3 Common Children Birthday Party Mistakes to Avoid at all Costs
Birthday parties can be magical experiences for children when they go right but can easily turn to disaster when they go wrong. Here are 3 common children birthday party mistakes to avoid at all costs. We’ll both tell you what the mistakes are and why they are so bad in the first place.
I’ll Save Money If I Do It All Myself
There are
parents who want to save money and go about it the wrong way. They drive
themselves crazy trying to bake the cake, create party favors, plan activities, decorate and send
invitations. When company arrives, they’re then run ragged as they try to serve
food, provide entertainment and act as referee.
While you might
be able to pull this off if you have a basic party with three friends (and their
Moms helping), it is still exhausting. When you have a larger group, it is a
massive amount of work and stress.
Save yourself
the hassle and hire someone to bake the cake if you want something fancy. Feel
free to ask for help. Plan simple entertainment like a clown show, or work with
a company like Fun
Crew USA to set up and manage inflatables or a rock wall for the
kids. Now you can focus on coordinating the event and supervising children
instead of trying to do it all.
The birthday party invitations need to include all of the information people need to attend.
Whose birthday party is it? What is the full date and time? Give them
information on start time and finish time, so that people don’t assume 2pm is
the recommended arrival time but the gifts and cake are at 3pm. Give them the
address for the location, not just “Chelsea’s house”. Give attire if it is
important, such as making sure people know it is a swim party or costume party.
Give people your contact information in case they want to ask about the gifts
your child likes or for reporting food allergies. Be clear if siblings are or
are not invited.
A common
mistake is assuming you have to invite everyone, whether everyone in a
playgroup, day care class or neighborhood. One problem with this assumption is
that you end up inviting 30 kids, some of whom aren’t friends with your child.
Another problem
with this assumption is that you multiply the cost and complexity of the
birthday party over simply inviting your child’s several closest friends.
Instead, invite your child’s favorite friends. This can even make it more
inclusive when you can say go ahead and let the best friends’ younger and older
siblings come, something you can’t pull off if you’ve invited 20 classmates.
If you follow the few tips in this article, you’ll be able to give
your child the party of their lifetime, minus the headache. Just remember to
never bite off more than you can chew so you can enjoy the party while ensuring
everyone else has fun, too.
