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I will be adding the parties I am planning for this year soon and as I find a little more time I will add some of our previous parties as well.



Tips for great parties
~ Plan an opening activity to keep kids busy as other guests are still arriving. I prefer to do a craft at this time.
~ Have some coloring pages and books that relate to your theme for children who are not interested in participating in games or activities.
~Take pictures of each guest to send in the thank you notes. I like to make this part of the fun and relate it to the theme.
~Get your child's ideas and have them help you plan. My kids have come up with some really good ideas over the years! They have also come up with some really impractical ones too, of course.
~Do as much as you can ahead of time! I know that this sounds a little obvious but last year at my son's Blue's Clues birthday party I was stuck in the kitchen and had to call on friends to lead the games and take pictures for me! All because I procrastinated.
~I always like to serve a meal as I usually have people coming from out of town. Try to play a video during the meal to keep the kids busy and ensure that they sit for a half an hour. That way they might actually eat something!
~Plan more games then you think you will need. Sometimes a game is a complete flop or goes a lot faster then you expected. Also, if the kids want to, don't be afraid to play a game over and over again!
~If you have a wide variety of ages(as I always do) try to plan seperate games for the younger group.
~I like to read a theme related story as they eat the cake for the same reasons that I like to play a video during the meal.
~Don't give out goodie bags until the end of the party as the guests depart.
~Plan a nice quiet activity for after the party in case any parents are late in picking up their children.
~Take lots of pictures.
~DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE


Decorating Tips
birthdayexpress.com has great decorating tips here


Sample Party Schedule
11:00am ~ Opening activity as guests arrive
11:15am ~ games,games,games
12:00pm ~ Lunch
12:30pm ~ Gift opening
1:00pm ~ Cake and ice cream
1:30pm ~ Downtime activity. Give goodie bags as guests depart.


Invitations
~Be creative! It is amazing what you can send in the mail!
~Try to let your guests know by the invitation what the theme of the party is.
~Go beyond the usual date, time, place, etc. Write a poem or little story to make it more fun.
~Don't forget to mention if the child needs to bring anything to the party i.e. bathing suit, change of clothes. Also, give a clue as to whether or not the child should dress for the theme. It makes things so much more fun and also makes for great pictures!





Birthday Links
BirthdayPartyIdeas.com The ultimate party resource and my favorite birthday site. This is where I go when I am stuck for ideas!

Themes and general
All Info-About the Family Screen Scene lots of links here
Knowledge Hound all links
DLTK-Kids one of my favorite sites and a great resource for crafts.
Amazing Moms lots of good ideas here. They are affiliated with another great site Birthday Express which is a birthday supply company but it also has wonderful party planning tips.Check out the party planning section for lots of free stuff.
Roller Coaster ie has a few themes including color party
EEZ Planit this is not a well laid out site but there are some good ideas here.
Kid's Domain Lots of themes here and also a great resource for crafts and more
Boardman's good site with lots of themes
kidspartyfun.com a great site, lots of stuff here including a themes questionnaire to help you choose a theme
Darlene's Party Biz another business but has some neat stuff under the party ideas directory and a featured party theme.
Family Fun's Parties Disney online
Better Homes and Gardens great ideas and a few good themes here
Nick Jr all the themes you would expect and then some!
Sesame workshop only a few themes including planes, trains and automobiles, construction and backyard carnival
www.youthonline.ca a Canadian site lots of links here
Theme Parties and More some good stuff here
Giggle Magazine a few neat parties here
1-800-PartyShop mostly supplies for sale but lots of neat ideas
Betty Crocker more then just recipes here!


Crafts
DLTK-Kids tons of great printables for kids
Disney Online has an incredible crafts section. I am not a fan of Disney, myself but I really enjoy this site
Amazing Moms check out the crafts and rainy day activities sections
Just Kids Recipes a whole section of craft recipes
About.com's Family Crafts
Games
Over 400 party games here
Every Mom.com there are a few neat games here. some I have never heard of before.

Fun Food
Birthdays by Rexanne
I will be getting my own food pages up soon but for now have a look at Rexanne's fun birthday food links

Cakes
Theme Parties and More The ultimate cake finder and my favorite resource
DLTK-Kids cakes
From Suite 101 a little hard to navigate but well worth it.
Family fun's cake finder a great resource
Cake central check out the scrapbook!
Wilton.com For the very brave!






On to the parties