Planning a birthday party can be challenging, more so even when you have little kids to look after. But with a checklist and some smart pre-planning, you can plan the best birthday party & be a super host.
Top 10 Tips to Plan a Birthday Party
The first thing that you need to zero down to is the Venue and weather plays a key role
1. Venue
Picking the right venue plays a key role in making the party successful. A number of kids/adults and the activities should be kept in mind while shortlisting venues. With kids at the birthday party, we must ensure ample space for the kids to play and run around.
The layout of the food spread must be planned to create the least mess and space for all kids to sit and eat.
2. Seating arrangement
The layout you have in mind plays an important role in venue selection, for round table seating you need twice the space when compared to theater seating. Theater seating also does not provide space for kids to eat comfortably.
A mixed setup is apt for a birthday party where the section closer to the dining area has round tables to enable kids and elders to be seated while eating.
The area close to the stage should have some free space to play games based on the itinerary of the party. Do not plan to move the seating around during the birthday party as it causes a lot of confusion.
3. Weather Report
Keeping in mind month/season, pick a venue that will be comfortable for kids and elders. Picking an outdoor venue when there is a chance of rain or picking an outdoor venue for a sunny day’s birthday party is a big no-no.
Never take a chance, check the weather report before you finalize on a venue. An air-conditioned indoor venue is best for all weather conditions.
4. Invitations
With the advent of technology, the need for physical invites has become nil. A save the date message, followed by a WhatsApp invite is the easiest option. There are multiple sites online which help you create free digital birthday invitations like Untumble or Canva.
You can also use design tools like Photoshop, Corel Draw on your laptop to create digital invitations. Multiple mobile apps are available on the app store but all of them are riddled with ads and are highly un-usable.
5. Theme
Next in line is the theme of the birthday party, If it’s a festive season, the theme can be the festival itself and you can throw in a fact or two as trivia about the festival at the party. You can also have a quiz show about the festival.
This way there’s fun and learning involved. Trending themes currently for boys are – Sports, PubG, Avengers and Little Man. Girls have more colorful themes- Frozen, Fairy, Ballerina, and Candyland. Go with a theme your child can relate to, it’s their day after all.
A theme party is complete only if all elements of the party go with the theme. Starting from the save date, invitations to the return gifts, everything should be in theme.
6. Décor
Décor for a theme party starts with the invitation, then venue entrance, cake cutting area, the venue itself, balloons and props for kids – hats, masks, wristbands, magic wands.
There are a plethora of options available online and the Untumble birthday party store is what we recommend for their ease of purchase and ready to set up supplies.
For large venues, we suggest you go for an event management/planner since DIY stuff for large venues does not highlight the theme. It’s better to hire a professional as you need to enjoy the party yourself and not be flustered and tied up with physical work on the big day.
7. Food
Kids are usually very energetic and overexcited at a birthday party and the sugar /candies etc., add to this hyperactivity. Loading them with a lot of sweets is counterproductive to a great party. Keep it simple.
Start with a welcome drink, dry finger food for snacks, main course, cake and ice cream for dessert. Dry finger food works well with kids. It keeps the mess at a minimum and kids enjoy snacking by themselves while having a good time.
The main course should not have stuff which kids need help to keep the mess at a minimum. Noodles, fried rice, etc are good. Roti subji is bad as kids then to spill all over especially if they are expected to balance their plate without proper seating apt for dining.
8. Games
Games are the most important part of your party’s success. Fun engaging games are always a challenge to plan for a birthday party. You can take a look at a birthday party game list while shortlisting games for your party. Not to forget prizes for the games.
The easiest and most simple idea is to buy one prize across all games. It can be a chocolate or a pencil set. Having different prizes can create confusion and sometimes an awkward moment when little kids fight.
Other entertainment
Birthday parties have a lot of scopes to include other entertainment for kids and adults. Puppet shows, tattoo artists, balloon sculpting, stage magic shows go well for kids.
Carnival games like shooting, car racing, tarot card reading, casual 1-1 magic, mime artists, stand up comedy is great for a grown-up birthday. Having a birthday party at a game center or theme park is a good option when you have a lot of kids since a lot of things are easily sorted out.
9. Cake
Deciding on the Cake involves two factors – theme and number of guests. So go for the best cake providers. The majority of birthday parties have plenty of cake being wasted as too large a cake was ordered. Having multiple sweet dishes on the menu also results in the cake being wasted.
A 2 KG cake is good enough for a crowd of 40 people. You can use this as a ballpark for your audience. Keep in mind the menu when deciding on the size of the cake. The theme decides on the design of the cake.
You can customize flavors, colors, figurines and also accessories like cake toppers. So many options can be overwhelming but the easiest way is to pick a cake based on your theme.
A suggestion would be to keep fondant usage the minimum in your cake since its nothing but sugar paste and not pleasantly edible, although some kids just can’t have enough of it.
10. Return gifts
Kids love takes away gifts and with so many parties that your child attends, you are always confused about what unique gift to give away. Gift options can be categorized into toys, something useful that kids use at school or a learning game/ activity.
Some offbeat options that are trending are saplings, pet fish and bird feeders. These options tend to bring a sense of responsibility into the kids at the same time keeps them excited and curious for long periods of time
After the Birthday Party Clean up
With the Go Green idea spreading everywhere, we need to make sure that we dispose off waste responsibly. Segregating wet/dry waste and managing food leftovers is all that needs to be done.
Leftover food which is not spoilt can be given to the needy. Keep disposables handy to pack and make distribution easy. Segregate all recyclable items like your decorations etc., for future use. Keep dust bins and waste bags ready and teach your child the importance of waste segregation and recycling.
Have a great party!