Birthday parties can quickly become an overwhelming task to manage when you start putting together themes and multiple elements to make it extra special for the guest of honor.
When you have family traditions that you want to implement or intricate details you want to include in the decor – your time preparing can stack up and become all consuming if you let it.
Granted, there are some people who thrive off of that kind of planning and preparing, Â while others want the results but with a little bit of help getting it done – so why not make it a family affair?
I recently came across a friend’s party, thrown in her son’s honor. They were doing it at a beach house, away from home because the extended family was meeting up for their annual get together which happened to fall close to the first birthday of the newest addition to the clan. So, the family took the opportunity to celebrate together since they all live away from one another and normally wouldn’t have this chance.
The theme was nautical to go with the beach vacation they were on, and the decorations were simply colored sailboats, origami sailboats as well as napkins with life preservers – all created by the birthday boy’s cousins.
They threw a net down and some seashells complete with the birthday boy’s name and voila! it was a fantastic tablescape.
The best part of this gathering was the fact that the cousins all contributed to the decorations. As you can see, the table scape just seemed complete with the obvious artwork of children included AND as a bonus, it alleviated the party planner’s (i.e. birthday boy’s mama) workload.
The rest of the family pitched in on the other party preparations of food and picking up local bakery cupcakes that fit the theme, but you could easily make cupcakes as a part of the family preparations if you were not on travel.
If this were an older child’s birthday, you could have game stations set up by older siblings and prize bags filled by elementary age kids.
By including all members of the family in the preparation, you alleviate the stress level of the day while making memories as a family. This doesn’t mean you have to give up the creative element of a theme.
As seen you can see by the pictures here, with advance planning as to what you think would make a fantastic handmade decoration to include with the other decor items you plan, you can find the perfect balance of made-by-kids and the store bought themed items so they will blend together seamlessly.
A final thought on this concept is the idea that this could become a family tradition where the whole family gets involved in the preparations for the birthday parties of their siblings or cousins in the case mentioned above. It allows for additional bonding and makes it even more special for the guest of honor.
In addition to that, it teaches each person to think of one another in a very thoughtful way. Personally, it’s something I plan to infuse in our household at the next birthday celebration.
What do you think about involving the family in birthday party plans and preparations?
Images: article author
Pingback: Birthdays on Travel: How to Make it Work | Smart Mom Style