Birthday Party Ideas & Tips

Birthday party ideas for kids, adults, and everyone in between!

By Plum Drama

Planning birthday party ideas, whether it’s for a toddler, teenager, or adult, can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a lot of hard work. There are a lot of great birthday party ideas out there, so how do you decide which one is best for you!? We’re here to help.

We have put together what we think are the best party ideas out there. We have been in the party planning business for a long time, so we’ve seen a lot and have helped a lot of customers throw amazing parties! We hope you’ll learn from some of our experiences and get some great birthday party ideas from us.

All of our birthday party ideas are organized by the age of the person who will be celebrating his/her birthday. For each of our birthday party ideas we provide an overview of what to expect and what to plan for, so that you’ll have a quick checklist that you can refer to as you plan your special event. Next, we offer money and time saving tips and ideas that will help to make your birthday party less stressful, so that you can stop counting pennies and start joining in the festivities. Whenever possible, we try to find coupons and special web deals if there are certain items that we’ve used in the past and are willing to endorse.

We know that all birthday party ideas have a common set of ground rules that you should keep in mind as you plan your parties.

Rule #1: Start planning early.

Part of the stress of party planning comes when you try to do everything at the last minute. Our biggest piece of advice if you’re starting to plan a birthday party is to start early. After all, you know the date of the party, right?! So, what’s the excuse in procrastinating? Start the planning process at least a few weeks ahead of the big day. This will allow you time to get your party date on the calendars of the people who you really want to invite. It will also allow you time to buy and/or order any party supplies that will help to make your birthday party that much more memorable.

Rule #2: It helps to have a theme.

Many birthday party ideas start with a theme, like your child’s favorite character (Dora the Explorer) or an experiential theme if it’s an adult birthday party idea (such as, “Tropical Paradise”). Having a theme to your birthday party creates unity among all the elements that you’ll be incorporating into the event, which then helps to make the entire day feel like a grand event that the guests will remember forever.

Rule #3: Invite guests who are coming to have a good time.

This rule sounds a bit harsh, but we all have friends who can turn even the brightest, happiest moments into Debbie Downer moments. While it’s fine to invite these “less-than-energetic” folks to your event, make sure you balance it with your friends who are more high-energy and are there to have a GREAT time. We also have friends who could have fun doing nothing at all because of their cheery disposition and positive outlooks. Make sure they’re coming to the party too!

Rule #4: Remember to have fun.

Oftentimes, everyone at the birthday party has a great time EXCEPT for the person who organized and spent all the time to get the party together. Don’t let that be YOU! Start the planning process early, so you don’t stress too close to the event date, and assign tasks on the day of the party. This will allow you to free up some of your time and get some enjoyment out of the event that you worked so hard to create.

Rule #5: Focus on the big picture.

Many hosts make the mistake of perfecting every little detail to their event. This is another surefire way to guarantee your own misery at the party you’ve worked hard to throw for someone. Keep in mind that NOTHING ever goes EXACTLY as planned, so learn to roll with the punches on the day of your birthday party. Don’t focus on the tiny details that no one will care about or notice. As long as there are guests, food, and (maybe) a cake, trust me…the rest will take care of itself.