Planning a Child's Birthday Party
The excitement of a child's birthday party builds to a feverish pitch as
the big event approaches, but sometimes chaos and budget overruns
do as well. Keep things happy and peaceful by making your game plan
well ahead of time and sticking to it.
1.) Set a party budget to cover the entire affair from food, decor and party bags to room rental or hiring an entertainer. Estimate the number of guests by using a cost-per-guest figure to help determine your venue, entertainment and food options.
2.) Remember that your child doesn't need an over-the-top party to have fun. Depending on his or her age, a picnic in the park can be just as much fun as an expensive party at a climbing gym.
3.) Depending on his or her age, give your child several party options and themes to choose from. Describe what comes with each so he or she will know the benefits and drawbacks before choosing. Keep it simple.
4.) Set a party time to best suit your child. Work around nap times for the four-and-under set; weekend mornings or afternoons for school kids; Friday or Saturday night for preteens or teens.
5.) Confirm the time, date and place (with a deposit if necessary). Ask what you'll need to supply, what the venue will provide, how early you can arrive to set up and when you're required to leave.
6.) Come up with ways to incorporate games and activities with party favors. Small, wrapped gifts discovered in a treasure hunt or piñata, become real memories of the party instead of an expected payoff. Test-drive all activities with your child and plan extras in case something doesn't pan out.
7.) When creating invitations include an ending time and an RSVP date, and, for kids under three, specify whether you'd like parents to stay.
Showing posts with label party favors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party favors. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Planning an Anniversary Party
Planning an Anniversary Party
Anniversary parties are a wonderful way to celebrate two people who have been together for a number of years. The most common anniversary parties are for 25 years and 50 years. There are many things you can do to make this day special for not only the couple, but all of their family and friends as well. Planning an anniversary party is a huge undertaking, sometimes almost as big as a wedding.
1.) Theme
A party theme is fairly simple to determine. Plan a fairly traditional party unless the couple or their immediate family has requested a particular theme. A 25th wedding anniversary is traditionally silver, while a 50th anniversary is gold.
2.) Who to Invite
An anniversary party can be as big as a wedding. While many people opt for a small get together consisting of family and close friends only, others look forward to a huge celebration with everyone who has touched their lives in past years. If you’re planning a huge bash, it may take quite a bit of time to come up with a guest list. If the happy couple knows about the party the easiest thing to do is ask them who should be invited. Family members and close friends are fairly obvious, but in addition you may want to invite old coworkers, church members, old neighbors, and the list can go on. If you are planning a surprise party for the couple, this can be a little tricky. Rather than getting the input of just one family member, send a tentative guest list to several family members and ask each for additions and deletions. This will help make sure no one gets missed.
3.) Invitations
If you’re throwing a huge anniversary party, sending out invitations can be quite the task. If the party budget allows for it, get them custom made. You can order the invitations online and get everything shipped to you and ready to go. This will save an enormous amount of time. If the party budget is tight and that money would better go to use elsewhere, making your own invitations can actually be quite simple. All you need is a computer and a printer. You can download some great invitations templates that are simple enough to put together. All you need to do is add all the party information and perhaps a beautiful quote on the front and your invitations are ready to go.
4.) Decor
Decorations for the party don’t have to be hugely excessive, but by adding some special touches you will help make the night even more special for the happy couple. Some ways to use either silver or gold are:
- Use gold or silver pen or ink for place cards, menu, and any other written items
- Gold or silver balloons make a beautiful yet inexpensive decoration
- Add gold or silver chargers at each place setting
- Gold or silver candles and or candle holders make a great centerpiece
- Dinnerware and bar-ware should have gold or silver accents
There are many other ways in which you can incorporate these colors into the party. Just be sure not to overdo it. Add plenty of white to balance it out.
5.) Party Favors
Many couples will want to send their guests away with a little something to remember the night by and as a thank you for attending. One of the best favors ideas is a small picture frame of the couple. You can use pictures from their wedding day or a more recent photo. If you can find picture frames that hold two photos a nice idea is to add both a picture of their wedding day and a recent one. Another great idea is a CD of songs form the era that the couple met and was married. This will bring back great memories for many of their family and friends and is probably one of the most useful favor possibilities.
6.) A Night of Reminiscence
A great idea for any anniversary party, big or small, is a slide show. Start the show of with pictures of the couple when they first met and progress through the years of children and grandchildren. Add some memorable quotes throughout the show, and play some touching music that reminds them of certain times in their lives. If you want the slide show to be a surprise, you can ask family and friends for their favorite pictures to add to the show.
Planning an anniversary party can take a lot of time, so starting a year in advance isn’t too soon. This will be a night for everyone to cherish and remember, and the happy anniversary couple will be on cloud nine after a night of celebrating with family and friends.
Anniversary parties are a wonderful way to celebrate two people who have been together for a number of years. The most common anniversary parties are for 25 years and 50 years. There are many things you can do to make this day special for not only the couple, but all of their family and friends as well. Planning an anniversary party is a huge undertaking, sometimes almost as big as a wedding.
1.) Theme
A party theme is fairly simple to determine. Plan a fairly traditional party unless the couple or their immediate family has requested a particular theme. A 25th wedding anniversary is traditionally silver, while a 50th anniversary is gold.
2.) Who to Invite
An anniversary party can be as big as a wedding. While many people opt for a small get together consisting of family and close friends only, others look forward to a huge celebration with everyone who has touched their lives in past years. If you’re planning a huge bash, it may take quite a bit of time to come up with a guest list. If the happy couple knows about the party the easiest thing to do is ask them who should be invited. Family members and close friends are fairly obvious, but in addition you may want to invite old coworkers, church members, old neighbors, and the list can go on. If you are planning a surprise party for the couple, this can be a little tricky. Rather than getting the input of just one family member, send a tentative guest list to several family members and ask each for additions and deletions. This will help make sure no one gets missed.
3.) Invitations
If you’re throwing a huge anniversary party, sending out invitations can be quite the task. If the party budget allows for it, get them custom made. You can order the invitations online and get everything shipped to you and ready to go. This will save an enormous amount of time. If the party budget is tight and that money would better go to use elsewhere, making your own invitations can actually be quite simple. All you need is a computer and a printer. You can download some great invitations templates that are simple enough to put together. All you need to do is add all the party information and perhaps a beautiful quote on the front and your invitations are ready to go.
4.) Decor
Decorations for the party don’t have to be hugely excessive, but by adding some special touches you will help make the night even more special for the happy couple. Some ways to use either silver or gold are:
- Use gold or silver pen or ink for place cards, menu, and any other written items
- Gold or silver balloons make a beautiful yet inexpensive decoration
- Add gold or silver chargers at each place setting
- Gold or silver candles and or candle holders make a great centerpiece
- Dinnerware and bar-ware should have gold or silver accents
There are many other ways in which you can incorporate these colors into the party. Just be sure not to overdo it. Add plenty of white to balance it out.
5.) Party Favors
Many couples will want to send their guests away with a little something to remember the night by and as a thank you for attending. One of the best favors ideas is a small picture frame of the couple. You can use pictures from their wedding day or a more recent photo. If you can find picture frames that hold two photos a nice idea is to add both a picture of their wedding day and a recent one. Another great idea is a CD of songs form the era that the couple met and was married. This will bring back great memories for many of their family and friends and is probably one of the most useful favor possibilities.
6.) A Night of Reminiscence
A great idea for any anniversary party, big or small, is a slide show. Start the show of with pictures of the couple when they first met and progress through the years of children and grandchildren. Add some memorable quotes throughout the show, and play some touching music that reminds them of certain times in their lives. If you want the slide show to be a surprise, you can ask family and friends for their favorite pictures to add to the show.
Planning an anniversary party can take a lot of time, so starting a year in advance isn’t too soon. This will be a night for everyone to cherish and remember, and the happy anniversary couple will be on cloud nine after a night of celebrating with family and friends.
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