I love planning big parties! It was kind of one of my “things” pre-COVID. I planned big birthday parties, or other random parties! I love going all in with my theme and really paying close attention to all details.

My first goal is typically to decide on a party theme. I LOVE theme parties! They are the best and the easiest to plan, thanks to the structure. If you just throw together a party without a theme it’s actually really hard. There’s no direction, you can have anything and everything, there are no limits or boundaries. For someone who loves to organize and plan, it’s a nightmare. It’s WAY too open ended!!! How do I stop myself???

Pick a theme first!

Ok, so to ease my stress, I always pick a theme first. Then the magic can start. I like it best when I start to plan at least a month in advance…I know, crazy right?? You’ll see why as you read the rest of the post! I start by just searching my theme idea with some key words like “party”, “games”, “food”, “cake”…you get it! Then I usually have to start saving some ideas because my mind starts to think of all the amazing stuff I could do, plan, buy or even make!

I need a dumping ground! Thanks Pinterest!!

After I have some ideas floating around in my head, I plan the food. I do the food next because it let’s me think about the cake! I love cake decorating! I also love puns and linking the theme into every detail of the party, so I like to have lots of time to plan the food and rename each snack or part of the meal to suit the theme.

After deciding on the menu and the snacks and how I might do the cake, I move on to the decorations and party games. I can’t generally buy the food yet, or start making the cake, but I can start slowly buying what I need as I see it on sale.

So, when I move on to party games and decorations I start to get really excited! I love to challenge myself to come up with fun things for everyone to do; kids, siblings (no matter age), even the parents! I also sometimes plan music, if it goes with the theme! I gather the supplies I will need for decorations, put together the loot bags, and make all the labels for food or drinks. This is really where the bulk of the planning is required to nail down the theme. This is also the part that takes the most time, but has the biggest reward on the party day!

I once considered starting a party planning business, where I just pick a random theme and plan a party that I will not be hosting, just to come up with ideas! Anyone else have strange hobbies? Or only me?? Maybe one day I will start a “party in a box” type of supply! Who knows!

A couple days ahead of the party, I start prepping the cake and gathering and making the rest of the food.

I prefer to host afternoon parties because then I have a lot of time on the party day to set up…and I don’t have to get up TOO early.

I am somewhat at a loss with the virtual parties, though there are so many good ideas and a ton of companies providing online entertainment in the way of magic shows, science shows, or even popular characters visiting online. There are games you could play like bingo, charades, Pictionary and slew of other online games like Minecraft or Among Us, which seem very popular these days. Despite what it may seem from my other posts, I am really not that great or even a huge fan of technology. Or having my kids on their screens…let alone for a party! But the world is forcing me to adapt.

My youngest just had his second COVID birthday. We tried to make it as special as we could. We had some zoom calls with family and some messenger video calls with friends, his favourite food, some extra video game time and even a fancy cake. He still talks about when he will have a big party…one day…hopefully!

If you need any help with the following theme parties, I am your gal!

• Star Wars
• Nature
• Watermelons
• Construction
• Pigs
• Airplanes
• Basketball
• Reeses Pieces
• Dinosaurs

Party on!

Thanks for coming home!