How to Plan a Kids' Birthday Party

As your kid turns another year older, he wants to celebrate by having a kids’ birthday party with all his friends. You want to do this–really, you do–but the thought of having all those kids over to your house at the same time can make any mom feel just a bit nervous. The secret to a great birthday party is proper planning. When you take the time to do this, you won’t have to turn your back on the kids to prepare more food or worry about them trashing your house because they are bored.

Step 1

Involve your child in the planning. The birthday party is really about your child, so it’s important to ask her what she wants. She may have ideas about the theme of the party, games to play or what food to eat. Since it’s her special day, do your best to accommodate these wishes.

Step 2

Make a guest list. Take care that you do not hurt feelings by leaving someone out. The best way to do this is to invite all the students in your child’s class, invite only girls or boys, or limit the guest list to a few of your child’s closest friends. If you’re not inviting the whole class, send invitations by mail to avoid hurt feelings.

Step 3

Schedule the party, and send out invitations. Weekends are usually the most popular time for a birthday party because you don’t have to contend with school and parents’ work schedules. The party should be near the date of your kid’s birthday. Ask parents to reply to the invitation so that you can plan how much food to make.

Step 4

Plan the menu. If you are holding the party during a meal time, you should offer a meal to the children. Stick with kid favorites like pizza, mac and cheese or hot dogs. You can also opt to serve only cake if you are having an afternoon party. The longer you’ll have kids in your house, the more food you should be prepared to serve.

Step 5

Plan activities to do at the party. Unless your child is older–when she’ll be too cool to want to play games that mom has prepared and would prefer to just play with friends on her own terms–planning enough activities will help the party to run smoothly. Depending on your kid’s age and interests, you may want to do crafts, play games or make music. If you want, you can hire a professional entertainer, such as a clown or magician, to perform for the children.

Step 6

Scan your house for safety concerns. Though you’ve undoubtedly already taken some basic child-proofing measures for your own children, having a group over can present different challenges. Make sure you have a space big enough to hold all the kids and remove any items that might get broken.