Planning a birthday party for your child can feel daunting. I have had nearly 9 years experience of planning my daughters parties so today I thought I would share with you how I plan and organise for these every year. I have split this into two posts, so don’t forget to come back next week for part 2.
The reason I have nailed this party planning is that there is one point every year where I add the job title “party planner extraordinaire” to my already long list of other job titles. You see, everyone in my family, apart from me, has their birthdays within one month. My eldest daughter is first. Then two days later it’s my husbands, followed up 23 days later by my youngest. So from about the end of February/beginning of March I have to start writing my lists.
So, what do I do? Below is the beginning of my timeline:
Two to three months before
The first thing to do is to write down the basic details:
– How many children are to be invited? Start writing a list of your little ones friends. Who do they play with at nursery or school? Don’t forget cousins and family friends. Knowing roughly the number of children will help with the next part.
– Where are you going to hold the party? Are you going to have it at home or a family/friends house? Or you may want to hire a hall. Does your little one love soft play or the local trampoline park? You may even want to hold it outside at the local park or at the local swimming pool. I think we have done all of these!
– Will there be a theme? Does your little one love Disney Princesses or is it all about football? Have a chat with the birthday girl/boy and see if there is anything they have in mind. Start to have a think about what decorations you want – banners, balloons, paper plates, napkins etc.
– When will you hold the party? Do you want to do it on their actual birthday or the weekend before or after? Now is also probably a good time to check that family and favourite friends are free on certain dates. The last thing you want when you send out the invites is to find out that the favourite people can’t make it.
– Is there going to be any entertainment? If you are holding the party at soft play or an activities place then you won’t really need to sort this. But if you are having the party in a hall or at home then you may want to get ideas on what entertainment you want. This could be a children’s entertainer, a bouncy castle, someone who will do activities with the kids etc. If you are going to do games yourself start writing down a list of what type of games.
– Will there be food at the party? Most soft plays etc. provide food as part of the party package, but if you are holding the party somewhere else start having a think about what spread, if anything, you will be putting on. Ideas could be hot dogs or party nibbles like sandwiches, crisps, biscuits, fruit, cakes etc. If you won’t have the time to prepare food you could arrange for a local cafe or supermarket to provide platters.
– Will you be giving out party bags? Again, if you are doing soft play, most places would provide these, all you would need to do is bring cake. But if you are sorting this then start to have a think what they would look like. You can get bags that match most themes these days, or maybe you could get crafty with your little one and make your own. Also, what will be in the bags? Anything can go in – stationary pieces, notebooks, toys, bouncy balls, bubbles, sweets, you name it. If you don’t have the time to put bags together, there are plenty of places online that can put packs together.
When you have all the answers to these questions, you will have a better idea of what the party will look like, and what needs to be arranged over the next couple of months.
So from this list, and to ensure your child gets the party they want there a few tasks that need doing now. These are:
– confirm a date
– book the venue if using one and pay the deposit
– book the entertainment
– if ordering a cake from a bakery put the order in now.
6 weeks before the party
– Confirm the invite list with the birthday girl/boy.
– Buy/make the invites. If you are making the invites you will need to let people know:
- who’s invited
- who has sent the invite
- date of the party
- time (start and finish time)
- where
- what type of party it is – if there is a theme include that and state if it’s fancy dress
- do guests need to confirm if they are attending or not? If so when do they have to do this by and how – can they do this by text message/email/or completing a slip? It’s best to get guests to RSVP at least one week before the party. This then gives you time to chase anyone up and confirm numbers/menu choices with venues
- if food is being organised do they need to choose what their child will eat when responding? Or if their child has any allergies or special requirements if you are preparing the food.
So by now you will have a firm idea of what is happening for the party, and I will leave it there for part one. Part two is now up on the blog and this covers what needs to be done during the last month leading up to the party.
If you are starting to plan a party and you use this timeline I would love to hear how you got on.
Let’s get organised
Jo
X
I totally love organising parties and we go big on theme and related activities. Just as well as my twins don’t want to share parties so we have two parties, two weekends in a row! This year a Hawaiian party then a week later a Beach party. I love decorating and theming the house I do go a bit overboard (confession!).
Your checklist is really handy for making sure all the tasks are done- a list is always handy so you don’t forget the essentials. From one Jo to another, thanks for linking up to #TheList
Now those parties sound like a lot of fun! I also love a theme and do tend to loose myself in pinterest leading up to them. Thanks for commenting. X
My gosh i have all this to come! Reminds me of Wedding planning hehe #thelistlinky
They are like mini wedding parties, fun too though. Thanks for commenting. X
I’m already planning my daughter’s 5th birthday and it’s just over 2 months away, but I know it will fly by! Great tips 🙂 I like to be organised too! I LOVE that cake by the way, wow! #thelistlinky
With everything else going on in life time does fly way too fast at the moment. This was littlest birthday cake last year, hubby made it. It was amazing. Thanks for commenting. X
I don’t do many parties (handy only having 1 child), but we’re similar with lots of birthdays clustered together (3 in October ,3 in Jan, 2 in Dec). I did a similar post recently – it was mammoth so split ours is a good idea.
Thanks for your comment Emma. I tried to do this in one post but like you said it turned out mammoth, part two will follow next week 🙂
Such a great post, Jo. I’m a couple of years in to planning parties but only family so far and I’m daunted about what to do when friends come into the occasion. This is definitely something I need to bookmark. Thanks for linking up to #MarvMondays. Kaye xo
Thanks for the comment Kaye. I found that when more people join the party it’s easier to hire our places that provide everything, all you need to do then is provide the cake. X
Fab post, you’re not Organised Jo for no reason!!! My eldest is currently deciding what she wants to do for her birthday in May and I think it’s going to be a party (shudders). I’m hoping she might change her mind and go for something easier and requiring less involvement from me as herding a load of sugar high kids into behaving and playing games isn’t my idea of fun!!! Thanks for joining us for #marvmondays x
Thanks for the comment Fran. My youngest wants a party at home at the end of May but we have found this fab little party event company called Dotty Daisy’s. They come and make jewellery with the kids and then they can also get their hair and nails done, little girl heaven! Good luck with your planning. X
Brilliant post. I have just started thinking about my daughters third birthday party which is in July. It would be nice to have a party at home with a bouncy castle but what if it rains? What if the kids dont want to play party games? All the organisation. And the mess afterwards… I think we’ll have a soft play party.. haha #marvmondays
Thanks for the comment Sam. Yep, I agree, go for the soft play! Someone else can deal with the mess. X
I love organising the kids parties but there is SO much to do! This year my daughter wanted a party ‘at somewhere’ this year which meant I could no longer fob her off with a party at the house. It’s on Saturday and I have a weird feeling that I’ve forgotten something because I feel like I should be running around stressing out like every other year. This year it’s all taken care of by the lovely people at the venue and I have to say it’s quite nice! 🙂
#MarvMondays
That sounds perfect, someone else to do all the running around. Hope you daughter has a fab party. X
Really thorough plan lovely. I will be next doing this in August and my daughter is already giving me ideas now!! Crazy. Will have to bookmark this xx #marvmondays x
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. My youngest has not stopped talking about her party since January, and it’s not until the end of May! X
I have both my girls birthdays and my husbands birthday in the space of 10 days, it’s a bit crazy! After Easter I will be starting to plan Alice’s party, it will be her first school party! Normally the girls have a joint party, but I won’t get away with it this year. Great tips, can’t wait for part 2. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Thanks for stopping by Laura, good luck with your daughters party. Having school friends over is lovely, I love seeing their relationships develop. X
We’ve just had Eva’s 5th birthday party and had it at a play centre so they organised it, phew! Its my sons 13th in two weeks but he is way too cool for parties, thankfully! #BloggerClubUK
I love a soft play party, not for the noise but for someone else doing the prepping and cleaning away! My daughter is 9 in a couple of weeks and she has started to just want a trip out with a couple of friends, it is certainly easier to plan. X
It’s my son’s birthday in a couple of weeks and it’s clear that this is the last year I’m going to get away with not doing a party – he’s asked in the last few days about having some friends over! Bookmarking this for next year – I’m definitely going to be booking a soft play or something though, I can’t face doing it in our house! Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Soft play is such a good option, we have had a few over the years. Hope you son has a fab birthday. X
Wow, you really are organised. It’s my son’s birthday in less than a month and other than knowing he wants a minecraft theme and which friends he wants to invite we have done nothing. Really need to get my finger out!
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I really wouldnt know what to do for a boys party having two girls in the house. Hope he has a fab party and it’s not too stressful for you. X
Great post. Our little one is having two parties this year due to us wanting to let him have friends this time too but we have such a big family it would be overwhelming to do both!
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we celebrated April’s 10th birthday with a party last weekend. I love party planning, we had an ice-cream party theme, and were so lucky to get a sunny day too. We had outside bean bag chairs and balloons everywhere, all pastel colours and confetti, it was just lovely. Her actual birthday is Monday. Now we are trying to plan a 13th for my eldest, not sure what to do yet. Great post! #sharingthebloglove
Great post. I am not much for organizing birthday parties. I have one coming up very soon and I hate to say…I am not looking forward to it! It is so much work!
#sharingthebloglove.
I wish I was one of those Mums that could totally nail the party thing, but the truth is, I’m the total opposite! I hate them, with a passion. What makes it super hard for us is that the little man’s birthday is 9 days before Christmas – a crap time of year to hold a party outside and hoping to get everyone turn up with their Christmas commitments is always a risk. This year will be the big test – his first birthday being at school. Oh god, all those kids. I feel sick at the thought!! Great post though – I will be bookmarking them, I think I will need them in a few months!! #sharingthebloglove
Gosh you are so organised, I sorted the boys birthday party out the week beforehand – although I have to admit I was in a complete panic throughout that whole week! Planning ahead is a much better plan x #sharingthebloglove
Great post. You have to be super organised for birthday parties. I love a party but still haven’t 100 per cent nailed the organisation side.
Carly x
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This is a great, thought provoking, post. Thanks for sharing it on #SharingtheBlogLove
How strange! We have a similar issue with all our birthdays been really close together. It seems like the majority of our families birthdays are between January and March! You sound like an excellent party planner! Maybe next year I can hire you! #SharingTheBlogLove