I’ve had the benefit of being hosting birthday parties before Pinterest as well as after and lucky for you guys there are no digital pictures of most of them! There were some parties where the pennies were required to be pinched and others a little over the top but there was something shared by all. Today I’m sharing my top 5 ingredients needed to a birthday party is the happiest!
Happy Birthday Kid!
The number one ingredient to a happy birthday party is definitely having a happy kid. One thing to consider is naptime for younger children. The last thing you want to do is host a party right in the middle the typical naptime. Most of all let your child in on the planning. My favorite part of parties was letting my kids choose the theme and then running with it. I think Carly wins the most creative for the year she requested a Hello Kitty Aggie Cheerleader party and my cake lady made her dreams come true! Don’t worry she now knows Aggies do NOT have cheerleaders.
Reasonable Guest List
We all know the rules right? If you are going to send invitations to school you must invite the entire class. Consider your child’s personality before settling on a number. If you have a more introverted child, a big part might be incredibly overwhelming. On the flip side if you have a social butterfly who insist on inviting everyone, you want to be sure to choose a location and activities to keep the party rolling. If your child is insistent there is someone they do not want to invite, I encourage you to let them stick with their decision.
Food
The food always seems to be the highlight. The time of the party will dictate whether you should serve snacks and cake or if you are on the hook for something more substantial. You do not want to have a party at 11am and only serve cake. Keep the food simple and easy for kids to eat on their own, Pizza, hot dogs and other snack food make great choices. The dessert is always the high light so be sure to include you child in the big decision. We shifted to cookie cakes at some point because everyone just seemed to love them more.
Fun and Games
If you are hosting a party at home or other outdoor setting you really do need to plan some games. My fave is having a pinata, the clothes pin drop, balloon relay and of course pin the tail on the donkey (or princess or a host of other choices). If you are not a game playing mom it’s a lot easier to take the easy way out and book location such a bowling alley, skating rink or paint ball and let someone else do the entertaining. Carly also really loved her birthday hosted at a U Paint It location where everyone was able to pick and paint an item. Oh, and if you do have a prize for games and your child wins the game please let her have the prize unless you have discussed it ahead of time! One year my mom thought it would be rude to let me keep the prize when I won the game and I threw a huge tantrum in the middle of my party.
Gracious Host or Hostess
At the end of the party I consider it a success to have a gracious birthday host or hostess. I will tell you there were years I failed to give “the talk” before the gifts and had children who acted just a tad tootie or unappreciative just tossing a gift to the side. Typically if there are more than 6 kids at a party I reserve the gift opening for after the party for a less chaotic event when the child can actually process the gift and who it was from. Having the kids write thank you notes to their friends and family is something we have tried to do most years. I think we all can relate to how it feels to know someone appreciated a gift. My favorite thing to do is make sure to take a picture of my child with each friend or use a cute group picture to print and use as a thank you note.
A few of our favorite birthday party memories!
My big kids definitely had birthday parties short on themes but big on fun. Jordan was the kid who could not narrow down the guest list and seriously had a slumber party with upwards of 12 giggling girls while we lived in a 1200 square foot duplex! They played light as a feather stiff as a board and all the slumber party games I remembered growing up. At 3am I finally had to shut them down!
The most shocking birthday memory I have was at Riley’s 8th birthday hosted at the bowling alley. When hot dogs were served one little boy stood up in his chair and proceeded to hold the ketchup bottle and pretend to “pee” the ketchup onto the hot dog. It was shocking and I’ve often wondered how he turned out.
Dillon’s Pirate Party was super easy and so much fun! The kids used a treasure map to hunt down the treasure chest which of course ended up being a pinata. They LOVED it. Lesson learned on the black icing though!
Carly’s spa party was definitely one of our favorites. The grandmas came to assist and we painted toes, had facials and made flip flops. I love having a party favor as part of the party. I found these adorable little makeup mirrors at Home Goods and they were perfect.
The Night Owl slumber party for Carly’s 9th birthday was so much fun! You can see the details
here. I also pulled out all the stops for her
10th birthday and created an indoor tent experience.
Dillon loves hunting and one year my in-laws found this blow up on sale 75% off and it made the perfect party decor. On one side the sign displayed Happy Birthday Dillon but after the party I flipped it over and took this picture to create a thank you card through Shutterfly. We totally drug this blow up to the bowling alley for his party.
This one definitely gets the “most Pinterest worthy” award! I think this was the first year I really found Pinterest and I was obviously excited. I always love a rhyming invitation!
I encourage you when your kids become old enough to consider taking them and a friend or two for an experience instead of a party. We have taken Dillon and a few friends to a TCU baseball game and this year I took him to Dallas for the weekend with a friend. If you have been reading then you know Carly and her friend Holden began opting for weekend getaways last year and we have visited Fort Worth and San Antonio with a trip planned in few weeks we can’t wait to share!
We seriously have too much stuff so having my kids opt for an experience or request donations to a charity instead of gifts always makes me happy.
A part of me is very relieved there is no more planning required for birthday parties in my near future but the other half cannot wait to be the overboard grandma!
I’m linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for Show & Tell Tuesday! No doubt there will be some amazing parties showcased.
Click the image for all my faves!
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I love the experience/weekend getaway idea! My son is almost 8 and has decided to just have 2 best friends for a sleepover and laser tag this year. Going to a ball game or to Sea World sounds like a great idea!
I'm with you…it's nice to not have huge parties anymore, but I think I'll enjoy it again as a grandma. For many years, my kids loved the inflatable place parties. I wonder if they're still so popular!
I loved having themed parties when I was younger, and the themed parties you threw look so fun! I love the hunting idea for a little boy! I'll never forget when my sister turned 13, my mom told her she could have 15 people over and she ended up inviting her entire grade and we had about 100 people at our house….needless to say, my mom was freaking out ha!
MeetTheShaneyfelts
I really think as they get older having that smaller experience will leave much bigger memories! Living in a college town we always have access to great sporting events too.
We definitely had several inflatable parties along the way Tanya!
That painting party is just awesome! Great tips, too!
I think the first and most important thing is to listen to the little ones. It's their day, make it more about them and less about having a Pinterest perfect party.
That spa party is something my daughter would absolutely love!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
I cannot wait to do this when LC gets older! Hope she had a happy birthday! And amen for parents of younger kids not having them during nap time. The ones we get invited too always are and I don't understand it lol!!
Cutest parties! I love that Owl cake!
Love all your tips! And, love each of the parties you showcased, so cute! Great job!
HAHAHA the boy peeing his ketchup on his hotdog! Too much! I only have girls so no clue what life would be like with a boy! Well I have a Big Boy (aka Tony) but I am sure he would NEVER do that LOL
Yes, yes, yes and YES! I'm already crafting a mini getaway for Emmy this year – not sure she'll be convinced of it but experiences over stuff is always a winner!
I laughed at your grandma comment – that's definitely me too! This was such a great idea for a post, and you threw some amazing parties!
Oh my gosh! I would have freaked too. I loved my daughters 13th….we lined our driveway with hay bales, served burgers, chips and queso and pumped up the music so they could have a "dance". It was so much fun!
Definitely one of her favorites!
For sure! I love having mine get involved in the party fun.
It was so much fun! I did learn to not cut corners and make an organic face mask next time. I grabbed store bought instead and several of the girls started saying it was burning..oops!
I can only imagine the parties you will come up with Laura!
Wasn't it adorable? I was so excited when we came up with that theme.
Thanks Mel! You, my friend, throw amazing kid parties!
Seriously girl…I've often wondered what happened to that kid!
I'm all about it!
I can't wait Lana!