Tips and Tricks For Birthday Party Success | Family Economics

By Marie

When celebrating your child's birthday, there are a few things you may want to consider to help your party become a success. Here are a few tips to help you stay organized while you plan for your child's big event:

How many kids to invite? Only invite as many children to the party as the age your child is turning. So if your child is turning three, only invite two friends; turning five, invite four friends, etc. Don’t forget to take siblings into account as well. It can take a lot of energy to entertain children for any length of time and the more kids involved, the trickier it can get. Limiting the number of children can help you give them the attention they need.

How long should the party last? If your child is under the age of six, the party should be no longer than an hour. Young children go through games, cake and presents pretty quickly. Once your child is older, they get better at taking their time with the games and opening presents.

How should we celebrate? Decide if you want to have the party at your house or a party place. Birthdays at a party place will cost more money, but everything is taken care of for you—all the planning is done. Or if you choose to have the party at home, you will want to divide your party into sections. Schedule time for kids to arrive and decide what to have the children do while you wait for everyone to arrive. You may want to play games, open presents and eat birthday cake.

Should we pick a theme? Many birthday parties are centered around a certain theme. Pick something your child is excited about like princesses, cars, dinosaurs, etc. Celebrating with a theme helps bring your party together with the cake, decorations and games. It can be fun to play all kinds of dinosaur games, expanding on the fun imagination that children can have.

How much money should we spend? You could spend your life savings on a party or just a few dollars can make it great. There are many items around the house that can make the party fun and frugal. Make invitations from art paper. Bake the cake yourself. Create games from simple supplies. Part of the fun is crafting to get ready for your child's big day.