Here are tips on how to successfully organize themed kiddie parties at home.
We used to celebrate the birthdays of our two little boys at home because of the community restrictions at that time. We would have wanted a grander party, especially for Rafa during his first birthday, but big celebrations were not allowed back then.
|
| Rafa's dinosaur-themed first birthday party |
How to Organize a Themed Kiddie Birthday Party at Home
Opting for a birthday party at home
So, what did we do? We just organized two themed birthday parties at home. It had its advantages and disadvantages, of course.
|
| Balloons that we inflated manually |
The biggest advantage will be the cost. If you want to keep costs down, you
can just opt to celebrate at home because you would not be paying for the
venue. Moreover, you can just limit your guests (or not invite guests at all),
which is recommended these days for safety reasons.
The obvious disadvantage of do-it-yourself (DIY) parties is that it’s
physically tiring because you have to do everything yourself, from
cleaning the house, preparing food or placing orders, decorating, and cleaning
up after the party.
We particularly experienced having numb hands when we had to inflate close to
100 balloons during our younger boy’s birthday.
In the end though, despite being tired, we completely enjoyed organizing the
birthday parties of our two sons at home.
5 easy steps in organizing a themed birthday party at home
While organizing a home birthday party may sound simple for some people,
others can get overwhelmed with all the preparations that they have to think
about.
Don’t worry though, because you can simplify things. In fact, you can just
break down the process of organizing into 5 easy steps.
1. Set a budget
The most important thing to remember when organizing a birthday party at home
is to set the budget. You can start by listing the things that you want in
your birthday parties such as a theme, the decor, the food that you want to
serve, and the number of people that you want to invite.
|
| Miguel's construction-themed third birthday party |
You can come up with an estimate on each of these areas, then total it for
your working budget. From there, you can subtract the items that you feel are
unnecessary to keep the cost down. Alternatively, you can also add more items
if you feel that your budget can still accommodate additional expenses.
If your goal is to keep costs at a minimum, you can already set a budget in
the beginning and then work from there.
2. Make a guest list
After setting the budget, you can already make a guest list. Since we are
currently in a pandemic, I suggest limiting the guests to the people who are
with you at home. In our case, we just invited our son’s small cousin to his
birthday.
For some families, I've heard about holding virtual parties at home using
either Zoom or MS Teams.
3. Think of a theme
Home birthday celebrations need not be boring. You can make it lively and
colorful by coming up with a theme. For our eldest son, we have a construction
themed party and for our youngest, it was a dinosaur themed party.
Not sure where to begin? You can use a themed cake, themed balloons, themed
giveaways (optional, especially if you do not have guests), and a tarpaulin
(only for our youngest son).
Speaking of giveaways, we had loot bags but we planned on just sending these
over to our sons’ cousins.
4. Order decors in advance
If you do decide to decorate your home for your party, you would most probably
be just ordering online. Save yourself the hassle and the headache of late
order arrivals by purchasing the items that you need in advance.
5. Choose between cooking your own food or having it delivered
You can choose between cooking your own food and having it delivered. The
advantage of cooking your own food is that you have full control over the
flavor and the quantity, not to mention that it’s really economical. However,
it can be tiring because, most of the time, you would have to prepare food the
night before.
If you want to save yourself the hassle, you can just order food. You can opt
to order food from your trusted restaurant or choose local food suppliers
within your area.
Food delivery is a more expensive option because you are paying for the
manpower, use of fuel, and delivery cost. What’s good about it is that you
would have less to think about, except ensuring that your food gets delivered
on time.
Discovering local food businesses and theme cake suppliers in Quezon City
What we also love about the experience of organizing kiddie birthday parties
at home is that we were able to discover local food businesses and theme cake
suppliers near our home or at least within Quezon City.
|
| Dinosaur-themed cake from Cakes, Cookies, & Co. |
For Rafa’s first birthday last November 2020, we ordered our dinosaur-themed
cake from Cakes, Cookies, & Co. (Facebook
and
Instagram) and the food from
8 Spoons Party Trays.
Cakes, Cookies, & Co. is a purely online cake shop. They take orders via
their Facebook and Instagram pages. You may also inquire through their
telephone number 0917 550 9387. Khris and I highly recommend their designs
because they really look impressive and expensive, even if it’s reasonably
priced.
|
| Food from 8 Spoons Party Trays (clockwise: Peruvian Chicken, Creamy Baked Penne, Baked Fish with Parmesan Cheese, Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy, and Crab Sotanghon) |
As for the food, 8 Spoons Party Trays is also a good option because their food
is delicious and the price is just right. We ordered Peruvian Chicken (which
comes with chipotle, chimichurri, and salsa sauces), Salisbury steak, crab
sotanghon, baked fish with parmesan cheese, and creamy baked penne. Everything
was worth trying.
Meanwhile, for Miguel’s 3rd birthday last January 5, 2021, we ordered a
construction-themed cake from Drizzles Bakeshop and Café and the food from
Hotdish.
|
| Construction-themed cake from Drizzles Bakeshop and Cafe |
Drizzles Bakeshop and Café is located at 1-A Congressional Ave., Project 8,
Brgy. Bahay Toro, Quezon City, 1106 Metro Manila. You may order from them
through their
Facebook
and
Instagram
pages. Miguel’s cake turned out beautifully and it came with free cupcakes.
|
| We also received free cupcakes from Drizzles Bakeshop and Cafe (toppers not included, ordered these online) |
As for the food, I’ve long heard about Hotdish and their famous pancit sisig,
which we ordered. We also ordered meatballs, fish fillet tempura, and
empanada. We opted to cook fried chicken and lumpiang shanghai as additional
food.
|
| Food from Hotdish (clockwise: Pancit Sisig, Meatballs, Fish Fillet Tempura, and Empanada) |
The pancit sisig, which I was so excited to try, was delicious but too much of
it was too rich for my palate so I had it with rice. The meatballs were also
big but my most favorite item was the empanada.
What I like about Hotdish is the big serving size of the food. The food trays
are perfect for family celebrations. Hotdish is located at 63 Commonwealth
Avenue, East Fairview, cor Marlboro St, Quezon City. You may order food
through their telephone number (02) 8936 7053.
Epilogue
If you think about it, organizing a themed kiddie birthday party at home is
fairly easy and quite exciting. Putting together these two birthday parties
was a bonding opportunity for our family. It was a lot of fun, despite being
physically tired from all the things that we had to do.
What we also loved about the experience was that we were able to discover
several local small businesses that offered quality products at affordable
prices.
All in all, we were just thankful to God for continuing to provide us
throughout the pandemic. We have food on the table, our loved ones are safe
and healthy, and we are happy.
I hope you are happy, too, and thankful for the blessings that you continue to
receive, big or small.
If you have additional tips, please share them in the comments section below
so that I can include them here.
PIN THIS POST
This post may contain affiliate links, including those from Amazon Associates, which means that if you book or purchase anything through one of those links, we may earn a small commission but at no extra cost to you. All opinions are ours and we only promote products that we use.
Download a free copy of my Churches of Nueva Ecija eBook HERE!
Post a Comment