How To Plan A Home Birthday Party

Having worked as a full-time entertainer for over 10 years and performed at hundred's of children's birthday parties in people's homes, I have seen just about everything. From small intimate events of just the family to large extravagant affairs; birthday parties can be lots of fun for all attending. However, if you have never planned one, were do you start?

Here are some party planning ideas that will help make your special day, fun and entertaining and it is usually within the cost of $800+.

If you follow the suggestions given here then birthday party planning will be a piece of cake.  Everything you need to know is covered, from the invitations to entertainment.

Date and Time

The first thing you need to plan is the date and time of your party.

- Most people want to have their birthday party on a weekend afternoon. This is a good time for a party, but many times, it interferes with other weekend activities, such as sports, family outings, other entertainment events, etc. In addition, the best entertainers have weekend schedules filled first and early. If you want to have the party on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, plan it as far in advance as you can.

- Saturday mornings are becoming very popular, as it interferes with fewer weekend activities, and when the party is over it leaves the rest of the day free for you and your guests.

- After school parties, on weekday evenings are also becoming more and more common. Weekday parties are a great way to break up the week and leave weekends free for other events.

- Choose a few different dates for your party and then check your child's activity schedule for conflicts. Also check with their friends and your family members as to whether they can attend and what date may work best for them. 

- Call the entertainer you want at the party; check their schedule to see when they are available and decide on the best date and time (see Entertainment below.) 

The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing a date is that it is not likely that you will find one date that works wonderfully for everyone, so do not stress too much over it.  Just try to find the best date where the majority of people and the entertainer can make it.

Party Length

The typical birthday party will last about 2-3 hours. Depending on the way you have the party set up you can plan for the typical timing for a birthday party to be:
- 30 minutes for guests' arrival
- 60 to 90 minutes for activities, including opening gifts, and entertainment
- 45 minutes for cake and food.

Decide On A Theme

You do not need a theme, but it will often help make the planning easier and it can help to make it easier to organize the party activities.

- If your daughter's favorite thing is Barbie, then choose a Barbie theme for the party.
- If your son's into Star Wars, then, again, you have a perfect theme idea.

Many people will theme their parties around the entertainment they have planned.
- A magician will be performing so the theme is MAGIC.
- A clown is coming to the party so it will be CLOWN or CIRCUS theme.

As far as themes go, do not worry that absolutely everything at the party must fit the theme. A few decorations are fine, a theme cake is great, but there is no reason to get stressed-out because you cannot find an entertainer that does a Star Wars show to fit your theme. Remember that a party should be fun for everyone, including the party planner.

Decorations

When it comes to decorating, all you need to find are a few items that represent the theme. You do not need to have everything fit the theme of the party. A few major items are fine; the rest of the items can match in colors such as black and red for a Star Wars party.

- Call or visit local party stores to see if they have the theme you are looking for.

- You do not need to go overboard. A few strategically placed decorations are often better than every square foot covered in color. 

- Keeping it simple will also alleviate the stress of setting up and cleaning up.

You can often find the best deals on decorations and other supplies online. 

- Get discount party supplies at the best prices at EBay where you can often find some amazing deals. 
- You can also try Celebrate Express which carries a wide range of themed birthday party supplies. 
- If you want a one stop shopping experience then try Birthday in a Box which sells complete party packages that are already put together with everything you will need for the perfect party.

Invitations

This is the place where your theme should begin; the invitation will let everyone know the theme of the party before they even get to the party. It is also a subtle suggestion of gift ideas for those that do not have any idea what to get for a gift.

- Make sure your deliver the invitations a minimum of 2 weeks in advance before the party to give parents time to plan. 
- It is also recommended that you should put the "Come By X:XX p.m." timing in the invitation card so that the guests will not be late for the birthday party.

- Most invitations also include an area for RSVP.  This will help you to be able to plan, so be sure to fill out this area of the invitation. 

- Keep in mind, though, that not everyone will RSVP.  Plan for a few more guests then actually RSVP.  You may also want to note that guests should please RSVP if they are not coming, but again many will not, so be aware of that.

Food

If the party is scheduled during or close to dinner or lunch, serving food is essential. During a party, the children are usually having a so much fun, that serving a normal meal is not necessary or wanted. The children want to get back to party activities as soon as possible.

- Finger food like hotdogs, sandwiches, popcorn and chips are perfect. We also recommend packet drinks to minimize spilling.

- The food you choose should be foods that are not too messy and that are easy to prepare. 

- Also the foods should be easy to serve. 

- You want to avoid anything extravagant.  The easier, the better when it comes to party food for a child's birthday party.

Cake

You will have many options when it comes to the birthday cake. This is an area where your imagination rules.

- Theme cakes can work great, like a "Magic" theme party with a Top Hat and Rabbit cake. 
- You can now get a cake with the birthday child's photo on the frosting.
- Have fun and be creative with the birthday cake, if you dare.

- A popular idea is to have the main cake that the child blows out the candles on and then you put it aside for "just" the family to enjoy latter. The guests are then served small cup cakes. Kids love them and everyone gets the same size so no one is upset that some one else got a bigger slice or a decoration on it, etc.  Cupcakes are also much easier to serve and create far less clean up then slices of cake.

- Most people serve ice cream along with the birthday cake.  Instead of serving scooped ice cream you can use individual containers of ice cream.  These are rather inexpensive and they will make serving the ice cream a breeze, not to mention they come in their own serving container.

Goodie Bags/Party Bags

Times have changed, there used to be a day when the birthday child was the only one to get gifts. These days goodie bags for each guest is pretty much expected. This can sometimes be the most difficult part of putting the party together.

Goodie bags are something the children take home to remind them how much fun they had at your party and they serve as a gift to say 'thank you for coming.'
- The bags should be filled with fun things.
- Goodie bags can carry the party theme; however, they do not need to. 
- Common goodie bag items include stickers, balloons, party horns and small toys.

You do not need to overdo it with the goodie bags, though. A few inexpensive and fun items are all you need.  Plan on spending not more then $2 per goodie bag. Remember the party is for the birthday child, not the guest.

Games and Activities

You will usually need to plan at least one activity for the party, even if you have an entertainer coming.
- Activities can range from simple games to pony rides or a bouncy castle.
- Do not deluge the kids with activities. 
- The idea of activities is to provide a way to keep the children occupied and entertained.
- You should still give them time to visit but plan activities so they do not have time to get bored and run around the house causing chaos.

Entertainment

I have left entertainment for the last in this article; but should you decide to use a professional entertainer for your party, plan that first!

• The best entertainers are always booked far in advance and often do more then one party a day. 
• If you send out your invitations and then call the entertainer, you may not be able to get the one you really want on the day and time that you need them.
• Entertainment seldom matches your party theme unless you specifically theme the party around the entertainment or hire a costumed look-alike. Do not worry about the entertainment matching the theme; be more concerned with making sure the children will be entertained. 
• There is a wide range of birthday party entertainers out there and a wide range of prices and quality.
• What kind of entertainment will you be looking for? The most popular entertainers are magicians, games hosts, character look-alikes and balloonists.
• The best way to find a quality entertainer is to ask around; talk to friends, other parents, your child's school or childcare center, etc. 
• If your child comes home from a party raving about how funny and entertaining the performer was then call the parent and ask for information on the performer.
• If you do not have any luck finding a party entertainer through referrals, then try checking the Internet. Go to search engines and use words like "Birthday Party Magicians", also include the city name in which to live so you can narrow down the search results to entertainers in your specific area.
• You should be able to find websites for the local entertainers or at least contact information. 
• You may also find reviews of entertainers which can give you an idea of how good the entertainer is or what type of performance he gives.  
• Choose a few different entertainers that interest you and contact them.
• When calling, ask several things- What age group is your show most suited for? What do they do in the show? What does the entire entertainment package include and how long will they be at the party? How long have they been doing this? How much is the package? What are the payment arrangements? The answer to these questions will vary greatly and will help you decide on the right entertainment package for your party needs.If you find you have trouble choosing between a couple different entertainers then you can request an audition or to see their work.  This will usually help you to make the final decision.

Planning a birthday party can be easy if you simply make sure you have every aspect covered.  With the suggestions given here you should be able to plan a birthday party with ease.