The Ultimate Checklist for Planning Memorable Celebrations

INSIDE: USE THIS ULTIMATE CHECKLIST FOR PLANNING MEMORABLE CELEBRATIONS – BIRTHDAY, SHOWERS, HOLIDAYS – IT APPLIES TO ALL! GET YOUR FREE COPY AT THE END OF THE POST!

I have made it my mission to make sure my kids have birthday parties to remember. So I have developed a stress-free party planning guide and now I am going to share it with all of you!

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With these steps, you can plan the perfect birthday party

Theme – start the talk about this 2 months before the actual day. After you pick a theme, take to Pinterest to find some ideas. My kids have come up with some pretty difficult themes over the years and it is not always possible to find matching plates and cups, so we need to see if anyone else has had similar parties and how they’ve improvised.
Location – two keys to deciding location include food options and time compared to cost. Some places insist that you only eat their food and/or cakes so make sure you know your choices before you decide. Time in a party room is usually limited, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to have fun before and after depending on the type of place and event.
Date – make sure to keep your date away from other parties, events, and holidays. My kids have friends with birthdays all around them. It seems like when I decide on a date, the other mom beats me to it! Talk to other parents before deciding, it will save you a LOT of stress. Additionally, make sure they are going to be in town and available at the time you are thinking. Obviously for other events, save the date notifications are a great way to avoid this.
Invitations – I do not believe in expensive invitations for anything other than weddnings and first birthday parties. You can easily find someone on Etsy to design an invitation with your theme then print them at your local drug store or on cardstock from your home printer. This should cost you around $20. Do not forget the RSVP – people text for everything, let them know this is ok – “Text or call 555-1234 by whatever date.” Use the date the place you are having the party requires, or 2-3 days prior to the party.
Decorations – obviously this depends on where you are having the party and your theme. If you are having your party at home, you can spend a little more on the decorations. However, making some of your own decorations is a great way to make it a special event. Hello, Target and Amazon! Do you need colored utensils? Table cloth? Plates, banners? The size of the room can also have influence on how many decorations you use.
Food – three things to keep in mind when choosing the food. Allergies, dietary restrictions, and time of day. People have all sorts of allergies these days, feel free to ask when they are RSVPing. **Peanuts, gluten, and fruits are always the big culprits.** Kids do not want pinwheel spinach sandwiches but adults love these things, play your audience. Make it easy for yourself! But if you are having the party around mealtime, feed your guests a meal. Kids also like themed food – normal food items decorated differently to go with your theme, no need to reinvent the wheel, just put some sprinkles on it (sort of). Dessert is a big deal – cake, cupcakes, ice cream, cheesecake? I leave this up to my guest of honor.
Games – again, depends on your theme – bridal showers need different games than birthday parties. So if you are doing this at home, make sure you have enough things to keep the guests busy. Coloring pages, painting, outside time, scavenger hunts are big hits at our kids birthday parties. But plan what you are going to do and the timing. For example – jumping on bouncing houses for an hour, eat, then something easy like arcade games. Can’t jump after eating. Shouldn’t swim after eating. See what I mean….think about this ahead of time.
Goody bags and gifts – DO NOT GO OVERBOARD!!!! How many times do you throw away the things your kids get in the goody bags? Plenty!!!! So…..don’t make it messy or annoying!!! You want to give gifts to the winners of your games too, so make the prize worthy of the game.
Budget – Find it and stick to it! Don’t go over it, don’t make exceptions; it is easy to do!