Hi! I’m Kim over from Craftily Yours. I craft, sew, create, party plan, you name it, I do it! I have known Nena for roughly two years and most of the pictures hanging in my house are courtesy of her. When she asked for volunteer guest bloggers on kid related topics, I jumped at the chance. While I have a kid, a three-year-old, I am pretty much still a child at heart myself. I thought maybe a kids in the kitchen post, but then Nena gave me this wonderful idea. It could possibly help you for years to come, no really, it could!
What is a vital part of the childhood experience? Why parties of course. I recently did a post on my blog where I lamented that there really needs to be a twelve step program for this. Parties and children parties in particular are so much fun to plan. You get to choose a theme, have crazy games, funky food, it’s a blast really. You get to do everything you didn’t think of when you were a kid.There is a lot to planning a party. Depending on how grand you make it, it can be from a few hours of preparation to weeks, or in my case, sometimes months. The best way to tackle this is just dive in.
First, decide how big or little. Now I’m not just talking people, but that is handy to know too. Decide your budget. This will be the determining factor in how many people, what you can do, and where you can do it.
Choose your day and time. This is all about age and preference. There is nothing set in stone. Don’t schedule the party during your child’s naptime thinking you can put them down earlier or later. It never turns out that way. If choosing to throw a party that starts at noon, however, please do provide something edible. It can as easy as a fruit or veggie tray.
Choose your location, if having it somewhere other than your home, you may need to be flexible on date and time. As for invitees, the rule of thumb is one more than your child’s age. Example if turning 1, invite one other child. I for one don’t like this rule. Don’t overload your space but if budget allows, the more the merrier I say.
*If having it at a bounce place or such, a lot of the times decorations and paper goods are included, so if time pressed this is an awesome alternative.
Pick out a theme. My suggestion is if the child is old enough ask them. They are always full of ideas and most of the time they are surprisingly good. Don’t scoff if the idea is not ideal, say they pick out bacon! There are totally cute party ideas out there for bacon! If not, pick something you like.
Scour the internet. Etsy, Kara’s Party Ideas, and The Party Dress are great sites to start with. You can pretty much Google whatever your party theme is and hit the jackpot. While be bombarded with all these ideas, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Honestly, your child won’t notice if there are five different types of stars hanging from the ceiling, all they see is stars. My hardest task is reigning in creativity. A child will remember two to three really cool things about their party a lot more than 15 crammed in.Next, now that you have your budget, theme, date, time and location set. You have sorted ideas and have made your list. Take action. Invites need to be in the mail no later than two weeks prior to the party but no earlier than four weeks. You want to find the happy medium of giving people a heads up but not so long as they forget there is a party. If you are throwing this together last minute, do call to invite. Sending evites is acceptable now days; I would refrain from doing this for anything other than a birthday party though.
Now there are a couple items that need to be checked through. Decide if you’re serving food and if you are, are you preparing it. If you’re preparing it and your party is not at home think about access to water, heat, and cold storage. If it’s in your budget to get someone else to do it, do it. Preparing food, decorating, hosting the party is a tremendous amount to take on and still enjoy the party. If you don’t have a caterer in the budget, think about party trays from restaurants, Chik-fil-a is a favorite of mine or grocery stores deli trays work great. If you still want the homemade feel, make something that you can make ahead of time, this means more than the day before too. I am so guilty of this!
Decide on your cake. I go for cupcakes at children’s parties. They are so much easier to pass out then it is to cut a cake. If you have to have a cake, go for it, but maybe have something else there to distract while it is being handed out.
Figure out your game plan. I usually write down a timeline. This seems silly but it saves you from the umm, what do I do next panic. If having the party at home or a park without a playground, have games or a craft or both planned. Crafts are good because they can act as party favors too! Sometimes time flies, sometime it drags, have a back up game as well.
Favors are the most fun to put together in my opinion. They leave the lasting impression of the event and are a tangible way of saying thank you for attending. These can be as simple as candy and matching goodies or to elaborate gift bags filled to the brim.
Prepare as much as physically possible before the party. You will also want help to decorate and set up the party. This can be Dad, Grandma, a friend, any one. Have an idea of where you want what, but be prepared to change it if it messes with the flow of the party.
Be budget conscious. Keep visible track of what you are spending. You want the event to be fantastic, but if you’re worried about the credit card bill you will receive next month it won’t be fun for you and you will be stressed before the party even starts. Like I said above, your child will remember only a few of the decorations, games, and food that you spent so much time and money laboring on, you don’t have to do everything for one party.
*To help be budget conscious, look around your house. See what can be dual purpose. If you remember a really cool cake plate that friend had, ask if you can borrow it.
Most importantly be present for your child. This is their day and they will only turn this age once. Take lots and lots of pictures. These will be the best memories. Consider getting someone else to do this for you so you will be in some of them.
Remember that we are of the mindset that bigger is better. This is not always true for birthdays. Some of the most memorable and fun parties are often the most simplistic. This gives you time to focus on a few things and make them great.
Happy Partying ~Kimmy~
Kim Elliott
Designer
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