Everyone loves attending birthday parties, or having surprise parties thrown for them. If you’re a guest, you can savor the food, drink, and opportunity to mingle; if you’re the birthday boy or girl in question, you can add cards, games, and presents to that already-enjoyable blend. The – literal – icing on the cake is that it’s a milestone event: we’re another year older, and that’s something for which we should be grateful.
…Planning a birthday party, however, can be less of a reason to celebrate. With so many activities, decorations, and refreshments to coordinate, it’s easy to feel daunted, and to think that this single birthday party may actually add several years to your life. However, with the help of a birthday party checklist and party planning schedule, it’s possible to rein in your budget, corral your guests and entertainers, and overall, “ensure that, by the day of the party, you can concentrate on making memories.”
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to plan a birthday party from scratch, well, this is just what you’ve always wished for…
Two Months in Advance – Decide on a Date & Budget ☑
The actual start date of your party planning may fluctuate depending on the type of party you’re throwing. For example, if you’re reserving a venue to cater for a group of busy, time-poor adults, you’ll need to give more notice than if you were hosting a child’s birthday party at home. When it comes to choosing a date, remember that weekends are generally better – if more costly and sought-after – as guests are likely to be available. Above all, though, confer with the person for whom you’re throwing the party, and see what time and date will suit them.
Settling on a budget at this stage will also help you to avoid overspending. You should set aside money to pay for invitations, decorations, food and drink, entertainment, gifts and favors, and the venue if necessary. Of these, the booking fee for the venue is usually the most costly, if you’re going to host it somewhere other than your home. Pick three venues you’re interested in and then compare their packages – you may even be able to negotiate a better price by going back and forth between them!
Six Weeks in Advance – Draw Up a Guest List & Pick a Theme ☑
Next, you’ll be able to create – or, perhaps, curate – a guest list. If you’re planning a child’s birthday party, then try to invite as many of their friends and classmates as possible to avoid anyone feeling excluded. With adults, think of the size of the venue and how many people you’ll be able to entertain. Often, the number of guests invited can dictate the tone of the party, too: having only a few friends or family members will make things more intimate, while a lengthy guest list can add an air of formality to the proceedings.
And since you’re considering the mood of the birthday party, you should also pay attention to the theme. There are limitless possibilities when it comes to choosing a theme: it could be princesses and superheroes for kids, or cocktails and card games for the adults. Whichever theme you pick can be incorporated into your décor and invitations, and you can shop for these among our “36 Birthday Party Ideas for Kids, Teens & Adults” on Zazzle Ideas.
Many of Zazzle’s birthday invitations are also now available as Instant Downloads, which means they can be quickly emailed, rather than printed and mailed, to each of your guests!
Six to Four Weeks in Advance – Book a Venue & Source Decorations ☑
Renting a venue is a more expensive option, but there are also several advantages to hosting a birthday party in an external location. The lengthy cleanup operation and catering jobs will be handled by staff, meaning that, rather than going back and forth to the kitchen for food, you’ll be able to fully commit to spending quality time with your guests. You’ll also be able to accommodate a substantial number of guests in a larger location. Just bear in mind that there are some details you’ll need to pin down early on, such as how much freedom you will have to decorate the venue and at what time you can access the room.
For complete control of every aspect of the birthday party, including the decorations, then we recommend hosting your party at home (or in the garden, at least). Take up that theme you established in our last section – and that guests were excited to learn about in your invitations – and start collecting complementary balloons, paper plates, banners, napkins, wine labels, and backdrops. That’s another downside to hosting the party in a restaurant or hotel: with a spacious venue, you’ll need even more tableware and party décor to fill empty space. If you’re feeling creative and slightly prudent, you can also borrow and repurpose decorations from other people’s parties.
Four Weeks in Advance – Plan Food & Drink ☑
And now, we arrive at what most guests and readers are, in truth, here to sample: the refreshments. Of course, prioritize the tastes of the person for whom you’re throwing the birthday party – especially if it’s a fussy child or teenager – and factor in any dietary requirements that were listed in the RSVPs. With that in mind, you can then decide to either cook the food yourself or hire a catering company or chef to do it on your behalf. In the weeks leading up to the date of the party, you can stock up on ingredients, finger food, and non-perishable goods; baked goods, on the other hand, should be procured in the days beforehand, to prevent them from spoiling.
The most important consideration when it comes to providing beverages is choice: unless it’s a James Bond-themed martini party, not everyone will want to drink alcohol. Give your guests options when it comes to beverages. They’ll appreciate it even more than you thought of them when you planned your menu.” Meanwhile, dessert, at a birthday party, should be easy enough to figure out: it’s probably going to be cake!
Four Weeks in Advance – Book Entertainment & Plan Activities ☑
Let’s face it: kids are going to get bored unless there are games to play. Cornhole, Topple Tower, and Fast Four are examples of family-friendly games you can find on Zazzle.com, and they might prove more engaging and wholesome than time spent inside playing video games. Order these a couple of weeks in advance of the party and set them up the day beforehand!
If thinking up of games to play sounds – ironically – like too much work, then you can always outsource your entertainment. Kids will appreciate a clown, magician, face painter, or petting zoo; adults will prefer a live band or DJ instead of a piped Spotify playlist. Children’s party entertainers should be tipped around $15-20, whereas the band or catering staff should be tipped at least $50, on average. Finally, keep in mind that the noise levels in your neighborhood could rise significantly with DJs and bounce houses in your backyard; if you think your neighbors are going to complain, just invite them as well!
Two Weeks in Advance – Organize Party Favors & Prepare Thank You Cards ☑
Party favors are a kind of gift or token that you hand to guests as they leave; you could distribute them as people arrive, but it can be inconvenient for guests to hang onto them throughout the day. For kids, common favors include stickers, small toys, and candy, and for adults, we recommend coasters, pens, or keychains. Dress your souvenirs up in a favor bag or box, and they’ll be a meaningful, tangible way of thanking your guests for their attendance.
At this point, thank you cards can also be ordered, even if they’re not actually sent until two weeks after the party. In particular, acknowledge any gifts that the guest brought for you or the birthday person in your thank you card. You can extend the theme or color scheme of your party and original invitations across the thank you cards as well, or, if you’re quick off the mark, you can add photos from the party to each individual design!
Last Few Days and the Day Of – Final Preparations ☑
As the day approaches, it’s worth making contact again with each of the vendors you’ve hired to confirm that everything is proceeding as planned. In the case of a last-minute dropout – which can easily happen, due to illness or weather or transport problems – then you’ll need to have a back-up plan (and if you’ve been following this checklist so far, you should have plenty of time to arrange that). You can also delegate some of these eleventh-hour tasks to a close friend or relative, which will free you up to decorate the venue or prepare meals.
If there are any activities or games that you can set up on the day prior to the party, then do so, and if you have young children that aren’t involved in the celebration, you might want to ask or hire someone to watch the child on the morning of the party. How long the party will last is something you may already have outlined on the invitations, but by and large, kids’ events should be over by early evening – say 6:00 or 7:00 PM. For adults, parties can go on until the early hours of the morning, and thus scheduling your event on a Saturday will give you the Sunday to clean up and recover!
With the above checklist and timeline in mind, you’re unlikely to encounter any obstacles in your party-planning process. Take it step by step, and you won’t feel overwhelmed by everything you need to orchestrate; and if any problems do arise, you’ll have adequate time to circumvent them. Above all, a concrete timeline, comprehensive checklist, and well-planned budget will give you, and the guest of honor, more time to enjoy the party. And a stress-free experience is the best birthday present anyone could ask for!
Eoin is a Content Specialist at Zazzle in Cork. He’s recently bought a house with his fiancée, and thus most of his time these days is spent trying to keep the walls from caving in and the wolves from the door. Still, he’s always open to book, game, and movie recommendations, so if you have some, let him know: he’ll add them to a very, very long list.
