by: Mike Dougherty

Why rush around at the last minute?

By following the 9 steps we've outlined, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you'll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you'll have a successful party.

Give Yourself Plenty Of Time

If at all possible, start putting together your child party several months in advance. This will give you plenty of time to put everything together without having to run all over the place at the last minute until you're worn out, stressed out and find yourself saying "I'll be glad when this is over with."

Your Party Date And Time

Since it may not be practical to hold your child's birthday party celebration on their actual birth date, you need to consider a few things before deciding on the date of their party.

Make sure your party date won't conflict with any holidays or other events.

Also consider the best time of the day for your party. After lunch will mean you won't have to serve food other than snacks, cake and ice cream.

Your Birthday Party Theme

One of the most popular ways to celebrate a child's birthday is with a theme related to something your child enjoys. A movie, a TV show, a sport, hobby, general interest, or a favorite character like a Disney character.

If your child likes Barbie, choose a Barbie theme, if your child liked the movie Shrek, you can base an entire birthday on the Shrek theme.

This is the perfect time to let your child become involved in planning their party.

We encourage you to spend some quality time with your child discussing which theme they are most interested in. But be sure you agree with their choice before proceeding. Your child will only be thinking about which theme will be the most fun, while you need to also consider what may or may not be practical. And once you and your child have decided on a kid birthday party theme, everything else will fall into place...

Your Kid Birthday Party Guest List

When considering your kid party planning, experts advise you should invite one guest for every year of your child's age. This keeps your party manageable. Other considerations include your kid birthday party budget and the location of your party.

But the question of how many guests you should invite to your birthday party can only be answered by you and your child... I suggest you mainly consider your budget and your party location... If you're comfortable with a house full of 20 kids for your child's 8th birthday, then go for it!

Your Kid Birthday Party Location

You may want to control your child's birthday party by holding the celebration in your home and/or backyard. Or you may want to consider having your party at another location like a local restaurant (where they do most of the clean-up) or a local park, amusement part, zoo or some other fun location. To keep your child party planning manageable, call any locations your considering in advance... You don't want to hear "we're all booked up on that date."

Kid Birthday Party Invitations

Once you and your child have decided on a theme, your party date, time, location and guest list, you can create or purchase invitations involving your theme.

If you'd like to create your own party invitations, this is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your child... Talk with them about putting together a creative invitation that will tell all their invited guests how much fun their birthday party is going to be.

Kid Birthday Party Food And Drinks

The first thing that comes to mind when you say "birthday Party" is a birthday cake.

For other snacks and treats, keep your kid birthday party theme in mind.

Kid Birthday Party Games And Activities

Put together some games and activities to keep your party guests busy and having lots of fun. You'll also want to have some quiet games, puzzles and other activities designed to wind your party down so your guests will go home a little less excited.

Thank You Notes

A day or so after your kid birthday party, sit down with your child and send out thank you notes to each of your guests. This will help to teach your child responsibility and how to thank their friends for being kind enough to bring them a gift or birthday card.

By following the 9 steps I've outlined here, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you'll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you'll have a successful party your child will love.