Planning Your Girl's Birthday Party? Use This Checklist!

Your baby girl’s birthday party is an excellent moment to dedicate to your child. It’s your way to show her how much you appreciate and love her, and you would do anything to make her happy.

But organizing the perfect birthday party is a real challenge. Between your job, school and a thousand things to do for your family, it’s hard to find enough time to dedicate to planning and preparing a party.

Here’s the ultimate checklist to help you stay in control and organize the most beautiful event for your daughter!

Basics

It’s the first step in planning your girl’s birthday party. Depending on how much time you can dedicate to this event, you should start about three or four weeks before the party. The sooner you set these crucial elements, the smoother everything will become for you.

Here are the things to consider in this phase of your project:

Budget – how much you can afford to spend on the birthday party and how you plan to divide it between food, drinks, decorations, entertainment, and other expenses.
Guests lists – knowing how many people (kids and adults) will be present at the event can help you decide on all other elements.
Location – hosting a birthday party at home isn’t always the cheapest solution, especially if you consider the time you need to put your place in order before and after the event. Look for small restaurants, playgrounds, gardens, or even a park where you can organize an entertaining afternoon for your daughter’s guests.
Date – once you choose a location, decide on the date based on the place’s availability. Then, check your calendar and the weather forecast — especially if you’re going for an outdoor party.
Duration – children parties last between two and a half and three hours.
Theme – from Princess parties to Disney characters, choosing the right theme influences all future preparations. Take a look at some girl themed party supplies to get fresh ideas for a trendy birthday party or directly ask your daughter what she prefers.

Phone Calls

When you have all your ideas on paper, you need to start the hard work — about three weeks before the party.

Order and send invitations – never leave this for the last moment. The sooner you send the invitations, the better–the best time to send anniversary invitations is between three to six weeks. This way, all guests will have plenty of time to organize their schedules to attend your event.
Order food and drinks – if you use catering, let them know way ahead about your plans: the number of guests, menu, any special requests, allergies, and other details that can help the team deliver excellent food.
Birthday cake – find a reliable provider and order a few weeks before the party to make sure you get the cake you want. Make sure that the person who makes the cake is aware of the theme of the party.
Entertainment – contact any person a few weeks before the party and set all the details for the event. If you wait until last minute, you’re less likely to find available personnel.
Side services – depending on the size of your event and location, you may need transportation or house-cleaning services.

Prepare Items

Two weeks before the party, you should start doing an inventory of things you have and things you still need for the party. Then make a shopping list and start collecting items. From decorations to ingredients for the buffet (if you plan cooking instead of ordering food), there’s plenty of stuff to go through.

Consider every detail to make sure your daughter won’t miss anything on the big day:

Decorations – if you do them yourself, see what you need to buy and start working on them as soon as possible. To reduce the pressure, you should have everything ready three to five days before the party.
Food and drinks – if you cook, prepare everything that can be made ahead of time and freeze it. This will save you a lot of time.
Candles – it can’t be a birthday party without them.
Thank you cards – whether you decide to buy them or do them yourself, get them ready a week before the event.
Tableware – borrow or rent what you don’t have.
Games and activities – children get bored fast, so you need to keep them entertained most of the time. Make sure your entertainers have everything planned. If you’re doing everything yourself, make a list of activities, write down all the supplies you need and buy (or make) them way ahead.

Check Your Final Shopping List

Three or four days before the party, check your shopping list and see whether there’s anything you’ve missed. All non-perishable items should be in your kitchen by now — fresh food is the only thing you should buy one day before the party.

It’s the right moment to confirm reservations as well as the agreement for the birthday cake.

Other checklist items to keep in mind:

Charge camera and buy some extra batteries;
Check if there’s enough space in the memory card;
Find a place for the family pets if you organize the party at home;
Make music playlist;
Put some cash in your wallet.

After the Party

This birthday party checklist can help you organize an excellent event. So, make sure you enjoy the party and spend some quality time with your daughter.
After the event, find time to send thank you cards and write honest reviews for your suppliers.

Have fun!