The success of children's birthday parties is determined not just by how much fun the children have, but also by how much fun YOU get out of it. If the whole day is a nightmare from beginning to end, you won’t enjoy it, and neither will your guests.

The secret is in the planning. At the very least, you should make a list of the things you need to do and buy so that you don’t forget anything. The more you plan the better the chance of everything going smoothly. Remember one thing! It is your child’s Birthday party and that cartoon character they have been mad about for the last 6 months may no longer be their favourite, so do ask your child, and get them involved in the planning.

Where?

Where to hold the birthday party? Indoors or out. If you have the space, outdoors is easier as there is less likelihood of anything getting broken, and there are more activities that you can organise. Not only that, you can also leave the children to play on their own if you need to. If you are planning to hold it outdoors, make sure you have a fall back plan just in case the weather turns nasty.

Outdoors

* Is it safe and secure?
* How far is it, and will you be able to transport everything you need for your child's birthday party easily?

Indoors

* Is there enough room?
* Are some rooms to be out of bounds?
* Do you need to remove any fragile items?

Timing

If the children are younger, try to plan it around likely sleep patterns. Lunchtime is usually fairly safe, whereas, mid-afternoon can often clash with ‘siesta’ time, and lead to tired and grumpy children.

Probably the most popular time to hold a birthday party is around 3.00 – 3.30pm That way the party will be over by about 5.30pm and you can get on with the clearing up and preparing for supper if you need to.

How Long?

The birthday party can be as long as you like, or as long as you are prepared to run it for.
For pre-schoolers or younger children up to the age of about 4, 2 hours is probably the maximum. With this age range, the chances are that you will have all the mothers at the party as well, and this can work very much to your advantage as they can take on a lot of the work themselves if you play your cards right.
As long as this is the case, how long the party runs for is up to you, but it don’t let it drag on and tire them.
For 5-7 year olds, about 2 hours is going to be right.
For 8-12 year olds, 2-3 hours should be enough.
Make sure all the parents know when to the birthday party will end, so that they arrive on time to collect their children, and you are not left looking after little Johnny into the early evening

Numbers

The younger the child, the fewer the guests. Although for under 3’s, you will probably need to have one parent for every child, be sensitive to the fact that small children can get freaked by too many children and adults.
As the age range increases, you can have more adults and make the party one for adults as well if you like, it will certainly help you to enjoy it..
Once your child is at school, you will find that the numbers increase anyway just because they will want classmates to be there. Be diplomatic when discussing this, as if you aren’t going to invite a certain class member you need to be discrete about it.

If you are having a sleep over party, you should keep the numbers down, and, unless it is a regular thing and you know the children well, prepare for the possibility of less sleep yourself. We have some great Sleepover Party supplies for girls.

Budget

Children's birthday parties can be expensive, but you can easily keep the cost down by doing as much as you can yourself.

* Prepare all the food
* Have it at home or in the garden, maybe in the local park
* Use home made cakes or biscuits as gifts.

Children's Birthday Party Themes

Decide on what type of party you want. If the child whose birthday party it is,is keen on anything in particular, a cartoon character for instance, this can make a good starting point.
Pirate parties,princess parties, cars parties and cartoon characters are all great favourites, and are easy to organise. Alternatively, you can always choose a favourite colour or wildlife animal.

Some popular Boys Party Themes and Girls Party Themes are listed below, these and many more are available on this site.

Boys Party Themes

*Cars Party Supplies
* Pirate Party
* Football Party
* Spiderman Party
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party
* Roary The Racing Car Party
* Power Rangers Party
* Bob The Builder Party
* Thomas The Tank Engine Party

Girls Party Themes

* Disney Princess Party
* Bratz Fashion Pixiez Party
* Barbie Fairytopia Party
* Disney Faries Party
* Fairytale Princess Party
* Fifi And The Flowertots Party
* Dora The Explorer Party

Mixed Party Themes

* Winnie The Pooh Party
* Scooby Doo
* Postman Pat Party
* Noddy Party
* Lazytown Party
* The Simpsons
* Tom & Jerry
* Spongebob Party
* In The Night Garden Party

Birthday Party Invitations

Before you decide on the date of your children's birthday party and send out the party invitations, make sure your child’s most important friends are available, otherwise you may end up having to change the dates, as your prince or princess is not going to have much fun if their best friend isn’t able to enjoy it with them.

Make sure you keep a list of those that have replied so you know what the numbers are going to be and can chase up those who have not replied. At the same time you can check to see if there are any ‘fussy’ eaters that need to be catered for.
Start off at least a month away from the party (more if you want). You will need this long because if you are ordering a birthday cake from a supplier, there can be long waiting lists, sometimes as long as 2-3 months, especially in the summer months at the height of the wedding season.
In any case you will need to send out your birthday party invitations in plenty of time to ensure that people are not already committed on the day. If you are planning a themed birthday party, you will need to let your guests know what it is and whether they need to dress up or if you are going to provide the props.

Birthday Party Decorations

This is where the birthday party theme really comes into its own. You can have great fun doing this, as the range of Boys Party Themes
and Girls Party Themes available is huge. Plates, napkins, cups, hats, Party Favours blowouts etc. etc. Unless you have a good shop nearby, it’s easier to order these off the internet, but it’s best to leave a couple of weeks for delivery.

If it’s possible, decorate as much of the house as you can, rather than just one or two rooms. This really adds to the fun, and helps the birthday party go well.
Use birthday party banners and tie some Birthday Party Balloons to your front door, or gatepost or use one of the fantastic door banners we have on this site, so that your house is distinctive and easily recognisable.
The entrance is particularly important, as it is the first thing your guests will see when they arrive at your kids birthday party, so pay attention to it.

The Day Before

The more you can sort out and finish the day before the better, there is then less of a rush on the day. Food is an obvious one to get out of the way if you can. Either prepare it all and store it in the fridge or freezer, or better still, share out the preparation among some of the other parents who will be coming. You’ll find that most of them won’t mind bringing one food item each, in which case, you will save yourself a lot of time, and you can always offer to pay for it.

On the Day of the Birthday Party

Camera – if you have got a Polaroid camera, or can borrow one, do so, as kids love to be able to have a memento to take home.
These days it is much easier with the advent of digital cameras, but it means a little bit more work to get them printed off through a computer. Something you might like to delegate to one of the fathers if you have any attending. You may also like to have a video record of it, in which case you really do need an enthusiastic amateur.

Safety

First Aid – lots of children charging around the place is an accident waiting to happen. Hopefully it will go off without a problem, but you should plan on being able to cope with minor cuts and grazes which are common occurrences.

Contact numbers – if all the parents aren’t attending, make sure you have a list of emergency contact numbers handy. Even if you have a problem that doesn’t involve that parent’s child, it may be necessary to call and get them collected earlier than planned.

Entertainers

Book your entertainer if you’re having one. Again, these people tend to have long waiting lists, so don’t leave it too late. There are plenty of options nowadays, so you’re not just stuck with a clown, but do make sure it is appropriate for the age range that you have invited.

Bouncy Castles

Gifts

If you’re planning on playing party games like pass the parcel, or treasure hunt, you will need presents for the children to win. These need not be expensive, (See our Party Favours section) and if you are having a themed party, you have the option of tying it in with that. Also, it is fairly normal for the guests to have something to take away with them at the end. This can be a jamboree bag of sweets and doesn’t have to cost a lot.

Sweets

Having plenty of these is a really good idea. They make great consolation prizes, which means you won’t have unhappy children because they can’t all win.

You don’t have to spend a fortune, choose lots of small chews and individual sweets rather than chocolate bars and the like. It makes them go a lot further and small kids love them.>