12 étapes pour organiser un anniversaire d’enfant parfait à la maison (oui, c’est possible et génial)

In this article we will try to cover all aspects for a successful children’s birthday party. Filled with tips and tricks, here are the aspects that will be covered:

• Is the house the ideal place to organize the birthday of your children?
• Choose the party theme
• How many guests for a birthday at home?
• Make the invitation cards
• Think about the decoration of the place
• What entertainment and games to organise?
• Plan several snack breaks throughout the party
• think about drinks
• Provide fun accessories for a memorable photo shoot
• End the party in style with a mini-boom or musical games
• Choose the cake to place in the center of the table
• Goodie bags (or surprise bags)

Is the house the ideal place to organize the birthday of your children?

We are not going to say the opposite: Organizing your children’s birthday at home is an ideal place. There are many reasons for this, we could for example cite:

The cost: No need to rent a venue. A birthday party at home can be less expensive than renting a venue. And above all, no need to hire the services of a caterer or a facilitator. Granted, you’ll have a little work to do, but it’s totally worth it (and will save you some money).

Comfort: Your children are confident and so are their parents! A house party can be cozier and more intimate for the child and the guests.

Control: When you throw a house party, you have more control over the details and especially the birthday theme. We’ll get to that below, but the theme is the centerpiece of the birthday. By organizing the birthday party at your home, you will be able to develop the theme (Pirate, Princess, Astronaut, jungle, llama, etc.) down to the smallest detail and offer great consistency both in the aesthetics of the decoration and that of the games and snacks. Even the music can be contextualized within the theme. This is impossible (at least very difficult) outside.

Convenience: It may be more convenient to host the party at home, as you don’t have to worry about transportation. The parents of the other children probably live near you, know your address. Even in case of delay or if a child has to come home earlier, it is not a problem.

Personal: Organizing the birthday yourself, for example with the personalized printable kits from BirthdayPanda, you offer a unique experience to the children and in particular to yours. By making the decoration yourself, your child will feel valued by your effort and you will get great satisfaction from being a super parent.

Eco-Friendly: You can avoid plastic and all disposable items that are usually unavoidable when having a birthday party outdoors. Here you have control over the table decoration and everything that will end up in the trash. A small gesture for the planet that matters.

Choose the party theme

Here we touch the heart of the party. This is probably the most important point. If you choose a theme that your child does not like, the party is likely to be ruined. Here are our tips for choosing the right theme. You will also find a selection of popular themes for children below.

There are obviously many factors to consider when choosing a theme for a child’s birthday party.

The first is age. It’s obvious, but a 3-year-old child will not have the same expectations as an 8-year-old child. Their worlds are different. So take into account the age of the child and choose an age-appropriate theme.

But how to choose? Ask him the question. Each child is generally quite clear about their desires. If he hesitates, think about his interests, hobbies and passions. Does he/she like space? Animals? Science? Police investigations? The llamas? Unless he is passionate about pirates.

You’ll find plenty of inspiration on Pinterest or by searching Google Images.

Usually the themes that stand out the most are: Superheroes, Princesses, Dinosaurs, Pirates, Unicorns, Jungle, Space, Mermaid and Police! (But don’t limit yourself to this list. Talk about it with your children).

 

How many guests for a birthday at home?

The question of the number of guests is very personal and linked to technical but also cultural questions and varies according to the age of the child.
Did you know that in some cultures (especially Germanic and Nordic) it is common to invite as many children as the age of the birthday party? For example, if a child turns 6, he will invite 6 children.
In other, more Latin cultures (especially in southern countries), it is common to invite all the children in the class.
Of course, it’s up to you to decide according to your own criteria but also according to the size of your house and/or garden. We would like to point out that young children (3 to 6 years old) require more attention and therefore we recommend birthdays with a smaller number of guests (5 to 8 maximum). Especially if you organize games and activities, it can sometimes be difficult to channel the energy of all the little ones.

Make the invitation cards

Here. You have chosen the theme, the number of guests and you need to send an invitation to block the date. Remember to send the invitation between 1 and 2 months in advance. It may seem like a lot, but keep in mind that the probability of another child in the class having a birthday the same week as yours is quite high. If in addition we add the friends of extra-curricular activities (Dance, football, …) the calendar fills up very quickly. So send your invitation as soon as possible.

You can imagine sending a “Save the Date” 2 months before the date, and the invitation card with the theme 4 weeks before. This will serve as the perfect little reminder.

But how to make your invitation cards?
You can buy them ready-made in your local supermarket. There are also websites to make them yourself. Some are free, others are paid. Here is a list of sites:

GreetingIsland.com
One of the best known sites on the web. Personalize and buy your card in just a few clicks. The cards cost around 7 Euros.
Link here

BirthdayPanda.fr:
A nice selection of invitation cards that you can personalize online. And they are all free and in French.
Link here

The site also offers more advanced complete kits (decor, games, music, invitations). In this case, the invitation cards even include a small text that launches the enigma of the birthday in the chosen theme.

Canva.com
The famous online tool also allows you to make online invitations.
Link here

Etsy.com
Pick a design, pay, and you’ll receive a link by email to personalize your card. There are many models available at fairly variable prices (usually between 5 and 10 euros).
Link here

Should I print them or send them by email? Some prefer the paper version, others the ease of digital. Generally, each of the sites proposed above will offer you the 2 possibilities.

If you decide to print them, get enough thick paper (for example 160gr or more) and print the number of copies required.
If you decide to send the invitations by Whatsapp, the JPG version of the invitation card will be perfect.

 

Think about the decoration of the place

At this stage, you have already defined the theme of the birthday (since you sent the invitation card) a few weeks ago.
Decorating your house requires a few materials to build the universe chosen by your child: Garland, Balloons, Posters, table decoration…

It’s not easy to stay on theme with consistency. But here are our tips and ideas:

Room decoration:

All ready:
Of course, you can buy decorative elements in a supermarket. You will also find an almost endless supply of banners, balloons and masks on Amazon.fr (yes, children love selfies. We will come back to this a little later).

To build yourself:
Magnificent. You have decided not to buy ready-made plastic things and start building the decoration yourself. Your printer is ready and your scissors are sharp. The essential starting point is to go to Pinterest.fr and launch a search. You will find your happiness there because the quantity of inspiration is almost unlimited. Some Pinterest images refer you to files to download and print yourself. Some are free, others are paid. It will take some patience and research to develop your theme decoration. You will need knowledge of Photoshop or Illustrator to process the files and customize them. But what pride at the end 🙂

A model to print at home.
There are ready-made print-at-home kits. Personalized with your child’s first name, everything is included for the decoration of the room. Just choose the theme (llama, pirate, princess, …) insert the age and first name of the child and you will receive a PDF file to print. You will also need sharp scissors and a little patience (about 2 hours of cutting and gluing in the piece) to obtain an impeccable result. There are various websites offering this type of product, such as www.birthdaypanda.fr (section “birthday kits”). They cost less than 10 euros.

Table decoration:
Just like the decoration of the room, you will find the same three options for decorating your table. Ready-made items available in supermarkets or on Amazon (or specialist shops), the possibility of making them yourself (appointment on Pinterest) or even using personalized all-in-one kits (like those at www.birthdaypanda.fr) .

Remember to decline all the table decoration on the same theme (And if possible with the same images) by using them on cups, bottles, straws, personalized cupcakes and even small personalized signs with the name of each child (ok ok ok , we push a little far. Whatever..)

Cake decoration:

• All ready:
  This is obviously the birthday cake that will attract all eyes. Take a look on Pinterest for inspiration
  . You can order the cake from a pastry chef. Made of sugar paste, it will have to take up the theme of the birthday party for a guaranteed wow effect.
• Homemade and personalized:
  Sugar paste cakes are very beautiful, but let’s be honest: they are not as good as mom’s, or dad’s (or grandma’s) cakes. Or even as good as a simple chocolate cake available everywhere. And besides, they are very expensive.

Thus, we advise you to take or make a cake and decorate it in the universe of the birthday. You can thus bring together the best of both worlds: A delicious cake, economical and decorated with a whaooo effect.

Here are some tips for decorating your cake:

• Top the cake with fun candies, like sprinkles, M&Ms or gummy bears.
• Use figurines or plastic toys to create a scene on the cake. (Take Playmobils, Legos, etc.)
• Decorate the cake with printed elements that fit on a toothpick. (Banners, characters, shapes, etc.) that exactly match the decorative elements of your table and your room.

It is obviously the third variant that we prefer. Because your cake will not only be economical and simple but also perfectly integrated into the theme of the decoration. The simplest cake in the world will make a huge impact if it is well decorated.

You will find plenty of printables on Pinterest and Etsy . If you have opted for a complete Kit on BirthdayPanda, the cake decoration to be printed is included. Here are some examples:

What entertainment and games to organise?

It is at this stage that parents usually start to stress. How to occupy the children for 2 to 3 hours? Easy, you have to think of treasure hunt type activities. Ideally, all activities are interconnected in a story in which your child and his friends are the heroes.

Depending on the age of the children, the games will have to be considered differently. If you have a garden, this also opens up the possibility of other types of more physical activities. Here are some game ideas you can host:

Classic Games: Classic game ideas abound. Do a search on google with these terms: “Musical chairs”, “Hide-and-seek”, “Jaques à dit”, “The hot potato”, “The button game”, “Skipping rope games”, the unmissable “1-2-3 sun” and “The cat and the mouse”.

Outdoor games: If you have a garden or a park nearby, here are some ideas: “treasure hunt”, “The game of the beret”, “The game of buckets”, “The race with balloons of balloon” and other “races and relays”.

Google is full of results for each of its games. Do your research and organize the games according to your desires.

Alternatively, search the internet for “treasure hunt” type activity kits. There are many games to download, all ready to print. If you have opted for a Birthday Panda kit, all activities and games are already included in the kits.

Crafts and activities: Activities such as coloring are among the favorite activities of small children (3 to 5 years old). You can also consider a painting or jewelry workshop. Remember to link these activities well in the theme of the birthday. For example, color unicorns if you chose that theme, or make pirate hats if that’s the theme.

Piñata: The pinata has established itself in recent years as a must. You can find ready-made ones in specialized stores, on Amazon and sometimes even in some hypermarkets.

Plan several snack breaks throughout the party

A birthday at home usually lasts 2 to 3 hours. Keeping a good timing is essential to preserve yourself and to maintain a good atmosphere. Over the years we have noticed that it is more effective to balance the activities and taste them rather than separating the activities into blocks.

So when the kids come to the birthday party, let them play freely for some time. They will be happy to meet again and express their natural creativity. It is not necessary to offer them a snack or snack right away. Let them arrive and get comfortable. Generally, you can let them play their games freely for about thirty minutes. Intervene only if you feel children are being left out or if tensions are building or excitement is making it difficult to channel.

After 30min, it’s time to launch the first activity and introduce the theme.
Plan a snack break every two games/activities. This will provide rhythm to your organization and allow you to last two to three hours without problem.

think about drinks

On the main table, leave self-service drinks available. It is certain that the children will mix up their glasses and will no longer know which one belongs to them. For this, there is a very simple, practical and aesthetic technique.

Provide white (or neutral) cups and print banners on A4 pages with elements of the theme that you will cut out and stick on the cups. On your design, add a white circle on which you will mark with a pen the first name of each child. Thus, they will no longer mix. If the children cannot read, differentiate each glass with a different character or color, so that they can easily spot them.

You can use the same technique on small PET water bottles.

Preferably offer them water (there will be plenty of other sweet items on the table) or apple juice diluted 50% with water. It’s better for their health and they’ll love the taste.

 

Provide fun accessories for a memorable photo shoot

Everyone loves photo shoots and our little darlings do too. In addition, it will give you excellent memories and excellent photos to share with other parents.

The secret to a successful birthday selfie session lies in the preparation of the accessories. The accessories must obviously be in the theme of the birthday. Print masks, giant paper glasses, printed props, colorful balloons, and anything else that goes with the theme.

If they are superheroes, plan 4 or 5 models of superhero masks. If they are pirates, plan printed swords, eye patches, hooks. If you have chosen the flamingo theme, print elements reminiscent of summer and the beach.

Where to find accessories for selfies? Amazon will offer a large quantity of cardboard/paper masks in different themes. Birthday stores too, but you can easily find printables using Pinterest. Many graphic designers around the world have made their creation available for free. If you have an account at www.freepik.com or AdobeStock, you’ll find a number of resources as well.

Some BirthdayPanda themes offer printable selfie props in the all-in-one birthday kit.

End the party in style with a mini-boom or musical games

Do you have time left? The children are still full of energy. It’s time to pull out your magic card and organize a musical game. If you feel the kids want to dance (which isn’t always the case), go for a boom! If you don’t feel like it, have a game of musical chairs or musical statues.

The musical chair:
The principle of the game is to be the last to sit on the last chair available, according to a game of elimination. Indeed, during the game the parent will ask the children to turn around several chairs, and to quickly find a seat when the music is put on “Pause”. Whoever cannot find a chair to sit on is out of the game. On each turn, remove a chair until you get to a single chair.

The musical statues:
The rule is simple and the atmosphere assured: Tell the children that they must move when the music sings and as soon as it stops, they must remain motionless like statues. If a child moves after the music stops, they are eliminated. Continue to the winner. Go fast to play multiple rounds and keep up the pace.

Choose the cake to place in the center of the table

Refer to point #5 to decorate the cake and ensure the wow effect.

Goodie bags (or surprise bags)

Take them seriously. It seems that some children only go to birthday parties to receive their little surprise bag at the end.
The bags or surprise bags are a gift that children receive at the end of a birthday. Usually in the form of a paper or cardboard bag, you will put several small objects in it that will please you. These small objects can be food (candy, lollipops), small toys, or a mix of both. Depending on your budget and the number of children, adapt their content. Ideally, this little bag is personalized in the theme of the birthday. To do this, take a neutral know (for example white) and print a banner or elements of the theme to stick on it. Remember to write a « thank you » and remember your child’s name and age.