How to Host a Kid Birthday Party and Still Have Fun

For a full six months before her seventh birthday, my middle kid was planning her party. She had a running list of guests. She had activities. And themes. Her expectations were really, really high. And she talked about them constantly. Ramona Quimby–style, she started inviting people to her party months in advance. And she wanted to invite everyone.

This…stressed me out, to put it mildly. Planning a kid birthday party is not yet an area in which I’ve learned to have much fun. But she was not at all interested in my suggestion that we do something special with one or two friends. She wanted to be with all her people. (And some of her people had already been invited!)

My next attempt to wriggle out of it involved trying to outsource. We have a lot of local places that do a great kid birthday party. But they all cost a lot more than I wanted to spend. It was looking like my best option was to have a whole bunch of first graders over to my house. And entertain them. For like two whole hours. As I braced for impact, I realized something: I don’t have to do this alone.

Enter the Big Kids

My family has had the great blessing of being part of a small group of families for nearly 16 years. What began as a gathering of the only young married couples at a church (and one pastor and his wife who were a few decades older) has grown into deep friendships. We’ve welcomed babies, moved, walked through job changes and challenges together. We’ve eaten a lot of cake. (One of the group members is a fabulous cake baker. Yes, I outsourced the birthday cake to her!) And some of the babies I was too scared to hold over a decade ago are now lovely teens and preteens.

These girls are like older, cooler cousins to my kids. And they are a lot of fun. When I asked if they would come help out at my daughter’s party, they jumped at the opportunity. Suddenly, the ratio of authority figure to first grader was a lot lower. And the party felt a lot more manageable.

Keep It Simple

With the “who” more under control, I then needed to plan the “what.” My daughter REALLY wanted to play games—games like tag. She had a whole list of game ideas, many of which I’d never heard of. She assured me that her friends already knew most of them. Those that weren’t as well-known among the seven-year-old set, she would teach to our teen helpers so the could lead. And she wanted to have a dance party.

This seemed so basic as to almost be boring, but I went with it. No supplies to buy? Great! No glitter getting introduced to my home? Even better.

I also made sure party favors were simple. I know I’m not alone in finding the goody bag full of tchotchkes annoying. (Ok, the bag is fine. It’s when the tchotchkes are broken and spread throughout my house that it’s annoying.) I wanted to keep party favors fun but also useful. We went with these jump ropes. I ordered a variety of colors, plopped them in a basket, and let each guest choose one as the party was winding down. They let our friends burn off a little energy after cake and ice cream. And I hope they continued to be a source of fun at home!

Trust the Big Kids

I had my teen helpers come a little early to go over setup and schedule. I made sure they understood the basics of the games my daughter wanted to play. We reviewed the time markers I was hoping to hit to make sure we weren’t cutting cake as parents were pulling up. And then I let them know that I was trusting them to run with it!

As the party got underway, I introduced our teen helpers to the guests. We referred to them as “camp counselors” and made sure everyone knew they were in charge. And they did an awesome job! They explained games, made sure everyone felt included, and kept us on track.

While they led games outside, I was able to duck back inside and set up food. Dishing up chicken nuggets, fruit, and Cheetos ahead of time really helped keep chaos to a minimum. I definitely wouldn’t have had time to do this if I had been in charge of games too!

Trust the Birthday Kid

I had never even heard of some of the games my daughter wanted to play. (Turns out that a lot of them were from Bluey.) But she was insistent, so I went with it. It was her birthday, after all! I was nervous on her behalf that her planned itinerary of games outside, a dance party, and making friendship bracelets would be boring.

I was wrong. Turns out that seven-year-olds have a pretty good handle on what other seven-year-olds like to do. Every game and activity was met with enthusiastic cheers. Most of the kids knew the games. Those that didn’t were excited to learn. Everyone had a great time.

Before I knew it, two hours had flown by. We’d done everything we’d planned to do and even needed to send some of the bracelet supplies home so friends could finish. My kid had a great time. And I had fun too! I loved seeing my daughter’s friends excited to celebrate her. I loved the full circle of having the teens whose little-kid parties I’d attended help at my own kid’s party. I loved that I didn’t have to spend a fortune at a party place. And I loved knowing that I’d figured out how to take the stress out of doing it again next year.

How do you feel about kid birthday parties? Do you have any hacks to make them easier? Let me know in the comments!