How to Host A
Stress-free Birthday Party
In 10 Easy Steps

By Amy Pellow, Event Coordinator
Owner of A Touch of Excellence, Rochester, NY

As a fellow parent, I know that our busy schedules make it hard to spend the needed time to plan our child’s birthday party the way we really want to. Much of the stress lies in not knowing exactly what needs to be done, and when. The steps I have provided below take care of half the work–the planning–so that you can focus on what really matters: Creating a unique, fun experience that both you and your kids will remember with pleasure for years to come.

1.   60-90 Days in Advance

If you are going to be holding the party at a location away from your house, you want to make this decision well in advance of the party. If it is among the more popular locations for children's parties in town, these venues get booked far ahead, so you should gather your information about costs, pricing, and availability a few months before the birthday. This is also the time to investigate entertainment (e.g, a clown) if you want to include that in your party.

2.   30 Days in Advance

Start thinking of ideas and themes for your child’s birthday–for example, a pool party with a Hawaiian Luau theme. You want it to be fun and exciting for your child and their friends. But you may also want to preserve the opportunity for interaction between the children and their parents.

3.   14 Days in Advance

Once you’ve selected your idea and theme, it is time to start working on the invitations. You can make the invitations right on your own computer. Just type the information and add a fun picture of your child. Print it out on pre-printed paper (border with the theme) that you can purchase at an office supply store such as OfficeMax or Staples. Things to remember to put on the invitation are time, date, location, theme, dress (if it's not obvious), and RSVP date. Allow at least 5 days before the party date for the RSVP deadline. Pictures are optional but make a nice personal touch. This process is much faster than writing all the invitations by hand. Sending out the invitations 2 weeks in advance will ensure that even families that may be on vacation will receive your invite with time to RSVP.

4.   14 Days in Advance

As you have already typed the one-page invitation, it only takes a few seconds to make another page. Make a list of all the children you invited. Put the list right next to the phone so when they call you can easily check off whether they will be attending. You can also use this list during the party to write next to each child’s name what they got your child for a gift...you are going to need this to send out Thank You notes.

5.   14 Days in Advance

As the invitations are printing, write each address on a business-sized envelope. Once printed, fold the invitations in thirds and your invitation is ready for sending. You can also use a 5 x 7 envelope, folding the invitation in half instead of thirds. It would be a good idea to do two envelopes each. This way when the party is over, you already have the envelopes done for Thank You notes.

6.   10 Days in Advance

The invitations are already in the mail and you still have 10 days with the theme already in your mind to come up with the rest of the ideas for your party: games, gifts, and entertainment that work with the theme. For example, for a Hawaiian Luau party, you could get grass skirts, buy some inflatable palm trees, and have the kids eat on beach towels. For gift bags, you can get sunglasses, tiny bubbles, fans and miniature surfboards. You can get a CD with Hawaiian music. You can play pool games and beach volleyball–all in the Hawaiian theme. This example can serve to give you ideas for the kinds of activities that can be associated with your own theme. Not having specific activities planned can result in the kind of chaos that no parent wants at a party.

7.   5 Days in Advance

By now all have RSVP’ed and you have a list of how many people are coming. You can now order your cake (we recommend buttercreme frosting because it does not require refrigeration), get the correct number of party supplies, and figure out the decorations needed. Always plan for 3 additional children for those last-minute callers. While you are out, stop at the store and pick up these non-perishables.

8.   3 Days in Advance

: While relaxing on the couch watching your favorite show, you can put the gift bags together. Put labels (piece of masking tape) on each bag with a child’s name on it so there is no question of who did and did not get their gift bag during the party. This also helps the child find their bag before leaving the party.

9.   1 Day in Advance

Pick up the cake and get the last-minute food. Don’t forget the balloons! Make the food the night before or thaw it out, if needed.

10.   On the Day of the Event

• Decorate a couple hours before arrival.
  
  
• During the party, if you are grilling food, once the hamburgers and hotdogs are cooked, put them into the rolls right as they come off the grill–this will be one less step the kids will have to do before putting the mustard and ketchup on.
  
  
• For gift giving, get two chairs: One for the birthday child and one for the child giving their gift.
  
  
• Have all the children sit in a circle with their gifts. Have the birthday child call one person at a time to come up and sit next to him/her for the personal presentation. This is also the perfect opportunity to take a picture of the birthday child and each of his/her friends–a nice personal add-on to insert with the Thank You note.
  
  
• Try to relax and have fun! Parental stress detracts from the party, so keep it calm and simple on the exterior even if inside you're counting the minutes until it is over. It can be very useful to enlist a spouse, friend, or the parent of one of the participants to help fetch things, clean, and maintain a semblance of order.

Themes can help focus a party and give you great ideas for decorating and activities! For a list of party theme suggestions, click here.

If you live in the greater Rochester, NY area, and if instead of doing the party yourself, you'd prefer to sit back, relax, and let someone else take care of the details, email Amy Pellow or call her at 585-425-0963. Amy's business, A Touch of Excellence, has organized events from the smallest birthday party to the largest golf tournament in Rochester.

©Amy Pellow, 2004
All rights reserved.