As fun as planning your little one’s birthday party can be, it can also turn into an extremely time consuming and stressful endeavour that leaves you feeling more exhausted than excited. We know all too well how it feels to juggle too many plates (mental load overload anyone?), which is precisely why miniDO was born, because we want to give you back more of your time. After lots of trial and error, we finalised this simple yet error-proof kids party planning checklist to ensure your party planning runs smoothly from start to finish.
1. Decide on a theme
Kids party planning is something a lot of us want to avoid, but planning a theme-based party always makes it far easier to manage things and make them look aesthetically pleasing. We have no doubt that your child is currently obsessing over something, whether that be unicorns or dinosaurs, their current interests make a great base. However, if you are stuck for ideas, check out our Trending Kids Party Themes post for the latest theme trends for all ages.
2. Make a guest list
When you invite a lot of people, you risk a crowded place which might overwhelm both the kids and the adults. The rule of thumb is that a parent accompanies a child to a party up until the age of 5, then it’s kids only. Another recommendation is to always invite the number of kids equal to the age of the birthday child, plus one. So, if your little one is turning 5, you should invite 6 kids for the celebration. Siblings are not counted in this recommendation.
Once the guest-list is complete, get the invitations out so that you know what kind of numbers you’re dealing with – this is kids party planning 101.
Let there be cake
If you decide to bake it yourself, bravo! You are officially superhuman and probably don’t need our advice anyway! Otherwise, order from a local bakery, alternatively, most Woolworths and Coles stores have started preparing beautiful fresh fondant cakes in the bakery section that are an absolute win. If you want the cake to go exactly with your theme, this will likely be quite expensive in comparison to a simple buttercream. In our experience, the kids are not as impressed with the theme cakes as we would hope. They just want a yummy cake with lots of sprinkles most of the time, so save your pennies!
4. Time for decor
Unless the weather does not permit, we advise that you do not host a party indoors. It leaves your home so messy after the bash and adds so much more to your to-do list. It is always better to make outdoor arrangements. Multi-coloured balloons are always a sure way to spruce up the space without breaking the bank. Coloured streamers and confetti are always a win too. If you have the budget, you can also get theme-based cut-outs, or certain centrepieces for the tables.
Food and drinks
Let us let you in on a little secret! The best time for kids parties is in the afternoon (2pm-5pm). No full meals are needed after lunch and before dinner. This way you can cater snacks, drinks and dessert to make is easier for kids to choose from. Additionally it will result in less wastage which is always a bonus. There are lots of environmentally friendly disposables you can serve the food and drinks on for a no mess clean up after the birthday party.
6. Games and activities
If we know one thing for sure it is that kids come to the party for cake, games and gifts. Their favourite cost free games are freeze-dance, musical chairs, charades, Simon says, and treasure hunts.
7. Party bags and thank you’s
Kids love party bags with their name on them. I mean, would you not get excited at the prospect of a bag of goodies all for you? Make sure you have a party bag per child, and a few to spare in case some siblings or additional friends come. Fill the goodie bags with lollies, stickers, bubble blowers, coloured pencils or crayons and even bouncy balls.
8. Emergency plan
Hopefully it does not come to this, but it is always wise to have a plan B up your sleeve, particularly if you have dependencies on the weather. You want to have an indoor option that’s not going to be impossible to execute at the last minute and that wont leave you forking out a lot of extra money either.
We hope that this checklist has been helpful, if it still seems like way too much work, why not just search for the perfect party package here.
