Children love parties, and some of them will start talking about and planning their next birthday months in advance. We want nothing more than to make our children happy. So, throwing them a birthday party they will remember for the rest of their lives will create smiles all around. If you have a child who is desperate to celebrate their big day in style, here are some tips on how to cater for the ultimate children’s party.
How to Cater for The Ultimate Children’s Party
What Is the Theme of The Party?
Most kids will want their birthday party to have a theme. It could be based around their favorite animal, movie, or tv show. Unicorns and fairies are a popular choice for little girls, while young boys love pirate parties or dinosaur dos.
Older children might think it is childish to have a theme and will request something like a pool party, gaming party, or a sleepover. If your child doesn’t have a preference or an idea of a theme, you can just do whatever suits you. See what party accessories are available in local shops and go with that.
Where Will It Be Held?
When planning a party, you will need to decide where the party will be held as you will need to know how many guests you will be able to invite and what facilities the venue has – i.e., does it have tables, chairs, a kitchen, toilets, audio equipment or a dance floor?
Your child might want a birthday treat at the cinema or skating rink, so rather than you doing the catering, you could take your child and a group of their friends for lunch at a fast-food restaurant of their choice, followed by a visit to one of the local cookie shops in Utah for a sweet treat. Your child might even get a giant birthday cookie with their name on it!
Invitations
Once you have decided upon the theme, date, and venue for the party, you can send out the invitations. If your child is junior school age, think about asking all of their classmates to the bash so that nobody feels left out. Either that or limit the number to just one or two of their closest friends.
Look online for party invitations, make your own or get some done professionally. Some people these days will send digital invitations by email or through apps such as What’s App and Messenger.
Timeline and Budget for The Ultimate Children’s Party
It is important to set a budget for the party as it is very easy to get carried away and spend a small fortune. Apportion a price per head for food and stick to it. Budget for decorations, hiring of a venue, hiring or purchasing of tableware, the cost of putting together a party bag to give to guests, and the cost of the entertainment.
Write down well in advance all of the tasks you need to organize and complete before the ultimate children’s party. Determine how much time you will require to perform each duty and when you will have to do it. For example, you might need to book a children’s entertainer or hire a venue a month or so in advance.
Type of Food Required
For many kids, the food is the essential aspect of the party – especially the birthday cake.
The most common foods served at kids’ parties are sandwiches filled with cheese, ham, tuna and jelly, potato chips, sausage rolls, jello, ice cream, and candy. Suppose you really want to make the party special. In that case, you can get creative with your catering and make filled rolls arranged into a caterpillar shape and glittery jello molded into exciting creatures. Make rainbow pizzas made with colorful toppings of red onion, sweet corn, green peppers, and tomato, and beautiful cupcakes made to look like Cinderella’s glass slipper or a shaggy puppy dog.
Remember that you are not feeding the five thousand and that most kids will fill up on the candy or be too excited playing games to sit down and eat a reasonable amount of food. It is always best to make dishes that are easy to eat with small hands and quick and easy to prepare as you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. Be aware of any allergies guests may have and steer clear of using nuts in any of your dishes just to be on the safe side. Some parents will also appreciate you making an effort to provide healthy snacks such as fruit kebabs, vegetable crudités, yogurts, and healthy dips.
Plan the Cake
If you want to devote extra time to the party food, give it to the birthday cake as this is what your child will remember more than any sandwich or slice of pizza. Plan the cake in advance and buy any cake tins and ingredients you will need for it. If you want to make it into a shape of their age number, look for an appropriate tin. Some bakeries or baking suppliers will allow you to hire cake tins for as long as you require them. Draw a picture of the cake you plan to make – or ask your child to do it or look for photographs online on websites such as Pinterest. You will also find tutorials on YouTube, so let your imagination run wild and make your child their ultimate birthday cake.
Entertainment
These days, entertainment at a party is commonplace. Whether you want to organize party games yourself, hire an entertainer such as a clown or magician, or take your child and their guests to a public venue, this all needs to be planned a few weeks prior to the party.
Often it is easier to take a bunch of kids to an external venue rather than having the party in your home and you having to deal with the mess and chaos. Many restaurants, soft plays, ice rinks, bowling alleys, and zoos offer organized parties where they supply food and entertainment, and you provide the cake.
The Big Day
Preparation is key for a successful party, so the better organized you are before the big day, the better it will be. Relax and try not to fret – try to enjoy the day and treat yourself to a small glass of drink. Remember, birthdays only come once a year!
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