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Plan a Birthday Party They'll Always Remember
 
Here are the essential elements to any child's birthday partyLocation
Are you up for the challenge of dozens of toddlers and parents in your living room? The house it is. If not, you might want to consider renting space at a local community center, park, museum or movie theater.
 
Some parents like to rent out a venue and there are some pretty cool ones out there - gymnastics, dinosaur digging, ceramics, ice skating, arcades, the works. However, they can be both pricey (consider the rental space, staff, and make sure you factor in all the other elements you will still need to provide), require a lot of work to transport favors, gifts, cake, etc. and can be a touch on the generic side. A rough combo. Just consider the budget savings and the uniqueness of a celebration that you plan especially for your child. Of course, your tot may have had designs on the local "right of passage locale" since the last buddy's fiesta and you may find it hard to say no. (We'll deal with that dilemma elsewhere on the site). In any event, there's a lot more to do!
 
Invitation
Store bought invitations are fine, but for extra pizazz, and higher attendance, make it a show piece. In general, I try to keep it to family and close friends for parties under age 5, the whole class for the Kindergarten age party, and then a selection of 5-10 closest friends for age 6-10.  
My fabulous sister-in-law, the quintessential Power Parent, declared no parties after age 10. This is a cool rule because A) it takes pressure of the parents to keep up the pace and B) this policy allows the kid do something they really want to do on his or her birthday - see a movie with friends, go somewhere special or try something new.  
For that first decade of parties though, when filling out invitations you'll have to determine time of day and date. Avoid times when popular weekend/after school activities or other birthday parties of classmates are being held, or you could be standing at your door watching the tumbleweed roll by instead of greeting guests. For me, 2-4 or 3-5 PM on Saturday or Sunday works pretty well.  
Think through a policy on siblings. I have three kids, and most of my friends are in the same boat. Sometimes it is tough to wrangle birthday parties without having siblings to tag along. At my last party, I explicitly invited siblings and everyone was happier. Just get a few more goody bags and brace for a bit more chaos.
Supplies
Every fete needs a little something to express the theme. The good news is, once you start to accumulate decorations, it gets easier to keep a storage container in your garage and re-purpose them. Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I've used some of the same decorations for a Sponge Bob, two pirates, and an Under the Sea/Finding Nemo party.
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Menu
Kids and grown ups get hungry. If you plan your get-together between meal times, you can keep this simple. If it spans lunch or dinner time, you've got to fork over the pizza or themed fare. Don't forget lots of easy to dispense beverages and a creative cake.
Activities and Games
You are officially the master of ceremonies, unless you delegate or hire this job out, and you'll need a plan. Believe me, it can get ugly, unless you have plenty of ideas and direction to keep the throngs busy and moving from activity to activity. Unless you are a cruise director, camp counselor or teacher yourself, you are probably not used to handling such a motley crew for an extended period of time. Enlist the help of a really good friend to back you up, one who can't say no for reasons you can't divulge outside of Las Vegas or the 80s, and you should be fine. What's a couple of hours? :-)
 
Favors
Kids like tons of junk. Parents don't. I suggest you find more substantial items to hand out at the end of the party - a sticker book, a toy dinosaur, a water bottle, a small inexpensive toy that you found on a super sale. Otherwise the assembly and disassembly of your goody bags could be a drag.
The Attitude is Gratitude
I am the absolute worst at enforcing this rule in my own family of younger kids(and my friends can attest to this) but once a kid can write well, he or she should be asked to send out thank you cards. Even younger kids who can write their names can find creative ways to say thank you. I know I give mental Power props to any parent whose kids do.
Don't forget to save the invitation in your child's memory box or scrapbook.
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Whew! That was fun, but let's go home and rest for a while.
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