The Boy is turning SIX in a few weeks. SIX! Can you believe it? I certainly can’t! It’s so true what they say about time flying by and your kids growing up so soon. If you blink, you’ll miss it all.
While I’m a huge fan of celebrating birthdays – and half-birthdays – the birthday party planning can be daunting. We can thank Pinterest and Facebook for that, I’m sure. Because I want to enjoy The Boy’s party, I take a different approach to birthday party planning: Less is More.
The birthday party planning tips are guidelines I use when planning parties for The Boy, and I hope you will find them helpful as you begin birthday party planning for your own children.
1| Reduce the number of attendees. For many of you, inviting the entire kindergarten class would be outrageously expensive. And, who wants to corral 22 six year olds anyway? Not me. Follow this rule: One guest per year the child is turning, plus the birthday child. If you’re child is turning six, invite six friends.
2| Skip the goodie bags. How many times have you come home from a party with a plastic bag full of candy and toys that will break in 30 seconds? Remember how angry you were at that mom? Yeah, don’t be that mom. Skip the goodie bag. Instead, have the kids work on a craft at the party that they can take home. Some fun ideas are tie-dyeing t-shirts, painting a canvas, or making a personalized pillow case. Think outside of the box and have some fun!
3| Simplify the Food. Skip the cake and serve cupcakes. They taste the same; and you’re less likely to have a ton of leftovers! Skip the gallons of ice cream and choose Hoodsie cups. Hoodsie cups are a combination of chocolate and vanilla Hood ice cream in a single serve container. The best part, you eat them with a stick. What kid doesn’t like to eat with a stick?
4| Don’t have the party at home. It may sound extravagant to host a child’s birthday party somewhere other than your home, but it’s much easier. You don’t have to clean before the party, or after the party. And no worrying about your favorite lamp accidentally being broken. Some fun ideas are bowling parties, ice skating parties, paint-your-own-pottery parties, or even pizza parties. We’ve had parties at indoor playplaces – which I highly recommend as all of the running and jumping tires them out!
5| Choose simple decor. Choose solid color tablecloths rather than themed so you can reuse them for future parties. Do the same with your paper plates, cups, napkins, and balloons. It’s more affordable and you won’t have the added stress of searching all over for
In need of more inspiration? Check out The Best Birthday Ever board on Pinterest.
Follow HP Hood’s board The Best Birthday Ever. Brought to you by Hoodsie. on Pinterest.
What birthday party planning tips do you have to share?
