Hosting a birthday party at home does not need to be stressful. Find out how you can have a fun, successful party for your birthday child by following my top tips to hosting a birthday party at home.
How Many People Should I Invite?
Our daughter was turning 5 when we held our first children’s birthday party at home.
We looked at what downstairs space we had (we ruled out the back garden as it was a winter birthday and far too cold and wet to be outside in pretty clothes). Then, we added on one adult per child as at this age, most parents will stay with their child, and set a limit to the number of friends.
We live in a 3-bed property with a through lounge-diner and so with that amount of room, we picked six friends plus our two girls and on the invitations asked that only one parent attend due to space. Every parent stayed as we’d expected and we had a good amount of space for parents to be watching or involved.
How Do I Invite Children Whose Parents I Don’t Know?
For children’s parents who I didn’t have contact details for, I sent paper invitations in named envelopes into school and hoped the teacher would give them out for us, which she did. Inside it asked the parents to contact me to RSVP which they all did. For the parents who I did have a phone number for, I Whatsapped them a digital version of the invitation which I’d made in Canva.
This was our first proper birthday party for one of our children. I had thought in Reception our daughter would be invited to loads of class parties by the time it got her birthday and so I’d know lots of parents but that wasn’t the case and so we didn’t know all the contact details of the parents of the children she wanted to invite from her class.
I did have some contact details as when she wrote Christmas cards for the children in her class, I had asked her who she’d like to have a playdate with over the Christmas holidays. I’d, then, printed out a little note for each of her friends asking their parents to contact me if they were free at any point and popped that into the cards. We waited on tenterhooks to see who replied and thankfully all of the mums did at some point over the holiday.
Anyone who I had the phone number for, I Whatsapped a photo of the invite made in Canva over to them and it just saved paper and ink.
How Much Food Should I Buy?
We planned the birthday party to be 10am-12pm on a Sunday morning. The reasoning behind this was that it wouldn’t use up the whole day for anyone and meant that we did not need to provide a full meal.
Instead, we provided a snack table. We made biscuit platters with chocolate digestives, chocolate fingers, bourbons, pink wafers and Jammie Dodgers. There was also a fruit platter with strawberries, apples and bananas. Plus some cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes.
We had mini pizzas from Aldi as a back up in case anyone seemed particularly hungry but we didn’t end up cooking them as everyone would have been going home for lunch anyway.
Parents were offered hot or fizzy drinks and children were offered squash or water.
The snack table was ‘open’ all through the party but we did stop as a group to have a snack time at about 11.30am and sat on a picnic blanket in the lounge and had whatever they liked from the table and then sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to the birthday girl.
What Party Bags Should I Make?
I bought a multi-pack of white paper bags from Amazon a couple of years ago and still had some left over. My daughter wrote each guest’s name on the bags in felt pen and then we printed off some pictures of Disney princesses and stuck one on each bag to go along with our princess party theme.
For the contents, we included:
- a small pre-loved Disney princess book (from a previous year’s book advent calendar from the Works)
- a handful of note cards tied up with ribbon (I bought a couple of colourful packs of note cards from The Range and split the packs so the girls had a mixture of colours). I love that they may have used the cards to practise their writing at home.
- Some chocolate coins leftover from Christmas
- Some sparkly stickers
- Some crayons and a pencil from a multi-pack
- A packet of chocolate fingers
We decorated cupcakes which they ate at the party or took home, and they were also given a slice of birthday cake to take with them.
What Games and Activities Can We Play?
I created an itinerary to make sure we kind of kept to the plan so we could fit as many of our planned activities in. The theme of our party was ‘Princesses’ so I ran with that theme of used Pinterest and Google to get ideas for activities and games.
Fashion show: The girls were invited to dress up in princess or sparkly clothes and when they arrived they were asked whether they’d like to do a fashion show. My daughter loves to do fashion shows usually but got shy at this point and only a couple of girls joined in, which was completely fine as they wouldn’t have met some of the other children’s parents before but it was a nice way to start the party while others were arriving.
Make Mirrors: This was an activity from Baker Ross where the mirror looks like the mirror Snow White uses. The girls got to decorate it with gems. The downside to this is I’m sure they went straight in the bin after the party as the mirrors weren’t actually clear enough to see in.
Make Princesses: Another activity from Baker Ross. Before the party, I sorted out the princesses and their accessories into small food bags and was able to just give a bag out to each child rather than sitting there at the party separating them as all the parts came on sheets together. The magnet didn’t seem to stick on some of them so again it was a nice activity to do at the time but it would have ended up in the bin straight after the party.
Pin The Crown On The Princess: This was a great purchase from Amazon. It came with an eye mask and crown stickers which you could write the girls’ names on. They really enjoyed this and all came very close to putting the crown in the right place.
Disco: I had made a “clean” playlist on Youtube with my daughter of songs she likes to dance to and so we picked some of those songs and the children had a bit of a dance in our living room. This then turned into Sleeping Princesses which was so hard to judge but everyone who got out got a chocolate anyway.
Sleeping Princesses: A version of Musical Statues where the girls were dancing and once the music stopped, they lay down and tried to stay still.
Decorate Cupcakes: I decided to save preparation time with this and bought pre-made fairy cakes from the supermarket. I usually would make my own fairy cakes but time was not my friend that week plus I hurt my back and was in agony for several days so making cakes was not at the top of my agenda. It turned out that cakes with a little blob of icing on were cheaper than completely plain cupcakes – I have no idea why! I made some icing from icing sugar, water and food colouring. Before the party I had sieved some icing sugar into ramekin bowls and then while the children were playing, I quickly made it up into icing. We did this activity on a mat on the floor and the children could choose which colour icing they wanted and which sprinkles too. Some just enjoyed decorating them and didn’t eat them, whereas others enjoyed it all.
Free Play: My daughter had put away any toys she didn’t want her frinds to play with so they were invited to play with the toys that were out downstairs or in the girls’ bedrooms. Apparently they all ended up climbing into our 2-year-old’s cot together (8 of them!) It gave everyone a bit of a breather and the adults got to have a chat and the children could have some independent play.
Musical Bumps: Play music so the children are dancing and when it stops, they have to sit down quickly. The slowest child is out. (We didnt’ end up playing this one as we felt Sleeping Princesses was enough at this point.)
Make Bracelets: A few months ago, we found a box of lovely little plastic beads and some coloured string in a charity shop so I sorted little packs out for the girls and gave one each out to them to avoid arguments as there were limited unicorn beads. They then made a bracelet each and got an adult to help with the tying. I had found a video on Youtube which showed how to make a sliding knot but most just tied the bracelets off with a double knot.
Picnic: Snack Time was on a mat on the floor as everyone could fit on because we didn’t have enough small chairs for everyone. We had biscuits, chocolates and fruit available.
Birthday Candles: While everyone was on the mat, it was the perfect time to do the birthday candles and sing happy birthday.
Party Bags: These were given out by my daughter at the end of the party so she was able to properly say thank you to her friends for coming and wave them goodbye.
I didn’t put times on my itinerary, it was really just a list of activities I’d prepared and I just went with the flow of what the girls wanted to do.
Other ideas:
- Scavenger hunt – dependent on your house and garden plus weather conditions but this could be fun. Print out something related to your party theme so dinosaurs for a dino party and hide them around the house for the kids to find.
- Bouncy castle in the garden
- Glitter tattoos
- Biscuit decorating
- For older kids: watch a film
- Make your own icecream sundae
- Chocolate fondue
- Paint Your Own sets from Hobbycraft – ask guests to bring old clothes and put a big waterproof mat over the floor and table where they’ll be painting.
- Pinata
- Bubbles
What Decorations Should We Have?
Balloon Displays: The week before the party, I kept my eye out on Facebook Marketplace and on local free groups for anyone giving already inflated party balloons away. We managed to get some that said Happy Birthday’. In the past, we’ve had a whole balloon arch which in all honestly was far too large. Once we’d made use of it, we gifted it onto another family as it was still perfectly usable.
We also put little homemade signs upstairs saying where the bathroom was and where the girls’ bedroom was.
Balloons: We had a handful of balloons on string outside the front door but make sure they are attached well because ours blew down and we found them a week later. I am not a massive fan of balloons and really can’t stand balloon releases because of the damage they do through littering and damaging animals’ habitats so I was mortified when the balloons disappeared. I’m glad we found them though as they went straight in the bin and I know they aren’t littering our neighbourhood.
Bunting: We also put up some homemade and shop-bought bunting that has been used several times over the years. Every birthday, they come out, get put up and then put back into a storage for the next birthday. It’s just one of the ways, we are trying to save the planet.
Photos of the Birthday Child: I love doing this before a party as it’s lovely to see their baby photos and photos from the past year again and share them with the guests as a talking point.
How Did We Cater For Different Children At The Party?
My daughter doesn’t enjoy lots of people around all in one go so having a small party in a familiar location really worked for her. She loved being involved in the planning of the party and getting herself and the house and party bags ready.
We had a colouring station to one side with a selection of colouring books and pens which anyone could access at any point for a bit of quieter time or for if they didn’t wish to take part in a certain activity.
We only had a couple of games with winners: ‘Pin the Crown on the Princess’ and ‘Musical Statues’. We avoided ‘Pass The Parcel’ because I just know some would be upset to not get a prize. We also gave a prize of a chocolate coin to those who joined in the games whether they won or lost.
We had non-edible prizes available too for those who didn’t want a chocolate prize.
The children were invited to dress up as princesses but it was optional in case anyone wasn’t feeling like dressing that way that day.
We had activities which the children could complete with their parents to take home such as bracelet making, cupcake decorating and they decorated a princess magnet too. This meant the party wasn’t too competitive and was more about my daughter spending time with her friends outside of school.
What are the Pros and Cons of Hosting a Children’s Birthday Party at Home?
Pros: It saves money and can be more relaxed. Cons: Cleaning time, pressure to be perfect.
Pros
It saves a lot of money. We didn’t have to pay for a venue, entertainer or bouncy castle (obviously you could have an entertainer or bouncy castle at home but the entertainer we wanted wasn’t available and we don’t have the space for a bouncy castle.)
It was very relaxed. At one point, we had a little break and all the girls went and played in my daughters’ room. It was a nice break for the kids and adults and then we carried on with the planned activities.
It was easier to talk to the other parents and get to know them than if we’d have been at a soft play following our kids round or sat at different tables.
Cons
It took a long time to declutter, clean and tidy our lounge and any areas we thought guests would go into. We usually have lots of toys out in the lounge so lots of them were hidden away in upstairs bedrooms so we had enough space to play the games.
I felt a lot of pressure to make this the perfect party though I expect if we booked a venue, I’d also have felt the same.
My Top Tips for Hosting a Children’s Birthday Party at Home
Plan lots of activities but don’t expect them all to be completed. Any spare activities can be popped into party bags for children to do at home.
Provide some snacks.
Have a bag of small chocolates or sweet packets as prizes.
Don’t make it competitive.
Plan some quieter activities in amongst the louder ones.
Involve the Birthday Child in the preparation, especially party bags. (My daughter loved this!)
Themed Party Ideas For Kids
- Superheroes
- Dinosaurs
- Princes and Princesses
- Favourite colour
- Trucks and Diggers
- The Outdoors
- Swimming
- Football
- Dance
- Their Favourite TV show
- Soft Toy
- Circus
- Mermaids
- Disney Princesses
- Pamper
- Adventure
Great Names For The Party
- 1: Onesie Wonderland, Tiny Tutus and Tiaras, Little Sprout Soiree, One in a Melon, Wild One Safari, Fun to Bee One, ONE-ce Upon A Time, Alice in ONE-derland,
- 2: Two-tti Fruity Fiesta, Terrific Twos Circus, Two Sweet, Two The Moon And Back, Two Fast, Two Wild, Tutu Cute
- 3: Three Cheers for Three Years, Three-Rex,
- 4: Four-Ever Friends Fiesta, Fantastic Four Superheroes, Four The Love of Pirates, Roar Four – Dinosaur Party, Four-Ever WIld
- 5: Hi Five Fiesta
- 6: Six-cessful Science Soiree, Six-tacular Sports Spectacular,
- 7: Seven Wonders of the World, Seven Seas Adventure
Whatever you decide to do, we hope you have a wonderful celebration!
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