Birthday Party Blues???:Theme and Guest List

Congratulations!  You've set a date and time, and picked a location for your birthday party.  Now you're mind is reeling with the realization that you actually have to host people either in your home or a separate location.  What do you do now?

Theme

There are so many different themes that you can do with the various age groups.  I always have a great time coming up with something different.  It doesn't have to be a commercial character.  In fact, you may save a considerable amount of money by being more original.  Here are just a few ideas to get your creative juices going:

Farm Animals

Jungle Exploration

Frog and bugs

Monkeys

Teddy Bear Picnic

Construction Equipment

John Deere Tractors

Dirt Bikes

Butterflies and Ladybugs

Pirates

Fairies

Generic Trains

Generic Cars

Pink Poodles

Circus

Carnival

Street Fair

Dinosaurs

Cowboys/ Cowgirls and Ranching

Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Football

Kitties

Dance/Cheerleading/Gynmastics

Duckies

Night at the Oscars

70's/ 80's/ 90's

Just be creative.  Keep in mind the personality of your child and the location of your event.  Having a Dance party might not be much fun at a park.  Just as a 3 yr old will appreciate a Bug party more than a Sports party.  Have fun being extra creative.

Guest lists

Guest lists are a sticky subject in our house.  Personally, we cut every other corner that we can to enable us to have larger parties.  Although our kids are small, they tend to have bigger social lives than we do.  But you have to decide for yourself, how big or how small you are choosing to make your event.  There are just a few of the people to keep in mind while you're planning:

Cousins and family

Sports friends

Sunday School friends

School friends

Family friends

Grandparents

Aunts and Uncles

Just as a side note, if you're concerned about too many gifts as you have every right to be, some parents will specifically note on the invitation that gifts are not expected.  We attended a rather large party for a 2 year old recently where the parents commented on the invitation that a book would be very much appreciated.  This kept the clutter down in their home and challenged the creativity of the guests.  The little boy received some wonderful and unusual books for his library.

Invitations

While deciding on a theme, you may opt for a decoration package that includes invitations.  However, you may plan farther ahead and make your own.  This is the route we've gone in the past and not choosing a package has allowed us to be more selective about our decor and price.  I'll address this more next week.  

For now, if you choose to make you're own, here are some additional links to get you started:

D Greetings

Free Printable Invitations

Creative Party Invitations

Also check out last week's article for further links to invitations.

What's in store for next week?  Decorations and Entertainment.  I can't wait.