Don't wait until the last minute. Give yourself time to plan. If you don't leave yourself enough time it only makes it a more stressful process. One month prior is good time to start planning, but even more time is even better. You tend you save more money when you leave yourself time to plan. Keep in mind if you want to have your party at a specific venue you might have to make a reservation early. Having the extra time allows you to take advantage of special deals. If you are having the party at your house you might be able to get away with waiting a little longer.
Pick a theme for your party. If your child is old enough, involve your child in picking a theme. Think about your child's interests, activities, or favorite movie, television, or book character. Picking a theme will give you direction. The theme will help you choose a venue, invitations, decorations, games, activities, and much more.
Send our your invitations. Give at least 3 weeks notice, more if you can. There is a bit of a balancing act you have to do with invitations. You want to make sure people can come, so having enough notice will help with this. But you also don't want to send out the invitations too early and have people forget about the event. As far as the invitation itself, you can make your own, buy a theme matching invite, use Evite or consider sending a personalized invitation.
Get your party supplies. Party supplies includes tableware, decorations, activities, favors and more. Make the decor as simple or complex as you like. Use your theme narrow down what supplies you will want to get.
Plan what activities and or games you would like to have for your party. If you are having your party at a venue, this might be less necessary. Parties that you have at your home or place that doesn't have the "built-in" activity will help keep the party going. Pick a game or activity that matches your theme. If you are throwing a circus party have face painting, ring toss, or potato sack races. If you are having a pirate party have a scavenger hunt.
Gift time is best saved for after the party is over. Present time at parties can be hard for the parents and the children. Kids take gifts out of their packaging as they go. Things get separated, which makes thank you notes very tricky. If you open gifts after the party you can avoid the "I don't like that!" or "I already have that!" The idea of waiting to open gifts until after the party is over can be hard for young children to understand. Try explaining to your child the plan ahead of time. Explain that this will be a fun thing to look forward to after the party is over.
Give your guests a party favor as they leave the party. Send the children home with a great way to remember your special party. Try making your own favors or buy great favors. If you can, get favors that will be used again and again instead of little junky toys that will just get tossed. When picking your favors, try to think about using your theme. This can help give you good ideas.
When the party is over, don't forget to thank your guests for their gifts. It is never too early to teach your children the importance of sending a thank you! A nice idea is to include a photo of your guest at the party in the thank you card.
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