I love planning Mishka’s birthday party every year, it’s one of the highlights of my year!
She is at the age where she loves being involved with planning, making invitations and decorations. She even helps on the day to decorate. It is so much fun involving the whole family and yes even dad gets a to do list…
So how do you organise an unforgettable party without breaking the bank…
Here are a few tips to make sure that it is a party that dreams are made of…
Budget:
Plan how much you want to spend and how much all the extras will cost.
Venue cost, decorations, food, entertainment, birthday cake, party bags all form part of the cost, so make sure you add these to your budget.
Guest list:
Is your child planning to invite all their classmates or only a few of their closest friends?
This will determine where you will host the party and it will give you an idea of how much catering will cost and also to plan games and activities accordingly.
We love doing the invitations ourselves, we print it at home and decorate it to add a personal touch. Etsy sure does come in handy…
Keep track of the RSVPs and any special dietary requirements.
Venue:
Depending on the number of guests you can host it at home but cleaning up afterwards is a nightmare.
You can hire a venue, but this will add to the cost. Hiring a venue will sure ease your workload.
Mishka’s birthday is in Summer and she loves the outdoors, therefore we always host her party outside.
This year we hosted Mishka’s party on a farm just up the valley where we live. We decided to make a weekend of it and invited close friends to stay over. This made her birthday even more special.
Outdoor parties could cause a lot of stress due to the weather, where we live we experience strong wind and rain in November, when it’s Mishka’s birthday, therefore we must always have a plan B…
We hired a bell tent which tied in perfectly with the circus theme. No surprise, it was windy and we had some light rain, but the tent saved our day!
Choose a theme:
Mishka loves choosing the theme and does so as soon as she had her party she starts planning the next one…This year Mishka decided on a Vintage Circus theme, it was such a fun theme!
Having a theme adds such a fun factor to their special day!
It also helps with related decorations, outfits and cakes.
Making Mishka part of this makes her feel special.
Cake:
As soon as you have the numbers and the theme you can plan the cake…
You could bake it yourself, buy it from a shop or outsource it to a professional. We always outsource the cake, it takes the stress off and adds such a special touch to the decor!
We make use of the same amazing baker every year, because she bakes beautiful cakes which tastes amazing and she knows exactly what size cake to bake according to the number of guests.
Entertainment and games:
Magicians, jumping castles, clowns, water slides…there are so many options.
You need to book this in advance and work it into your budget. We find that entertainment and games makes a party even more unforgettable and add to the fun!
This year we hired a clown and he provided hours of entertainment and demonstrated tricks, it was super fun! The venue had a swimming pool and we hired a water slide.
Catering:
Catering is essential.
If you are holding the party at home, keep it simple. Traditional party food such as mini pizzas, crisps, cheese cubes, pre-cut fruit, mini sausages, pastries, biscuits, fairy cakes. Keep it simple!
Cater for your kids age group and cater for food allergies and vegetarians.
If the parents join some platters and punch will be a great idea to feed them.
We always outsource catering, because it takes a lot of the stress off as we love decorating and spend a lot of time on it, we do not want to worry about the food.
Drinks:
We found that healthy is best, so we make our own lemonade and berry punch to avoid all the sugar.
We also provide water on tap.
Depending on the kids age we add glass bottles and paper straws which is environmentally friendly options…
Party bags:
We add name tags and encourage the kids to take home some of the decor, we also make something special to add to the bag to thank friends for being there.
Kids can fill up their bags or boxes with food left over and a slice of birthday cake, this way there is no food wasted.
Party timeline:
Organising a successful party is all in the planning, so keep track of all that needs to be done.
Two to three months before:
Book the entertainment, water slides, jumping castles
Hire the venue
Plan the guest list
Four weeks before:
Send out invites
Buy decorations, party hats, party hats etc.
Find someone to bake that beautiful cake
Find a caterer
Two weeks before:
Follow up on people who have not RSVPd yet
Confirm entertainment, caterer, baker
If holding an outdoor party, get Plan B ready in case of bad weather
One week before:
Buy drinks and food if you are doing the catering
If you are having the party at home, start cleaning and getting your house ready and childproof
Make sure you have family and friends to help you on the day
Prepare party bags
Plan party program
Day of party:
Keep your fingers crossed for good weather if you are having an outdoor party. Make sure Plan B is ready
Decorate
Get dressed and apply the face paint or make-up. We love dressing up according to the theme, mom and dad joins in on this!
Welcome your guests and enjoy the party!
Hope you find these tips helpful!
xxxx