Birthday Party

I recently celebrated my son's birthday. 

I used an XL sheet (attached below) to plan the various aspects of the birthday and kept tracking the party progress. Planning really helped me organize the event well especially since it was the first time i did something like this. I kept making notes of what I had done and what was left to be done.

What really helped me was the following -

a) Making a record of age, gender and interest of every kid I invited - helped me to plan customized return gifts - this was a big hit ! 

b) Keeping the food simple and stuff kiddies like – Tarts, Chips, Pizza etc

c) Make sure there were games and activities that can keep the kids busy - I called a Tattoo artist and organized a magic show which were great interaction points for kids and adults alike.

Some learnings (after thoughts !)

a)     Consider every kid = half an adult - Kids waste a lot of food !

b)     Don’t do too many activities – kids should have some free time to do their own thing

c)      Get the food out of the way early on so every one (including the host) can relax and enjoy

 

 Recently I went to another kid's bday party - what I really liked was

a) Personalized invitation card - designed by the kid  ! Nice way to involve the kid.

b) An SMS was sent as a reminder for all parents on the day of the party.

c)  The snack was mini pizza and superb cake.

d)  The number of invitees was less then 10 kids – really gave each kid personal attention

 

Name	Age	Gender	with Parents	Invited / Confirmed
						Party Planner
						Tattoo artist
						Party Games
						Game gifts
						Balloon
						Decoration items
						Finalize food order
						Magic show
						Food Items
						Mini Pizza			Juice
						Tarts			Cake
						Cutlets			Chips
						Sandwich
						Write numbers for giving order
						Return Gifts
						Age	M	F
						Less 1
						1-2
						2-3
						4-5
Total Invitees						6-7
Kids						8-11
Adults
						Numbers against each column