Tips For Kid's Birthday Parties

Kid’s birthday parties: they can be fun for the kids, but quite stressful for the parents! I’ve put together a few tips for a less stressful experience…

First and foremost: do not over-complicate the whole process! For example, sure homemade invitations are nice. As are homemade quiches, cake and decorations, and yeah the other parents and adult guests probably WOULD be impressed if you and the kids and the house all looked immaculate and everything went smoothly as though a venue planner had done it. However, it’s your child’s birthday party, where the main objective is for said child to have a wonderful time with loved ones, being the centre of attention. For just this day, it can’t hurt for the day to revolve around him/ her. Forget about other people’s expectations and focus on the birthday child. 🙂

Decide on a date and time that suits your family and any main guests (for example, grandparents if they’re having to travel etc). Always have an end date so parents know when to pick their children up, and also for guests to have a time in mind that things need to wind down for (because the wine will be making an appearance shortly after ?).

Guests…I say keep guests to a minimum. There’s no point in inviting every kid that your child knows if the birthday girl/ boy doesn’t even realise they’re there! Also it’s obviously a lot harder to feed, entertain and maintain any control over more guests. So my rule is 5 friends plus family. I think it’s fair, but of course all situations are different!

Next big decision is WHERE?? At home or at a venue? Believe it or not, I find home easier. Yeah there’s a mess afterward, but there’s also no transportation of gifts, food, partyware, decorations, cake to and from the venue…it just becomes so very complicated and stressful. However if you do decide on a venue, ensure you think ahead and bring plenty of enviro bags or similar to transport gifts and everything else back to the car at the end of the party.

Theme: I find planning a party easier if I have a theme to revolve things around! So in the case of a child’s party, say a princess theme, or Frozen, or Cars, or simply colours such as rainbow theme, or blue & red…you get the idea. Next, write a list of things you need. For example: decorations, disposable cups & plates, napkins, food & drinks, and of course the cake. Now think of your theme…

Decorations: buy plenty of balloons (because it’s always a great party starter to have a number of balloons loose on the floor for kids to start chasing and the like) in the colour of your chosen theme. I tend to just buy the helium quality upfront as I really despise them bursting on my face or when it so much as looks like the sun may shine on them! Next streamers are fun but leave a huge mess (particularly if you don’t take them down that arvo and it rains on them overnight ?). Plastic tablecloths that suit the theme and generic birthday banners are also great for brightening up a party area.

Disposable cups and plates: it’s far cheaper to buy plain ones from the discount store (such as the Reject Shop) and decorate them with stickers of the theme! And it’s a job the kids love to do and is pretty straight forward: they love to be involved in the party planning.

Food and drink is pretty easy for a kids party. We have plenty of party food ideas over in the recipe page, and also don’t undervalue traditional party food! Fairy bread, pies & sausage rolls and platters of fruit will never go out of style!

The cake. Now it’s nice to make your own cake, of course it is, but planning a party and the lead up can be absolutely hectic. So always keep your options open to buy a slab cake through Woolworths, and cut, shape and decorate to your liking. The decorating is the most important part, after all!

Games…Games are very much dependant on the age group. All the old favourites (such as pass-the-parcel, musical chairs, pin-the/tail, statues etc) are popular for a reason and can be adapted to suit your party theme to put a bit of a new spin on the game. Kids can create fun from pretty much anything, given the mood. So turn some music on, have plenty of fun and follow their lead! 🙂

Party hacks:

Balloons on your letterbox is always a great idea for guests to know they’re at the right place.
A birthday badge will make your birthday child feel special and look great in photos. Particularly if you do it every year with the next number. 🙂
As your child opens gifts, have them first open the card then the present. Write on the back of the corresponding card what the present is to make it easier for writing out thank you cards later!
Designate a photographer for the day. It may be a snap-happy aunt or niece etc. Also ensure they’re definitely aware they’re being relied on for all pics and any videos!
Don’t forget to check your amenities before the party: plenty of toilet paper and fresh hand towels so there’s no added pressure from there!

And those are my basic tips! If you have any other great tips for fellow party-planning novices like myself, please add them below! One can never have too much preparation when it comes to kid’s parties. 🙂