How to Throw a Great Kid's Birthday Party

Whenever one of my children have an impending birthday, the creative wheels start to turn. My youngest daughter has a birthday next month and it has led me to quite a lot of planning and research. There are five basic things you need to coordinate to have a fabulous party:

1) Theme- What are the birthday girl's/boy's interests? What is popular with their age group right now? This can be TV shows, movies, books or anything they enjoy. In 2009 my oldest daughter turned eight, the Camp Rock movies were popular so we turned our back yard into a music camp. The theme was carried out in the decorations, the food and served as a guide for the activities. One of the best resources for finding a theme is blogs. Any time I see something I like I save it so I can use it later. It also helps to peruse the party stores.

2) Venue- Where and when are you going to throw the party? Unfortunately I live in a small town and the locations are few and far between. Most communities have a rental facility or room at city hall. Ours has both and the cost is minimal. There are pros and cons to renting a location or using your own home. For instance, the Camp Rock party was held at our home but it was a lot of work preparing the yard and the house. When renting a venue it takes a lot of preparation (and cleaning) out of the equation. Most places allow time to set up and some even do the clean up for you as part of the rental agreement. Also you need to think about the weather. If it is outdoors you may need a back up plan in case of rain or extreme heat or cold. Another factor will be duration of the party. I have found that with children under 6, a couple of hours is plenty of time. School age children can party a bit longer but then again the parents may not have the stamina. Don't forget to let the parents know ahead of time (on the invitation) if they need to bring something extra, for instance a pillow for slumber parties or socks for a bowling party.

3) Entertainment- What are the kids going to do with their time? I like to start the party with a craft. As the parents are dropping the kids off, it is fun to have the kids busy decorating their goody bags or making a party hat. There are so many cute ideas that you can coordinate with the theme to occupy that first few minutes to get everyone comfortable. After the initial activity you can have game stations set up or even hire an entertainer such as a DJ or a band. At the Camp Rock party we decorated cardboard guitars I ordered online then the kids sang Karaoke. Time will fly when you having fun so don't plan too much for the allotted time. Be sure to include time to serve food and open gifts if you choose to do that during the party.

4) Menu- What are you going to feed all these guests? Usually it depends on the time of the party to determine whether you serve a meal or just snacks and cake. This is where the theme can inspire you to do some really creative treats. For our camp themed party of course the girls spent the night so we served a full meal. Roasting hot dogs and making S'mores over the camp fire was also part of the activities. My favorite part of any party is the cake! I am not a professional cake maker by any stretch but I have had a couple of classes. Some years I leave it to the local bakery but some years I take it on myself. The year my daughter turned eight, I made a three tiered cake with the decorations on it tied into the music theme and her personal requests, zebra and hot pink. It is not hard to make your own cake but I do recommend having a helper and practicing a bit before the party. Once again the internet can help so much with supplies and inspiration.

5) Favors- What can the kids take home to remember how fun they had at the party? Some people do a simple theme bag filled with candy and a balloon but you can take it a step further. Here is where those crafts come in handy. There are lots of party supply stores that sell all kinds of prizes and trinkets. Going back to your theme, get creative with items that remind them of the party. After the Camp Rock party each guest took home a bag that contained a music CD, Camp Rock candy and pencils, a trophy and a microphone. It does not need to be a lot but kids love to go through their bag on the way home.

With these five basic steps, you can make your party as elaborate or as simple as you want. After all, the important thing is making the memories.