Rule # 1 Only invite as many children as your child is old. If your child is 2-3 only invite two or three children to the party. More than that will overwhelm your child.

Rule # 2 Keep it simple on the big day. You want to enjoy your child’s birthday party, it only comes around once a year. Plan food and activities you can prepare ahead so the party day is a breeze. You’ll have enough to worry about with the guests and the birthday child.

Rule # 3 Make sure you have plenty of film in the camera, and camcorder to capture all those magic moments. Have a trusted relative or friend be the designated photographer for the day.

Rule # 4 Plan age appropriate activities. Keep the activities as simple as possible and you’ll keep from pulling your hair out.

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Julie at She Knows Parties has a really cute idea for a Mardi Gras invitation posted. All you need are some plastic Mardi Gras masks.

After you get the invitations sent out hop over to All Holiday Cafe for some Mardi Gras Recipes.

I’ll post a couple of my own recipes, and some fun Mardi Gras activities in the next couple days.

Have fun!

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Have you thought about having a holiday movie party this Christmas season? There are so many Christmas classics out there it would be hard to narrow down the movies you’d want to show.

Think up some movie related decorations, games, and snacks to match the movies theme. The party can be just your own family, or invite the neighborhood.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Make Polar Express Hot Chocolate

Make a Christmas Story Leg Lamp, or bumpus hound floppy ears.

Have a Christmas Story bundle up relay.

Play Grinch tag (put a grinch twist on freeze tag)

Rudolph’s flight school- see who can jump the furthest

You get the idea, the games and snacks don’t have to be complex, just name them after the movie your watching. The kids will get a blast out of it.

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One very important thing to remember when you’re planning a children’s party is that most parties don’t go exactly as planned.

Don’t make your activities and plans too difficult. Children don’t like to be bogged down with details. They’ll have more fun with simple games that allow them some freedom, and room for play.

Make your games age appropriate if you have children of different ages make sure you have rules even the younges children can follow without getting frustrated. Older children will generally still have fun with a simpler game but younger children will not understand a game that’s too complex.

All of the play at your child’s birthday party does not have to be organized. Let the children have some “free” time just to socialize, interact and play what they want.

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Here’s a quick look at how of Hollywood’s rich and famous celebrated birthdays with their children this last year. Do they throw elaborate parties, or have a quiet day at home? Who goes all out, and who keeps it low key?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie planned a surprise army themed birthday for their son Maddox this last August. Check out the party details, and photos.

Looks like Brooke Shields chose a Tweety theme for her daughter Grier’s first birthday party.

Miley Cyrus celebrated her 15th birthday in November with a sold out concert in Nashville. She said she wanted nothing more for her birthday than to play in front of fans in her home town. Now that’s a big birthday bash!

Here’s a video of the audience singing happy birthday to Miley.

Suri Cruise has pizza and cupcakes from Sprinkles on her first birthday. Sounds good to me! Check out the details of their family birthday lunch.

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Planning a birthday party for twins can be a challenge.  You want to make each child feel like a special individual, while celebrating the fact they were born on the same day. 

You should celebrate too, you get to celebrate two birthdays all rolled up in one day.  While it may be a hectic day, look at the bright side, you only have to do it once (a year)! 

Twins Birthday Party Ideas

1. Dress up the birthday babies and let them be the star.

2. Plan a party based on the twins favorite characters.

3. Plan a cupcake party, they’re the perfect size for one candle. Each child can have their own mini cake. Put out the sprinkles and some decorative icing, and let the children decorate their own cupcakes.

4. Plan a fairytale party, your twins can be princes and princesses.

5. Plan a zoo or jungle party, let everyone stuff their own animal, or give it a two by two, Noah’s Ark theme.

6. Have everyone dress in pairs. If the children all know each other, or if you can coordinate it have all the guests have a twin for the day. You can also have dress up outfits at the party, and have two of each outfit for them to slip on over their clothes.

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Invitations
Hand made, printable, or preprinted

Decorations
Balloons, centerpiece, table cloth, streamers, banners
Make your own decorations or buy them.

Games and Activities
Plan age appropriate games and activities, make a checklist of all the supplies you need for your games and activities.

Tableware
Plates, Napkins, Spoons and Forks, cups
Anything you need for snacks, cake and ice cream.

Food
Cake and Ice Cream, Snacks, and Drinks

Games and Activities
Plan age appropriate games and activities

Gift Bags
favors, candy, prizes

Pinata
candy, pull string kit, or stick, blindfold
For more general party planning tips check out, The Ultimate Party Guide: The Best Birthday Party Ever

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Let your child (or children) invite a few friends over to decorate cookies. This is a great party for grandmas to have, and invite the grandchildren. Have the cookie dough pre-made and chilling in the refrigerator.

You can make several different kinds of cookies, but the cutout cookies will be the most popular. Lay out an assortment of cookie cutters. Let each child cut out a few cookies with the cookie cutter of their choice. Bake the cookies and let them cool.

Set up a cookie bar with different colors of icing, sprinkles, candies, and whatever else you can think of. Let the children each decorate their own cookies. Let them eat a couple, then take the rest home, or keep some for holiday gatherings.

It’s a great project for a cold, or rainy fall day. What can brighten your day more than baking cookies? For more information on making holiday cookies check out The Best Cookies Ever.

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