Party Planning Tips For Planning The Perfect Birthday Party Celebration
As 2006 draws to a close, and 365 brand new days lie ahead of us, we look forward to another year of memorable celebrations with family and friends!
At times, planning these events may seem a little daunting, that is why we have put together the perfect celebration checklist to keep your party planning on track, and ensure that no small detail is forgotten.
Developing a game plan and keeping a checklist can be exactly what you need to help organize any event. So from the guest list to the thank-you cards, In Favour will be there every step of the way... think of us as little party planning fairies!
Taking the time to organize your thoughts and get your party ideas down on paper can take a lot of the stress out of planning a great event. Advance planning can mean the difference between booking the venue and time that you want for your party and settling for second best.
Four Weeks Prior To Your Celebration
- Select a date for your celebration. Remember, if your child's birthday falls during the week, you will want to book a weekend celebration on either side of that date. Also keep holidays and long weekends in mind. Some families travel or have their own special celebrations on long weekends and you may find your attendance numbers fall if you book a celebration on a holiday weekend. Many party hosting facilities are also closed for long weekends.
- Decide what your budget will be for your event. Planning ahead will allow you to price out the cost of venues, food, loot bags and other incidentals.
- Prepare your guest list. Keep a record of other parties that your child has been invited to over the course of the year. If your child is old enough, sit down with them and discuss who they would like to see at their party. Set limits to the number of friends they can invite. This will help your child decide who they would really like to have at their party. Without limits, you may be hosting the entire neighbourhood!
- Choose a party theme or character for your celebration.
- Take a trip to the local toy store or simply ask your child what gifts they would like to receive for their birthday. Many parents will be eager for gift suggestions, so have a list prepared with items, such as puzzles, books, and art supplies. A great non-gift option that is becoming popular these days is to select a charity your child is interested in, and suggest donations to that charity. Including this information directly in the invitations saves you time and explanations.
HINT: Scholar's Choice offers a BIRTHDAY REGISTRY for all members! You and your child can take time to fill his or her very own birthday bucket with any toy that they would like to recieve. This way, guests can stop in and pick and choose from a much smaller selection of toys that they know that birthday child will love!
- Take all of the stress out of organizing and putting together your party loot bags and decorations! Choose from our wide selection of party packages and mix & match your loot bags to accommodate each and every child at your party!
Three Weeks Prior To Your Celebration
- Review your guest list.
- Prepare and send/handout the invitations.
Include the following information on the invitation:
- Location with address & phone number, time and duration of the party
- Theme of the party and activities planned during the party
- Let the parents know if the child will require special clothing such as socks (for indoor playgrounds) or clothing for arts & crafts.
- Indicate whether or not parents are invited to stay for the party. If parents are leaving their children in your care, be sure to request an emergency contact number where they can be reached.
- State what foods you will be serving. Is lunch included or will the children only be eating snacks & cake.
- Ask if there are any allergies to be aware of.
- Set an RSVP deadline, along with your name and phone number or email address.
- Gift or charity donation ideas or if you would prefer no gifts at all, this would be the time to mention it.
Two Weeks Prior To Your Celebration
- Plan your menu and collect phone numbers for the pizza parlour and bakery.
- Create a phone number sign in sheet for parents who will be leaving their child in your care during the celebration. That way, you will have quick access to emergency phone numbers if needed.
- Order your cake from the bakery. Make sure that they know what time you will be picking up the cake. Always book your cake for at least 4 hours prior to the event time if possible. Confirm that their products are nut free.
One Week Prior To Your Celebration
- Take a moment to mentally run through your celebration day. Imagine how you see it unfolding from the moment that you get up until the time the party ends. This way you can plan ahead for baths, dressing, departure times and arrival times at your chosen location. Setting out an agenda will help the entire family plan their day and organize themselves accordingly.
- Check that all of your invited guests have RSVP'd. Contact those who haven't to make sure that they received their invitation and to confirm whether they will be attending.
- Label the loot bags for each child. This will help ensure you have one for each child coming to the party.
- Shop for and wrap your child's birthday gifts!
- Confirm your event bookings and food orders.
One Day Prior To Your Celebration
- Make sure that the batteries for your camera are charged, and that you have lots of film or space on your memory card. It is a good idea to have a friend or family member play camera man on this special day. That way your attention is not diverted and you won't miss any of the fun PLUS you'll be in the pictures with your child!
- Organize a basket or box of all of the items that you will need for the party.
- Prepare food that can be made ahead of time.
- Organize decorations, or if your celebration is at home, decorate with balloons, banners and streamers.
The Day Of Your Celebration
- Wish your child HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
- Pick up your cake and balloons.
- Decorate.
- Organize your party supplies on the table or serving area.
- Organize birthday gifts.
- Sit back and enjoy the perfect party !!!
- During the present opening, write down the gifts that each child gives your birthday girl/boy. This will help when writing out the thank you notes.
Tip: take a picture of the birthday girl/boy with their friend and the gift they gave. Tip: sometimes it is easier to open the gifts after the children have left and the party is over.
- Hand out the loot bags to the guests at the end of the party, as the children are leaving. This allows the birthday girl/boy to personally thank each guest for coming to their party.
It also encourages the kids to open the loot bags with their parents in attendance, and minimizes the risk of kids losing their loot bags, or items out of their loot bags. You don't want anyone leaving the party unhappy!
A Handy Dandy Checklist
Decorations: streamers, balloons, birthday banner, piñata-filled & hitting stick & blindfold, confetti, table centerpiece.
Loot Bags for the guests
Games/Activities/Crafts: Relay races, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs, and any other crafts or activities that you have planned
Tableware: Tablecover luncheon plates, dessert plates, napkins, cups, cutlery (for both eating and serving)
Party Essentials: Masking tape, scotch tape, blank paper, pen, string, matches or lighter for cake candles, scissors.
Photography: camera, video camera, film, memory card, new or freshly-charged batteries.
Serving Utensils for The Food: plan your menu, then ensure that you have sufficient and appropriate serving dishes and utensils for each food item. (For example, for the cake: cake plate, knife and lifter, matches or lighter, candles or sparklers, ice cream scoop. For chips: large bowls for each variety of chips or Cheesies or pretzels, etc.)
List of attendees, sign-in sheet emergency contact information for parents dropping off their children. You can also include party information reminders such as pick-up time and ask once again if there are any allergies that you should be aware of.
Box for transporting gifts back home.
Garbage bags for clean-up (although some facilities may supply these).
Your SMILE!! Be happy and enjoy!
Create Your Own One Of A Kind Loot Bags
Starting in January, you can now purchase loot bag items to build your own loot bags. In Favour carries a wide variety of character items and themed party favours to help make creating your loot bags a piece of cake! Want to make the job even easier? Choose from our many exciting themes of ready made loot bags in two price options!
Happy party planning from your In Favour Party Planning Team!
At times, planning these events may seem a little daunting, that is why we have put together the perfect celebration checklist to keep your party planning on track, and ensure that no small detail is forgotten.
Developing a game plan and keeping a checklist can be exactly what you need to help organize any event. So from the guest list to the thank-you cards, In Favour will be there every step of the way... think of us as little party planning fairies!
Taking the time to organize your thoughts and get your party ideas down on paper can take a lot of the stress out of planning a great event. Advance planning can mean the difference between booking the venue and time that you want for your party and settling for second best.
Four Weeks Prior To Your Celebration
- Select a date for your celebration. Remember, if your child's birthday falls during the week, you will want to book a weekend celebration on either side of that date. Also keep holidays and long weekends in mind. Some families travel or have their own special celebrations on long weekends and you may find your attendance numbers fall if you book a celebration on a holiday weekend. Many party hosting facilities are also closed for long weekends.
- Decide what your budget will be for your event. Planning ahead will allow you to price out the cost of venues, food, loot bags and other incidentals.
- Prepare your guest list. Keep a record of other parties that your child has been invited to over the course of the year. If your child is old enough, sit down with them and discuss who they would like to see at their party. Set limits to the number of friends they can invite. This will help your child decide who they would really like to have at their party. Without limits, you may be hosting the entire neighbourhood!
- Choose a party theme or character for your celebration.
- Take a trip to the local toy store or simply ask your child what gifts they would like to receive for their birthday. Many parents will be eager for gift suggestions, so have a list prepared with items, such as puzzles, books, and art supplies. A great non-gift option that is becoming popular these days is to select a charity your child is interested in, and suggest donations to that charity. Including this information directly in the invitations saves you time and explanations.
HINT: Scholar's Choice offers a BIRTHDAY REGISTRY for all members! You and your child can take time to fill his or her very own birthday bucket with any toy that they would like to recieve. This way, guests can stop in and pick and choose from a much smaller selection of toys that they know that birthday child will love!
- Take all of the stress out of organizing and putting together your party loot bags and decorations! Choose from our wide selection of party packages and mix & match your loot bags to accommodate each and every child at your party!
Three Weeks Prior To Your Celebration
- Review your guest list.
- Prepare and send/handout the invitations.
Include the following information on the invitation:
- Location with address & phone number, time and duration of the party
- Theme of the party and activities planned during the party
- Let the parents know if the child will require special clothing such as socks (for indoor playgrounds) or clothing for arts & crafts.
- Indicate whether or not parents are invited to stay for the party. If parents are leaving their children in your care, be sure to request an emergency contact number where they can be reached.
- State what foods you will be serving. Is lunch included or will the children only be eating snacks & cake.
- Ask if there are any allergies to be aware of.
- Set an RSVP deadline, along with your name and phone number or email address.
- Gift or charity donation ideas or if you would prefer no gifts at all, this would be the time to mention it.
Two Weeks Prior To Your Celebration
- Plan your menu and collect phone numbers for the pizza parlour and bakery.
- Create a phone number sign in sheet for parents who will be leaving their child in your care during the celebration. That way, you will have quick access to emergency phone numbers if needed.
- Order your cake from the bakery. Make sure that they know what time you will be picking up the cake. Always book your cake for at least 4 hours prior to the event time if possible. Confirm that their products are nut free.
One Week Prior To Your Celebration
- Take a moment to mentally run through your celebration day. Imagine how you see it unfolding from the moment that you get up until the time the party ends. This way you can plan ahead for baths, dressing, departure times and arrival times at your chosen location. Setting out an agenda will help the entire family plan their day and organize themselves accordingly.
- Check that all of your invited guests have RSVP'd. Contact those who haven't to make sure that they received their invitation and to confirm whether they will be attending.
- Label the loot bags for each child. This will help ensure you have one for each child coming to the party.
- Shop for and wrap your child's birthday gifts!
- Confirm your event bookings and food orders.
One Day Prior To Your Celebration
- Make sure that the batteries for your camera are charged, and that you have lots of film or space on your memory card. It is a good idea to have a friend or family member play camera man on this special day. That way your attention is not diverted and you won't miss any of the fun PLUS you'll be in the pictures with your child!
- Organize a basket or box of all of the items that you will need for the party.
- Prepare food that can be made ahead of time.
- Organize decorations, or if your celebration is at home, decorate with balloons, banners and streamers.
The Day Of Your Celebration
- Wish your child HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
- Pick up your cake and balloons.
- Decorate.
- Organize your party supplies on the table or serving area.
- Organize birthday gifts.
- Sit back and enjoy the perfect party !!!
- During the present opening, write down the gifts that each child gives your birthday girl/boy. This will help when writing out the thank you notes.
Tip: take a picture of the birthday girl/boy with their friend and the gift they gave. Tip: sometimes it is easier to open the gifts after the children have left and the party is over.
- Hand out the loot bags to the guests at the end of the party, as the children are leaving. This allows the birthday girl/boy to personally thank each guest for coming to their party.
It also encourages the kids to open the loot bags with their parents in attendance, and minimizes the risk of kids losing their loot bags, or items out of their loot bags. You don't want anyone leaving the party unhappy!
A Handy Dandy Checklist
Decorations: streamers, balloons, birthday banner, piñata-filled & hitting stick & blindfold, confetti, table centerpiece.
Loot Bags for the guests
Games/Activities/Crafts: Relay races, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs, and any other crafts or activities that you have planned
Tableware: Tablecover luncheon plates, dessert plates, napkins, cups, cutlery (for both eating and serving)
Party Essentials: Masking tape, scotch tape, blank paper, pen, string, matches or lighter for cake candles, scissors.
Photography: camera, video camera, film, memory card, new or freshly-charged batteries.
Serving Utensils for The Food: plan your menu, then ensure that you have sufficient and appropriate serving dishes and utensils for each food item. (For example, for the cake: cake plate, knife and lifter, matches or lighter, candles or sparklers, ice cream scoop. For chips: large bowls for each variety of chips or Cheesies or pretzels, etc.)
List of attendees, sign-in sheet emergency contact information for parents dropping off their children. You can also include party information reminders such as pick-up time and ask once again if there are any allergies that you should be aware of.
Box for transporting gifts back home.
Garbage bags for clean-up (although some facilities may supply these).
Your SMILE!! Be happy and enjoy!
Create Your Own One Of A Kind Loot Bags
Starting in January, you can now purchase loot bag items to build your own loot bags. In Favour carries a wide variety of character items and themed party favours to help make creating your loot bags a piece of cake! Want to make the job even easier? Choose from our many exciting themes of ready made loot bags in two price options!
Happy party planning from your In Favour Party Planning Team!
3:36 AM
1 Comments:
These are excellent tips! I love your idea of a birthday registry. It will really help out your guests if they know what to get.
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