When it comes to birthday celebrations, each one is just as important as the next. So if you’re planning a birthday party for a friend or family member, here are some top tips to make sure it’s a hit!

Choose A Theme

Depending on who the party is for, the theme could be anything from a pirate-themed kids party to a one where everyone dresses up as the birthday boy or girl. The theme is something you’ll need to decide on first before you start planning, so think about the person in question and ask yourself what they are known for or love. You may be able to pick one or two things out or perhaps just ask them to discuss birthday ideas. You can then choose one and keep it a secret so that it still leaves them with an element of surprise for their birthday party.

The more unique the theme is, the more memorable it will be with your guests, so be creative and think outside of the box.

Pick A Budget

Having a budget is a great way of not overspending. When it comes to a birthday party, it’s a bit like Christmas where you can get a little bit tap-happy with the credit card and the last thing you want to do is run up a giant bill. Know how much you have to spend, maybe you’re doing it all on your own or you can get other friends and family members to chip in to help. Make sure you are specific in everything that you need and give an estimate of how much it will cost and how much you have to go towards each thing. Any money you save could then go to aspects of the party that you weren’t going to have or couldn’t afford.

Go Venue Hunting

Next up on the to-do list for your birthday party bash is to find a venue to host it in. Now you could go for the free option which is hosting it in someone’s home but that all depends on numbers. For any bigger party, you’ll want to hire out a nearby community centre or a private function room in a bar or restaurant.

What do you want from the venue? You may want bar service or food options that you don’t need to order in. Perhaps you need the ability to play music, and maybe some sort of sound system installed in the venue would be useful. All of these features that you require need to be thought about when shopping for your venue. It’s probably going to be the biggest expense on the list so make sure you’ve booked it and know how many numbers you’ve got coming before you send out the invites. Your budget might not be able to cater to a bigger venue. It’s good to look for a venue early on too because the chances of your venue being booked may be high if you plan a birthday party during a particular time of the year. Even if you pay a deposit, it’s better to get it secured sooner rather than later.

Send Out Invites

Of course, a birthday party is not typically as extravagant as a wedding is, but with every celebration or occasion, there needs to be invites that are sent out. Luckily a lot of us nowadays communicate via email, and therefore you could save money by sending paperless invites where RSVPs can be done through email. Your invites should reflect the style and theme of your party and if you need to ask for any dietary requests. Make sure to include the location of the party, the start and finish times and if you’ve got a dress code, make sure you specify that too. You don’t want guests coming casual if you’re planning an extravagant masquerade party.

Plan The Food

Food is very important for a party because you want to make sure that all your guests are suitably fed and watered. It’s good to know what certain guests might be allergic to or have an intolerance. Dietary requirements can be very complex nowadays so try your best to cater, but if someone has a very complicated dietary requirement, they’ll probably bring their own food to be polite. You also want to think about what type of food to serve at the party. Are you thinking a finger food buffet or a sit-down meal? Do you plan to make the food yourself or hire a caterer? A lot of chain restaurants do event food so it might be worth shopping around to see where’s best. In a world where you can get cupcakes delivered straight to your door, it’s much easier to organise external caterers. If you’re making your own food then you’ll need to make a list and buy the food in advance. Give yourself enough time to prep it without panicking and if you need assistance, ring round to your friends for help.

Party Games

Some parties might not require it and are too adult for party games but playing games at the event are suitable for the younger generations. Traditional games like pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey etc, are all still going strong and having some prizes to award the winners is a great way of creating excitement amongst guests. For the older ‘kids’ aka the adults, drinking games are always a great ice-breaker for those who may not know each other. They are also a good way of starting off the night before you go out onto the town, you’ll likely spend less out if you drink most of it in.

Planning a birthday party can be a little stressful, but it’s also a ton of fun. Make sure you start your venue search early and know your theme, the numbers for the party and what you require before you go looking. Set a budget so that you don’t go overboard and plan all of the party games and food that will be needed for the big event. It’ll be a party to remember!

~A~

When you first welcome your little bundle of joy into your home, you will probably feel ridiculously overwhelmed. Although you’ve had nine months to prepare for this moment, the way your life morphs into something unrecognisable is a shock. No longer are you responsible for just yourself. There is another little human being that needs your love, support and care for at least the next eighteen years and beyond. As a responsible parent, your first priority is to find a routine, help your baby sleep each night, and feed as necessary. However, there will also come a time post baby blues, once you have found your new mummy rhythm, when you want to shift some of the baby weight that you are finding hard to get rid of.

Don’t succumb to the fad diets, strict exercise regimens and Instagram boasts of women who regained their figure in ten days. As a new mum, you shouldn’t feel self conscious or worried about your body. You have just given birth, one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can go through physically. Give yourself time to adjust. When ready, you can consider losing weight and toning up in a measured way. Take a look to see how you can lose weight in the most sensible way.

The Gym

The thought of heading to the gym might leave you feeling self conscious and daunted. While there’s no reason to be worried about heading to the gym that you used to frequent regularly before you gave birth, this doesn’t mean there isn’t a mental barrier to overcome. Phone your gym and see if there are any sessions for new mums. Plenty of gyms offer specialist classes like new mum yoga, postnatal aerobics, and even mother and baby pilates.

When you have built up your confidence, you can return to the gym and head to your favourite pieces of equipment. Forget about losing weight for the time being and just have fun working up a bit of a sweat and refamiliarising yourself with the layout of the gym. Give yourself small goals to work towards: you might want to look at how to get better at CrossFit today, check out a spin class tomorrow and then next week focus on your endurance exercises. Before long, you’ll be a regular face at the gym once again, and you will naturally see your body tone up and change as you begin exercising once more.

Food

Being a new mum is tiring. Your new bundle of joy is finding his or her sleep routine, will need regularly feeding throughout the day, and requires all of your attention. Your diet goes out of the window as you need sustenance and you don’t care where it comes from. Fast food and convenience snacks are quick and easy to come by. The thought of slaving over a hot stove to create a well balanced and nutritious meal might fill you with dread.

Instead, consider planning out your meals each week. Your partner can look after the baby for an afternoon while you create some one pot meals that can be frozen and eaten throughout the week. Veggie lasagnes, cottage pies, and stews are perfect for those dinner times when you just want to pop something into the oven. This method will stop you ordering takeaways and can keep you eating less fattening meals.

As a new mum, you may find yourself losing weight initially as your body readjusts to its post birth hormone balance. You still need to eat nutritious and healthy meals. Try and eat the rainbow of fresh fruit and vegetables, add lean meat and fish into your diet and try to remove the white carbs, swapping them instead for whole grains.

Forget The Weight

For a short while, you should forget losing weight as being your motivation to do anything. By simply finding a new healthy routine such as exercising and eating well, you will find that the weight drops slowly anyway. Being at home with your little darling and enjoying watching them develop, grow, smile, and babble should be your top priority. Get in touch with friends, head out to see a movie, catch up over coffee, and find yourself again. Being a mum can be isolating so stay social. Keep your social butterfly status intact and invite friends around to see the new little one. Make friends at new mum groups and enjoy a new side of you. Before you know it, you’ll be losing weight in a sensible way and it won’t even need to be your top priority.

Ax

* Collaborative post