According to recent reports, parents are spending more money than ever before on their kids’ birthday parties. It’s not uncommon at all for parents to blow through thousands of dollars simply to celebrate their child’s birthday.
This might lead you to believe that you have to spend a small fortune to give your child the birthday party they deserve. But this couldn’t be further from the truth!
Birthday party planning should include doing more than just paying outlandish amounts of money for bouncy houses, custom cakes, and all the other fixings that make modern-day kids’ birthday parties so expensive. It should also be about focusing in on the things that are going to make your child’s party unforgettable for them.
Here are some birthday party planning tips that will provide your child with a party they won’t soon forget.
Start by Working With Your Child to Come Up With a Birthday Party Theme
What is the theme of your child’s birthday party going to be? Choosing the right theme is going to one of the keys to making it a memorable day.
Sit your child down about a month or so before their party is scheduled to take place and talk to them about what theme they would like. Some popular themes are:
- Circus
- Pirates
- Unicorns
- Sports
- Ice cream
- Superheros
Depending on how old your child is, they might have a tendency to latch onto almost every idea that you throw out. This means you’re going to have to spend some time talking to them about which theme they really like.
Everything from the food that you serve at your child’s birthday party to the decorations that you put up is going to depend on the theme. So prioritize coming up with a great theme right from the start when you begin birthday party planning.
Find the Best Place to Hold Your Child’s Birthday Party
Once you have a theme for your child’s birthday party picked out, you can find the best place to hold the party. If, for example, they want to have a baseball-themed party, you might be able to rent out a spot at your local park next to a baseball field.
You don’t necessarily have to rent out a place if you want to stick to a tight budget, though. You can also choose to turn your own backyard or the backyard of a family member into the perfect place to throw a birthday party.
You can transform the space by using decorations that sell your child’s theme. It’ll make the space feel extra special to them.
Figure Out Which Foods You’re Going to Serve at the Birthday Party
After you find the right place to hold your child’s birthday party, you can move on to the next step, which is figuring out which foods you’re going to serve.
This is usually one of the easier steps during the birthday party planning process. But it’s also a step that could end up costing you a lot of money if you’re not careful.
Parents often get carried away when mapping out the menu for their child’s birthday party, even though their child and all their friends are going to see the food as an afterthought. You should try not to go too overboard when selecting food for kids parties.
There is nothing wrong with serving something as simple as pizza or hamburgers and hot dogs. These things are easy to serve, and there aren’t too many kids who don’t like eating them.
Just make sure you end the birthday celebration by slicing up a delicious cake for everyone in attendance. Allow your child to pick out the cake that they want to eat.
Decide What Kinds of Entertainment Your Child Wants at the Birthday Party
What is your child going to do with all their friends while their birthday party is going on?
If your child is going with, say, a pirate-themed party and you happen to have a pool, you won’t have to do much planning as far as entertainment is concerned. The pool will keep all the kids entertained for hours on end.
But if you don’t have a source of entertainment already set up in your backyard, you’ll need to come up with some options for the kids. You can think about renting a bouncy house, hiring a magician, or setting up games for everyone to play.
Ask your child what they want to do with their friends and then try to help them make it happen. The last thing you want is for the kids at the party to sit around and stare at you while it’s going on wondering what you’re going to do to keep them entertained.
Set Up for the Birthday Party and Keep It a Surprise From Your Child
At this point, your child will have helped plan out a bunch of different aspects of their party. But you shouldn’t make them take part in this one.
When it’s time to decorate for your child’s birthday party, you should take care of it on your own so that the end result is a surprise to them. You should then go above and beyond to provide your child with the party of their dreams.
As long as you’ve done everything else on this birthday party planning checklist, it should look and feel the way that they want when you’re finished. They’ll feel a sense of pride when they see what you were able to create together, and it’ll make their party one to remember.
Make Sure Your Child Takes Part in the Birthday Party Planning Process
Parents, not kids, are the ones that often take children’s birthday parties too far. They lose sight of what’s really important and end up including a bunch of things that kids don’t even care all that much about.
Bring your child into the fold for birthday party planning and let them play an active role in it. It’ll give you a chance to work together and lead to a better, more memorable birthday party when everything is all said and done.
Find more tips for planning the perfect kids birthday party by browsing through the articles found on our blog.