No matter their age, planning the perfect birthday party is always going to be a daunting task for any parent. They could be turning 1 or 10, we always want to make sure that our kiddos have fun, socialize, and remember their birthdays for many years to come. These ideas will help you plan a fun birthday bash in the easiest way possible.
Pajama Parade
Office Supply
No time to shop for your child's birthday party? Raid the supply closet at work—you'll be amazed at the possibilities. (Shh, it's our little secret!) Give each kid a "Hello My Name Is" name tag, and plan an afternoon of fun activities like racing paper airplanes and making pinwheels from highlighter-colored copy paper and brass fasteners. Hand out mini notebooks and colored pencils as party favors.
Baby Face
Relish the first birthday party; it's the last time you don't have to entertain your kid's friends with pirates and princesses or pass out plastic party favors. It's all about you and the sentimental anniversary of your baby's birth. But you do want the event to be special, so decorate with the most beautiful thing you know: your baby's face. Create a photo garland of pics from the last 12 months, and print out circle labels with her face to decorate cups, paper napkin rings and party favors. You can even make an edible photo to top off her cake!
Movie Madness
There is seriously nothing easier than throwing a movie party for your child's birthday. Choose the flick with your kid, hand out kid-made paper tickets and have the birthday boy or girl tear them at the door to the living room. Set up a simple buffet of movie snacks like popcorn, M&M's and gummy bears for the kids to choose from; press play and kick back for the most relaxed party you'll ever host! It's just too bad you can't use this one every year. (Don't forget to silence your cell phones and pagers…)
Do You Believe in Magic?
You don't have to dish out a lot of cash and hire a magician for a birthday party. The joy of young kids is that even you can fool them with some self-taught magic trick. Search the web for easy ones like these, and you'll see an audience of little dropped jaws in front of you. Invest in a cheap hat and wand for effect, tie a black sweater around your shoulders for a cape, and abracadabra! Next thing you know, you'll be pulling a rabbit right out of your hat.
Rainbow Bright
Sometimes a little color is all you need to create the happiest of birthday parties for your little one. For this shindig, decorations are easy: red plates, green napkins, yellow forks, blue spoons, orange balloons … you get the picture. Play a fun game where kids have to create a rainbow (yes, in proper ROY G BIV order) from a cup full of jelly beans or M&M's. What to serve for dessert? Choose from an array of gorgeous rainbow treats. Seriously, you can't mess this one up.
Party Animals
Use your kid's stuffed animals or figurine collection to decorate for this low-maintenance birthday party. Create a simple activity based on three or four of the animals. For example, play Pin the Tail on the Monkey, Memory (to represent an elephant's good memory), a bunny-hop relay race or even a Hungry Hungry Hippos tournament of champions. And the perfect party favor? You guessed it: a box of animal crackers.
