Party Bags are one of the highlights of any kids party though often are not sorted until the last minute. Here we seek to ease the process of selecting gifts for the party bag where age appropriateness is critical.

Involving your child
We have found 3rd Birthday parties represent the 1st party where the child will have some clear thoughts on how they wish to celebrate their birthday. It’s important you capture these thoughts whilst carefully and sensitively managing expectations. Our favoured approach is to suggest about 3 ideas/themes for the Birthday Party to your child and then empower your child to choose their favourite.

Who to invite to the Birthday Party
This will be influenced by the venue, your budget and your child’s Social network. The focus should be on inviting your child’s close network of friends as opposed to all friends, do make sure you check the dates for the party with your child’s “best friend” as the attendance of “best friends” is very important. The most important consideration is that the children invited help the birthday child enjoy their special day .

Engaging some help
Enlist several adults to help the Birthday Party run smoothly. For three- to five-year-olds, ideally you'll need around one adult for every four children, and for six-to ten-year- olds, one adult for every six children. For younger children it can be useful to “invite” parents as a way of encouraging higher adult to child ratios.

Choosing the Birthday Party Venue
The most critical factor when choosing the venue is insuring it is age appropriate for the kids who will be attending the party, so select a venue which will be enjoyed by kids 1 year younger and one year older than the birthday boy or girl. If you are holding the party at home make sure you are prepared for bad weather so don’t rely on the weather being suitable for an outside party. Party venues that enable free-play ( sand pits , playgrounds etc) are also excellent as they enable children to have fun without continual entertaining.

Birthday Party Invitations
You should send your invitations out at least 4 weeks prior to the party date. On the invitation include a means of accepting the invitation, this could be your email address or phone number. It’s a nice touch if your child is involved in drawing or writing on each of the invitations. Remember to double check time, day and date as it is easy to make a mistake and could result in unplanned multiple parties! See our party timeline for a full overview of what to do by when.

Make a list of all the people you have invited and as they respond tick them of the list.

Birthday Party Food ideas
Party food should be fun but that does not mean that you can’t have food with some nutritional value available. If you do not wish to serve substantial birthday party food , having a mid afternoon or mid morning birthday party is better . If you would like your little birthday party guests to eat a good meal , we have found serving party food as close to a natural meal time encourages little ones to each well. As does having a formal time where children can sit around a Party table and eat.

For more substantial party food - in addition to your traditional party fare , we have found Sausages in a role , Chicken Drumsticks , Mini Hamburgers work well as do fruit skewers and sliced banana . Remember that Birthday parties are not a good time to introduce new foods to children. Serve familiar favourites. See our Birthday Party Food List for other ideas. Going nut free makes it easlier for all children to safely enjoy the party.

Even if you are lucky enough to have someone else help you prepare all or some of the food it is a great idea to have a list of what you want upfront – particularly if you want it in theme.

It is a great idea to have a drink and ideally something light for parents , especially if you are expecting them to stay with their child for the duration of the party. This does not need to be complicated – water / juice and a couple of small club sandwiches can often do the trick.

Party Bags
We have provided some Birthday party bag ideas by child's age here.

Decorating the Party Venue
Keeping the theme in mind the following are great base decoration tolls for your party :

• The Birthday Party Table – this is the focal point for decorating your party – choose a high impact colour table cloth that draws out a key colour on your themed plates /cups/serviettes if you have decided to go with this approach. The food will enhance the colour and excitement – particularly if placed on colourful plastic plates / bowls.
• Balloons – do wonders in creating a Birthday Party atmosphere – you can hire gas cylinders or purchase the Balloons pre- inflated . A Balloon tied on the back of each chair is good for decoration and can double as a key take home Party Treat.
• Home made drawings and Paintings – encouraging your child to paint large posters to hand on the walls of the party venue ( if indoors) can add colour and make them feel extra special / involved . Siblings/ extended family can held with these . These should be done at least a week prior to the big party day
• The key is to not make it too complicated – a well dressed table and balloons can often be more than enough – and given all the other things you have to do on the day you don’t have too much time for decorating...