My kids first birthdays, their favourite parts of the gifts were the boxes! And I let them have their cake and eat it themselves.
very messy, but cleaned up in good cheer
We just had family. I think that party favors are overrated. These days, I hold a kid's party and they can play games and each pick out a prize to take home at the end.
We have a family party as well, on a different day. Mostly because our family is huge and we love an excuse for a party