Have your child help you to set up a rough schedule for the event. A schedule will allow you to make sure you get to the important parts, like the cake and ice cream or the presents, but can still be flexible to allow for a fun activity to continue longer than expected. If you are organized, you can help the party flow naturally from start to finish, have the things you need on hand and in the areas where you plan to use them, and generally keep everything moving smoothly. You'll also want to be sure that there is enough adult help, particularly for younger children's parties and teen parties. Younger children sometimes need a modicum of extra supervision or assistance. Older youths need additional eyes on them to make sure that they don't get carried away into unsafe or uncomfortable situations.
Add the Final Trappings
Decorating can be half the fun of putting on a party. Whether the party is themed or just a festive occasion, put your child in charge of the decorations if he or she wants to do this. Crepe paper streamers are very inexpensive and can be a lot of fun to put up, see and take down. Check out discount stores and catalogs, garage sales, and other inexpensive outlets for inflatable accents, wall hangings, or other fun additions. Table cloths are also generally quite inexpensive and can really dress up a room. Don't forget to purchase paper tableware, napkins, cups and so forth.
Go shopping with your child to choose door prizes. These can be given away as part of games or can be passed out at random points in the party by means of numbers under chairs or on the bottoms of cups. Everyone loves getting prizes, and you can find lots of creative ways to give them away. Perhaps the biggest challenge is to find age-appropriate prizes that stick within your budget. Try the local dollar store and resale shop. You may even find what you're looking for in an antique mall. Keep your eyes peeled, and chances are good that you'll be able to find what you need at bargain prices.
Remember to make goodie bags, as well. These parting gifts send the guests out the door feeling great about the event. Young children enjoy small trinket toys, school supplies, balloons, stickers, and so forth. Older guests may like unusual candies, nail polish, posters, combs, bookmarks or key chains.
And don't forget the food! Your child will want a say in this phase of the planning, as well. Is there a food that the guests can have a hand in preparing? An edible craft or a fun to cook idea? Cookie decorating, ice cream sundae making, or pizza topping are all great activities that yield delicious party treats. Try making homemade ice cream by putting the ingredients for the ice cream in a small can, sealing it, and putting the sealed can inside a larger can packed with ice and salt. Seal the big can and have fun rolling the cans back and forth to churn the ice cream. If your party time spans a meal time, you'll want to provide more than the traditional cake and junk food. Try sloppy joes, hot dogs, pizza, egg rolls, or nachos for more substantial fare.
Whatever kind of party your child wants to plan, be sure that he or she is involved in the preparations from the ground up. Kids can help make the decisions about their event, they can help clean and prepare the house, assist with the shopping, and lend a hand with clean up time afterward. What's more, it's important that they be given the opportunity to do these things. How else will they learn what's involved so that they can plan and pull off events on their own some day?
