Karishma Bala My baby Serena turned 1 on July 24th 2021! I can’t believe the day has come! She’s officially a toddler and I can’t believe how fast the time flew! All I know is that as an excited new mom I wanted to really celebrate my baby’s milestone birthday, especially since COVID had cancelled the baby shower that I had planned in 2020. After going through all the craziness of planning my baby’s birthday, I have a few tips and pieces of advice for those planning a child’s birthday, whether it be a 1st birthday or a 21st birthday!
Start Planning Early
It is so hard trying to wrap your head around all the different things/vendors you need. My first advice is once you decide you want to throw a party, start planning all the things you need. Don’t waste time, otherwise you’ll end up stressing and struggling last minute.
Figure out your vision for the party
- Theme? Most kids birthdays have a theme and it can be as simple as the age that they are turning or a character or place. For Serena’s first birthday I opted for a “Serena in Paris” theme, which I thought was cute, fun and a little girly. A lot of people do a favorite character like Elsa from Frozen. Have fun with it, and if you’re child is old enough let them help pick the theme they want to have at the party.
- What kind of food? Once the theme is decided, then I think its easy to focus on the food. Are you going for a fan favorite like pizza? Or is it something that goes along with the theme? For Serena’s party since it was French themed, I hired a crepe station to serve different flavored crepes but also had some pizza and fruit for the kids. Since the children were all different ages I wanted to cater to food that everyone could eat, including the adults.
- Entertainment? Some parties don’t need too much entertainment depending on what the party is and the age group of the children. Some parties need a lot of entertaining, especially with the short attention span of children. For Serena’s party, since it was mostly one year old’s, I rented a beautiful playspace from Love2Play Miami to match her girly theme which was fun for the kids to play on. The ball pit in that playspace was a huge success! I also had a character dressed up as Minnie Mouse come and entertain for a half hour. Some older kid parties can rent bounce houses, bubble trucks etc. Also with a lot of venues you pick, they also can cater to entertainment, like if you decide to host a party at a bowling alley, or princess spa or a movie theater for example. The best thing to do to decide on the entertainment is to see the age group and if there’s something in particular your child wants to have at their party.
- Any other vendors or details? Need a dessert table décor or balloon arch arranged? Goodie bags? Do you need a baker for the cake? Photographer? The list really can be never ending. It really depends on what you want for the party and your budget. There are definitely as little or as many vendors you can get to do things. A lot of people are also crafty and can do many things DIY. Which leads to my next point…
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Whether it means asking your relatives to help with setup or your crafty friend to help with centerpieces, a lot of close friends and relatives will gladly help you if you just ask. I definitely looped in my mom to help for Serena’s party, but I also did hire a party planner who helped arrange all my décor and handle all my vendors. So see who you want to ask for help and what’s feasible.
Always have a plan B and don’t panic when things don’t go according to plan
Always try to account for weather, parents cancelling last minute because their child is sick, or any other scenario you can think of. For Serena’s party, I did have an indoor venue, but it rained so much that day that a lot of my vendors and guests arrived late. So I definitely had to shift a lot of the timings around and got frustrated waiting for Minnie Mouse to come when she came over an hour late. Luckily I had other entertainment and just had to shift the cake cutting etc. But its best to roll with the punches when things go a little off course!
Don’t forget to have fun!
All in all, you are doing this to celebrate your child and for your child to have fun! Try not to let the stress of planning and hosting a party prevent you from having fun!
I hope this helps with all your party planning! Do you have any tips or really cute party ideas? Let me know in the comments below 🙂
