Once the guest list, venue and activities are in place I need to get into the details. Lots of little little things we need to see

4. The theme. Now we decide on the theme for the party. What’s my baby’s favourite character. What does she like. What’s in sync with the venue. Like last time we had the party at a dance and gymnastics center. So the theme was gymnastics. The invites, decor etc every thing was around that. Some people even co ordinate the food!! I don’t go to that extent…. but the rest of it… yes.

Themed decor for the Winnie the Pooh party (P’s 4th birthday)

Themed headbands and Khoi bags for caterpillar and butterfly party (P’s 3rd birthday)

5. The invites and return gifts. Once the main things of the party are decided I go on to designing the invites. I love making the invites myself also, so either it’s something crafty or I design it graphically myself. People have moved on from physical invitations to WhatsApp invitations. So now it’s about creating the perfect image. Even return gifts need to be thought about. Considering the age groups of children I need to see who will enjoy what. I broadly categorise them and get 2-3 categories of gifts based on age group. I really give a lot of thought into it because I hate giving junk just because it fits in my budget. (I’ve given personalised cushions, gardening kits with a small planter and seeds, science experiment kit, books etc). Frankly I found personalising gifts pretty useless. Sometimes people don’t turn up and then you’re left with gifts you can’t give to anyone else also. Then you’re running around trying to give the gifts and then those people give you a gift because you gave them one and it gets too complicated. The return gift tags and the wrapping paper are co ordinated with the theme.

The return gifts we’re home gardening kit with planters and tools. Made thank you tags for the Winnie the Pooh theme.

6. The food. Food is something which gets a bit complicated. Because there are so many ages of people eating it’s tough to decide. The little ones don’t eat too many things, the older ones still have a wider range of things you can choose from and for the adults you need to give something filling. Coz no one usually eats dinner or lunch after they go back from a party. Pizza , pasta, French fries and smileys are staple food for parties of these kids. And yes Noodles! After you choose 2-3 of these you need to have like 1 main course item like chole bhature or Pav Bhaji or something so that the adults can enjoy the meals.

7. The Cake! That’s one thing which depends on what you’re looking for. From experience I have seen that the fancy ones are not that tasty and the tasty ones are not all that fancy. By fancy I mean a cake that’s done for your theme. Although now a days we do have many bakers who do a pretty good job so that the taste and beauty, both are there. But let’s face it…. they are expensive. So if you’re willing to spend a bomb on the cake only you can go for them.

The beautiful themed cake for the Pooh party

After all these considerations, you also need to see if it all fits in your budget. Sometimes we go overboard and in the end everything becomes a hotch potch. No one enjoys the party and you land up spending too much money. (Never happened to me though 😃) Always remember that celebrating your child’s birthday is about celebrating your child. Celebrating each birthday is like crossing another milestone. Have fun but keep it simple and something you can handle. And if you can’t do it yourself, ask for help! You will be surprised on how much people around you will help you.

And of course if you can’t have a party there is nothing to fret. Having a party is for our satisfaction. Not the child’s. They are happy with spending their birthday with family and a few selected friends. Have it small but make it special. Play good old party games at homes or take the friends to a play area. Birthday parties have become big business now a days. I will admit even I cashed in on that 😉. It’s nice that people want to celebrate. But it’s become a social status thingie. My party is bigger, my return gifts are better, I got a better party planner etc etc. In the end it boils down to….”my party is better than yours!”. The child gives a damn.