5 Steps to a Successful Birthday Party

By: Alyson LaBarge.

It’s time for your daughter’s birthday and you want her to feel extra special. Many parents feel that there is no better time than a birthday to show their children just how much they love them. But moms and dads shouldn’t feel as though they must show that love by how much money is spent. It’s about opening up your heart to provide your daughter with a birthday to remember.

Between the paper and the presents, the cards and the cake, the fun and the friends, it can be hard to know just where to begin. Follow these tips to create a birthday event that is sure to make you and your daughter happy!

5 Steps to Birthday Party Success

1. Why. What are you trying to accomplish with this celebration? Does your child need to feel acceptance from peers or to get to spend some special one-on-one time with you? Is this party more for you? It’s okay if so because, let’s face it, how many one year olds really care about having a birthday celebrated? Once you have pinpointed the purpose behind the celebration then you can move on to your next step.

2. Who. Who should be included in the celebrating? What you decided in Why may have already answered that for you. If it is peers who are being included, remember that child experts tell us that one guest per year of age is a good number to invite. For instance, if your 4 year old is having a party, then perhaps about 4 friends would be about right. For an 8 year old, then 8 and so on. There is wisdom in the “1 guest for each year of age” rule.

3. What. What kind of theme interest your child? Elmo for a 2 year old? Princess for the 4-5-6 yr old girl? How about a Pirate Adventure for a boy of the same age? The theme is as wide-ranging as your creativity allows. What if the chosen theme does not have a lot of ready-made party supplies available? No problem! A couple of years ago, my daughter wanted a Unicorn party. Not Pegasus, not Pony, Unicorn and I could find nothing. What did I do? I focused on creating the decor rather than having it be store bought and turned all kinds of ideas for a Pony party into a Unicorn party. Ever played ‘Pin the Horn on the Unicorn’? You get the idea. The internet will give you ideas galore so just start looking!

4. When. When to have the party is a really important issue when planning a party for young children especially. In trying to avoid nap time, meal time and the bewitching hour, there is sometimes almost no time left! Do the best you can. Choose the day, date and hour that will work for your family. If those invited want to come, they will do their best to work around their schedules and attend. If you are planning a fun and cake party, then skip meal times but if you are having pizza as a part of the plan for your 6 year old, then by all means, dinner it is! Think outside the box too – what about a morning party for toddlers, a dessert for breakfast for your pre-teen? Nothing is carved in stone and a unique time frame may make the event all the more memorable.

5. Where. The location is almost always dictated or at least rules out places based on the What, the Who, and the When. A Little Mermaid outdoor swimming party is usually not something you would plan for December, well, at least not in Texas! Factor in all of the needs and the cost parameters too in making this choice and before you know it, your location of choice will be set!

Now that you have the planning under control, you can get down to the fun part – actually putting it all together and having a wonderful birthday party! Remember that children are forgiving and flexible and very few things will be a crisis in their eyes while they are being remembered and made special by their loved ones. So wrap a gift or two, make sure the cake is available, don’t forget the candles and tell them that you love them in your own special way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alyson is mom to 3 unique and gorgeous girls ages 2, 6, & 7. She took a long time gathering her family but 8 + years of infertility, one domestic adoption, one homegrown miracle, and one international adoption later, they are all healthy and happy, living in a small town in North Texas with her husband Brett, a talkative cat and one silly fish. Alyson loves to blog, read, craft, travel, and shop. She began blogging as a way to pass the time waiting for the adoption of daughter #3 to come through and now she is hooked! You can read daily her ramblings at 3Ps in a Pod.

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