<\/a>The pirate birthday girls before the guests arrived.<\/p><\/div>\n
Rule one of planning children’s birthday parties: get invites out early!<\/h2>\n
Sofia\u2019s friends have birthdays around the same time of year, so the first rule was: get in early. One of the mums sent out the invitations for her child\u2019s party over two months ahead of time! This clashed with when we were planning Sofia\u2019s so I had to change date. My husband thought I was mad for doing this but I didn\u2019t want her to be disappointed that most of her friends couldn’t make it.<\/p>\n
The new date was when another friend turned four so we decided to do a joint party. That should have reduced the stress but didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Rule two of planning children’s birthday parties: choose the venue early<\/h2>\n
We immediately started calling up halls, soft play centres, children\u2019s farms and hirers of bouncy castles\/play equipment. Everywhere was booked up or we couldn\u2019t get a venue and equipment hired on the same day. Some places were just extortionately expensive. This was 11 weeks ahead of the party date.<\/p>\n
Booking a catered for party at a farm, soft play centre or similar does take so much of the stress out of it. The venue is suitable and you don\u2019t have to worry about the food, entertainment and clearing up. However, do check out the small print as costs can suddenly mount up. Do you have to pay extra for siblings and parents? One venue allowed one adult free per eight children. With a guest list of 30+, that was quite a lot of adults to pay for. Is a cake and candles included in the price or do you need to provide your own? Similarly, do they decorate the room?<\/p>\n
Party at home<\/h2>\n
As time started to run out we decided to host the party at our house. For this fourth birthday party, all parents stayed. By five, many parents drop and run. You need to establish who’s staying and who isn’t as you may have sole responsibility for more children than you had bargained for and need to bring in reinforcements.<\/p>\n