Birthday parties are extremely fun but tense times for moms. While as a mom, you love to see your little ones having a good time, birthday parties also mean you have lots of work to do. Sometimes moms lose lots of sleep trying to figure out how to plan and put on the perfect birthday party for their child. While birthday parties are very important in a young child’s life, in many cases we put a little too much emphasis on them. Every mom wants to be the perfect mom in whatever way she knows how and that pressure can really get to even the best woman after a while.
I recommend that you take a step back from birthday planning; realize that you are dealing with just one birthday among many and that it is not rocket science to throw a good birthday party. Your child’s party need not be extravagant. It doesn’t take much in the way food, decor or planning to throw a great birthday party. Follow these simple tips to survive the birthday party with your sanity intact:
1. Don’t give your children too much leeway in planning the party. The problem is often that parents encourage their children to ask for anything they want at a birthday party. They want to give their children a very special day, but in doing so they drive themselves crazy attempting to transform their child’s imagination into reality. I can remember my mother spending hours and hours just trying to get the cake right. Give your child a few choices and allow them to choose the one they want then go from there.
2. Limit the total number of hours you spend on the party. This includes the party itself and planning. This total is up to you but typically anything over one day is a bit excessive. If you are spending an entire week planning a birthday party you’re going overboard.
3. Don’t feel guilty. Moms tend to beat themselves up if they don’t have everything perfect at the party. Although it is great to be dedicated to your children, realize that in many cases kids will be perfectly happy with a group of their friends and some sort of a game.
4. Have fun at the party. You don’t have to be constantly running everything at the party. Most kids will just naturally have fun with each other at a party. Allow them to play on their own. Have a good time celebrating your child’s party.
5. Ask for some help from a family member or another parent. You don’t have to do everything alone, and most of the time family and friends are more than willing to help. Most moms assume that this sort of thing is their job, but this is simply not the case. You need to allow others, particularly the dad, to participate in this important part of parenting. If you have friends or family coming to the party make sure that they help as this is part of raising of the child.
6. Don’t make party planning your only activity. Sometimes moms just shut down and do nothing but plan for the birthday party for a week. Make the party a side activity in your already busy life.
Following these basic tips you can get through the party process with your sanity and you might even have some fun. Ultimately parties should be fun, even if you are the one in charge. Plan creative parties and involve your children in the work.
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