So what should one be expected to do for their young child on their birthday? Don’t panic that’s what. And do the party at home if that's what you want, try not to feel overwhelmed. Take a deep breath and relax.
These top ten tips will help...
1) Do not choose the actual birthday of the child to have the party on. You want to be able to enjoy them all to yourself on that day. Experience tells me, parents pile on even more expectations on themselves when the party is arranged for the big day.
2) Keep perspective. Don’t go large. Too many children can equate to complete chaos. If you can keep it at home do, and keep it realistic, up to eight children is more than plenty.
3) Make the cake. Don’t be scared. Cover it in jelly tots or sprinkles and they will love you forever.
4) Use a pastry cutter to cut out sandwiches in shapes. A small round circle works really well, but hearts or gingerbread man shapes are lots of fun. Use white bread one side and brown the other. And lay out the sandwiches and other savoury eats first while the children are still hungry, keeping the sweet treats out of sight ‘til after.
5) Theme it – a princess and pirate party would be great fun. Ask the other children to come in fancy dress, do a treasure hunt. And play games. Invent your own such as pin the beak on the parrot.
6) Take gifts your child is given discretely to one side. Open them after everyone has gone. With smaller children, it can be very overwhelming and is often nice to save some presents for the following days. Especially as small children are very good at wanting to play with each gift as it is opened.
7) Ask a friend or family member that may have come, to use a camera and capture snaps for you.
8) Buy some face paints and get creative yourself. It is not difficult to paint a basic design on a child’s cheek, and the idea is the taking part. And remember that a small child is going to be ecstatic even if you fudge it.
9) Have the matches ready close to hand for when the time comes to sing happy birthday. Have the music ready so you only have to hit play, one CD of kiddie music is all you’ll need. Along with the music, have a list of games to hand.
10) If you’ve layered sweets inside, then save pass the parcel until after food, or better still return to the concept of a hand written note for each child. Make it age appropriate. So ask a toddler to sing Twinkle Twinkle (or their favourite song), or to produce whatever sound an animal makes.
When all is said and done, remember that children are awestruck by the unexpected.
Go for originality, not expense.
Keep party bags simple.
Enjoy the party and enjoy watching your child enjoy the party too.
2 comments:
Nice tips - birthday parties are always so stressful you forget to enjoy them!
Thank you Helen. ;-)
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