When you’re planning a party, it can be pretty stressful especially if you’re planning it on your own. There are so many things to do, buy, consider, plan and many other things that will cause you much tension. You worry whether you’ve thought of everything and covered all bases. You want it to be a big success and hope that all the kids have a great time. Imagine if the kids booed you! The horror! How will you ever live that one down? Well, fear not; here are some great tips to ease that tension when planning a kids’ birthday party.
1. The Guest List
This is obviously a biggie, since it determines just about everything else. Here’s the thing though; keep this list relatively small. There is no reason to invite the entire class. You can if you want to, but doing so is going to be really hard and tricky, even if you had help. Keep it small and even ask your child for advice on who they want there. They get involved in the planning and get a thrill from it, but let them know there is a target, so they don’t invite the whole school! Also, let them understand that parents might attend as well. Once you have a certain number you’re comfortable with, then you can do the rest of the planning.
2. Picking The Date
You should pick a date about a month in advance. Then, with a list of the kids you and your child have come up with, start contacting their parents and find out what best works for them. Make sure you give the other families about 3 weeks to plan their schedule around your chosen date. That is plenty of time and in case someone can’t make it, you have time to add someone else as well.
3. Theme
OK, now you feel like you’re getting somewhere, don’t you? Next, it’s time to pick a theme so that the rest of your decisions will be based on the chosen theme. You can ask your child or you could suggest a few to him or her. You could suggest a pirates theme, a sports theme, a Ghostbusters theme, a Lego theme or any number of endless themes. There are so many to choose from, it’s just a matter of which one your child fancies. Once decided, then the decorations, the cake, and the special event rentals can be taken care of with the chosen theme in mind.
4. The Dreaded Clean-Up
You obviously want the clean-up to be as simple and quick as possible. After all, you worked pretty hard to put it all together. If you’re hosting your party at home, try to get disposable items such as paper tablecloths, plates, cups, plastic spoons, forks and knives. Once everyone has eaten, you can place all the litter on the tablecloth and wrap them in one go and toss it out.
Hopefully, you will get a bit of a helping hand from at least one other person, whether it’s a family member or friend. This way, someone can help organize the fun and games while the other person can be busy with preparing food and greeting guests. If there are guests who are willing to help clean up, go for it! After all, you worked hard, so you should have a bit of fun too.
