Winging it – Birthday Parties

Lou - 13 May 18

Five years in and I’m starting to get the hang of this birthday party malarkey. Whilst I wouldn’t consider myself a seasoned pro there are a few useful things I’ve learned along the way. 

Invites.

If like me you are pretty disorganised you may find the whole writing and posting out of invites a bit of a faff. This is where smart phones get super smart, apps like Punchbowl let you design, issue and track rsvp’s for FREE. So useful (and if I was organised enough to have email addresses for all guests would be flawless)

Don’t worry if you don’t have these a mobile number is enough. We did a screenshot of the invite and issued via WhatsApp.

*I like to think of it as an environmentally conscious approach.

*In reality I am just a lazy.

Venue

Hire a hall, seriously I cannot stress this enough. Don’t ever consider having a party in your house. You can hire a local village hall for around £10 an hour so about £30 all together. Cheaper than a deep carpet clean you’ll need to remove the trodden in sandwiches, cake and juice spills.

Date

We’ve tried a few times slots and Sunday mid morning works best for us now our lives are not dictated by the lunchtime nap.  It gives you Saturday to prep (by which I mean panic buy items you don’t need to bulk up a perfectly adequate buffet) A morning party also cuts the number of times you get asked if it’s party time yet by about 5 million. And an earlier finish also leaves enough time for the kids to have their sugar crash / meltdown /post party tantrum before bedtime. 

Entertainment.

Essential, it doesn’t have to cost a lot but some structure is needed if you don’t to find yourself in the middle of 25 sugar fuelled kids running around doing a hyped up version of the wall of death. 

Food

Don’t worry about this too much, I find that when kids know there’s cake, sweets and chocolate on the way they’re really not fussed with sandwiches, crisps maybe and a mini sausage but crudities?! Let’s face it, they are just for show, a nod to healthy eating, a mere gesture in an otherwise (delicious) beige buffet. 

Cake

My most genius cake to date has been this years doughnut stack. 24 doughnuts (Greggs do a surprisingly good dozen for a fiver) on a cake stand, add candles and ta da – an impressive sight to behold and no fussy cake cutting, wrap in a napkin and straight into the party bags. 

Party bags

This is one thing it’s worth thinking about a bit earlier as there are many bargains to be had on amazon, especially if you have a few weeks to wait for delivery. They don’t have to be themed or expensive or filled with a carefully curated selection of favours. Throw in a doughnut and some plastic tat (bouncy ball, stretchy man etc) and you’re done. Plus a party bag is the only sure  fire way to get the kids to leave so it’s definately worth doing some.

Enjoy.

Once it’s done sit back and enjoy the fact that you don’t have to to it all for another year.

Lou

Mum of two, wife to one, friend to all.

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