PARTY ADVICE

Planning a Children’s Party?

Anyone who has planned a children’s party will know how stressful they can be! Who to invite? Where to go? What to do? Will they all have fun? How much will it cost? There’s so much to organise, but we can help! We have collated some handy party tips to ensure you have everything covered to make it as stress free as possible.

2/3 months before the party

Set a budget

Parties can be expensive and the costs can add up. Depending on where you choose to host the party, you could be paying out for a venue, entertainer, decorations, party bags, food and a cake. You may not want to set a budget and this if fine; however, knowing roughly what you want to spend in total can help influence other decisions as you plan.

Pull together a guest list

Who does the birthday person want at their party? Do they have a small group of friends, want to invite the whole class or just keep it a family affair? Compile a guest list, so you know numbers and this will help to determine a lot of other elements - like the venue and what you do. 

Date

Have a look in the diary to get an idea of when to have the party - be flexible either side of their birthday. We tend to find if you want more people to attend, avoid the school holidays and bank holiday weekends (people are busy, on holiday or sometimes forget when they are out of the normal routine!). Highlight a few dates when the party would work for you, so you have options for when you contact a venue/entertainment.

What do they want to do?

Now you have a guest list, you can discuss with the birthday person what they would like to do. Do they want to do it at home, have an entertainer, disco do something like bowling/trampolining etc.? If you have set a budget, you may want to do a bit of research on costs before having a discussion about options. For example, if your child has a smaller guest list, places like bowling alleys, trampoline parks or Clip and Climb offer packages for 10 guests which can work out cheaper than booking a hall and organising food and entertainers separately. Sometimes websites like Group-On have an offer on which makes these venues cheaper. With a larger guest list, hiring a hall can be better value. 

Also, consider the age range of the guests; a family party with grandparents and older cousins may not enjoy an afternoon in a soft play centre - a bouncy castle in the garden may be a better option!

Make contact with the venue and entertainers

Although 2/3 months before the party may seem a little early to be contacting the venue, venues get booked up (especially if you want to use a hall that has a wider use or need to co-ordinate the availability of a hall with the availability of an entertainer). We are lucky to have a lot of great venues in and around East Leake.

If booking a venue such as a village hall or leisure centre, check what time you can get in to set up and how long you have afterwards to tidy up. Ask what they provide (such as tables, chairs, music system, speaker) and if they have a kitchen. From our own experience, don’t assume that they have all the equipment you will need – for example, not all village halls have jugs for serving squash in or a stereo to play music on. Check now so you will know what you need to bring with you on the day and what you won’t! If you find that some of the items you need are not provided by the hall, we offer these as part of our Party Extras. 

If you have decided to have an entertainer, bouncy castle or mobile disco, now is the time to also book them to ensure you get who you want for your date!

6/8 weeks before

Although at this stage, you may not have sent our your invites and won’t know final numbers or possible dietary requirements, it’s still a good time to start to make initial plans regarding food and the cake.

The Birthday Cake

This is where you really can go as big or small as your budget allows. Make your own, buy from a supermarket or get one specially made by a local bakery. If you are having a bespoke one made, now is the time to order as they can they booked up quickly. If you are buying from a supermarket, some of them offer a personalisation service (just remember the cut off for this can be 14 days prior).  

Food

Decide what party food you will serve. Just like the cake, you could make your own, buy from a supermarket or get a caterer to do it. 

If you are doing it yourself, it doesn’t have to be daunting – keep it simple, compile a menu and make a list of what you are going to need to buy and prepare. Book an online shop or click and collect for the day before the party. 

4 weeks before

Invitations

We would advise you send out invitations around 4 weeks before the party – if you send them too early, parents may forget about the invite; send them too late and people may have already made other plans. To avoid invitations getting lost in school bags we can design a digital invitation for you to match your theme, just get in touch to discuss your requirements. Don’t forget to include the time and date of the party (2 hours tends to be plenty for a children’s party!), the venue, and include your phone number for people to reply to. You may also want to include details like whether it’s a drop off party (or not!); whether siblings can also attend; ask if anyone has any dietary requirements, and what date you need an RSVP by.

To avoid a potentially embarrassing conversation at the party, stating the ‘boundaries’ regarding sibling attendance on the invite can help. While there should be no expectation that siblings are invited as additional guests (unless you are happy for this to happen), we have witnessed various difficulties when siblings have unexpectedly turned up. A polite note on the invite can avoid any misunderstandings. 

Decide on the party decorations and tableware

This is where we can help! Our party kits provide all the decorations and tableware you need for a stress-free party. We have a range of Themed and Coloured Kits if you are going for a simpler look. We can also create something more bespoke for you if you have an idea that we don’t currently stock. We also have additional extrasfor anything else you may need. All our decorations are reusable, so they are better for the environment and means your party will create very little waste!

Party entertainment

If you are doing the entertainment yourself, now is the time to plan – what games or activities you are planning to do to fill the time? If you need prizes, make a list of what you will need to buy. 

1-2 weeks before

Confirm your party guests, chase anyone who may not have replied and pull together that all important final guest list. 

Party Bags

Now you have your final list, you can put together your party bags. Make a list of what you are going to include - will this vary for boys/girls or will everyone have the same? You could ditch the plastic party bag and give them a book or simple bar of chocolate. Go as big or small as you want, but remember to stick to a budget – it’s easy to get carried away! 

Party Playlist

Don’t forget the music! This may be ticked off already if you have a mobile disco or entertainer coming. If not, then you can find some great playlists on music streaming platforms or make a playlist of the birthday person’s favourite songs. 

1 / 2 days before

·  Collect/make the party food and cake

·  Collate party decorations and tableware (or take delivery of a Pick a Party Kit)

·  Assemble the party bags

·  Final prep of any activities (and prizes) or finalise with your entertainer

On the day of the party, make sure you take:

·  Your plates/cups/bowls/cutlery/tablecloths/decorations and any extras (or your Pick a Party Kit)

·  The food and cake (including knife for cutting)

·  Candles and something to light them with

·  Napkins or wax paper for wrapping the cake in

·  Tape and scissors to secure decorations to the wall

·  A camera to take photos of the party

·  Some large shopping bags to put the presents

Then enjoy your party!