If by some very odd reason you
haven't been bombarded with 20 reminders a day that it's your kid's
birthday in either 3 months or 2 weeks, one thing is for sure on either
scenario, the word panic and dread may be on your status update on
Facebook.
Unless of course you are a mum with time on your hands, or a natural taking to all things party planning!
So after being called for
advise a few times lately on this very subject, I thought; what a great
idea it would be to pop my advice on a top 7 guide to organising the
perfect kids party ,no matter what type of parent you are. So here we
go:
1. WORK OUT A THEME.
I cannot stress how important this is. Without a theme for a kids party, there are real chances it will become just... meh! .
So pick a theme your kid and
their friends will all enjoy. As it may be your kid's birthday, however,
if his or her friends think its all a bit naff, unfortunately THAT'S
the bit your child will remember in the end. Having a theme doesn't make
it any more expensive, just focused.
Themes can be anything from jewelry
making party, superheros,
colour theme, game related theme, Hollywood, Glee, One Direction,
pirates, arts and crafts, Kareoke, Disney, princesses, racing cars...
can be anything they will love.
2. MAKE A LIST AND SET THE DATE
Lists are not just what you do
during in therapy, albeit... after planning a kid's party you may need
that too. But on a serious note, make a clear list in order of priority
what needs to be done and set the date. Always try and give other
parents at least 2 or 3 weeks notice as parent's book up their weekend
in advance.
3. BUDGET
What is your budget? Bare in
mind, the party is not now but rather in few weeks away at least! Can
you afford £60 only, or is £500 more your ballpark?
4. DELEGATE
What I often see, is mums
getting really stressed, mainly because they do it all by themselves.
Remember, unless you are one of those needy people who is always needing
their friends and family for help or for a moan, people will jump to
your assitance! Women often don't like to ask for help and feel they are
expected to do it all alone, as its 'no big deal' but it is, especially
when you are juggling cooking, cleaning, school runs, friends, family,
work, erands, hobbies, social media. Ask for help. Your sister, mother
in law, your own mother, your friends or dare I say.. your husband!
5. SPREAD THINGS OUT
As soon as you know you have a
date for the party, start ordering the decoration. Often the online
themed party shops do the best deals and if you are in a 24 hour rush
for delivery, you really will be saving yourself money! The cake you
can look into already the week before, and delegate that someone goes to
collect it for you on the morning of the party. Entertainers, should
you have the extra budget, often can be fully booked believe it or not.
So 3 weeks before is a great time to research and book them in.
Even arts and crafts folk like myself, need a few weeks notice in an ideal world too, so get on the phone!
6. SO LETS LOOK AT THE LIST
Things can accumulate on it over the weeks, however about a month or 3 weeks
before you can do:
A. THE INVITATIONS.
Plan your invites list. How many
people are coming? Do you want all, or some of the parents to stay or
do you want kids only and give the parents a few hours off. I guess it
also depends on how much you can't wait for a chinwag with your mummy
and daddy pals.
A great party size is 10 kids
and some parents, however if your budget and space allows 25 also can
work, but then you need to be very smart.
Plan how are you inviting them.
Email, text or proper written invitations. If it's written, pop to
paperchase where you can buy packs of invites and if it's email, there
are e-cards you can send, which might be far nicer than a plain old
email.
Write them and send asap!
B. THE DECORATION.
Not sure which one belongs to
Kate Middleton's folks, however there are so many cool ones. TIP: Always
look at the Offers or Bargain page, it's not always easy to find as
they want you to buy full price (which is still cheap) however, worth a
search. Party Pieces for example I just saw has 70% off, so you really
never know.
Anyhow, by looking on these
sites you will understand why I stressed the importance of a concrete
theme. As it will make navigating through, so much easier. You can even
typing direct into Google 'Kids pirate themed party decoration'.
Place your order as soon as you know how many kids are confirmed.
C. THE ENTERTAINMENT
So ok, with those who can afford
it, go all the way. You can book clowns (unless you or your child has a
huge phobia - Don't laugh, I believe it's the 3rd or so biggest fear)
You can also book a band,
magician, puppeteer, beautician for pampering, football coach, face
painter, dancers, artist, dance teacher etc.
They are not always very expensive, however you will be looking to add at least £150 more to your budget.
D. ACTIVITIES
What activities would the kids
be into? Jewelry making, football playing, movie watching, games,
singing and so on. There has to be some kind of activity, as kids get
bored quickly, so fill up the 1.5 to 2 hours well.
E. PARTY FOOD AND DRINKS
No party is complete without a good buffet of snacks, nibbles and drinks.
Of course for some mums Iceland
and Asda solve the entire problem. To be honest for all parents, a good
trip to Asda is great for this! Be it for a selection of about 3
variations of drinks. Say Apple, Strawberry and Banana Innocent smoothie
and maybe a pineapple juice. (I am not a fan of fizzy, but as its a
party, ok go on then)
Then you have the snacks and
food. Couple variations of crisps, some hotdogs maybe, fruit platter or
strawberries with dipping cream, crudites with hummus (everyone likes a
bit of that), some fun biscuits and anything along this type of thing
is good.
Pizza ordering can save you this hassle, or can reduce the effort needed to half.
Make sure the pizza is kept in a hot oven as cold pizza sucks.
Of course you can bring the
budget right down to snacks only, so crisps, crudites, biscuits and
drinks.If you can afford a few bob more, Waitrose truly is fab for
pretty choices.
F. THE CAKE
Gluten free, parve, healthy, the
options are all there! Are you buying it ready made in Asda or a bakery
or are you ordering something special with a bespoke decoration.
Don't leave it till few days before, research few weeks prior!
Remember, Waitrose sell great
cake decorations like edible glitter and stuff that's like 1.80 or so
each and make a world of difference to a plain cake or cupcakes. You can
also decorate regular cupcakes yourself or get your son or daughter to
help the night before.
G. THE DOGGIE BAG. OH... I MEANT GOODIE BAG
Getting a goodie bag right isn't
always easy. But the right balance of things also depends on the theme
of your party. Many of those websites also do goodie bag fillers so
check that out. But usually things like sweets, stickers, glitter tubes,
tattoos, keyrings, little fun toys etc.
7. THE BIG DAY
If you have been super
organized before hand and enlisted the support of your loved ones, this
day should run smoothly other than a few drinks spillages and tons of
crumbs on the carpet. But if that's the only thing that goes wrong that
day, you know you did a great job!
Would love to hear from you in
the comments section or on the email box how your big day went and would
love to answer any questions you have.
Don't forget, I also organise
kids arts and crafts parties, as well as offer face painting too, so if
that's what your kids are into, speak to me for a quote.
x
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