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The Perfect Birthday Party

When did planning a kids' birthday party become such an awesome task? I remember growing up celebrating a birthday with a couple close friends, a cake and a song. But, today, parents have overwhelming options including gargantuan inflatable jumping contraptions, elaborate gymnastics, baseball and soccer parties, endless options for theme parties, live ponies and magicians.

It's just a kid's birthday party, everyone assures me, but it's not just a party - it's my child's birthday party and it has to be fun-filled, action-packed, once in a lifetime, never to be forgotten. In other words…perfect!

I have a seven year-old boy and a five year-old girl, so on twelve separate occasions, I have obsessively filled and refilled, counted and recounted goody bags, fretted over the contents of piñatas, pestered bakery personnel over birthday cakes, purchased elaborate balloon-blowing machines, panicked over clever invitations and snapped at family members for no reason except that I had buckled under the crippling weight of 'birthday party stress'. From trial and error and a near stomach ulcer, I have gathered some tips on how to plan a fun, simple child's birthday party…and enjoy it:

• Book Early - The popular birthday party places get booked fast, so give your racing heart a break, pick a date and book your place as early as you can (as much as three months early to ensure the best day and time). Once that big decision is out of the way, you can worry about other things.
• The Cake - Sure you can go to a grocery store and order a cake, but if you're obsessive like me and don't trust them to have it ready at the right time or to spell your child's name correctly, I suggest grabbing a boxed cake mix and baking it yourself. Add some food coloring to store-bought white icing and decorate it with toys around the house and leftover Halloween candy. I once made a bundt cake, arranged the halves to resemble a snake, added googly eyes and M&Ms and jellybeans. Another time, I colored the icing green and added a pair of toy goal nets and a couple uniformed figures for a homemade soccer scene.
• Balloons - Instead of renting a monster balloon-making machine that apparently requires an MBA degree to operate, simply assign a friend or family member to pick up pre-blown balloons and bring them to the party. In our family, the kids' grandparents are the official 'Balloon-go-getters'.
• Goody bags - Does this sound familiar: countless trips to party stores and mega bucks spent on trinkets (i.e. junk) for goody bags? Try picking one item that most kids will enjoy and offering that to your guests. At our soccer party, we've given each guest a mini-soccer ball; at our snake party, we gave them a container full of plastic critters; at our flower-themed party, we painted the kids' names on flower pots, let them fill it with dirt and a flower and that became their take home gift. Buy extras - sometimes friends who said they couldn't come show up, along with their siblings.
• Drinks - Forget about juice boxes and sodas - you will never guess the correct flavors and someone will always feel cheated. Buy those mini bottles of water for everyone.

So, keep it simple, relax and enjoy your perfect party!