Stress-free parties? To many busy moms, this sounds like a dream instead of reality. But the dream is attainable simply with a bit of planning and a focus on your child’s specific interests. When you let those be your guide, everything will fall into place a lot faster.
When the party includes an outing, like visiting a pizza place or bowling alley, create a list of names of selected children to go in each car. Tell the children there will be no negotiations or special requests. Do make sure no one is feeling left out throughout the party time. Most of all, smile, laugh and be optimistic yourself.
Consider planning an experience instead of a party. Give your child the option of taking several friends on an outing, such as the movies, bowling, local theme park, arcade, indoor rock climbing or the pool, depending on the season. An outing with a small group of friends is much less chaotic than a big party and requires almost no effort. Children often enjoy and bond with their close friends more when there aren’t so many people running about.
If you have the party at home, keep the food simple. Lunch can be PB&J. If you do want pizza, ask for a school cut that features smaller slices, since kids often don’t finish their slice anyway. Another option is to plan the party before or after lunch or dinner, so you don’t feel obligated to provide a full meal.
Let each child help when it comes to party favors. For example, paint or tie-dye t-shirts, decorate cupcakes or make slime. This gives kids an activity to enjoy and then take home. They stay busy, and you save on goody bags!
Remember, you can always use items you have around your house. Create fun stations from toys you already have, such as a sports station with basketballs, soccer balls, tennis rackets and balloons. Or play dress-up and set out play clothes and other dress items you already have. Water fun is always a hit, with squirt guns, water balloons and kitchen sponges.
Who says you must have a birthday cake? Ask your child what he or she would like and go from there. Suggest root beer floats—purchase plastic cups for serving, and each child can take one home as a favor. Scoop ice cream into the cups the day before and store them in the freezer, then let party guests choose their favorite flavor of soda to make their float.
Keep your party-planning self on track by always ask yourself whether your ideas will make your child have a better birthday. Looking at Pinterest may be exciting, but, chances are, children won’t care about much of that. Most would much rather enjoy a happy, present mom at the party than a burned-out, stressed mom who stayed up all night cutting out perfect food labels the kids can’t even read. Spend time on what matters to your child and leave the rest alone.
An avid outdoors girl, Judy Goppert lives in Lee’s Summit. She enjoys drawing on her personal experiences to write about the nuances of everything wonderful about life.
Sources: StressFreeKids.com, Simply-Well-Balanced.com, EverydayFamily.com.