As a teacher, I know the most important thing to remember when organizing a stress-free kids event is to stay organized with a well-developed plan. No matter how simple or how elaborate you want your kids birthday party to be, you can implement a fun-filled party by taking advantage of a few birthday party planning ideas:

1. Plan ahead. Being prepared will significantly reduce your stress level the days leading up to the party. Begin planning at least 6 weeks before the birthday party.
2. Make a list, check it twice. Write down your ideas for the party and keep a party planning checklist of the things you will need to implement the party. Make multiple copies of your list and keep them in spots that are handy. You will be more likely to refer to the list and check things off frequently rather than rushing to get everything done right before the party.
3. Don’t spend a lot. Money alone can be a source of stress. Don’t feel like you have to spend a fortune to give your child the best party. Most times, kids aren’t even going to remember all the fancy details. Instead, go green. Make use of household items for decorations, games, and party favors. Invitations can be personally made by your child on recycled paper.
4. Consider the time of day. If you are not a morning person, then a kids birthday party scheduled for mid-morning is probably not a good idea. Other reasons for scheduling an afternoon party are to allow yourself extra time for the little details, allowing time for family and friends to arrive from out of town, and to have more control over when the party ends.
5. Enlist some help. When it comes to party planning, kids can offer the most enthusiastic help of all. By having them help with decorations and game set-up, it teaches them responsibility and adds their personal touch to their own party. If that option does seem too stressful, don’t be shy to ask friends, family, and neighbors to lend a hand.

Planning a kids birthday party? Keep it stress-free by keeping track of your to-do’s with a handy birthday party planner. This Birthday Party Planner Checklist will help you organize all the party details so can enjoy the reason for the celebration-your little one!

Whether you’re hand delivering, e-viting, or mailing birthday party invitations, you want to make sure your guests receive their invitation 4-5 weeks before the party. This is generally enough time for families to save the date on their calendars and make any preparations for the party before hand (buying a gift, arranging to dress “in character” for a particular theme, etc.).

When hand-delivering invitations in your circle of friends, be discreet. Just because you may be good friends with someone, doesn’t mean you have to invite them. This is especially true if your children do not even play together. Be cognizant of their feelings so that you do remain friends, but remember that it is your child’s birthday party.

In terms of having your child hand-deliver invites at school, check with the classroom teacher first. As a teacher, I can tell you that feelings often do get hurt when some kids are invited and others aren’t. Try to take advantage of the time after school.

E-viting has become an extremely popular method of inviting people to parties. Sending an e-vite is not only quick and convenient, but many sites offer them free and in a variety of designs. The most popular sites that offer e-vites are evite.com and zoji.com.

Mailing birthday party invitations can be quick and easy as long as you have everyone’s address. If you are in need of addresses, begin calling, e-mailing, and texting those on the guest list well in advance to make sure all the invites are mailed out on time. Once mailed, you can count on the United States Postal Service to get your invitations to their destinations with 1-3 business days. Running low on stamps? You can now customize and print postage right from your own home! Last but not least, don’t forget to include a return address on each invitation. You don’t want any of those precious invites getting lost (we all know the turmoil a “no response” creates)!

Once you have chosen a birthday party theme, a birthday party location, and have narrowed down a date and time, you will be prepared to get the invitations sent out. Birthday invites can be as simple or elaborate as you want. With a home computer and colored printer, you can use your creativity to make your own invitations. Although you may save some money making your own invitations, the amount of time involved will depend on your computer skills. The main advantage to printing your own birthday invites is that once you type in the details of the party you can then print multiple copies.

If time is an issue, you can always purchase invitations already created. Many times these invitations will be sold by theme and will follow a line of matching decorations. These birthday invitations are both visually appealing and reasonably priced. The disadvantage to these kids invites is that the details of the party have to be repeatedly written on each invitation.

For professional and worry-free invitations, you can choose from a variety of companies that offer high-quality printed invitations with a personalized touch. These invitations come in a multitude of colors and designs to meet your unique needs. Companies include:

AmyAdele.com offering Fun Party Invitations for Kids. Quick Delivery. 100% Personalized.

birthday in a box

My Expression

paper culture

zazzle.com

Having trouble planning your child’s next birthday party? Start by choosing a theme! The following guide will provide you with a variety of the most popular kids’ birthday party themes as well as everything you need to plan your next party. You’ll find party planning guides, birthday party menus, ideas for making birthday cakes, party decorations and favors, party games, party supplies, and party tips for planning a birthday party on a budget.

Birthday Party Theme Ideas:

Sports Themes

• Baseball Birthday Party
• Basketball Birthday Party
• Football Birthday Party
• Golf Birthday Party
• Hockey Birthday Party
• LaCrosse Birthday Party
• Tennis Birthday Party
• Track and Field Birthday Party

Nature Themes

• At the Zoo Birthday Party
• Bugs:
  • Ants Birthday Party
  • Butterflies Birthday Party
  • Caterpillars Birthday Party
  • Dragonflies Birthday Party
  • Honey bees Birthday Party
  • Lady bugs Birthday Party
• Cats/Kittens Birthday Party
• Dinosaurs Birthday Party
• Dogs Birthday Party
• Down on the Farm Birthday Party
• Fish:
  • Pond Life Birthday Party
  • Under the Sea Birthday Party
• Garden Birthday Party
• Monkeys Birthday Party
• Noah’s Arc Birthday Party
• The Arctic Birthday Party
• The Desert Birthday Party
• The Rainforest Birthday Party

Literature Themes

• Character Book Birthday Party
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Birthday Party
• Curious George Birthday Party
• Dr. Seuss Birthday Party
• Eric Carle Birthday Party
• Flat Stanley Birthday Party
• Harry Potter Birthday Party
• Where the Wild Things Are Birthday Party

Movie Themes

• Avatar Birthday Party
• The Backyardigans Birthday Party
• Batman Birthday Party
• Chronicles of Narnia Birthday Party
• Dora the Explorer Birthday Party
• Finding Nemo Birthday Party
• Hannah Montana Birthday Party
• High School Musical Birthday Party
• Hulk Birthday Party
• Lion King Birthday Party
• Lord of the Flies Birthday Party
• Lord of the Rings Birthday Party
• Pirate of the Caribbean Birthday Party
• The Princess and the Frog Birthday Party
• Sesame Street Birthday Party
• Shrek Birthday Party
• Spiderman Birthday Party
• Star Wars Birthday Party
• Superman Birthday Party
• Thomas the Tank Engine Birthday Party
• Twilight Birthday Party

Other Fun Birthday Party Ideas

• American Idol Birthday Party
• Around the World Birthday Party
• Barbie Birthday Party
• Bicycle Birthday Party
• Christmas Birthday Party
• Cookie Monster Birthday Party
• Cowboy Birthday Party
• Cow Girl Birthday Party
• Disney Birthday Party
• Elmo Birthday Party
• Firefighter Birthday Party
• Fun in the Sun Birthday Party
• Glamor Girls Birthday Party
• Harvest Festival Birthday Party
• Hawaiian Birthday Party
• Hello Kitty Birthday Party
• Karate Birthday Party
• Little Einstein Birthday Party
• Littlest Pet Shop Birthday Party
• Mardi Gras Birthday Party
• Mexican Fiesta! Birthday Party
• Military Birthday Party
• Modeling Birthday Party
• Monster Truck Birthday Party
• Motorcycle Birthday Party
• NASCAR Birthday Party
• Olympics Birthday Party
• Outer Space Birthday Party
• Pirates Birthday Party
• Policeman Birthday Party
• Pool Party Birthday Party
• Princess Birthday Party
• Race Car Birthday Party
• Scientists Birthday Party
• South of the Border Birthday Party
• Tea Party Birthday Party
• Western Birthday Party

At one point, I was planning a birthday party for myself and wanted to have cupcakes instead of just one big cake. Aside from being cuter than cake, cupcakes offer the perfect serving size. They have also become quite a popular trend in terms of serving cake to a crowd. Many people opt to have a cupcake display at their wedding reception instead of a tiered cake. These displays are beautiful and can be quite elaborate. I then started to wonder if there was a cupcake that could be made bigger in size to look more like a cake. This got me excited. You have to know one thing about me-I LOVE cupcakes and cake in general, but cupcakes are the one thing that really make me light up. Just to see a cute little cupcake with its sprinkles just makes me happy and well…like all is good in the world. So, I came across a pan that would bake up a big cupcake. As I prodded around some more, I came across something even better. It’s the GIANT CUPCAKE PAN! Are you kidding me? There is no doubt in my mind that I WILL HAVE this pan and I WILL have that GIANT cupcake EVERY birthday for rest of my life!