Perfect Parties

Here are some basic ideas and tips on how to organize your kid’s party without much of a hassle.

When I planned my daughter’s first party, I read a book that gave, among other dubious ideas, a recipe for stuffed tomatoes. What kind of super-mother has time for that on the day of a party? 

The Basics

Parties may loom large for you now, but their season is short. Before the age of three or four, small family gatherings are best! By seven or eight, many children prefer an outing with a handful of special friends. So… You probably have a maximum of five children’s parties per child to survive.

The standard length for a party is two hours (maybe less for little ones). The usual format consist of one hour of fun and games, half an hour for a meal of some kind and blowing out the candles, and a final half hour of activities before party bags and goodbyes.

Some venues (including your home) can only take a certain number of children. Most kids happily accept that they are not invited to all parties, but they don’t want to be the only one not invited!

Time and place

It’s fun to hold the party on the actual birthday if you can, but during the week, younger children can be so tired after school that it’s not a great success. So weekends are much better, but bear in mind that few guests may not make it because their families are away.

Home could be a great place to host your party, especially if you’ve got a nice garden. On the other hand, church and village halls are often very cheap to hire, have excellent facilities with kitchens, toilets, cloakrooms, etc, and are plenty of chair and tables for you to use and decorate.

Invitations

You can find themed invitations to print out or you can check online and buy themed party invitations.

Send these out about three or four weeks before the party, but allow extra time if school holidays. Ask for replies to give you a general idea of number, but remember that on the day things may work out slightly different. We recommend you to give the time when you expect the party to end and directions on the back if it’s somewhere parents won’t easily know.

Themes

You don’t have to have a theme to your party, but it’s fun and helps to focus your ideas. There are lots of popular themes that kids will love. Have a look to our “Top Party Themes for boys” and “Top Party Themes for girls”

Entertainment

If your budget runs to it, an entertainer can save you untold stress. There’s a lot of choice around there, from general children’s entertainers to specialists who come prepared to lead anything from football to cookery, pottery painting to drama. Most aim to give everyone a good time, while making the birthday boy or girl feel extra special. Try to get a recommendation from a parent who has seen the entertainer in action.

Parents and Siblings

Parents may wish to stay and may also have younger or older siblings with them. Include them if you can. Other parents may blithely leave you with almost impossible offspring. In the interest of sanity, make sure that all exists are secure and insist on adult supervision in cloakrooms and toilets.

Partyware

A sit-down meal is almost always a better idea than a buffet. It gives children the chance to calm down and stops you spending the rest of the day scraping fairy cakes from the floor. By far the easiest option is to buy themed matching tableware including table covering, plates, cups and napkins with disposable straws and cutlery. That will make your live so much easier! Clearing up is then simply a matter of sweeping everything into a bin bag.

Food

Whether you are doing hot or cold food, keep it simple and don’t put it on the table until the very last minute. It works best if you put just savoury items first, reserving sweet things for 10 minutes later. Put a selection of items on each serving plate, so that, on a large table all children can reach everything. There are lots of food ideas, most of which could be adapted for any party.

Presents and Thank-you

Provide a table near the door for presents and cards. Don’t try to open them at the party but take them home, where opening can be more leisurely and you stand some chance of being able to make a list of who gave what.

Thank-you letters need not be time consuming. Until children are old enough to write them themselves, a colourful note produced on a computer is fine. Persuade your child to write his or her name at the bottom if you can.

Party Bags

Give yourself a strict limit for contents as it’s easy to get carried away and spend a fortune. It’s best if you don’t put guest’s names on the bags, as you may gain siblings you hadn’t catered for or lose guests on the day because of illness. Colour code the bags instead if there is a difference in content for boys and girls. See our section of Party Bags and Party Bag fillers

Toys to develop your Child's Concentration and Motor Skills

Are you looking for yous that are so much fun that your kid won't notice he is learning at the same time?

There are thousands of children toys in the market to choose from. However is important you always remember that your child's toys should be age appropriate. They should be neither too simple nor too complex. For that reason is important to know what kind of toys can be useful for your children and are so much fun that he/she doesn't realize is learning at the same time.

Bongos

Musical Toys give your child audio and motor skill development while playing with it. Musical instruments or musical toys are specialized for sensory development. The benefits of music to children are well documented. It is shown that music has a huge influence on your kid's brain development. Musical toys or musical instruments help improve concentration, creativity and patience.

Block Games

Block Games are useful to expand your child's imagination and will help him to develop his motor skills. When they are babies or toddlers, playing with big block will develop their fine motor skills to pick them up and will develop their gross motor skills to move them around. Playing with blocks will help your child to develop basic mathematical skills. It will also improve your child's creativity and as the complexity of the game increases, so does their concentration and problem solving skills.

Puzzle Games

All kind of Puzzles Games help your child's concentration and develop his fine motor, problem solving and hand-eye coordination as he figures out which shape fits where. Children gain self-confidence as they play with these toys. They will develop a sense of power. Children usually want to show the rest what they can do with these toys and when another person pays attention on how they complete their puzzle, they feel worthwhile and gain self confidence.

Stacking Rings

Stacking rings will stimulate your kid's senses. Helps to develop your child's motor and cognitive skills. 

Before buying a toy for your kid look out for a toy that is appropriate for your child's age, skills and abilities. Toys should be fun that keep your child's interest, that stimulate his/her creativity and help expand his/her imagination. Something which teach communication skills, encourage eye-hand coordination, develop his/her fine and large motor skills.  Toys which offer them the opportunity to think, learn and not difficult to use so the child can use it on their own. It will help them gain independent skills .

Don't forget to check all of your child's toys at least every four months to determine their safety. Throw away damaged toys. Damaged toys can be dangerous for your kid.

How to Organize a Party

Is your kid’s birthday coming up and you want to celebrate it with a nice birthday party and invite all his/her friends from nursery or from school?

Don’t worry, is not that difficult to organize it! Just follow this simple steps and your kid will have the best birthday party ever!

DATE & TIME

Parents’ availability differs on each family. In general, the best day to celebrate your kid’s birthday party is Saturday afternoon. Saturday is the day when most parents have time to take their children out to play, go to parties and spend time with them.
Some people may well prefer to do it on Sunday morning, especially for toddler parties.
Try not to choose a Saturday or Sunday within a long weekend. People use these days to travel and you will experience low attendance.
Try to limit the party length to 3 hours. After 3 hours kids can get tired and grumpy.

NUMBER AND AGE OF YOUR GUESTS

With your kid’s help, try to write down a list of names of the people you and your child want to invite. Remember to specify in the list how many children and how many adults. This is a very crucial factor when deciding what sort of party you can have and where can be held.
Try to make sure the number of kids is higher than the number of adults. Don’t forget your child prefers to celebrate with other kids rather than lots of adults.
Don’t feel anxious into inviting the whole class. This is the moment to get your child involved. Your child knows who he/she wants to invite, and the best of all, they will feel they are making part of the preparations. This is a good time to teach them to make important decisions.

PLACE

Kid’s birthday parties can be held in lots of places!
1. There are lots of Party Venues where you can get a party coordinator at your service for the duration of your party. These are popular places to hold a birthday party; however, they can be very expensive and most of the times you have to restrict yourself to their menus and their list of presents for your guests. They do everything for you but you don't have much control of the party.
2. Halls are other fantastic places to hold a birthday party. You can go and ask at your closest public library, at your local church or leisure centre. They all have rooms they rent per hour for special events. They usually charge per hour which is another plus when you want to control your budget.
They are generally inexpensive and they usually allow you to bring your own decoration, party entertainer and catering, which can be very positive as you can shop around and get the best available party decorations, food and entertainers dependent on your budget.
3. Home is the most inexpensive place where you can hold a birthday party. Thanks to the existing credit cruch, having your party at home has become very fashionable! You and your guests can stay as long as they want and you can have full control of the party. Choose a part of your house with enough room to play games and for children to run without breaking any valuable object. Don’t forget to put away any precious and priceless porcelain you might have!
You will need loads of chairs and a main table for setting up the food and the party decoration.
If you are planning to have the party in your garden, make sure you have a back up plan in case the weather changes. Think the option of having a Gazebo or think of an area of your house where you can accommodate all your guests.

ASSISTANTS

Ask your family and friends if they can help you before, during and after the party. Don’t feel you have to do everything yourself!
Prepare a list of things they can help you with. Think about who can help you preparing the drinks, canapés, sandwiches, nibbles. Who can help you to set up the main table and laying out the party food. Who can help you to look after your guests and who can be in charge of the photographs.

See more Tips on Essential Party Planning Ideas

Party Planning Checklist

This Party Planning Checklist will help when planning a party to keep you in control, on budget and most importantly to leave you worry-free and ready to enjoy your party!

4 Weeks before the Party:

• Make a budget for your Party
• Chose a date and time
• Create a guest list
• Visit possible venues: ask for prices and availability
• Choose a Party Theme
• Create a Party Supply list: Don't forget a Welcome / Door Party Banner and lots of balloons
• Think of a Cake Design

3 Weeks before the Party:

• Book a Venue
• Purchase Invitations
• Mail all Party Invitations: Note any special instructions if they should dress to match the them, if parents need to stay with their kids, etc.
• Make a list of all party games you can think of
• Order Cake if you are not making your own

2 Weeks before the Party:

• Plan your Party Menu
• Make grocery list
• Purchase Party Tableware and Decorations according with your chosen theme
• Order Party Balloons
• Purchase Party Favours and Prices
• Purchase Cake Decorating Supplies. Don't forget to include Birthday Candles.
• Start making any homemade decorations or things needed for the party games

1 Week before the Party:

• Confirm venue and entertainment if required
• Make a list and select the party music
• Confirm attendance. It's better to call anyone who has not RSVP'd

2 Days before the Party:

• Go grocery shopping and don't forget to include drinks and camera batteries
• Charge your camera and your video recorder
• Stuff and label all Party Bags
• Pick up any items that you are borrowing for the party
• Make room in the fridge for the party food
• If the party is at home, tidy up any areas of the house that need it and clean up any outside areas that will be used for the party
• Wrap all party presents

The Day before the Party:

• Bake and decorate the cake, or pick up ordered cake
• Prepare any party food that can be stored in the fridge
• Get games and all the party activities in order
• Put drinks in the fridge

The Party Day:

• Inflate balloons including helium party balloons
• Prepare remaining food
• Purchase Ice
• Decorate Party Room

A day after the Party:

• Write thank you note enclosing a nice picture from the party