Two of my four children have birthdays within 10 days of each other in April. Little Rascal will turn 7 on the 20th and Babaganouski (my baby!) will turn 2 on the 30th.
It has been jibed at me, that for someone who loves to plan that I didn’t do such a great job of planning my kids arrival in this world. We have the April cluster then, Thinker will have his 10th birthday on 27th Nov and and less than two weeks later Possum will be 5 on 10th Dec. There are just some things (like conception) that you just can’t plan!
So when it comes to children’s birthday parties, I have quite a few checklists and spreadsheets that I like to use to help me through these busy periods. I have listed below, my main checklist.
EDIT: Each point is now linked to the post that I have written on the topic. Simply click on the heading to see further details on this point.
This list works like a to do list for me and allows for a methodical approach to planning the parties for the children.
(1). Overall family birthday party strategy.
(2). Party Themes.
(3). Invitations.
(4). Guest List.
(5). Food and Drink List.
(6). Games/Activities Plan.
(7). Decorations and Party Accessories.
(8). Party Week and Day Timetables.
(9). Emergency Plan.
(10). Thank You Notes.
I have links and spreadsheets to share for these points and will do so over the month of April, as I am planning parties for my two boys. On Thursday I will start off with: our family strategy for birthday parties, themes and invitations. Look forward to sharing tips on how you plan successful children’s birthday parties.
21 Comments so far
Leave a comment
My baby turns 2 in May. Great article, thanks
A’s last blog post..Where do they get these things from?!!
By A on 04.01.08 2:30 pm | Permalink
Oooh, I need these tips! Guerita turns 5 in May so I better get organised soon. Looking forward to it.
Guera’s last blog post..I Swear I Didn’t Put Her Up To It
By Guera on 04.01.08 4:06 pm | Permalink
April is also a crazy month for us, 2 of my 5 kids were both born on the 18th, and no they arn’t twins they are 5 years apart
It’s also my birthday on the 21st, my dad and sil both have birthdays in April and this year we have a wedding to go to as well. All I can say is thank goodness Easter was in March this year…lol!
I can’t wait to see your spreadsheets etc
Rachel xxx
A Juggling Mum
A Juggling Mum’s last blog post..Tackle It Tuesday - Kids Winter Clothes
By A Juggling Mum on 04.01.08 4:06 pm | Permalink
great tips! Planning a party would be a lot easier now with this list.
party planning’s last blog post..Organizing a Successful Party: The Different Elements of Party Planning
By party planning on 04.01.08 6:08 pm | Permalink
Thanks for the tips! I only have one (Audrey 15 months old) but her birthday is 2 days after Christmas so these tips are very helpful to me.
If you are ever looking for some cool DIY invitation ideas and printables, templates, etc… I found a great site - http://www.do-it-yourself-invitations.com
DelilahIris’s last blog post..Make a Baby Pillow or Decorative or Baby Sleep Pillow
By DelilahIris on 04.02.08 5:28 am | Permalink
My twins turn 2 in 3 months OMG !
I am looking forward to your experience and ideas for two year old parties.
I really need some pointers.
Babyamore (Trish)’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday- want ,want, wanted !
By Babyamore (Trish) on 04.02.08 11:29 pm | Permalink
This is a great list. My kids birthdays are two months a part, March and May. The only thing I would add is a gift list. Every time we call to invite more people to the party that is coming up we are asked what does the kid need. Our kids, like many, don’t need any more toys or clothes, so it hard to come up with what they need, and everyone wants you to make it easy on them. For the next party I plan to put a list together of things we could use, like savings bonds, diapers, socks, etc. It seems to be difficult to remember these all in the heat of the moment of inviting. You could use the list for your RSVP calls too. Just a thought I wanted to give ya, thanks for the tips!
Mary Green’s last blog post..Preschool Activities: Use Snacks And Crafts To Teach Abcs
By Mary Green on 04.03.08 4:21 am | Permalink
[...] the job of organising a party into discreet, measurable tasks. This was how I came up with our 10 Point Children’s Birthday Party Plan. The first three steps in this process I will now go through in detail in this [...]
By Planning Children’s Birthday Parties - Strategy, Themes and Invitations. | Planning with Kids on 04.03.08 4:34 pm | Permalink
I do something similar with the plan, though not down to timetables on the day, great idea though! I’ve got my girls’ birthdays 8 days apart so I’ve been wondering how to do parties, your idea sounds good when they are a bit older (my youngest is 8 months so not yet!) Thanks for the tips :).
By Stacey on 04.03.08 11:09 pm | Permalink
Wrote this comment for the above post, but there seems to be an error in the processing?
Anyhow - what I said:
Well, I am glad that I googled you after I got your comment on mine! What a great way to organise - imagine how organised yours are, and then reverse to see how mine generally go!!
I think I will blogline you - plenty of inspiration here.
Oh, and thanks for stopping by!
And by the way - April is a wonderful month to have a birthday.
jeanie’s last blog post..Sparkies, sparklies, tuck-shop sagas and school holidays
By jeanie on 04.04.08 12:41 am | Permalink
Great tips - we also have a huge family with clustered birthdays!
Homemaker Barbi (Danelle Ice-Simmons)’s last blog post..Teach Ourselves so We Can Teach Our Kids
By Homemaker Barbi (Danelle Ice-Simmons) on 04.04.08 4:56 pm | Permalink
A and Guera - May is a superb month to have a birthday - mine is in May too
.
A Juggling Mum - Wow and I thought I had a busy April.
Party Planning, Babyamore, Stacey, Jeanie and Homemaker Barbi - Thanks for dropping by and I hope that the birthday party series helps.
Mary Green - Having a suggested list of gifts is a great idea, I will incorporate that into my planning thanks!
By PlanningQueen on 04.05.08 10:54 am | Permalink
[...] and a dinner with friends for Little Rascal. You can see more about how I am planning those on my Thursday posts during [...]
By Monthly Review - March | Planning with Kids on 04.09.08 5:00 am | Permalink
[...] is part 3 in the Planning Children’s Birthday Series. Part 1 was a 10 Point Birthday Party Plan Check List. Part 2 focused on family strategy for birthday parties, party themes and birthday party [...]
By Planning Children's Birthday Parties - Guest and Food Lists. | Planning with Kids on 04.10.08 1:50 am | Permalink
Thanks for participating in this week’s Carnival of Family Life, hosted at On the Horizon tomorrow, April 14, 2008! Be sure to drop by and check out all of the other excellent entries this week!
JHS’s last blog post..Friday’s Feast Special Edition
By JHS on 04.14.08 11:44 am | Permalink
[...] to part 3 in the Planning Children’s Birthday Series. Part 1 was a 10 Point Birthday Party Plan Check List. Part 2 focused on family strategy for birthday parties, party themes and birthday party [...]
By Planning Children’s Birthday Parties - Activities and Accessories. | Planning with Kids on 04.15.08 3:37 pm | Permalink
[...] shares 10 Point Children’s Birthday Party Plan published at Planning with [...]
By Carnival of Family Life | On the Horizon on 04.21.08 5:01 am | Permalink
[...] is Part 5 in the Planning Children’s Birthday Series. Part 1 was a 10 Point Birthday Party Plan Check List. Part 2 focused on family strategy for birthday parties, party themes and birthday party [...]
By Planning Children's Birthday Parties - Party Week and Party Day Timetables. | Planning with Kids on 04.24.08 1:36 am | Permalink
[...] had to bite my tongue and shut my mout…» Thanks for the welcome back. I am short… » 10 Point Children’s Birthday Party Plan (18)» Can Women Have It All???? (17)» Menu Plan Monday - Inspiration from the Fair [...]
By Planning with Kids » Blog Archive » Planning Children’s Birthday Parties - Emergency Plan and Thank You Notes on 05.01.08 1:19 am | Permalink
[...] to Part 4 in the Planning Children’s Birthday Series. Part 1 was a 10 Point Birthday Party Plan Check List. Part 2 focused on family strategy for birthday parties, party themes and birthday party [...]
By Planning Children’s Birthday Parties - Activities and Accessories. | Planning With Kids on 05.12.08 12:45 pm | Permalink
Keep it simple- Close family, cake, and a few presents; no need for a ten point guide here
By Realistic Mom on 10.30.08 12:06 pm | Permalink
Leave a comment