Your child will soon be one year older and you are wondering how to best organise his or her birthday party. Or maybe this is the first time that you are organising that kind of thing and you are looking for some simple advice. In this blog post I will tell you about the 6 mistakes you should avoid making when organising this type of event that I have learned about both from my clients feedback and from my own kids' birthday parties.
First mistake : not spending enough time thinking about who you will invite to the party
It all starts here : who will you invite to your child's birthday party ? Of course you must ask for your child's opinion on the matter. But try limiting the number of guests that he or she can invite right from the start and try deciding together who will be the best choice, especially if you are organising the party in your own house. You can invite the others later on for playdates or other activities.
And if you'd still rather invite many kids because some of them have invited your child before and you find it rude not to do it, try organising the party outside of your house in a park or a venue and only keep his closest friends for a diner and sleepover afterwards at your place.
Second mistake : not planning anything
If you don't want things to get out of hands, it's really important to plan activities and things for the kids to do during the party, especially if they are young. It can be really varied depending on the theme that you have chosen for the party and the age of the kids : arts and craft activity, basketball game, dancing competition, treasure hunt, baking class, escape game etc.
If you need help to plan a treasure hunt, you can read my blog article untitled How to plan a treasure hunt at home, or you can download one of the printable ones that I sell on my Etsy shop.
Try also to plan things in advance for the birthday buffet. Bake the cake beforehand (you can actually do that with your child to spend a special moment together), and buy some fruits, juices and candies to make it fun and pretty.
Third mistake : to not ask for help
It's important that you ask your friends and family for help if you want this party to be stress-free and easy to organise. Your mom or mother-in-law can help baking the cake, the dad can be in charge of taking pictures of the party, the older brother or sister can help decorate or organise one of the activities. You can also ask a friend to look after the little brother or sister on the day of the party. And of course, also ask for your child's help (the one who's party you are celebrating), he or she will be happy to write the invitations or blow the balloons.
They will all be happy to help, and this will help you have more time for the rest.
Fourth mistake : to have too much help
You have probably noticed that nowadays people tend to organise incredible parties for their kids. They invite a lot of kids, in the most amazing places (movie theater, zoo, private swimming pool etc), with incredible activities organised by professionnals (magicians, clowns, princesses, rangers) who take care of everything for a certain price. Of course the kids are entertained and happy, and it's easy for the parents.
But in my opinion, the birthday party isn't as authentic that way. The kids are also very happy when you just invite their close friends to share a cake and simple activities together.
I don't want to make the parents who tend to do that feel bad. It's always better to celebrate the birthday in those places than not celebrate it at all.
I just want to say that it's also possible to compromise : for instance, you can organise something like that one year, and the next one you do something simpler in a park or in your house (why not plan a treasure hunt for instance ? The kids will love it). Or, you can do the activities in that kind of place and invite the kids to you place afterwards to have cake.
Fifth mistake : to not say how long the party will last
For the party to be a sucess, it's important to plan everything in advance and decide how long it will last (and inform everyone). Especially if the kids are young. This way you will be able to determine how long you have for each activity (including the cake), and you won't feel overwhelmed. The parents of the kids who are invited will also be able to better plan their day that way.
To give you an idea, I'd say that for the younger kids from 3 to 6 years old, a party should last no more than 2 to 2 hours and a half. For bigger kids starting from 6 years old to 10 years old, 3 to 4 hours is good. And for tweens or teens, the party can last longer (and can be organised later in the day and evening).
Of course this is a rough guidelines but I hope it will help you. And remember that you can keep one or 2 kids for a sleepover to make the fun last longer.
Sixth mistake : to not decorate
I believe that decorating the place where the party will take place is really important. It will enable everyone to be in a party mood and it will enable you to make others visualize the theme that your kid and you have chosen for the birthday party (that was announced in the invitations).
It doesn't have to be complicated : a few balloons in the right colors, a banner that you paint with your children, a few touches of the theme's colors on the buffet (think cake decoration, candies and drinks).
If you have the time, Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration for things that you can make by yourself (papier mâché, painting, drawings on a paper tablecloth etc). I once found a tutorial on Pinterest for instance that helped me draw simple pirate designs on a paper tablecloth for my son's 6th birthday party.
As you may know, you will find printable decoration to help you on my Etsy shop for different party themes (ancient egypt, pirates, detectives, indians, fairies etc).
I hope this blog post will help you organise your kid's next birthday party.
Don't hesitate to comment below with your suggestions, it could help other parents !
Thanks for reading 😊
