Most kids would agree they want a fun birthday celebration, and one way to do it is to have a themed one.
Planning a birthday party may take time and energy, but if your kids loved it, then it's worth all the effort.
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Preparing For A Themed Party
If this is your first time planning a themed birthday party, then you might be coming here with a lot of questions.
You might be thinking about how exactly you’ll pull it off. Of course, you want to make sure your kids and guests love it.
Below are some tips on how to plan the best themed birthday party ever:
1. Collaborate With Your Kid
The first decision you're going to make is which type of theme to prepare for, and it’ll probably be best if you let your kids decide on this.
Talk to them and get their ideas in. Ask them whether they want a superhero-themed birthday, a dinosaur-themed party, or anything that captures their interests.
You can find more information here on how to have an excellent time with dinosaur party ideas. Most importantly, ask them if they want their guests to come in costumes or not.
As a rule of thumb, you have to be realistic. You can’t possibly make everything your kids want to come to life, but try to keep it as close to what they want.
After all, it's your kid's special time of the year.
Themes are not necessary, but having one makes designing easier. If you and your kid are having difficulty picking one, then you might want to try these:
- Circus Party
A circus-themed party is fun if your kid is into carnivals. You can decorate the event's place with big, bright colors and have some of the circus amenities in your party for extra fun.
- Rainbow Theme
Kids love a variety of colors, so make sure to add them to your party design. Have your kid's birthday cake rainbow-themed, and add touches of ROYGBIV colors in your decors.
- Old Mcdonald
This is also a great idea for your kid's party. Have your guests dress up in overalls, and set up bundles of hays as decorations.
Serve them a farm-decorated cake, and even give out party favors with metal buckets to make it look like the pail farmers use to get milk.
2. Party Planning Arrangement
When it comes to children's birthday party planning, timing is very crucial as children can’t stay out too late.
If you have it too early in the morning, people might not want to attend, so you have to find the sweet spot. Thus, having it around the afternoon may be the best time.
You may even want to get a dual party in partnership with your kid's friends. This, of course, is up to your kid to decide.
If you get your child to agree to this, you can save on the cost by splitting it with other parents. However, if you decide to have a dual party, be sure each kid has their cakes and gifts.
3. Set A Budget And Stick To It
When you think about the money aspect of planning a party, it can get overpowering sometimes.
You want your kid to have fun memories without hurting your wallet, that's why it’d be wise to decide on a budget early on. After setting a budget, make sure to follow it.
Have a list of all your expenses as you purchase items to go account it later on. If you list everything down, you’re making it easier to review your budget and expenditures.
Here are some expenses you can expect:
- Estimate how many guests you can accommodate.
- Think about the cost of decorations and amenities. Some things you can save money on are the decorations since it doesn't have to be expensive at all. If you want, you can even do it yourself.
- Figure out how much your budget for food and cake will be or if you’ll be serving food at all.
- Try to find locations at a lower price so you can save on costs. You could also ask for referrals from other parents.
4. Cater To The Children
Most parents forget birthday parties are for the celebrant and other children. Always remember that parents are not your primary guests, so make sure the party you're planning is accommodating to the kids.
To do this, keep the party short and sweet by considering these:
- An hour and a half to two hours are enough. Parties that take longer than this might overtire other children and cause them to have tantrums.
- Always have activities and games that could be finished in a short time. In this way, children wouldn’t get bored.
As for food, you should consider the following:
- The food you'll be serving should be kid-friendly. There shouldn’t be anything exotic or fancy should because children might not eat.
- Be wary of allergens because some children are allergic to certain food ingredients. Make sure you're aware of this by asking parents before planning your menu.
5. Remember To Have Fun
Although you must cater to your kid and other children, you should not forget to enjoy the process.
You might be too stressed about the details as you might be micromanaging everything, but you shouldn’t forget whose day it’s all about.
This is your child's birthday party, and you should have fun as parents.
It's time for you to stop worrying about perfection as your kid will most likely enjoy everything you have prepared. Try to relax and have fun without overdoing your preparations.
Conclusion
You have probably heard other parents say the nights are long, but the years are short.
That's especially true if you're raising children, so you need to cherish every process of celebrating their birthday parties. It's only done once a year, so make it as memorable for your child as you can.
When they grow up, they'll reminisce about it and thank you for it. What matters is making them happy on their birthday.