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I told myself I would never be THAT mum. You know the one I’m talking about: the over-the-top parent who has to have the biggest, best, most amazing party for their child.
Then I had my daughter, and it turned out that was exactly what I wanted.
To be fair, it was her first birthday party and she is my first child, so it was always going to be big. I wasn’t interested in spending a lot of money, yet also wanted the house to look amazing. I learned so much in the process – and I know we won’t be doing that every year! But here are some tips to help you plan a kids’ party.
If your kid is old enough, speak to them and see what they want. If they are little, pick one yourself. The most important thing is to stick to this theme. For Cassie, I chose a fairy party, which meant everything had to tie in with the theme, right down to the food. This actually made it easier when it came to decision making time.
Don’t wait until weeks before: plan further ahead. Why? Because you can score some bargains on eBay and need to allow enough time for them to arrive. Think about your decorations. For our fairy party, I bought fake flower garlands, tissue paper pompoms, tulle (for hanging on the party table) and balloons all on eBay, and saved so much money in the process. You also need to pick a venue early and book it in – whether it’s at home, the park or in a hall, you need to plan ahead for this.
Depending on the age of your child, you may want to hire a disco party, clown, magician, fairy or someone else to entertain them for a while (nothing worse than a big party of kids running around with nothing to do). Look into your options then book someone in on the date you need.
It is a really good idea to get an idea of the amount of guests you will have ahead of time. Send out the invites early on with an early RSVP date, so you have time to chase them up and can make sure you cater to everybody.
It doesn’t hurt to tell friends the theme you are planning and see what they have lying around the home you can use. We managed to score a chocolate fountain, which went down an absolute treat, as well as glasses for drinks.
This is the focus of the party and if you manage no other decorations, the party table is a must. If you’re at home, you can have a feature wall behind the table to decorate as well. Stick to your theme and get decorating. For our fairy party we had a strip of fake grass down the table, a big ONE balloon on the wall behind, tulle curtains and flower garlands draping off. It was simple, yet very effective. Once we had set up this table we then branched out and used left over decorations in other places to extend the theme, but this wasn’t as essential.
This is something you don’t want to forget: the perfect outfit for your birthday boy/girl. Don’t leave it till the end to pick out, otherwise you will find yourself very short of choices. Being Cassie’s first birthday we had an outfit specially made for her and she got lots of wear out of it after her birthday.
It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to be there! Make sure you have a cake planned in advance.
You don’t want to have to do it all last minute. Buy plenty of frozen food that can be popped in the oven on the day, and make sure you don’t pick too many items that require a lot of effort from you. This takes time. I jumped on Pinterest and found some great on-theme ideas. I made little Lady Bugs out of cheese, shaped a dip into a porcupine to add a bit of fun, and made little toadstools out of strawberries and marshmallows. All these were so quick and simple, yet looked so cute on the table.
On the day, make sure you have as many people helping out as possible: parents, friends and other relatives. You will have the place looking great and decorated in no time, without the last-minute frantic rush. Then everyone can sit down and enjoy a drink before the guests arrive.
Remember to take lots of photos, but more importantly, be there in the moment and enjoy the day.
It does take planning and a bit of work from your end, but it is well worth it. It can be a good idea having a checklist in the lead up to make sure you have everything covered. The key to everything running smoothly is being organised.
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