Party Planning

Party Planning

Planning your child’s next birthday party?  Check out these amazing ideas and suggestions.

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5 Goody Bag Ideas That Won’t Send Kids To The Dentist:
The old fashioned goody bag filled with candy and trinkets is out of style here are 5 ideas for your next party

1. CD mixes – make a cd of the kids’ favorite songs of the year
2. Take home Craft activity – whether it’s a picture frame with their Polaroid or a planted seedling this keeps kids busy and taking home their hard work is rewarding enough
3. Stickers – from the smiley faces to their favorite jungle animals kids love stickers always, all kids.
4. Play dough or silly putty – buy an economy pack of the fun size containers and send each child home with one
5. Nothing! Who needs a goody bag anyways? The candy get thrown out by mom, the toys are fought over and broken quickly. Spending 3 -4 hours with their friends having fun with each other and being entertained is Goody enough for anyone!

Worst Birthday Party Mistakes:

1. Scheduling a toddler party close to naptime – this makes for cranky and bewildered guests of honor
2. Inviting too many adults – They’re chatter is loud and can distract from the entertainment
3. Overload – too much food – too much candy – too many guests all lead to too much hassle
4. Not assessing whether all activities are age appropriate – giving 11 year olds the run of a rented out nightclub can be a real disaster
5. Dragging out the event – everyone, children and parents enjoy birthday parties that are short and sweet, so stick to the rule of something to do, something to see and something to eat (Cake!) and then get the kids back to their regularly scheduled weekend programming. This mean 2 - 2.5 hours is plenty of time.

10 Great Venues For Birthday Parties In NYC:

1. Wild Man Steve Brill – Take kids on a tour of Central Park (or even your local park) and all its exciting, incredible, and EDIBLE foliage. Brill digs into the ground shows the kids how Native Americans used different plants medicinally, picnics with them and then leads them into an instrumental rendition of Happy Birthday! Visit Steve at http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com
2. The Hall of Science in Flushing Meadow Park – The Hall packs 2 hours of excitement into one party. They have different programs according to your child’s age group ranging from science and music to dissecting a cow’s eye. Programming, take home project, and catering are all included for the children only.  http://www.nyscience.org
3. Mars 2112 – For a birthday party that’s really out of this world, take the kids on a spaceship adventure to Mars. The restaurant can cater from 20 to 1000 children so if you’re looking for a real blow-out event this is the one for you! Start the party in a spaceship end the party with a hug from a real live Martian! http://www.Mars2112.com
4. The Art Farm in the City – If you’re already on the birthday party circuit then you’ll know of this NYC Classic. The Art Farm in the city touts itself as NYC’s only indoor petting zoo – they have bunnies and hamsters and lizards and more. Parties start with coloring while they wait for the kids to file in and then progress to some music and dance games, art projects, petting zoo, and then snack/lunch and cake! This is an exciting experience for the kids. http://www.theartfarms.org
5. Manhattan Fencing Center – Children learn all the necessary skills for dragon slaying, villain dueling, and princess saving. The equipment is safe and lightweight. Children will learn, footwork, technique and so much more. Apropriate for ages 6 and up. http://www.manhattanfencing.com
6. Family Disco – Great for all those kids with ants in their pants who want to get their groove on. Family disco offers all sorts of themes from High School Musical to Superheroes. Live DJ spins the tunes, catering, cake, maracas, glow in the dark stuff. Great party for kids and parents alike. http://www.familydisco.com
7. Karma Kids Yoga – clowns, face painting, and magicians take a long relaxing hike while kids learn creative Yoga poses, balance, focus and relaxation. Children play Yoga games that encourage concentration, confidence and teamwork. Top it all off with a fresh apple some pizza and birthday cake and you have a pretty well rounded event that is hassle free! http://www.karmakidsyoga.com
8. Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre – Set in the center of Central Park this quaint little cottage offers puppet shows that will engage your guests and have them engaged in an exciting marionette show that will have children squealing with joy. For more information, call (212) 988-9093.
9. Striking Viking Story Pirates – A troupe of professional actors take a story written by your birthday child and act it out as well as their signature sketch comedy musical. Afterwards kids and actors mingle. Goody bags included, games and dance party extra http://www.storypirates.org
10. Children’s Museum of the Arts – Your budding Monet or rather Pollock will enjoy a day browsing the museum with their friends, a private session with an instructor and top it all off with some food and cake and you have a great hands on art party. Keeping the kids from telling Art rhymes with Fart jokes will not be as simple. http://www.cmany.org

Tips To Save Money On Birthday Parties:

1. Share the expenses – Having a party for two birthday kids instead of one makes it all the more fun for the birthday girl/boy and all the less expensive for the parents.
2. Consider throwing the party at home – Even if you hire a face painter, throwing the party in your home saves you a lot on the otherwise astronomical room rental and venue costs.
3. Hire a local nursery school teacher to MC – Nursery school teachers are great at leading the fun and will often be happy to come for 2 hours and take over the activities for a modest fee.
4. Bake your own cake – That’s right get out the cake mix toss in some eggs bake it and frost it and let the birthday girl/boy decorate it themselves.
5. 99 Cents stores ROCK – You can find everything you need in the 99 cents store.
6. KIDS ONLY invites – Make it clear to parents that your kids want to party without any grownups in the way. This will save you money on catering for adults and will ensure that whatever entertainment is available for the children is giving you top value without competing with adult chatter.
7. No theme birthday party  - Being forced to deal with the latest Dora, Elmo, Diego, Dinosaur obsessions can be costly. Stick to primary colors and just concentrate on the fun.
8. Self Cater – Throwing an economy sized bag of chicken nuggets in your oven can save you a lot on cold and greasy pizza deliveries. Plus the kids will be getting something healthier when you control the food choices.
9. Don’t Cater – Have a party that’s not built around a mealtime, keep the snacks healthy and light and the cake will be the main event
10. Don’t compete – The Jones’s actually don’t really care if your party was more expensive than theirs, in fact they’re hoping that it isn’t because they would hate to have to spend more next year. This is not a competition. In all honesty take this from a professional party planner – throw a bunch of balloons in the room, some music, and your kids will be smiling and remembering that really amazing party where they just got to be together.

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