Surviving Children’s Birthday Parties

In an era where throwing children’s parties seem to have grown out of all proportion, reduce your stress level with a few handy pointers:

  • Keep it in perspective – yes you want to celebrate your child and ensure they have a great time, but you also don’t want them to develop unrealistic expectations about what a birthday actually is
  • Set a budget – let your child know that the sky isn’t the limit by helping you to prioritise what is needed and what isn’t
  • Have a game plan – Play, food, opening presents, games is a good sequence for a 2-3 hour party
  • Balance the goodies – Parties don’t have to be equated with junk food. Yes, you can offer treats but do they all need to be of the glow-in-the-dark, sugar-coated variety? Small muffins, popcorn, cordial instead of fizz, plain chocolate – you can peel it back without sacrificing the ‘treats’ element
  • Bring in back-up – Friends or family that are willing to help out means that there are eyes on all children (excited, sugar-fuelled children have a tendency to wander)
  • Set clear pick-up times – A loose ‘around 5pm’ could be interpreted as any time before 6, so be exact about times during drop-off

Provided by Maria O’Dwyer ABC Start Right