It’s your little one’s special day just once a year, and ideally, you want to include all of his best pals and loved ones during this once-a-year bash. But what if you want to keep things simple so that your kid doesn’t just have an awesome birthday party but a meaningful one, one where he remembers each guest—and not because they all brought presents!
Often, keeping the guest list down during a birthday party is one of the most tedious tasks to undertake. Here’s how to take the pain out of the cuts so that you can really pare down your kid’s party guest list.
1. Plan your master guest list as early as possible. It’s easier to pare down a long list of possible guests than to remember people later on and add them to your list as you plan the party! Start planning your potential guest list early on, such as two months before you decide to send out invitations. Remember to also ask your child (if he or she is old enough to understand) whom he wants to invite and consider his guests. Once you have all the potential candidates for the guest list, start paring things down. Be involved as a family when you do this so that you’re all in agreement over who stays and who gets cut.
2. Consider your child’s age as a factor in keeping the numbers down. Let your child’s age help you determine the kind of party you’re planning, whether it’s a big, venue-rental affair or a simple, themed party at home or in a restaurant with just a few friends. Big kids might want a party with just their closest friends. Parties of younger children, such as one- to three-year olds, may involve just a handful of your close friends who have children of similar age, or maybe your siblings and their kids.
3. Make it a kids-only affair. An off-shoot of the previous suggestion, this is really something that will help keep your guest list down. Not only do you eliminate the need to entertain adults (which counts for more than 50 percent of a guest list, especially in the Philippines!), but you’ll be able to focus more on the details of the birthday party.
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4. Consider those people whom your child is familiar with. A birthday party is not a wedding or a reunion, so don’t get tempted to invite your classmates, your college buds, even your child’s cousins whom he hasn’t seen in over a year. Your child isn’t going to remember (or even care) if his or her second cousin once removed was at his 3rd birthday. Unless your child has formed some real friendships, he’s not really going to care who comes to his party. If your goal is to keep your guest list under control and pared down, only invite your child’s close friends and your family members whom your child is truly familiar with.
5. Keep the number of guests equal to your child’s age. A number of party planning etiquette resources on the Internet suggest this practice. For example: If your child is turning six, ask him to invite six friends. In terms of party prep, favors, games and food, this is one of the best ways to keep your child’s party manageable. It also lets every guest get the most out of the birthday party because everyone can be involved in all the activities, eating, and games. You can also buy better and more meaningful favors for everybody, which is quite difficult to achieve in parties with over 20 or so kids!
6. Hold a classroom party or club party instead. If your child wants a rather big celebration, and you want to take the headache out of planning a party with all the works, opt to have a classroom party instead at your child’s school. That way, you would already have a predetermined number of guests—just ask the teacher how many are in your child’s section. Alternatively, your child might want to have a party with just his swimming club buds or soccer pals, which also gives you an easier time with the guest list.
When the guest list just keeps growing…
If you simply must invite yours and your husband’s siblings and their kids, your child’s friends, classmates and clubmates, consider inviting them all while cutting back in other areas of the party. Prior to signing any contracts with your event planner, inquire about which items can be removed without drastically affecting the celebration. For example: If you’re going to give a party with close to a hundred guests, opt for plated meals or pre-portioned finger foods instead of an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Photo from flickr.com
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