Birthday parties are a big deal in our house and I love planning a theme to make the moment special. Here are my go-to tips to make planning and hosting a birthday party easier.

Theme: Chose something that’s unique to your kiddo and involve them in the planning process! They usually have creative ideas and you want to make sure the party is special for them. I always ask my kids what type of party they want months in advance so I can start to think of ideas.

Here are the birthday party themes we’ve had so far for my son: Baseball, Sesame Street, Paw Patrol, Power Rangers, Octonauts, Hot Wheels, College Basketball Tournament, Euros Soccer Tournament.
And here’s what we’ve done for my daughter: Pink Birthday Brunch, Minnie Mouse, Princess Tea Party, Frozen, Ballerina, Barbie.

Decor: Finding the party decor is the fun part once you have your theme! I love Meri Meri products and always check their products first to see if they have anything to tie to the party theme. Their products are adorable and definitely add a special touch.

When looking for party decor, I always order: birthday banner, foil number balloon on a weight, colored/themed balloons in weighted balloon bouquets (I always order from our local shop, pro tip- order extra to place by the door so it’s easy for guests to spot, order 1-2 weeks in advance and pick up the morning of the party), sparkler candle, themed paper plates for cake, themed napkins, themed cups. The birthday banner and balloons make for a great photo op. If you can’t find plates, napkins, or cups that tie to your theme, opt for solid colors that pair well.
If you want little extras, themed or color confetti and fresh flowers always add a nice touch to your table.
If finding party decor is overwhelming for you, I’ve got you covered with curated birthday party themes including essential products to bring the party theme to life. I also offer custom planning options if you want something personalized, I’d love to work with you!

Cake: Cupcakes make your life easier when serving a group, especially kids. No need to worry about cutting cake! Costco and Sam’s club have really reasonable prices and quantities perfect for bigger groups. We also order from our local grocery store for convenience. I recommend sticking with a chocolate or vanilla frosting and adding sprinkles and cupcake toppers to tie in the theme. Order 1-2 weeks in advance and pick up either the night before or morning of the party.

Goodie Bags: Every kid loves a treat bag to take home after the party. I either assemble little goodie bags with candy, stickers and small items that tie back to the theme (have your kids write their friends names on the bags and help put them together), OR I order something the kids can wear at the party and take home in place of a goodie bag. We did this for my son’s soccer and basketball birthday parties. He chose tournament style parties, so we ordered t-shirts for the teams in the tournament for the kids. If you don’t have time to think of and assemble goodie bags, I offer custom goodie bags.

Duration: My biggest tip is to not plan a 2 hour birthday party. Opt for 1.5 hours over 2, unless you need extra time for an activity. I know 2 hours sounds nice, but keeping kids distracted during the last 30 min of a 2 hour party is more challenging than you think, trust me!

Activities: Always plan activities and always have a couple of extra ideas in your back pocket just in case! I remember the first time we invited friends to my son’s birthday party. He wanted to have an obstacle course and I thought this would keep them entertained for most of the party. Thank goodness my mom was a teacher and had lots of experience hosting our birthday parties growing up. She told me to estimate the amount of time it would take for the kids to do the obstacle course. I thought she was crazy when she told me to do this, but I’m so glad I did because they ended up breezing through it, and thankfully we had other activities planned to keep them busy. Depending on your theme, there are a lot of creative ideas. Personalized coloring sheets are great for after cake to fill the last few minutes of the party. Bracelet kits are another good idea that kids love and take up time. For sports related parties, a tournament style party is always fun and a great way to fill time.

Location: So far, we’ve had most of our kids birthday parties at our house. This cuts down on cost and also allows you to setup in advance so the day of is more manageable. We’ve also rented out our local elementary school gym for a couple of my son’s parties and I would highly recommend going this route if you’re planning a sports themed party.

Number of Guests: It depends on where you’re having the party and the type of party you’re having. When we’re hosting at our house, we stick with 8-12 kids. For the sports themed tournament parties, 16 is a good number so you can have 4 teams with 4 kids on each team. I highly recommend making name tags for the kids, especially if you have your family helping so it’s easy for them to remember names.

Invitations: If you’re celebrating a milestone birthday, mailing paper invitations adds a nice touch and is also a great memory of the party. Otherwise, stick with evites. They offer free invitations that are easy to send and track RSVPs. Depending on how tied you are to a theme, you can also pay extra for premium invites. I always check the free options first.

Help: You’ll always need extra hands, so recruit your family to help! Plus, it’s fun for them to see the kids having a blast.