Princess Favor


Tea Party Favor


Knights Favor


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Pirate Favor


Wizard Favor


Space Favor


Bowling Favor


Firefighter Favor

The consider the guidelines below for planning successful parties for your child based on his age.

However, all children develop on their own timelines and have widely varying personalities and skills. Plan with your child in mind.


Ages 1&2
At this age the party is primarily for you and your family. If you have family who live near you, invite them over for a family celebration. If your child regularly plays with other children, you may wish to incluce them and their parents in your family celebration or invite them to a small, separate party (a play date with cupcakes).

Remember that 1-2 year olds aren't going to remember their party and may be overwhelmed by too much activity or excitement. Short, small parties often work well for this age group.

However, some cultures feel the 1st birthday is very significant and have large parties to celebrate this milestone. Do what feels right for your particular situation.

Ages 3-5
3-5 year olds usually enjoy playing with other children, so this is a good age to begin having child-centered parties. Your child may remember general themes (example: that was the year I had a train party) and will enjoy looking at the pictures when he is older.

The party should be short (no more than 2 hours). Parents are likely to stay and should be encouraged to do so. Home-based parties are a good option, if your child doesn't need the added stimulation of an unfamiliar environment.

Free play, simple arts & crafts, and easy games work well for this age group. Be flexible and don't plan too many organized activities.

Ages 6-9
This is a great age for a party, because 6-9 year olds are often social and cooperative. Involve your child in theme selection and party preparation. Your child can help develop the guest list, prepare invitations, select toys and set up games, and even help with some of the food preparation (putting sprinkles on the cupcakes).

Home-based parties are often best and easiest at this age, but parties at a nearby park with playground can also be great fun at this age.

I've found that two hour parties feel too rushed for this age group. Two and one half to three hour parties allow more time for games, arts & crafts, and free play.

Ages 10-12
Depending on your child, he/she may be starting to develop very distinct ideas about what is cool and what is not. Allow your child to choose the party theme and help plan the activities, games and entertainment.

Children this age may be intensely interested in something (example: Soccer, Space, Horses, Gymnastics, etc.) that will suggest an obvious party theme or activity.

This is also the age where children may prefer an off-site party (Movies, Beach, Amusement Park, etc.) over a home-based party. Parties often get smaller at this age, because your child may have a few best friends she spends all her time with.

Children at this age are often gaining competence at many new skills and may find challenging activities (obstacle courses, relay races, detective games, word games and puzzles, etc.) more interesting than the simple party activities of previous years.

Be especially sensitive to your child's desire to avoid anything "babyish". Even if he loved pin-the-tail-on-the-zebra at last year's Safari Party, he might cringe at a similar activity this year. Again, an off-site party where the entertainment is built in (such as Bowling or Miniature Golf) can save you the frustration of trying to figure out what games will go over well with this age group.

This may be the age that your child decides to invite only same gender guests and the theme may be oriented to your child's gender. For example, all boys for a racecar party or all girls for a tea party.

13 and Up
At this point, your child is pretty much in charge of what kind of party she has. In fact, at some point your child may decide she doesn't want a party.

Don't force it, but instead suggest that she have a couple friends over for pizza and movies. Or offer to take your child and her best friends to a favorite restaurant.

If your child really doesn't want to celebrate a birthday with her friends, just have cake, ice-cream and present opening after a nice family dinner. It's important to celebrate every birthday even if your child acts uninterested.