It’s that time of year again. You have started hoarding art supplies, fretting over numbers, and generally running yourself ragged.

Handy Advice To Help With Party Organising
Yes, its The Birthday Party. A time for all sane mothers to turn into harassed harridans who wonder why, every year they put themselves through the horror of The Birthday Party and vow that next year they will be more organised.

So, don’t panic. We are here to help offering you handy hints and sneaky suggestions that we have gathered from friends, co-workers and family. But do remember that these are suggestions, so please read, ponder and if you use even one then our job is done.

The best place to start is at the beginning.

Why do you do it?

Well the answer is simple. It is not because your neighbour/friend/coffee morning buddy/total stranger had a party for their son/daughter and you need to compete. It is not because of social pressure you feel obliged to have one. It is because your offspring is celebrating their birth date.

It is this simple fact that is lost in the whole scheme of things and it is important to remember this on the day, that the emphasis should be on your child enjoying themselves. So actively involve your child in the planning of the party. Find out what they want to do. Do they want a party at home or at a venue. Remember that you should influence your child in its choice as cost may be a factor when it comes to booking a venue.

If you do need to keep the cost down as we are not all posh spice who can afford to spend thousands on the Birthday Party then one idea if you are booking a venue is find out how much you can do yourself. Do not necessarily go with the venues catering, doing it yourself can be more time consuming but does work out cheaper. Also the party bags, nearly all party venues offer pre prepared party bags which can be filled with junk and not worth the money. So do it yourself.

Then the tricky question of numbers.

Who do you invite?

The answer is “not the whole school”.

There is an unwritten social Birthday Party etiquette that if your child is invited to a birthday party then there stands a reciprocal agreement. This can be a problem if you child is popular and attends many birthday parties. However the numbers are dictated by you. One way around the problem is to have a joint birthday party.

This is normally recommended if your child shares a birthday with a child of someone that you know well. Joint birthday parties can test the boundaries of even the strongest friendships. So plan well and ensure that both children have the same amount of attention.

So, it all boils down to planning and the thought of a medicinal glass of wine at the end of it. The most important aspect of the day should be enjoyment, for both yourself and your child.