Planning Children’s Birthday Parties – Party Week and Party Day Timetables.
by PlanningQueen on April 24, 2008 in Children's Activities, Planning
This 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 invitations. Part 3 was centred around Guest and Food Lists. Part 4 detailed Party Activities and Accessories.
Today I am going to run through how I plan my party preparation, so that on the day it runs smoothly and I have time to enjoy the party as well!
PARTY WEEK SCHEDULE
You can find a detailed example of one of my schedule’s in the attached excel file “Planning With Kids Party Plan”. This schedule lists all the key activities that need to be completed prior to the party and when they will need to be done.
Planning With Kids Birthday Party Plan
About a week before the party, I will sit down and list the key activities and spread the work over the remaining days, so that all the work isn’t left to the day before the party. This then gives me a “To Do List” for the rest of that week. I also find that just by having the list, I feel more in control and less stressed as I know what I need to do and when.
PARTY DAY TIMETABLE
This timetable is really for just for me. I love for the children’s birthday parties to be relatively free flowing for the children, especially the little ones who are not at an age for structured games.
By breaking down the party preparation into discreet tasks, I have a clear idea of what work needs to be done and when. I find this particularly useful if I am having hot food, so that it is all ready at the same time.
Another advantage of having a timetable is that if you are lucky enough to have some adult helpers around, they can use this list of tasks as a reference as to what they can do. So while I am out playing with the kids, one of my lovely sisters can put the pizzas on at the right time so the are ready for lunch and keep an eye on them!
You can find an example of a party day timetable in the attached file below. This was for Possum’s 2nd Birthday Party which had a Luau (Water) theme.
What do you do, to take the stress out of preparing for a child’s birthday party?
10 comments...read them below or add one
I love your blog. Always brings a smile to my face when I see in my Bloglines “Planning Queen (1)” in bold because it means there is a new entry.
Thank you.
Marita’s last blog post..Meltdown! and Kinder Homework Completed
I do a similar thing with planning the week and the day. I find it doesn’t seem so overwhelming if you know exactly what has to be done when.
It also helps me with planning what food to prepare – if I do my plan and then realise everything has to be made at the last minute, then I can change for a few things that can be prepared in advance.
Planning Queen – where were you when my kids were smaller and I was a disorganised mess? Well, actually, I am still a disorganised mess, so I think I had better check out the rest of your site for some hints! Thanks for dropping my my site, too
Suze’s last blog post..So Much To Do, With So Little Clue
Like you PQ – I’m also a “to do list” geek! I love putting things under headings to make sure everything has been thought of before the big day. I keep this list in a handy place and keep adding things to it. I can then decide what needs to be done in the days leading up to the party.
These are some of the main headings I like to use:
* Party Food – a list of party food, when I have to prepare it by (a lot is done before the big day), some lovely friends offer to bake/make something so I include this on.
* Party Games – I list down the games and everything I need to ensure its goes smoothly e.g. prizes, music player, etc
* Things to bring (when you’re not having a party at home and having it in a public place like a park) – plates,knives,drinks,food,cake, lolly bags,rubbish bags to put your rubbish in and its also handy for putting all the pressies in,sunscreen or umbrellas depending on weather, change of clothes (just incase!), first aid kit etc etc.
I’m a “to do list geek” and proud of it!
What a great post. I love the way you manage to balance being really organised with still letting things free-flow. By the way, I’ve done the Food Meme – great fun
Gypsy’s last blog post..Food Porn MeMe
What a fabulous post! Great information! I’ve always been a fan of the timetable to help moms make their birthday planning as stress free as possible! Glad I found your blog!
Annette – the party lady’s last blog post..Down on the Farm – Food for a great Barnyard Party
hmmm – i’ll have to highlight this to come back to NEXT year ( seeing we just had our party and I missed all this :p )
What I need help with is:
- Uninvited rellies, or, those that get miffed to be missed …
and..
- People that bring food. Because i’m a control freak, and their food doesn’t ‘fit’ on the table, or with the theme, but I feel obliged to make a mess to serve whatever the hell it is..
I sound ungrateful, don’t I ?
h&b’s last blog post..Pooped
Marita – Thanks, I have subscribed to your blog as well. I love reading about how other manage and enjoy their children.
Guera – I am always so much calmer when I have my lists!
Suze – Thanks for dropping by my blog!
ickle kids – Thanks for the fantastic tips, you have this party stuff well sorted!
Gypsy – Thanks and I loved your Food Meme.
Annette – Checked out your farm party theme and think it is such a terrific idea.
h&b – on the uninvited, I’ve tried just not to make too much of it. I generally have a basic criteria for whom we invite depending on the party – we may just keep it to the boys from the class or girls from the class and then just try to stay upbeat, and only commenting about it when I have to. Then I just refer back to our decision making purpose, empathise the party is for the kids and move on quickly!!!
I understand completely about the food – I like it all to be just right as well. One way around it is, if you know who is likely to bring something, then actually ask them to help you by making “x”. That way, they are happy contributing and you will hopefully be too because it will fit in to your theme.
[...] (8). Party Week and Day Timetables. [...]
[...] Planning Children’s Birthday Parties – Emergency Plan and Thank You Notes Written by PlanningQueen on Thursday, May 1, 2008 – 1:00 am This is Part 6, the final post 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 invitations. Part 3 was centred around Guest and Food Lists. Part 4 detailed Party Activities and Accessories. Then last week I wrote about Party Week and Party Day Timetables. [...]