My Party File - blog

Archive for the ‘party tips’ Category

Here is a fabulous idea for easy, but stunning cake decorating - just the thing for busy mums who want to decorate their kids birthday cakes but aren’t too confident, or to salvage a disaster cake (please tell me I’m not alone!) .  Shayna from Texas Monkey guides us on how to create this, and other similar masterpieces.  Make sure you check out the ones with Kit Kats and M&Ms - just tie the colour of the M&Ms in with the colour scheme of your party - good way to avoid making a novelty cake!

You don’t need to hand out prizes for every game - young kids feel proud when they receive a certificate or award of some sort.  The best part is that certificates don’t cost a lot - I purchased a pack of 20 star shaped certificates for $2. 

We did some “mousercising” at Charlize’s Mickey Mouse party, and I awarded each participant a certificate for their “swell job at mousercising” and signed it “Your Pal, Mickey Mouse”.  One little kid would not put it down!

• Enjoy the party before it begins and after it ends - Make the planning process a special time for you and your child. Help them choose their games, sit down and cut invitations together, take them shopping for balloons and cups, and make this experience as much fun for them as the party. After the party take time to stick photos together in a scrapbook, laugh at the videotape, and practise their speech for show-and-tell.
• Freeze your cake to make icing easy - The easiest way to ice your cake without the crumbling and mess is to simply freeze the cake first. It keeps it’s shape, it stays fresh and it will make your icing experience much more successful - try it out!
• Prepare food in advance - You needn’t spend all day before the party preparing food. There are plenty of recipes that can be made in advance and frozen, which means you can start weeks ahead. Choose recipes that you know you can freeze and simply pull them back out the day before.
• Choose an impressive colour scheme - A simple colour scheme can be incredibly effective for your party. Choose one or two colours and have your party décor match - cups, plates, serviettes, balloons, party bags. You will be surprised just how beautiful simple things can be.
• Create three-dimensional invitations - Kids love origami and an origami invitation is a cheap and effective way of creating something unique. Pick up some coloured paper and start folding - we have plenty of different origami ideas for your themed party!
• Planning early can save you money - Planning themes well in advance lets you take advantage of sales, clearances and discontinued lines. Take a few extra minutes to check the clearance bins and toy aisles during a shopping trip - you never know what you might find…or save!!
• Make bite sized party food - Think small bite-sized portions when it comes to party food. This way the kids can have a bit of everything, but you won’t be left with plates of leftovers with only two bites taken out.
• Get parents’ contact numbers - Jot down parents’ contact numbers if they aren’t staying at the party, just in case any mishaps occur.
• Choose the party date carefully - Make sure the party doesn’t clash with any other event (eg Easter, Mother’s Day) or another party! Also check that your child’s best friends will be available on the preferred date.
• Include silly details that kids love - Have fun incorporating fun details that would only delight kids - plastic novelties in ice cubes, their name written on a biscuit, or fruit in a watermelon basket.
• Make extra goodie bags - Having extra goodie bags on hand comes in useful - in case one breaks or gets misplaced, for when an uninvited sibling joins the party, or if an invited guest that couldn’t make it drops off a present.
• Pick a Theme - Themes are fun and help focus your ideas, and often signify your child’s interest or milestone at that age. Choose a theme that suits the age, interests and personality of your child. Your child may have some suggestions, or be inspired by our collection for something new.
• Planning makes parties go more smoothly - Planning is half of the work in parties and will ensure the party goes much more smoothly. Make a plan and stick to it, but don’t be afraid to abandon an activity if it isn’t working.
• Keep the party manageable - Trying to include too many ideas into a party can leave you exhausted and the kids overwhelmed. Also, keep the party manageable by not inviting too many guests, not making the party into a marathon and using our templates and shortcuts.
• Recruit helpers - The more helpers you have on hand, the easier everything will be. Enlist the help of your spouse, relatives, friends or older siblings to assist with games, food preparation, taking photos or pouring drinks.
• Organise a party kit - Fill a box with with everything you’ll need for each game or activity, sit the party schedule/plan on top, and include matches for lighting the candles!! This way everything is on hand and you don’t have to frantically run around locating things.

Kids love the familiarity of rituals, such as playing the same familiar party games, singing Happy Birthday and eating cake.  You can introduce other rituals that can build slowly across the birthdays until they become birthday traditions.

·         Use the same birthday candles each year

·         Take a photo on the child’s birthday with his or her favourite things around them

·         Start a birthday scrapbook for photos, cards and memorabilia

·         Buy a gift that can be added to each year - such as a charm bracelet or lego set

·         Record voices each birthday

·         Take a photo in exactly the same place each year

·         Leave a gift bag with new clothes on the birthday child’s bed

·         Create a Bag of Birthday Wishes for your child.  Have family and friends write out a wish or piece of advice on a small piece of paper, and wrap it around a birthday candle.  Place all the candles in a pretty bag.  Each year pull a candle out to use on the child’s birthday cake, and enjoy the special wish that a friend or family member has made for them many years earlier!

·         Make the child Birthday Child King or Queen for the day - have a special crown or robe.  Other family members must do his/her regular chores and the king/queen chooses the activities for the day

·         Use a special plate or chair

·         Start the day in a special way each birthday

Parties away from home can spare your house a lot of mess, and can suit all budgets. But there are some things you need to be mindful of….

Pros

• More space
• Novelty of a new activity or venue
• You don’t have to clean the house before-hand
• Easy clean-up
• Some venues offer party packages that include catering, decorations, prizes and goodie bags, You can free yourself of the time and possible hassle involved with these.

Cons

• Parties away from home are not well suited for children 3 years and under. They can be difficult to manage in open and unfamiliar places. Home parties work best for small children. They will thnk it is wonderful having some of their friends over for a couple of hours in familiar and comfortable surroundings.
• Popular venues can get booked up quickly - so if your child has their heart set on a particular venue or entertainer, make sure you get in quick!
• If it is an outdoor venue, there is no guarantee that the weather will cooperate.
• Crowded places can make it difficult to keep the kids together and keep them under control. For young children, look for venues that have safety fences and good visibility while the children are playing.
• Noisy places can make it difficult to play games and keep the children’s attention. These venues can be great if you just want the kids to run and play, but if you plan to have structured games and activities you may want to find a quiet corner.
• Some locations lose their novelty after several birthdays have already been held there.
• Swimming pools and beach parties can be really dangerous and require a lot of adult supervision.
• Some venues, such as indoor play centres, don’t allow you to hire the venue just for your party. You may have to share play equipment with other groups of children.
• Some venues allocate timeframes that can be tight, and you may be rushed out of the party area/venue before you are ready.
• You may be quite restricted in regards to catering and the foods you can offer.
• You may need to lug food, cake, goodie bags, cutlery, garbage bags, CD player etc to the venue, and all the gifts back home.

Tips

• If you have not been to the venue yourself plan a visit to see it.
• Make sure there are suitable facilities (e.g. toilets are a must!). You may need a fridge, sink, shade, seats, etc.
• Once you have decided on a location, get in contact with them and see if they can offer party packages or group discounts.
• Ensure you know exactly what the party/venue includes (eg food, games, how long the party will last, can you decorate the venue) and know what you have to provide (eg cake, music).
• Ask the guests to wear a red or yellow t-shirt so that you can easily spot them.
• Provide large name tags for each guest with your mobile number in case anyone gets lost.
• Find adult volunteers to help keep everyone together and under control, and to ensure they can be accompanied when going to toilets.
• Have the kids buddy up so that nobody gets lost.
• You may need to go over a few ground rules on the way to the venue or before you begin.
• Some venues do not provide candles for the cake - so remember to pack candles and matches!

• Overplan the games - don’t let boredom or bedlam set in because you haven’t planned enough activities. Always have alternatives in case activities run short.
• Alternate between quiet and energetic activities to balance the kids’ energy levels.
• Link the activities to the theme by renaming a familiar game or using props that relate to the theme.
• Don’t expect everything to go smoothly - kids (and the weather!) can be unpredictable and the dynamics of the group may mean that you need to tweak or abandon an activity! Be flexible to fit the needs of your guests - if the kids aren’t enjoying an activity or are having trouble following the instructions, make changes and adjust the rules to keep the group happy. Afterall, the goal is to have fun!
• Have spray bottles on hand for hot weather - Buy some brightly coloured spray bottles, put them on the mist setting, and let the kids have a great time cooling off on a hot day. Just make one rule: stop means stop!
• Avoid games and activities that may cause problems - Use games that involve group participation, and don’t result in only one winner. Games of elimination or games where only one kid at a time can play, lead to kids sitting on the sidelines, where they tend to get bored.
• Avoid competitive games for kids under 6 years - Younger kids are usually poor losers. So to avoid tears and unpleasant scenes opt for non competitive games where there are no winners and losers.
• Select games that your child enjoys and is good at - It can be really tough on a kid to play something at their own party that they can’t do well, or do at all! The aim is for them to have fun, so pick games that they like and can do well.
• Make present opening an activity - Have the kids sit in a semicircle around the birthday child and spin a bottle to determine the order in which gifts will be opened.
• Always keep safety in mind.

One of the things we love the most about being a mum is celebrating our kids’ birthdays. We know! We know! Holding a party can be a stressful time - in fact, some people are opting out of an annual celebration, instead choosing to celebrate every second year or celebrating in low key ways.

Not us! We love the excitement of parties and the magic that comes from the kids themselves as they respond with joy to the timeless traditions of cake, candles, special friends, games and fun. Childhood is a magical time, and taking time out to celebrate a child’s birthday affirms that they are truly special and dearly loved. Birthday parties are an ideal opportunity to focus attention on that special child, to enchant, have fun together and create cherished memories. But holding a birthday party also allows us to meet many of our kids’ basic needs: security, affirmation, belonging, discipline, guidance, respect, play, independence and hope.

Birthday parties are opportunities for the birthday child to:

• have a special time all about them - their growth, their milestones, interests and accomplishments
• be celebrated by family and friends and to be reminded how important he or she is in their lives
• experience and learn basic social skills in a fun environment - from using manners, joining in, sharing, having fun with others to the less pleasant feelings of being left out, feeling hurt or coming last
• actively participate in family decision making to offer ideas about the day
• help and work together with family - counting lollies, making goodie bags, choosing decorations, tidying the yard
• have fun!!

A birthday party is a special way to say I love you; a way to say you are special to me. We hope that our party ideas, tips and printable give you some inspiration and help you to create fun and magical moments - without the mega stress!