Amazing Birthday Party Ideas for Toddlers ♥

Birthdays are of course a time of celebration, joy and happiness. To each individual and their family they of course mean so much more than the increasing sales of soft toys in the UK. But as much as there are the feelings of happiness, joy and love, there can be some negative emotions associated with each approaching birthday.

Worry is a common problem, and this usually centres around the birthday party rather than the birthday itself. Suddenly there is pressure. You feel the weight of expectations and history upon your shoulders when you start to consider throwing a party. You remember all of the good ones that you and your toddler have attended so far – you will not of course remember the bad ones at this time even though there will have been some. You feel that you could even purchase all the soft toys in the UK and it still wouldn’t be right, and all you simply want is for it to be “right”.

The birthday party is both a blessing and a curse, so here we look to take some of the weight off your shoulders when it comes to great ideas and planning. Hopefully you’ll feel like you’re no longer “fighting”, and maybe even you’ll be able to enjoy the process as a whole. At the end of the day, this is your baby and they are your world, so read on to get great tips and advice on how to make the day a happy memory for all.

Every birthday is a milestone, and they are all important. But as your baby grows, they begin to develop their own little social life. There will be friends from nursery, or the playground and so the guest list is important. They may express their own desires as to the theme of the party, and theme is an important factor in all good parties. Whilst you want the guest of honour to enjoy and engage in the planning and of course the day itself, do not simply let them dictate every element of the party. Nourish the enthusiasm but perhaps dampen the demands.

Themes
There are of course so many possible themes, and the favourites will vary, perhaps even from day to day. Once one is chosen, run with it and don’t falter. There may be demands for a change of theme, but once decided, it is probably best to stick with it otherwise chaos may ensue! Here are some possible themes to consider…

Jurassic Party
You’re probably going to be better off calling it a dinosaur party, but this is just a play on words.
Having a herd of prehistoric beasts at your home may sound a little frightening, but there is so much scope for characters, games and favours. You can have a pretend fossil hunt, and the guests could get temporary dinosaur tattoos as a favour.

Picnic
Depending on the season, plan a picnic party for either indoors or out, inviting the guests to attend as teddy bears for their teddy bears picnic. The food can be placed around a simple centre piece of a picnic basket. Again the favours can be theme based stickers or temporary tattoos, or even little soft bear toys to remind the guests of their picnic fun. For games you might like to involve balloons, either in terms of shaping or simply to pop and play with. Everyone normally loves balloons!

Colouring party
This may seem a little crazy at first, but stick with it. Children love to draw and colour, and really enjoy playing with crayons. A colouring party will allow them to all engage in this activity together, which will make it even more fun. Provided there is enough paper, and supervision, the drawing should stay off the walls and carpets and on the paper – but just be aware of the risk. Washable crayons are preferable for this reason.

Toddlers though love crayons. For a simple costume option, get the guests to turn up all in their favourite colours, so that together you’ll get a magnificent rainbow effect and they will altogether look like a spilled box of crayons running around!

Paper and actual crayons are of course a necessity. But as well as plain paper, get pictures to colour in. You might even want to get the large paper table clothes so that everyone can be colouring at the same time in the same place (easier to watch!) As a party game, get everyone to draw the host, or their favourite pet, prizes can be given for the best ones. The favour is easily sorted too by handing out lovely sets of crayons and colouring books to each party goer.

Parades
Everyone loves a good parade, especially the person who has one held in their honour! The party can centre on the planning of the parade itself. Each guest can draw and create banners, and thereafter they can all march together around the home and garden waving the same and getting into the spirit of things. For this theme there may be a need for a little adult input when it comes to the arts and crafts and there will definitely be a need for some supervision too!

If you want an even better parade, ask the guests to bring their banners to the party, already made. You can have a float shaped birthday cake, or a cake shaped like a big drum. Food can be eaten whilst the creations dry if necessary, or at least some of it can. As favours you can give out whistles or kazoos, though quite how these will be welcomed by the other parents is another matter!

Planning
The day itself will fly by and the nearer to the day you are, the quicker it will seem that time is passing. That means one thing, your planning needs to be spot on. Get this right and the day will seem a lot more relaxed, and you may even be able to enjoy it yourself. Get it wrong and, well let’s not think about that shall we!

The time running up to the party is the most critical. About one month before you should be sending out invitations and keeping a note of just who has (and perhaps more importantly hasn’t) been invited. This note can then be used as both a reminder and the basis for your RSVP’s. At the same time you need to be planning the party food and menu and of course the favours. Approximately two weeks before the day go shopping for the favours and party games essentials.

Finally in the last week before the big day sort out the actual food items for the menu, and all the associated bits, like plates and cups etc. It is crucial throughout the process that you keep on top of your RSVP’s. Even just a few extra and unexpected guests can cause problems.

The day
It is much more easily said than done, but you need to be relaxed on the day of the party. Though planning is of course crucial in giving a great party, never let your plans be so rigid that they cause problems. For example, do not insist that the Teddy Bear’s Picnic has to be outside even if it raining, simply because that was the plan! Always have contingencies in place too – for inclement weather, too few or too many guests, and for when a change of direction is needed, should the party start to lose its fizz for example.

There are probably going to be problems too, so expect them, but do not let them defeat you. Toddlers will at times cry and at other times sulk. Some will be loud, and some will not engage. But not everything that goes “wrong” is because of you, nor does it make you a bad person or even spoil the party. The other parents will of course understand, because they’ve had the same experiences!

Talk to other parents, see what has worked for them, what they might suggest. Always involve the guest of honour in the planning too as they really do matter! Finally just remember the reason why you are doing what you are doing, because you love your child. That should be reason enough at the end of the day to get you through a few wobbles and ensure that you throw the best party ever. It isn’t a competition, every birthday matters, but on the day there’ll be only one name on the cake – so smile, (try to) relax and enjoy. Then sleep well!