It’s never too soon to start planning a birthday party for your little people.  I have come up with my own ultimate survival guide for the planning and preparation of a stress free Birthday Bash for kids.
Trust me when I say that planning well in advance pays off.  We live in a high speed hectic world and leaving a birthday party to the last minute is a recipe for disaster and inevitably, disappointment for the child.  So here is my countdown

  • Six Weeks To Go!
  1. Set a date for the shindig: Weekends are usually best for working parents and Sunday afternoon is a particularly good time as it doesn’t clash with so many music or sports lessons.
  2. How long can you survive: The average children’s birthday party lasts anything from 2 to 3 hours. Will you go for 2pm to 4pm and just serve party snacks or opt for 4pm to 6pm and offer a meal to guests.  Call the parents of ‘best friends’ to make sire they can attend – if not, try to move the party so that your child’s special friends will definitely be there.
  3. The guest list: Work on this together with the birthday boy or girl so that they understand that there are limits on how many friends they can invite.  Explaining now about budget or space restrictions will head off potential tantrums down the line. Try to invite a friend for any younger (or older sibling).  This will help ease any jealousy that there are still 6 months to go until their party and will keep them from stealing the birthday boy or girl’s limelight.
  4. Book now to avoid disappointment: There are lots of options open if your house is not going to be the venue for the party.  But beware, these book up fast, especially at weekends.  Make sure you leave plenty of time and get as much information from your venue as possible now.

•    Do they provide a set menu?
•    How long will the party be?
•    Does the price include party bags?
•    Does the venue cater for disabled children or those with special dietary requirements?

5.  Send in the clown!: If you are hiring talent, such as a clown or magician then book now.

  • One Month To Go!
  1. Choose a theme: Parties with a theme make life easier all round. Food, party favours, decorations, even games are all co-ordinated and are simpler to plan.  Decorations, food, and goodie bags fall into place. Choose a Pirate party or a Princess party.  Or how about a Hawaiian beach party or even a Monster party! Younger children might like a teddy bears’ picnic.
  2. Plan the fun and games: Spend some time with your little person, deciding what activities they would like at the party. Draw up a rough schedule and make a list of anything you need to provide. 11pm the night before the big day is NOT the time to suddenly remember the ‘pass the parcel’ prizes or the gold coins for the treasure hunt!
  3. Shop ‘til you drop: Get items for the party as you come across them. Some shops rotate party things for more seasonal items throughout the year.  Get them now because they might not be there next time you are in that shop!
  • Three weeks to go!
  1. Invitiation time: Make sure that invitations include RSVP details so that you know who’s coming.  Encourage older children to make their own invitations.
  2. Hire the help!: Children’s parties mean all hands on deck so don’t be afraid to ask!  Shanghai, pressgang or railroad as many of your adult friends and relatives as possible to help on the day.  If you have teenage neighbours, they might be enticed to help out for a small hourly fee.
  • One week to go!
  1. The cake: If you are going all out and are ordering a specially iced cake from a baker – order it now.
  2. Safety first!: If the party is at your home, make sure that any hazards removed.  Your own children are familiar with the wobbly back step, but their new best friend might not know about it until he is in casualty with a broken wrist.  Look at it as a great opportunity to audit your home for dangers that are present all year round and remove them once and for all.
  3. Check your RSVPs: Chase up the children who have not responded to their invitations yet.  The invitation might still be in the bottom of their school bag!  You need a firm head count for the party to run smoothly.  Running out of specially bought Bratz party tiaras and lucky bags will NOT make you any friends on the big day and will embarrass your child.
  • Three days to go!
  1. Final shopping trip: Double check your list and make sure you have everything you need; party bags, favours, balloons, prizes, treasure, food, decorations.
  2. More cake!: Time to sort the cake out (unless you have one on order) Shop bought birthday cakes are great and come in loads of different shapes and sizes and designs to match your chosen theme.
  • One day to go!
  1. Fill party bags: Once stuffed full of lovely things, these should be stored safely out of reach of any little people or pets.
  2. Clean up: If the party is at home, make sure it is clean and tidy and that you have cleared space for games and dancing and general mayhem.  This is also a good opportunity to put all your ornaments and breakable things into a safe place and block off any spaces in the house that you don’t want little people to explore.
  3. Even more cake!: Collect your ordered cake, or, if you are extremely talented (or have a child with odd tastes!) get baking.  There is a world of satisfaction to be had in baking a birthday cake for your child.  Older children will appreciate the effort you have put in and very small children won’t care what it looks like as long as there’s plenty of icing and jam in the middle!
  • Morning of the Party
  1. Transformation time!: Really go to town and transform your lounge and Kitchen (and even your garden) into an undersea kingdom, a Hawaiian beach, or an Alien planet for the festivities.

Oh, and there’s just one last thing to do:Have Fun!!!!!

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