7 Things I’ve Learned about Hosting Kids Birthday Parties…
June 19, 2013With birthdays falling in June and September around here, we have opted for the do-it-yourself, backyard birthday party.
And we have survived to tell about it.
Here’s what we’ve learned:
1. Limit the birthday party to 1.5 hours. That’s 90 minutes to keep the adorables moving, entertained and happy. And that’s plenty.
2. Keep the decorations to a minimum. While I certainly appreciate the staged photos of birthday parties with matching, themed everything, I feel like the adorables, frankly, could care less. And that’s a lot of energy and expense wasted.
3. Consider purchasing a bounce house in lieu of a very pricey rental. (In our area, the purchase price = the rental! Hmmm… one rental vs. about 80 uses – that’s a no-brainer to me.)
4. I find drop-off parties (ie no parents) work the best. The parents appreciate the 1.5 hours of free time and I feel I can manage their adorables better without them there (should I not admit to this??).
5. While everyone arrives, have a craft ready until you’re ready to start your main activity or games. It’s always something different: can be a build-it project, a bead project, or this year I just undid a huge roll of white paper and had the adorables decorate it with markers. Count this as 15 minutes.
6. I “borrowed” this idea from Marykate: In lieu of gorgeously decorated cake (again, pricey!), set up a “Decorate Your Own Cupcake” center. Ideas for toppings: 2-3 different types of frosting, sprinkles, red hots, M&Ms, colored sugars, gummy bears, etc. Warning: This is a MESS. Do this outside and have everything disposable so you can just tie up the paper tablecloth and throw it all away. Count this also as 15 minutes.
7. Find a friend with a similar birthday and “share” the party. We’ve gotten away from this the last few years and I think it’s time for a return.
Here are other party ideas we’ve done in the past:
Olympic Themed Party (scroll to the middle)
And don’t forget about Group Gifting for the Adorables
Okay, spill your beans: what’s worked for you? How do you keep your costs down?
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Marykate
on June 19, 2013 6:53 pmHeidi – I follow the same formula – craft upon arrival then activity (bounce castle borrowed from sweet friend for example 🙂 then pizza cupcakes. I sometimes get a babysiiter – think the cute college or high school ones the kids love to do face painting as another activity and for an extra set of hands. An hour for a sitter is worth it! And you will laugh – Maggie’s bday I did an ‘almost sleepover’. Formula above (door knockers and frames for craft), girls wore pjs with a movie Soul Surfer. And to my dismay the night before I realized I was out of cake mix – which never happens. So I am forced to buy cupcakes and I go to the fancy smanshy cupcake wars place and the kids did not eat them – at all!! Not one. And they gobble up the homemade ones in about 2 huge bites. I wanted to say – kids those are $4 cupcakes! Ha! So it doesnt pay to get the trendy stuff anyway – kids prefer Betty Crocker.