Organising the Perfect Party

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Little did you know when you first became a parent how much work is involved on putting on a birthday party. How many children should you invite, how much should you spend and how much time can you devote to organising and worrying about it?! And if your child’s infant school is grouped by birth date, how will you survive the term when there is a party (or three) every weekend?

As with most child related things, if you plan well in advance the event should not be a source of stress but something to enjoy. The more parties you throw the easier it gets. You’ll be a party pro by the time the second or third child comes along.

Party Tip 1: Your child’s first birthday is more of a family/close friends affair. One-year-olds are fascinated by balloons and baskets of toys, so don’t plan anything to elaborate and avoid nap times. Have drinks and snacks on hand for older siblings and adults.

Party Tip 2: Toddlers can similarly get overwhelmed and tired, so keep the party small. Make sure party food is cut up into smaller pieces for the birthday boy/girl to avoid the risk of choking. Blowing bubbles and playing a simple treasure hunt game or similar will keep them amused.

Party Tip 3: Look at the calendar and class list once your child is in school. Does another child share the same date, or a bank holiday, or Mother’s Day etc.? You might want to consider a “joint party” with a friend of a similar birth date to cut costs, but of course only if you know the parents well enough to feel it would be smoothly executed!

Party Tip 4: Gauge from your child how many people it would be appropriate to invite. When they first start school it may seem polite to invite the entire class, or a good way to get to know each other better. However some children (and parents) may feel that a room full of 30 five-year-olds is too much – and too expensive.

Party Tip 5: Decide at least a month in advance where you are going to hold the party. Will it be at home, or in a village hall or the local leisure centre? Remember the latter will need to be booked in good time! If you have a big enough house to hold a party with breakables you can hide and a carpet or floor you don’t mind cleaning afterwards, parties at home do have more of a personal feel to them and preparation is much easier! However it doesn’t normally cost very much to hire a hall for a couple of hours and you don’t have to tidy your house when the children have finished wrecking playing!

Party Tip 6: You’ve arranged the location, but now you need to decide if your party is going to have a theme, or whether you need to book an entertainer. Again this needs to be sorted out at least a month in advance as popular children’s entertainers get booked up quickly, and themed parties – from Pirates to Princesses – take a while to prepare for. Enlist a friend or relative to help if you can, but make sure you provide liquid refreshments for them too!

Party Tip 7: Save yourself some time by ordering all of your party supplies online from reputable dealers such as www.partyark.co.uk or www.the-art-angels.co.uk. You’ll find everything you need at these sites from invitations to craft packs to game ideas.

Party Tip 8: About three weeks before the party send out the invitations, indicating specific times for drop off and pick up, and whether or not adults need to attend. Keep the party to two hours or less when your children are under ten. Don’t forget to include an RSPV date for people to respond by!

Party Tip 9: Two weeks to go: plan party games, food and schedule. Make sure you include lots of variety if you are running it yourself – games such as Musical Chairs, followed by quieter times to do craft projects, pin the tail on the donkey, washable tattoos. You may want to buy a piñata – a Mexican papier mache party toy that is filled with sweets and hit by a stick until it breaks open.

Party Tip 10: Make and decorate the cake at least one day in advance if you’re baking it yourself. Don’t forget to buy one from the shop if you’re not! Also remember that you will need candles and matches – and don’t forget the camera for that special candle-blowing moment. Fill your party bags and have all of your equipment and decorations ready. Prepare any food you can refrigerate in advance. Wrap up your pass the parcel remembering to include a sweet/toy in each layer so that everyone wins something.

Party Tip 11: Make sure you all have an good night’s sleep before the big day, and most important of all make sure you enjoy it!

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