The ultimate guide to hosting a birthday party!
EPISODE 13
by Dianne Jimenez
This article takes 12 minutes to read
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Hey there! Welcome back and thank you so much for tuning in to the Parenting Guide: Organizing Habits Made Easy podcast.
Now, before I get started, I want to dedicate this episode to my dad: the forever kid at heart and at the time this episode releases, we would have celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday – March 30th! It’s crazy how 16 years flew by. Gone way too soon. He would’ve LOVED this life right now with all the cool technology: ease of video making and editing, podcasting…Man!
But he does live within me and I’m SOOO proud to be his daughter right now – because I’m able to bring you weekly podcast episodes, showing up daily on Instagram and popping up on video in my private Facebook group.
Oh, if he were here, he’d be ALL over this! So cheers to you daddy, in heaven. Thank you for teaching me about all of this. The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Ok! Speaking of birthdays…
Now that things are starting to go back to some kind of normal and restrictions are going to be lifted, or have lifted at the time this episode gets released, MANY of us are jumping for JOY because our social calendars are about to get filled up! So this means plans are going to be made, which ALSO means we’re entering into the world of gatherings and celebrations…
If you haven’t done so already and are kind of nervous or apprehensive about hosting birthday parties, this episode is for you!
It’s been a very LONG 2 years, right? And like MANY kids and parents out there, they’re going to want to hit the ground running with making up for all the virtual and drive-by birthdays. And there are some who might feel like they’ve forgotten HOW it all works. In fact, it might be overwhelming!
And that’s OK.
If you find yourself needing just a little reminder of how to go about throwing a kid’s birthday party, or your pre-pandemic babies and toddlers – are now big kids ready to invite all their buddies and besties to their birthday parties …
…and the thought of entertaining ALL these kids is cause for a little panic, I’ve got you covered.
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This episode is
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HOSTING A BIRTHDAY PARTY!
In today’s episode, I’m going to take you through all the things to consider when organizing your kid’s birthday party whether it’s at a venue or at home.
Are you ready? Let’s go!
Now regardless if it’s at a venue or you’re hosting at home, here are the common questions you’ll need to think through and consider the outcome:
WHEN
When is the party taking place?
Picking the date and time is strategic. Do your kids still take naps? If so, you’ll want to set the party up right after their nap so they’re fresh and not cranky. OR early in the day so that by the end of the party, they’ll be ready FOR a nap; leaving YOU with plenty of time to rest and relax yourself! Or just enough wiggle room to clean up. If your kids don’t nap, what times in the day are they their best self?
Another point to consider for WHEN is, the actual day.
Weekends are the usual go-to days but nothing says short and sweet when strategically placed during the week day.
Now with the last 2 years doing things with just our immediate family, we may have gotten used to the private setting and probably not ready to jump all-in with TONS of people to cater to. That’s OK.
Short, sweet like: pizza and cake or “just come over for dessert” is perfect.
We’ve done this many times pre-pandemic when our kids’ birthdays fell on the weekday and the friends’ or kids’ party was scheduled for the weekend at a noisy or very active venue.
I know that having an intimate setting is appreciated by our parents and older relatives, if that’s what you do. But we love this because it’s where the younger and older generations get to bond and enjoy one another in a quieter setting.
This is where the conversations happen between young and old. It’s really quite beautiful, entertaining and sometimes surprising!
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With everyone being so busy and life just passing us by – this time is the best time to narrow that generation gap.
Next thing to consider when hosting a birthday party is the:
WHO
Not the band but the people coming over!
Now this can get a little complicated and quickly overwhelming. Will you have one event that encompasses family AND friends or two separate parties, or maybe even three – if there are a lot of friends and/or a lot of family?
Trust me, having more than one party is not unusual especially if you have a big family, like we do. We HAVE had 2 separate events on several occasions depending on the activity, our bandwidth and of course, the actual space – which I’ll get to in a minute.
Because hosting already brings out a level of stress to begin with, consider the groups of people you’ll be having:
- Your family (immediate and extended) and
- The kids’ friends. And you can even add more people in the mix because of
- The school friends,
- The ones they do activities with, then
- There are some kids on the street, and don’t forget about
- The friends whose parents are also your friends!
Ouf! That’s a lot just thinking about it!
And I know because of where we are in the world right now, after lock downs and restrictions, we’ll want to invite EVERYONE!! But before things get too crazy and out of hand where the guest list is longer than your arm’s length, you gotta ask yourself:
When it comes to entertaining guests, how well do you manage your stress? Will it be harmful to your mindset?
If I’ve already brought you to the outskirts of the ‘Land of Overwhelm’, then who will make the cut and who won’t.
This can be tricky and we certainly don’t want to hurt or offend anyone’s feelings. I know from experience – as my kids being the guests to their school friends’ birthday parties, that sometimes ALL the kids in the class were invited and other times it was a select few.
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In no way am I promoting to do one way or the other – you do you for sure.
But the thought of inviting the whole class is REALLY nice but let’s get real and honest here for a sec.
For our mental and spiritual health:
- What makes sense for us? And honestly,
- What matters most, quantity or quality?
Ok moving on to what to consider when hosting a birthday party is the
WHERE
Home or away?
Ok. Many of us have gone back and forth with this question of where the party will be, myself included. We get our kids’ opinions, their friends have parties and have their influence on our kids, and we also have the option of new-never-been- before places and activities. That’s all good and it can get a little crazy as to where the possibilities can take you.
So first, I always do a self-check even WAY before my kid’s actual birthday. Either my husband or I will bring it up through text or regular chat, and we let it sink in for a few days: Where are we mentally and spiritually?
Now we’re not super religious nor do we meditate or anything like that.
But hosting an event, receiving people and being ON, does ask a great deal of YOU.
Add to that, you’re still a parent.
I know, adulting is great, isn’t-it?
So I often do a self-check of what else is going on in my life right now. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that my kid won’t have a party because work is stressful, or life is BUSY and there’s A LOT going on. No. This is a celebration of their birth – how can I NOT shout it out from the rooftops ???
I just want to be real with you. As much as we love our kids and want to do everything for them, we still have to be real and true with ourselves:
What can we handle mentally, physically, financially, emotionally? And, do we have support from family or friends? Can we get support?
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I know I’ve strayed a little from the ‘WHERE‘ just now, but I had to get ‘self-reflection’ on the table because
I find that as a mom – especially – we tend to put everyone and everything in front of our own well-being all the time. And it only gets acknowledged after-the-fact.
So before we’re at after-the-fact, I just wanted to put it out there.
So back to the location. By keeping in mind our well-being, what we’re capable of doing and our bandwidth, these can help narrow down our decision between a home party and one at a venue.
And finally, the last thing to consider when hosting a birthday party is
…you can’t throw a party without a little dinero… Or maybe you can, but a budget helps to determine the details of the event. This is the…
WHAT
I’m talking about the cost of the party.
This alone can be THE determining factor of where it’ll be held.
An at-home is usually less expensive than at a venue. But then again, the venue offers clean up and entertainment that YOU don’t have to be involved in. Sometimes the cost of that alone, is worth more than having to prep your house, entertain and then clean everything up afterwards!
The cost also determines the size of the guestlist . The more people you invite, well it usually means the more it’ll cost for food, loot bags if you do that, theme and decorations, venue requirements, type of activity, etc.
Budgeting for a party is tricky and can be a very sensitive topic. And this is where we really need to get honest with ourselves once again. What can we afford? What makes sense? And what won’t break the bank?
Not many people like answering these because it feels like we’re placing a value on our emotions for our kid. Two separate things that shouldn’t even be put together – especially when it comes to throwing a party for them.
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Let’s think of the other side of the coin here for a few seconds:
Say, you did have a really big bash this year, what size will the next parties be? And if you have multiple kids… what do you do then? Also, what happens next year? And the year after that?
So when it comes to budgeting your event, and this part makes you cringe or the slightest bit uneasy, please talk it over with someone you trust, feel comfortable talking about this with and who will give you sound advice.
If you’ve been listening this whole time, I thank you. While I write this out – weeks before this episode airs, I was able to sit back and observe my checklist. And part of me can’t help but say that this whole list is self, or parent-centered, and some might find that wrong or odd. But just hear me out for a second.
The reason why we’re throwing a party is for the kid, right?
The party won’t happen without us, the parents. Plus, the kids don’t care who, what or where their birthday party’s at, at the end of the day.
They just care that you’re there celebrating with them.
So my list is really to help you plan a party with confidence and control so that you can BE there to enjoy, be present and in the moment with your kid – because these events only come once a year after all!
So keeping in the theme of hosting birthday parties, I’ve created a 1 page PDF template for you to use at your next and future birthday parties, or for anyone you know that’s hosting.
I got the idea a few years ago when my daughter had her first birthday party that was a drop-off situation. She was only 6 at the time and before the party,
I wrote her name, age, the language she speaks ( which is English) and our cell phone numbers on a piece of athletic tape and taped it to her shorts.
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Nothing bad happened at the party at all, but the innate organizer in me is always thinking ‘what will help a situation run smoothly’? And the athletic therapist in me is always thinking ‘prevention’ and ‘emergency action plan’.
But in creating this PDF, I put my ‘mom’ hat on and thought about ALL the things we take care of, on top of being THE point person when it comes to our kids’ events. And so this 1 sheet PDF came about that answers the need for getting in touch with key contact people IN CASE.
So, I created my “In Case Of Emergency” guest list template, complete with a space for emergency/contact numbers. I’ll link it in the show notes of this episode or you can grab it at DianneJimenez.com/ICEguestlist.
- Print it out and complete it for your next party.
- Make it accessible to other parents, friends or family that are there to help you – CAN, in case poop hits the fan and the other parents need to be called.
Let’s hope you don’t need to make any calls but having this on-hand saves you time when time isn’t something to waste here at all.
Alright! I hope you enjoyed today’s episode and got at least 1 take away that will help YOU organize your thoughts and mindset around hosting a birthday party at home or at a venue. And don’t forget to download the free PDF “In Case of Emergency guestlist”. It’s linked in this episode’s show notes.
If you have a friend who might need some guidance or help with their party planning and staying on top of things, I truly appreciate you sharing my content. And if you find there’s any episodes where you relate and you can say ‘Yeah! I like this!’ Well, I really appreciate a review on Apple Podcast or wherever you’re listening right now.
Thank you for spending some time with me today – I look forward to having you here again next week, friend! Stay safe. Bye!
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