Who isn't excited by the prospect of a birthday party? Children get wound up as soon as they learn of the concept. Preschooler to teen, they all want to plan the perfect party and invite all of their friends. Mom and Dad may not be quite as excited about the prospect of a party, but hopefully will come to understand the importance of the process and the event. Parties are not only fun, but they are also goldmines for learning and growth.
Start With the Basics
Most families have to begin at the beginning when planning a party. Unless you're on the short list of the very wealthy, you'll need to set up a budget. Decide how much you want to spend on this project. With younger children, you will simply need to keep your figures in mind as you OK or, if necessary, deny given aspects of the plan. For school-aged children or teens, bring them into this phase of the planning process. Tell them what you're willing or able to spend on their party and let them help make decisions about how to prioritize the cash flow. Children need to learn about the reality of living within a budget in order to be successful in life, and a party is a great place to begin. Kids are motivated to find ways to have the details of their plan come to life, and they are willing to find creative ways to work within a budget to make that happen.
Another very basic aspect of your party is the guest list. Some parties will be limited by circumstances, while at other times, you can just invite whoever you feel like having. Are there family members, other siblings or cousins who need to be included? Do you need to invite the entire preschool class or school group? How many guests will work best in your home or wherever you are planning to host the party? Your child should have input in any case. He or she will enjoy thinking of favorite people to put on the guest list.
Finally, you'll need to make decisions about the party site early on in the process. Where would your child like to have the party? Many children's parties happen at home, which has the advantages of being free and available whenever you choose. Most homes are limited by space, so that may limit the number of guests. On the other hand, some children have a great deal of difficulty sharing their space and belongings with many guests at one time. Particularly if your child is younger, this may be an issue. You'll get to decorate your space, but someone will also need to clean up.
A party hosted at a business is another common possibility. These parties, held at restaurants, entertainment centers, or skating rinks, have the advantage of using larger space (and so a larger number of guests), built-in entertainment and sometimes supervision, and no set up or clean up for you to worry about. The rental of the facility is an added expense, though, that you must decide whether or not is worthwhile.
Make It Fun
Now that you've made the basic decisions about your child's party, it's time to get to the fun part. Successful parties are well-planned parties. Brainstorm with your guest of honor about what sorts of activities will be fun for the group. The younger they are, the more variety you'll want to offer. You'll also need to keep things moving. Active ideas will work better than quiet ones, for the most part. Here are some suggestions for making your party memorable.
The first principle of planning is to over plan. Plan more activities and diversions than you think you will have time for. That way, if something doesn't work out quite like you think it will, you're not stuck. You can move right into your next activity and not run out of things to do. Party guests will be much better behaved if they have something to occupy their time for the entirety of the event.
Hands-on activities will be more interesting and exciting than games where only one person gets to participate at a time. Guide your host or hostess into choosing activities where all can participate at the same time, such as decorating cookies or dressing pizzas, doing obstacle courses, dancing, or playing group games like tag or hide and seek. Above all, consider putting a moratorium on video games or movie-watching. These passive activities don't generally engage all of the guests at the same time, and can cause some to feel bored and left out.
Make sure the activities you choose are age-appropriate, too. Younger children will need simple games, such as Duck, Duck, Goose, beanbag tosses or relay races. Older children will enjoy more complex games, such as mystery puzzles, charades, or trivia. This is another great reason to over plan: sometimes the activities your child chooses go over like the proverbial lead balloon. If you see that a particular activity is a bust, you can easily move on to the next if you have a few extra ideas.
