10 Tips For Planning a Kid’s Birthday Party
When children are growing up, parents try to fill their life with as many special moments as possible. Almost always, guardians go out of their way and do something that brings a big booming smile on their munchkin’s face.
Kids deserve these life-changing experiences, but nothing is more important to you as a parent as being able to remember these happy days one day in the future. With digital media, we are all taking pictures all the time. We take more pictures now than ever before in history and yet very few of us ever organize them in a way to enjoy them later. Before your next big party, I recommend checking out canvas prints online to help convert your best memories to everyday art. I love canvas prints and love how it’s putting physical pictures back in our lives again.
Have a start and end time
If you have decided to have a party at home, it is important to plan a start and end time. Have a fixed time to avoid any confusion with guests and keep everyone on the same page. For example, a birthday party for children under the age of 5 should ideally be for a two to three hour period.
Make a guest list
Parents tend to prepare the guest list on their own. Well, you can take this responsibility if you are familiar with all your child’s best friends. Otherwise, you should involve the birthday child in the list-making process. Because skipping a few important mates is akin to sour the friendship.
Mind you, and restaurants charge money based on the number of people. Thus, avoid taking an army of undue guests.
Make sure to get the invites out two weeks ahead of time and ask parents to RSVP. You need to know who is coming.
In this day and age, when everything is being digitalized, parents are still glued to the paper invitations. Research confirms that as many as about 73 percents of the birthday invitations are delivered traditionally. You can take this budget of the equation by choosing the electronic means like email or message. There is no shortage of beautiful paperless designs.
Finally, you should leave a special note to parents for any special arrangement. For example, you can ask them to bring towels if you are organizing a pool party.
Provide relevant information with the invitation
Its also good to have guest RSVP to be able to plan for the amount of kids coming.
The invitation card should provide all the basic details such as date, address time, and other important information that parents would seek. You can use an invitation maker to help solve problems with designing and creating an invitation card. Click here for design ideas.
Indicate whether a child would be required to be dropped off or if an adult should accompany him/her. If parents drop off and leave, be sure to have their phone numbers in place to reach out to them in case of any problem.
Budget
At times, emotions get the better of you, and you cannot help but widely purchase whatever it takes to make your child happy. This is not a wise thing to do by any stretch of the imagination.
Therefore, to begin with, you should always set up a precise budget. It will give you more control over the money and keep you at a safe distance from indulging in unnecessary shopping. Contrary to the popular assumption, expensive and extravagant items do not necessarily make an event more memorable. So much so, sometimes the abundance of birthday supplies may spoil the fun altogether.
Smart buyers always make it a point to carry cash because they know that a credit card can trigger them for overspending. You should also follow their suit to be on the safe side.
Set your budget and stick to it. More money does not equal better memories.
Select a proper location |Decide a venue
If you don’t look to organize the party at your home, do your research on the place where you are looking to host the party. Some places may require booking a few months in advance.
Good spots may fill up quickly, you may want to zero in on a place you like quickly. Places with a pre-planned party set up like recreation rooms, and bowling alleys can be great places as they often have the required staff which is familiar with organizing such events.
The venue is easily one of the most critical factors of a birthday party. As soon as children are done with the formal cake-cutting ceremony, they will be spilling out here and there to have fun.
Climate needs to be factored big time while finalizing the celebration-spot. For example, if the birthday takes place in summer, you can save money by arranging it in your backyard and save some money.
In case it is winter, and the sun is not shining, there are still plenty of indoor games to have inside for an at home party.
However, Knowing that kids can potentially wreak havoc to your home furniture, it might be wise to book a restaurant’s small area. There are many packages on offer. In all likelihood, one of them will align with your budget.
Entertainment | Schedule Activities
While spontaneity can be fun, scheduling will allow you to avoid chaos and stress. Try planning short activities for periods ranging between 10 to 30 minutes. Plan for cutting cake, present opening, and games. You can run a happy birthday video during the cake cutting activity and make it a memorable moment for your child.
Remember children are filled with energy, they may have short attention spans and may make it hard to do complicated activities that you have planned. So plan activities accordingly. Some ideas for activities include dance, crafts, playing with bubbles, colouring, musical chairs, hot potato, pin the tail and the infamous candy filled pinata
You can hire entertainers, such as a magician and a DJ with sound system, bounce house, or even a game company. None of these in the budget? No big deal there are dozens of cheap group games you can play.
Pick a theme
One way to save money on a theme is to not buy everything in that theme. Why do plates and napkins all have to have a Disney charater on them? They don’t, not everything has to have the theme. Simple colors go along way. Streamers are both cheap and decorative. Balloons are a little more if you start getting into fancy ones, and then birthday roses or flowers are at the high end of expenses. Hit the dollar store and use cheap decorations whenever possible.
Keep in mind. Themes are best picked by bringing in the birthday girl or boy for ideas. Keep this mind especially for teenagers.
Make Fun Foods | Plan age-appropriate treats
This list surely cannot end without the mention of food. Kids have a typical taste. If you know how to make fun shapes using different cookies, burgers, and rolls, little guests will be more than happy munching them. Though, hosts may also consider serving pizzas and slices of fruits. Make sure everything is cut in small pieces to keep the wastage at a minimum.
Some parents would be accompanying their children. So there should be a proper arrangement of coffee and tea for the grownups as well. Another great option is these 22 food ideas on a budget.
Handing out Goodies Bags to kids
Always hand out the goodies to the children at the end, so that they leave with a happy experience and at the same time will prevent any lost item. The items which can be considered as goodies include stickers, pens, sketch pens, drawing books, bags, bottles, etc.
You can consider buying them in bulk online or at party stores and gift wrapping them, to be given once they are about to leave the party. These work great as prizes for winners of games as well.
Order a customized cake or bake at home
When it comes to the cake, it is the highlight of the event. You can either order it or make one at home. If you are looking to order, you can get it customized depending on your child’s preference or the party theme. Make sure to check on the cake the day before. Some times places forget about your order. Its the worst to find this out right before the party.
While baking at home is another option, it would require some extra time and preparation. However, if your child likes the homemade cake, make sure you do all the preparation beforehand.