THERE are quite a lot of things you never really imagine yourself doing until you become a parent. Making a giant birthday card for your little one in the vague hope it will be shown on their favourite TV channel is one of them.

Although it isn't Sophie's birthday until the end of this month, the card needed to be created and posted so it would arrive four weeks before the big day.

So I found myself spending an evening painting characters from her two favourite shows – In the Night Garden and Waybuloo – picking a photograph of Sophie to go on the front (hidden underneath the usual flap) and cutting letters out of glittery card.

It was all good practice for when Sophie starts wanting to do arty crafty activities. It made me remember how much fun doing things like that is, even if you do end up covered from head to toe in glue and glitter.

I was reasonably pleased with the end result, so I just hope all my efforts don't end up being wasted by being chucked in a television studio's bin. I don't think I ever would have thought I would spend hours creating a card for a child so young she might nap her way through the part where they show it. But thing's seem to change as soon as you have a child of your own.

Celebrating a first birthday is a tricky business. You don't want to go too over the top – especially as one-year-olds can be pretty easily overwhelmed at the best of times. But it is a major landmark – the end of their first ever year and the transition from baby to toddler.

It's also strange to plan something for a birthday girl you know will never remember the occasion no matter what you do. We've decided to keep things pretty simple with some family members visiting on the actual day. We'll then be having a very small low-key party for Sophie and a few of her baby friends the next day. No doubt there'll be balloons and cake but we'll save the complicated party games until she's a bit older!

Whether or not she enjoys the day will very much depend on her mood and whether there are any new teeth emerging (she now has six already broken through!) but hopefully we'll be able to get her to crack a few smiles.

And whatever happens I should find it less exhausting (and hopefully a good deal less painful) than the year before.