I know I've done this once before, a while ago, but at the moment I’m an event planner without any events to plan. Even so, our social calendar is jam packed just now. This weekend, as I was finally well enough to emerge from my cocoon of sickness, we had back to back birthday parties. Let’s start from the top: Invites. Technology affords us a wondrous variety of options here. Hand crafted Minnie Mouse bows, dinosaur themed photo collage, photoshopped Back to the Future image or even animated e-vites it’s all permissible. Make sure you send them between 4-2 weeks before your event (depending on time of year).
Consider naps and meal times when you choose your time. Early morning fruits and crackers are fine. Mid-day you’ve got to have lunch, etc. Make sure if you’re have a party for little ones you have something for the grown-ups too. Don’t discount the classics: peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs (we served turkey dogs at Roo’s last party), burgers, grilled cheese, etc. Bulk food stores are great for condiments, chips and crackers. If you don’t want to do candy put out yogurt covered raisins/pretzels, dried fruit or all natural fruit snacks. Have a variety of kid friendly drinks and cups with lids. Take and toss cups are practical, but there's a world of lovely themed cups you can DIY or buy from Etsy.
Entertainment doesn’t have to mean $100s on a bouncy house or themed pizza restaurant. What does your little one like to do? Large coloring pages and a basket of crayons, mess free finger paints, a box of dress up clothes or a cheap inflatable pool are great. If you’re at home the guests will play with your kids’ regular toys/swingset, etc. Roll with it, you can’t prevent it. No room at home? A playground/splash pad is just as much fun as Chuck E. Cheese for most kids (and easier on the parents). Organized activities are fun too if you stick to one or two (and expect maybe not everyone will participate). It doesn’t have to be "pin the tail on the donkey," either. Just give kids in their bathing suits a bucket of water balloons or older kids a bucket of Legos and some direction. I personally HATE piñatas, but I was a slow kid and I never got any good candy only the stepped on squashed rejects. If you do one, consider filling it with raisins, fruit snacks, finger puppets, barrettes or any small toys you'd put in a goodie bag.
Goodie bags! They are completely unnecessary, but I love to make them. My advice is either pick between 1-3 nice items (books, dolls, etc) or 5-6 small items (stickers, bubbles, wands, etc). Set a budget for yourself so you don’t end up overspending on trinkets. I choose to do no candy in Roo’s favor bags thus far. Things that light up or glow are always good too. I recommend sticking the party blowers in the bags so that everyone gets home with one still in working order. Consider most parents will let their child carry their goodie bag to the car so try to avoid things that may be trouble in the backseat (ex: nail polish). Get creative use an unconventional container that doubles as a favor. Choose one nice item instead (ex: framed pictures from the party with each guest’s name).
The Cake is usually of utmost importance to the guest of honor. Listen to your little one on this. It’s a great place to display, or depart, from a theme. Will it be a perfect pink dinosaur for your sweet girl’s second birthday? Or a random request for a space tornado or the praying mantis tractor from Coraline cake (at a Back to The Future 9th Birthday). Just go with it. It can be store bought, homemade or any combination of the two. Only two things are important: What does the birthday kid what? How does it taste?
If you’re going home-made, consider cupcakes. You can do multiple flavors, they’re easy and you can dress them up with pretty papers and toppers. Don’t fret about cupcake toppers. You can print coloring pages out for your kiddo to color and attach the figures to tooth picks. You can cut apart sticker sheets and stick the toothpicks between the sticker and backing paper. You can use pretty candy or colorful icing to dress them up.
I like to send thank you cards with a picture of the birthday boy or girl on them. You can wait for the 12 cards free deals on the card/photo sites. You can print them yourself from Photoshop. They’re time consuming, but not super difficult. You can also stick a 4x6 photo or homemade photo strip in regular store bought or homemade cards. If you’re low on time, budget, or ink, consider just sending the grandparents pictures. I always write them from Riley’s perspective. It’s more fun that way. I make my big kid write his own.
Happy Parties!!
