Planning a Birthday Party

It’s Birthday Party time at our house!

Our 4th born turned 5 a couple of weeks ago—where has the time gone!? We have 2 birthdays in July, one in September and another in August. While I tend to be a last minute shopper, I do like to sit down and plan things ahead of time. I like to know exactly what themes and games we will be playing during the party. Planning is so much fun for myself and the birthday child!

We thought we might share with you some of the things we do to prepare for a birthday party.

1st-We choose the theme. We often browse the web for ideas, although most of the time the boys have something in mind—such as a Luau, Sports theme, Bowling or some other fun idea they come up with!

2nd- We decide on a location. Often this will go with the theme. We have had many parties in our home, however if we are having a Bowling or Golf theme we may choose to have them at a bowling alley or putt-putt golf location. Sometimes this is easier for me as I will not have the added cleaning and craziness at my house!

3rd- We decide what games to have at the party. If we are having the party at a bowling alley or something of that nature we do not have extra games, however if it is being held at our home we like to have games for the children to enjoy. Games might include:

Bean Bag Toss, Ring Toss, Bob for apples, Sack hops, Water Balloon games, pin the tail on the donkey (or if you have a character theme such as Shrek, you may do pin the nose on Shrek or something of that nature).

4th- We plan the guest list. Now if it were up to my children we might invite every person they have ever met, so we must sit down together and make a list of their closest friends they might like to invite.

5th- Invitations. Prepare the invites, set the date and get them in the mail early!

6th-Food. I often wait to figure out the food simply because I like to plan the location and so forth first. Once I have an idea of how many guests we might have attend I will plan the food (give yourself plenty of time though). We have had pizzas from our local Little Caesars (they are just $5 a piece), Hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, shredded meat sandwiches, and of course we have had sides. We try to keep it simple when it’s for kids as they don’t tend to spend much time at the table, they would much rather be off running around!

7th- Don’t forget the cake! Be sure to order your cake in advance. Or if you are handy, plan the cake to go with your theme and make it yourself—I’m not that good. And don’t forget the ice cream! There have been times I have actually forgotten the ice cream. Boy were the kids upset with me!

8th- Decorations–this goes with the theme, but be sure you have this all planned out and your tables are covered the way you want them and plates and napkins are bought and ready to go!

Now, these are the basics. You can add to it to make your party even more of a success. The most important thing to remember is that you must have fun. Don’t stress if you forget something because most of the time you are the only one that really even notices (unless you are like me and you forget the ice cream! ha ha!)

More to Come on Raising My 5 Sons…