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Birthday Party Planning 101

If you have never thrown a party before, hosting a birthday party can definitely be intimidating. Of course, you want to make the event special for the guest of honor so you put a lot of thought into planning and creating the perfect birthday party. So, here are a few tips to help you turn all of those wonderful thoughts and ideas into a successful birthday party.

Allow plenty of time to prepare for your party and make a list of the things that you will need to do. The further in advance you start preparing, the easier it will be to spread out the work that needs to be done over time, instead of being stressed out because there is so much work to do and so little time to do the work. Start by lining up or planning the larger items first prior to concerning yourself with the smaller details, as these will develop and change many times in the course of the build-up to your party. The first two items you need to decide are what will your theme be and on what date will it occur? For larger parties, you may need to secure a location for the party and book it in advance.

Know who is coming. You need to know how many people, and in some cases who specifically, are coming to your party. There is no way that you can plan for things like party favors, food quantities or even activities if you have no idea who is going to be at the party. The number of people attending a party can drastically impact almost everything about the event. A party with only a couple of people in attendance requires planning very different than a party with 100 plus people. These variables are also important to consider with respect to the age of the person whose birthday you are celebrating. A huge party with 20 toddlers requires very different planning than a party with a similar theme that is for adults only.

Be organized in your party planning. It is when the unknown hits that people start stressing out and stop having a good time. Know before you even start that not everything is going to go exactly how you plan. It is virtually impossible to imagine every possible scenario of how the party may work out. Worrying about planning for what you can’t control or not putting enough emphasis on the aspects of the party that need the most attention can both prove disastrous. Have a pen and paper handy so that you always have a consistent place where you put information that is pertinent to the party. In the case of a party where you will be playing games, do a dry run of the games to make sure that you have everything that you need.

Don’t get in over your head. Some people are born party planners and some are not. While anyone has the potential to become great at throwing parties, do not set yourself and your guests up for disappointment by trying to do things that are beyond your ability level. Remember that you are throwing a birthday party, not a reception for the Queen of England. The time and effort that you spend on your party should directly correlate with the needs and expectations of the birthday person. It makes sense that a birthday party for an adult may take more time, effort and money to put together than throwing a party for a toddler, which should be a breeze. Young kids are excited to see people and balloons and to have cake. Your toddler is not going to care that you stayed up all night hand icing cookies. One part of party planning that too many people leave out is that it is important that you, too, have a good time at the party. You will only upset others and yourself if you are overly focused on making sure that you have everything in order and have forgotten to give your attention to the person you love enough to throw a party for in the first place.

No matter who you’re planning a party for, what you choose as a theme and what it may require, it is very important to plan your work and work your plan, as they saying goes. Decide early on a theme, date, location and guest list then execute those details while making lists of party food, activities, music and the like. Following these simple tips will surely prove you a master party planner in no time!

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