Every year, I look forward to planning my son’s birthday party. However, while party planning can be fun, it can also be stressful. How much money should you spend and where should you have the birthday party are some of the important things to consider. Here are 7 simple tips for planning a kid’s birthday party, beginning with sticking to a budget, to deciding on decorations!
Thinking of planning a kid’s birthday party? Here are 7 simple tips for planning a kid’s birthday party!
7 Simple Tips for Planning a Kid’s Birthday Party
- Decide on a Budget
- Compile a Guest List
- Pick a Venue
- Food and Dessert Options
- Choose the Entertainment
- Buy Party Favors
- Decide on Decorations
1. Decide on a Budget
One of my tips for planning a kid’s birthday party is decide on a budget, and stick to it. This can be difficult to do, but it’s absolutely necessary. All of the other tips for planning a kid’s birthday party listed below depend on the budget. Do you want the party catered? Or do you plan on making the food? Party expenses can add up quickly, from food to decorations to entertainment. Maybe you want to focus more on entertainment for the guests as opposed to spending a lot of money on food. This is the best time to make the decision on what you are willing to cut down on with regard to expenses.
2. Compile a Guest List
Because my son’s birthday party was at our house this year, my husband and I decided to narrow down the guest list. This is something that is usually very difficult for me, but it’s also something that needs to be taken into account when planning a kid’s birthday party. Something else to keep in mind are the invitations. I used to be a traditionalist and preferred sending paper invitations in the mail. But, paper invitations are not only time consuming, but they are also costly when you consider the cost of the invitations and the postage to mail them. So instead, I’ve sent invitations electronically the last two years. Last year, I made invitations, using HP Photo Creation Software. This year, I sent out invitations via Punchbowl, thanks to my friend Tania (who also has great ideas when planning a superhero party).
3. Pick a Venue (and Book in Advance)
Other simple tips for planning a kid’s birthday party include picking, and booking, a venue. Some venues sell out months in advance, depending on the time of the year and the popularity of the venue. As a result, if you or your child have your heart set on a particular venue, then you’ll definitely want to reserve it far in advance.
I love choosing different venues for my son’s birthday parties, like the local park, Reid Park Zoo, Trail Dust Town, Pump It Up, and at our home. My son loved all his birthday parties, but his favorite birthday party so far has been his birthday party at home. Even though planning a party at home is stressful, I like it because I can let my creativity flow.
4. Food and Dessert Options
I found this idea on Pinterest, and recreated it for my son’s birthday party. It was a huge hit!
There are several food and dessert options available depending on your budget, like pizza. But, while pizza is easy and inexpensive to serve at a kids party, what do you do if your child doesn’t like pizza? This is something I have to consider because of my son. As a result, I usually have his birthday parties catered with food, like sandwiches. For his last party, I purchased party trays from our local supermarket, Fry’s. As for cake, I don’t like spending a lot of money on it, especially because most supermarkets have delicious and inexpensive cakes. This year, I bought my son’s Civil War cake and Spider-Man cupcakes from Sam’s Club. Not only were they delicious, but they are also very affordable. I also recreated a fruit tray from an idea I found on Pinterest linked to this website and I served Spider-Man Oreo Cookies.
I ordered a PB & J tray from Fry’s for my son’s last birthday party since it’s a favorite of his. But you’ll also have to consider if other guests have peanut allergies.
5. Choose the Entertainment
One of the other simple tips in planning a kid’s birthday party is choosing the entertainment. The entertainment largely depends on your child’s personality, as well as the venue of the party. My son is a huge fan of superheroes these days thanks in part to the meet and greets at Disneyland. As a result, I decided to hire a company with characters this year. However, last year, my son’s birthday party was at Pump It Up, so I didn’t need to spend additional money on entertainment.
One of the simple tips for planning a kid’s birthday party? Decide on entertainment.
6. Buy Party Favors
I always have a hard time choosing party favors. Kids like to keep it simple, though. For example, my son always enjoys party favor bags that have candy and lollipops. My recommendation? Try not to spend a lot of money on party favors. Instead, try to purchase them at inexpensive stores, like the Dollar Tree. For my son’s recent birthday party, I was able to buy puzzles for $1/each, but my local store also has coloring books, etc. As for the party favor bags, I usually buy them at the party store, but this year I decided to order superhero themed party favor bags through Etsy. Because my son’s birthday party was superhero themed, I also purchased capes and masks through amazon.
Try not to spend too much money on party favors. Kids like to keep it simple.
7. Decide on Decorations
This is where you can cut down on costs, depending on your budget. My mom and my sister gave me the best advice - buy plastic utensils and tablecloths at stores like the Dollar Tree. I did that for my son’s last birthday party, and it really saved me money with the decorations. Because of that, I was able to splurge in other areas. For example, consider if you want balloons, and if so, how many. For my son’s last birthday party, I tried to incorporate as many superhero ideas as I could. But I was also able to include some of his action figures in the decorating process, too. I recommend taking stock of what you already have, and try to include them in the decorations. Also, if you’re using tablecloths outside, I recommend buying clips. My sister recommended it to me, and it’s great advice.
I had fun with the decorations at my son’s last birthday party. I saw a version of this on Pinterest, but added placemats I purchased through Etsy.
From sticking to a budget, to decorations and more, here are 7 simple tips for planning a kid’s birthday party! Plus, ideas for a superhero themed birthday party.
Great ideas. Enjoyed the party very much.
It helped a lot when you mentioned how you should consider your kid’s personality when planning their birthday parties. I understand that taking the time to do some research and finding the best company that can help you with it in order to get the type of party you need. We are planning our son’s birthday party and want to make sure we find the best company to help us out, so I’m glad I found your page.
I like that you mentioned finding simple party favors that kids will love, and also that so many different things can be found at the dollar store. My wife and I are planning our son’s 7th birthday party, and we want him to have a lot of fun. Thanks for the information-I’ll be sure to stop by the dollar store on the way home and see what I can find.
I like how you talked about considering the personality of the child to determine what kind of entertainment to hire. My little nephew is turning four next month and I’m helping plan his party. Thank you for the tips on planning a great kids party.