How to Party Plan Like a Pro
One often unforeseen part of parenting duties is becoming a party planner. Hosting a successful birthday party involves expecting last-minute surprises, meeting the demands of the world’s pickiest clients, and keeping the cutest group of guests from getting bored. Below, we’ve included our list of tips and tricks to throw the best bash on the block!
1. Time it Right
What fun is a party if the guests can’t make it? Sending out invitations months in advance or a few days beforehand may leave you with only a few people to attend, so drop those invitations in the mail about three weeks out from the big day. If your little ones and their friends are still napping during the day, plan around those times to avoid a bunch of tired and cranky guests. Look out, too, for holiday weekends when other families may be celebrating or traveling!
2. Send Online Invitations
Although they’re fun to put together, paper invitations can be time-consuming to make and even harder to track. To avoid ending up with invitations lost on the playground or forgotten in a kid’s backpack, try making online invites! Sites like Evite or Paperless Post offer tons of adorable and customizable designs that you can send out with the click of a button. You can also use Facebook Events or Google Calendar to spread the word and help guests save the date right to their calendar! Not only do these invitations help you quickly and creatively invite your guests, but they save paper, too!
3. Plan Entertaining Games
Keep your little guests entertained with these fun and exciting games that are perfect for kids’ parties!
1. Guess in 10: A thrilling activity for all party lovers, this theme-based question game pairs education with fun to keep kids engaged. Guess in 10 is available in a variety of themes including sports, animals, dinosaurs, and professions, there’s a game perfect for any party!
2. Rapid Rumble: With more than 100 cards and categories to pick, this game is filled with rapid answers and excitement which is sure to keep the party boisterous! Well-suited for play indoors, this game is great for apartments or rainy days!
3. Newton’s Tree: Transform educational toys for children into something they can enjoy at parties as well. This game of balance and apples will have the children tumbling with joy as the branches and apples defy gravity.
4. Activity Mats: Make teams or let kids play on their own with these endlessly fun activity mats. Play games like tic-tac-toe, spot the difference, and fill in the number wheel - you can even throw in a prize for the winner to stir up some healthy competition!
3. Plan a Grazing Table
Lay out a delicious spread for your guests with a grazing table. For less mess and easy access, set out finger foods for guests to enjoy while they play, chat, and run around. Include cut up fruits and veggies, dips, popcorn, crackers and cheese, mini-sliders and pizzas, and maybe a few sweet treats. You can even try keeping your food connected to the theme of the party with cute labels. These will help kids make choices about what they want to eat and can alert guests with allergies to any potential allergens in some snacks. Pro-tip: if serving ice cream cones, add a marshmallow to the bottom of the cone to prevent any ice cream from dripping out and saving you from sticky floors!
4. Curate a Party Playlist
Throw together a list of your little one’s favorite songs to keep the mood of the party light and fun. Maybe a freeze dance party can be added to the list of activities!
These party hacks can come together to make way for a great and memorable party. And Skillmatics is here with fun and educational toys for kids to help you make this celebration a more wholesome and growth oriented one!