Mummy’s Diary: Birthday Parties

In this article, Gayatri Unsworth talks about children’s’ birthday parties and how to make it a fun fun day with maximum fun and minimal stress for both, parents and the birthday kid.

Birthday parties – love them or hate them, if you have kids, especially little ones, then there’s no running away from this yearly occasion.

The reality of living with young kids nevertheless is that we are constantly running off our feet trying to just keep up with the day to day business of life. In my case, my hours appear to be spent answering lots of intriguing yet seemingly pointless questions, laundering a never ending pile of clothes, cleaning up the playroom every evening only to watch it explode in every which direction the next morning, sweeping up an endless trail of crumbs despite owning multiple kids’ plates and a dining table, feeding constantly hungry mouths and well, you get the idea.

Therefore things like birthday parties often get relegated to the very bottom of the to-do list and often involve a last-minute frantic scramble to pull off. Luckily my children have very low expectations when it comes to their parties and are happy as long as there is something resembling a cake being set alight on a table when everyone starts singing Happy Birthday.

Over the years, I’ve learnt some tricks of the trade in order to avoid a total pre-party melt-down. Oh yes, me sitting on the kitchen floor weeping over a cake that totally cracked and sank in the middle was not a pretty sight especially since my daughter wasn’t keen on changing the party’s theme at the last minute from Frozen to Natural Disasters. Unfortunate really, as the earthquake cake would have been accompanied perfectly by the landslide cupcakes. Anyhow, to avoid precisely such a scene from taking place when it’s your child’s special day, here’s a list of essential birthday party planning pointers to show you just how exactly you can put together a fantastic memorable celebration for your little loves.

PICK A THEME

Kids’ birthday parties will invariably start out with a to-do list as long as your arm, many confused stares between you and your partner and a jar of Nutella being violently attacked with a teaspoon. To limit the time spent questioning why you ever thought throwing a birthday party was a good idea to begin with; quickly settle on a specific theme. It’s one of the best ways to ensure a fantastic party and it also gives you a great starting point in terms of what exactly needs to be done before the big day. The choice of themes for birthday parties is pretty much endless and limited really, only by your imagination and what your child likes or dislikes. The process of choosing a theme doesn’t have to be an expensive, elaborate affair. It just needs a whole lot of creativity, ingenuity and perhaps an extended love affair with Pinterest. Once you have decided on a theme, you will find that the rest of the party will automatically begin to fall into place.

PARTY TIMING

Picking an appropriate time for kids birthday parties is an often overlooked, but highly essential aspect of ensuring a happy celebration. We all know that a child who has missed that all important nap is not safe to be let loose in public, let alone a birthday party. Planning a party that coincides or overlaps with sleep-time is a big NO-NO, especially if your child is a creature of habit and thrives in a set routine. The duration of the birthday party is also an important consideration. An hour to an hour and a half is generally more than enough party time for little ones and by that point, you yourself are ready to wave all of the guests goodbye and sink into the nearest couch.

VENUE

Home, for many, is still the best choice in terms of picking an ideal venue for birthday parties. For starters it’s free, so you don’t have to pay for venue hire, and you will already know its layout and how best to set-it up for a party. A party at home also has the added advantage of being familiar to your child, meaning that they will automatically feel comfortable in their surroundings. The down-side of having a party at home of course is the amount of work it will entail. From the initial set-up to the big clean up afterwards, many parents cringe at the thought of inviting a mob of rambunctious, excited children into their homes. For those lucky enough to have cleaning help, this may not be too much of a problem but for those parents who don’t have the extra assistance, a party venue outside the home may well be the way to go. There are many great party venues in Malaysia offering a wide range of party experiences to suit every budget, from hotels to country clubs to local community halls to play gyms to public parks.

FOOD & DRINKS

Key to a great party is of course the food and drinks served at it. Asians in particular rate the quality of a party by how satisfied their tummies are at the end of it and don’t forget that children need to eat fairly regularly to keep those energy levels up. Like everything else at a child’s birthday bash, food and drinks should be kept simple and fuss-free. Finger food along with chopped up fruit provide healthy additions to the party menu. As with all things young children related, there is bound to be spillages and accidents so paper cups, plates and cutlery is the way to go. Have plenty of serviettes as well as wet wipes ready for when food and drinks miss intended mouths and if there is a spill, clean it up straight away so that no unfortunate accidents take place. Confine the eating area to the one spot and provide seating options so that children know to stay put when they are consuming food and drinks.

ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment at birthday parties really depends on the age group of the young guests as well as how fancy you want to get. Younger children have shorter attention spans and may well smile interestedly for a couple of seconds at the entertainer you’ve just hired for an exorbitant sum before wandering off to investigate that balloon peeking out temptingly from under the table. If you have a generous party budget but your child shows minimal or no interest in performers or shows, then perhaps a bouncy castle may be the key to great party entertainment. For parties with a small number of guests, inflatable swimming / splash pools provide endless fun. The most important consideration in selecting entertainment for your kids’ birthday party however, is your child. You may always have dreamt of having smiling clowns, fairies and inflatable castles at your kid’s party but if your little one isn’t a big fan of such things, then don’t hesitate to scrap the idea altogether. The last thing anyone wants to see at a partyis the birthday child clutching on to mum or dad in sheer terror.

PARTY PACKS

We’ve always followed three simple criteria when putting together party packs to be given out at our daughters’ parties – simple, useful and of good quality. If you want to include consumable items, little milk poppers, mini boxes of raisins and packets of popcorn are common and affordable favourites. Other party pack fillers can include crayons, magic markers or colouring pencils, mini-tubs of play-clay, small sealed bottles of bubbles, sheets of stickers and even key-chains. As you will be catering these party packs for children, ensure that every item you choose to include in the party pack is age-appropriate, non-toxic and suitable to avoid any choking hazards or other unfortunate incidents.

Lastly, but most importantly, remember to enjoy all your hard party planning work and take a minute on the actual big day to give yourself and your partner a big pat on the back on a job well done.