professional at this point
By now, I think am an expert on planning kids’ birthdays. I have just finished my 18th party. Now I’m starting to realize some of my ideas are starting to sort of dry up. I’m lucky as I have a boy and a girl, and for the most part, they’re sort of more traditional. They like almost everything too. However, I’m always thinking of a new birthday party for each kid.
Here are my best tips!
keep it manageable
I think as the kids get older; I started realizing that having too many kids is actually taking on too much. So, after a certain age, now I’m trying to reduce parties to about groups of ten. Usually, it’s just the 2 of us (me and my husband) supervising so keeping it at 10 makes it little bit easier. Now I’ve always been somebody that still identifies with the awkwardness of being a kid. I remember not being invited to a party. I know how sad it feels, so I try my best to include everyone.
Weekdays after school
I don’t like parties on the weekends. For me I want to have family time in the weekends. Also, my Saturdays are wreck with all the kid lessons, so I just don’t have the time. I now encourage that we do it right after school. Since we live in a city setting, we can normally just walk over to the venue, so we don’t have to worry about transportation. After school is also good because I ask parents to pick up right after dinner. I feel like it’s considerate for other moms. A drop off birthday after school, moms get some free time and their kids are fed, when they get home kids can get ready for bed.
be active
Birthday parties should have some amount of activity. It doesn’t matter what it is physically or mentally. They really help with focus and energy. So, I do my best now to have something that stimulates the senses. Something that really gets the kids having good time. Try a trampoline park or Zumba class. You can also arrange something with a local sports group. For my daughter, I like to plan craft birthdays because they are always engrossing because the craft can also be a taken home. We also have had so many baking classes and make your own pizza birthdays. These are always a great because then you also get to feed the kids.
stick with a theme
Do not make things too stressful for yourself. A great tool is Canva, that’s where I make most of all my invitations and party material. I also try to give away a goodie bag, so hit up the Dollar store or Alibaba. This year I did a K-pop birthday theme. First, we had a make your own Pizza at a Korean Pizza shop. Then we put together K-pop idol mini-albums. Finally, we ended the party with two hours of karaoke and munching on Korean iconic snacks. I think that it was a blast for children because they got to try something totally new.
you can do it!
For as much as it is daunting to plan your kid’s birthday, it’s good to have meaningful gatherings for your child. I want my children to be social, to have friends and to show their generosity. Being a host requires life skills for children to become successful adults. So next time you think about it’s too much trouble to plan a birthday party, let children learn how to practice hospitality.
