I have a two-year-old son. As a mother of a toddler, I am acquainted with other mothers of infants, toddlers, and children of all ages. Birthday parties seem to be growing in popularity as our children grow. Even as a party planner, I don’t believe it’s essential to have a huge celebration for a one or two-year-old. At this age, we’re still in sleep territory, sharing is a foreign idea, and jumping from a little park structure is just as much fun as a bouncy house.
As a general guideline, invite as many children as your child’s age. We didn’t open any gifts with everyone there since sharing is still a new experience for us; instead, we opted to unwrap presents with only family after the celebration at home. Also, since we only invited four other kids, I was able to make some wonderful take-away gifts for all of the kids. I purchased attractive, low-cost lunch boxes for each kid and filled them with toys, bubbles, and other fun items. We were all prepared with pizza, cupcakes, and adult munchies.
Here are my Tips for Planning Your Toddler’s Birthday Party.
How many are there?
The kid’s age should roughly correspond to the number of child visitors invited. What time is it? I recommend that the celebration begin 1/2 hour to 45 minutes after your child’s typical afternoon sleep time. It’s also a good idea to know when the kid visitors’ naps are but don’t worry if they’re all at various times. Find the ideal middle ground and go from there – people may come and leave as they like. Keep things simple when it comes to decorating. This isn’t to say it can’t be enjoyable or beautiful, but there’s no need to go crazy. Find a few nice details, and you’ll be OK.
The Best Way to Invite Everyone.
Use your imagination when it comes to invitations. Involve your kid in the invitation and allow them to assist in the creation of a lovely invitation. My extremely imaginative girlfriend fashioned an invitation by having her toddler hold a nice homemade sign with the party details while she photographed him. The photographs were then printed and scrapbooked into homemade invitations. Your youngster may assist by sticking stickers, fun drawings, or other interesting objects with the glue stick.
Presents.
We believe that gifts and presents should be unwrapped after the visitors have left the celebration, with only close family or friends there to observe the delight on your child’s face. I could go on with justifications, but I believe you get the idea.
Activities.
When it comes to children, there are two issues to consider: short attention spans (bad) and vivid imaginations (good). Because of these opposing influences, we recommend a few simple activity stations. Also, buy candles boxes to decorate the room with candles.
Allow Them to Eat.
Consider the time of your party and the age of your guests when choosing food for your little guests and their parents. Basic refreshments will suffice if your celebration doesn’t last too much longer after lunch. Find snacks that both adults and children will like, such as Pirate Booty, vegetables with dip, peanut butter crackers (first check for allergies), and apple slices with yogurt dip. In case the celebration stretches into the evening, consider grilling hot dogs or ordering pizza and asking people to bring a side dish.
Show Your Love
Yes, here is another area where you may keep things simple while still providing attractiveness and yumminess for your visitors. In addition to being tasty, fruit tea/lemonade drinks are also lower in sugar than soda alternatives and exceptionally thirst-quenching. You may also sweeten it with honey and serve it in a lovely sun tea pitcher. It is acceptable to provide alcohol to your adult visitors. There is no reason why kids can’t enjoy a drink at a kid-friendly event. Simply adhere to standard acceptable drinking etiquette (no drinking and driving, you know) and limit yourself to a few selections rather than a whole bar. Never forget to buy candle boxes as kids like to have lighting with candles.
The location.
It is better for me to give you some advantages and downsides before telling you what is right for your family and circumstances than to tell you what is right for you. Advantages – allows for greater flexibility in scheduling and allows for precisely specifying a time. You have greater control over the décor, food and beverage selections, and unique activities for the kids. The disadvantage is that you must perform all of the setup and (ugh) clean-up. It takes time and effort to plan, set up, and monitor activity tables.
Food and wine will be more important to you than having someone else do all the work for you. A plus – They set everything up and clean everything after.
Often, they include the basic décor in the price. They have their own exciting activities that all of the youngsters may participate in. They often serve pizza and beverages for a little additional fee. You are welcome to bring your own cake. There are several possibilities, ranging from bouncy houses to museums and science centers, that enable youngsters to have fun while also learning. Cons: They may be expensive. Pizza parties are usually limited to a fixed number of hours – typically two hours – and you may feel rushed and herded through them. These locations will not allow you to add your own personal touches to the decor.
Timetable.
While it’s a good idea to have a broad concept of how your party will run, a rigid timetable (such as one required for a wedding or larger event) isn’t required for your child’s birthday party, you should, however, keep some broad parameters in mind around activity hours, lunchtimes, and, of course, cake eating times. Try not to extend the cake time too much. Among other things, you’ll want as many people to attend the party as possible to appreciate it. Additionally, it’s advisable to have some time left over so the kids can burn off some of the sugar before they go home with their parents.
We hope these suggestions have given you some food for thought as you organize your child’s next birthday celebration. We’d also want to hear your ideas, recommendations, opinions, and tales regarding your kids’ birthday celebrations.
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