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Planning Kids’ Birthday Parties - Show #18

January 9, 2008 | By Christina In Podcast |

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Children’s birthday parties are quickly becoming monumental events rather than small, intimate gatherings of the child’s closest friends. Every classmate is invited and parents search out the newest activity playland so they can hand off the planning and cleaning up to someone else.

Planning a young child’s birthday party does not have to complicated nor does it have to break your bank account. My guest this week is birthday party expert Annette Yen from www.partybymom.com and she has lots of tips for keeping parties small and controlled.

Whether to invite the entire class or not to a party is a hot topic. Many argue that you should invite everyone to avoid hurting a child’s feelings and others say that no one should dictate who or how many children should be on the guest list.

Think about your own birthday child and make the decision based on his/her comfort level. If he is the class clown and loves being with other people, then a crowd of classmates may not phase him. However, if your princess is quiet or shy and does not play in large groups, then she may get upset easily having 20+ kids in her house, playing with her toys.

Somehow we forgot to mention just how important the RSVP is! Whether you are hosting a small party at home or a large party at the bowling alley, the hosting parent still needs to know if your child will attend so they have enough food and goodie bags.

Even if your plans change or your child gets sick and cannot attend, please be courteous and call the hosting parent rather than just not show up. This will avoid having the birthday child disappointed or in tears. Also keep in mind that if the party is held at an outside venue, a headcount is required usually 3 days in advance and if your child does not show up, the hosting parent still has to pay.

The American Girl Magazine and Family Fun Magazine have awesome party planning sections in nearly every issue so check out your local library for back issues. Or visit Annette’s new site if you’re planning a princess party or a pirate party for your children.