your baby - you have survived your first year as a mother and no doubt achieved many new experiences along the way.  Invite your family around and celebrate your achievements with them.  Toast yourself with a few glasses of wine, and if you are still intent on blowing a hole in the family finances, lavish yourself with Champagne!

Eventually your little one will begin interacting with other children in playgroups and at nursery and you will want them to be able to share their birthday with a few of their own friends.  If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can invite friends round for a playdate and hold a birthday tea for everyone.  If you have a budget and want to make a more memorable experience then there are all sorts of things you can do:-

• Hold a party at a local soft play centre, toddlers love clambering around play structures and soft play centres accommodate even the youngest party revellers
• Invite an entertainer into your home: look in the Yellow Pages or other local directories to find entertainers suitable for toddlers - clowns, magicians, face painters or balloon modelers may offer a show for your target age group
• Go to a restaurant: probably not suitable below the age of 4 because you need the children to sit still for the meal, and you won't find restaurants with high chairs for large numbers of babies, but a meal out can be a treat for little ones; some restaurants cater really well for children, for example Pizza Hut offer 'Make your own pizza' parties and the staff at TGI Friday are trained to keep young audiences amused with balloon modeling and just being generally fun!
• Go to the park: don't feel you need to hire a venue for a large party - if you have a 'summer' baby, organise a birthday tea picnic in a nearby park; organise a few games to play and invite all the other parents to stay to join in the fun
• Take everyone to a Saturday cinema club for children - although you may not get advanced warning of what will be showing and whether it will be suitable, so this may be difficult to commit to!
• There are several chains where you can hold 'make a bear' parties - each child chooses an empty teddy-bear template which can be stuffed and accessories added
• There are also many 'paint your own pottery' studios around - for really young children just putting handprints on a saucer or mug makes for a memorable gift that they can take back to their families; the only downside is that you can't leave your party with your art, you have to pick it up a couple of days later after it has been fired

We only offer a small selection of ideas for parties for children here, you'll find plenty more things to do in your local area.  Post your own ideas and suggestions here and tell everyone what you've done for your early parties...?