Party Planning: More or Less?

By Elyse Major

Birthday party planning and party venues have become quite the booming industry. It seems like almost any business can figure out a way to handle your party needs. I can imagine a Supermarket Party, where each child gets to load a cart, guess the weight of green peppers on a scale, and have cake at the WiFi café. Favors could be packed into reusable bags! Kidding aside, many of these non-DIY or “pre-packaged” parties can be fun, active, and sometimes cost-effective.

However, it can also be very fun and rewarding to plan and host your own party. In our family, we have a Brothers’ Party each year. My boys were born two years and two weeks apart, and since they share many of the same pals, we combine their birthdays into one annual fete. Deciding on a party theme can make everything else fall into place. Here are a few ideas from past parties.

The Pirate Party
This party was planned about a year before the pirate craze started. The lack of available favors and items forced some creativity.
Location: The best idea of all for this party came from my son Jonah, who excitedly suggested that we have the party at a beach. We did. We had the party at Bristol Town Beach and took a chance that its covered picnic area would be available. It was!
Highlights: Finding buried oversized gold coins in the sand; a piñata; and temporary tattoos.
Fun Food: Pirate’s Booty and pizza strips.

The Carnival Party
Much of the inspiration for this party came from a carnival style font that I saw and wanted to use! (Can anyone else out there relate to this?)
Location: Our backyard (but a public park would work well).
Highlights: Guiding guests through our balloon-lined yard to play homemade games like my husband’s prized Skee Ball (which we all painted). Favors were large inflatable animals.
Fun Food: We rented a cotton candy machine, popped popcorn, and drank lemonade and cider.

The Cowboy Party
This was a small and simple party when one of the brothers was still in utero, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Location: Our apartment’s small backyard.
Highlights: Toddler-sized cowboy hats for each guest; pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game; red bandannas used wherever possible (lining bowls of crackers, around my neck, etc.).
Fun Food: PB&Js cut into star shapes; a Sheriff Woody cake.

Home Party Pros
– Planning the party can be a family project or your own unique vision with kido-input.
– It can cost less than having a party at a popular party location.
– When your party doesn’t cost “per child” you can open up the guest list to anyone your children wishes to invite instead of limiting the party to 10-12 kids.
– Unique memories of the entire process and day.

The Cons
– When you plan an outdoor party, you realize how weather reports can shift drastically on a daily basis. This can cause stress!
– You could get rained-out so have a Plan B (like a basement or tent) but avoid setting a rain date — it’s just too tricky for most people’s schedules.
– There is a lot of set-up, pre-party cleaning (think: the bathroom), and post-party clean-up.
– If you let your imagination run too wild, your party can cost more than you may have anticipated (think: Skee Ball table).

Find more great “At-home birthday party ideas” here on Kidoinfo.

Elyse Major lives in northern Rhode Island with her husband and 2 sons (almost 6 and almost 8 years old). A “mostly” stay-at-home mom, Elyse works as a communications consultant for Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. Hobbies include doing crafts with her boys; eating popcorn with her husband; writing; creating home dècor; and most recently blogging (visit Elyse’s blog at http://tinkeredtreasures.blogspot.com/).

Photo credit: Elyse Major