HOW TO HOST AN AMAZING TODDLER BIRTHDAY PARTY

Hi there! Thanks for stopping in. Now that you’re here, I’d like to invite you to join the party. It’s my Granddaughter’s 2nd Birthday and my Grandson’s 1st Birthday and we are celebrating. My Grandchildren were very conveniently born 1 year and 1 day apart! So come with me and I’ll show you how to host an amazing toddler birthday party in 26 easy steps. Well, at least my daughter-in-law, party planner extraordinaire, makes it look easy. And if you follow this step-by-step tutorial, you won’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Step 1 – Hire an amazing photographer to capture the special day in photos. If you live in the DC area, I highly recommend Megan Tynan of Celtic Gray Photography. She gets the credit for all the stunning photos in this blogpost. Contact her here.

Step 2 – Make a great 1st impression and designate the party location with helium balloons at the front door.

Step 3 – Pick a color scheme and party theme and run with it. From the party decor, to the invitations, to the birthday child’s apparel, make a statement and stick to it. The Gumball Dispenser is from Amazon, the coordinating wrapping paper is from Paper Source and the honeycomb tissue balls are from Sweet LuLu.

Step 4 – Produce wonderful invitations online at websites like Minted and Tiny Prints. In this day of online communications why not have your invitations printed and sent in the mail? Frame the invitation and it becomes party decor as well as a treasured keepsake.

Step 5 –  Decorate with flowers. They are so affordable at Costco, and you can purchase inexpensive vases at IKEA.

Step 6 – Invite lots of family & friends. I say make it a family affair with dads included. But the kids will always steal the show!

Step 7 – Dress the Birthday Boy & Girl in coordinating, monogrammed apparel from Kelly’s Kids. They even have matching Mommy-wear as well!

Step 8 – While you’re at it, add personalized accessories from Avery Rayne, all in keeping with the party colors of course.

Step 9 – You can never have too many honeycomb tissue balls. Buy them in party-coordinating-colors here from this great online shop called Sweet LuLu.

Step 10 – Make sure there are plenty of kid-friendly activities. Turn your kitchen table into an art center. Provide an easel, fill mason jars with lots of colorful crayons, pencils & markers. Pile the table with stacks of coloring books.

Step 11 – Get a blowup child’s pool and fill it with oodles of colorful balls from Amazon.com to make a fun Ball Pit. It’s like Chuck e Cheese at home!

Step 12 – Create a Playdough Station. It turned out to be great fun for kids and parents alike. And boy did the rainbow of colored dough fit right in with the colorful party decor!

Step 13 – Everyone loves a Bouncy House Slide. Get one like this on Amazon. We moved out furniture in the basement and set this up indoors. It was electrifying fun for all!

Step 14 – Make a cupcake decorating station. Nothing is more enchanting for children than to decorate a cupcake and then devour it, getting more on their hands and face than in their mouths. This should be a day for complete abandon!

Step 15 – Add a milk station. Freeze a carton of milk, then add it to a drink dispenser (sold at Costco) that’s filled with milk. It will stay chilled for hours. Serve the milk in vintage style milk bottles with decorative straws. Dress up the table with multi colored tissue confetti found here.

Step 16 – Hot cocoa with all the fixin’s is enjoyed by one and all, especially if your party is on a cold winter day like ours was.

Step 17 – Make lettered signage using free printables from Martha Stewart found here.

Step 18 – Parents get thirsty too, so make sure there are grownup beverages as well. For starters, set up a festive bubbly bar with champagne & wine.

Step 19 – In fact, while you are at it, hire a bartender. Our favorite bartender, Mr. Kim, from The Chart House in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia helps out at all of my son’s functions. With 30 year’s experience in the restaurant industry, he is always a huge help and no one ever gets thirsty!

Step # 20 – Don’t forget to serve non-alcoholic drinks as well. And make sure all your guests have the Uber App on their phones!

Step 21 – No bar or buffet would be complete without coordinating napkins. Get yours here from Caspari. They will personalize them with a fun phrase or a monogram too! The coordinating striped tablecloth is nothing more than a sheet of fabric (Michael Miller Stripes Mighty Stripe Rainbow) from Fabric.com.

Step 22 – Where there is drink there should also be food, lots of fun, kid-friendly finger food. It helps to solicit the services of a Grandmother who loves to cook. In this case that would be me. Normally, I would have to spend a day shopping for party food all around town. Not anymore! In DC you can now call on the services of a great new start-up company called InstatCart. For only $3.99 you can have your groceries delivered within an hour! What a lifesaver for less than what you’d pay for gas! No more sending husbands on last minute shopping expeditions. I love it!!!

Step 23 – No toddler birthday party would be complete without a Smash Cake! In this case, we used giant cupcakes with glittery gold number candles from Jamboree Party Box.

Step 24 – Top it off with a personalized birthday hat from Monograms Off Madison.

Step 25 – No party would be complete without party favors. Louisa filled jars with trail mix and personalized M & M’s , then decorated the jars with printed labels that matched the invitations from Tiny Prints. Place favors by the door so guests can pick them up as they exit.

Step # 26 – Some sound advice: leave the present opening for the next day. This way you can extend the festivities for another day when you are relaxed. The wrapping paper is from Paper Source, the ribbon from Costco.

So there you have it: HOW TO HOST AN AMAZING TODDLER BIRTHDAY PARTY

PS – This is NOT a sponsored post and I have not been compensated by any of the companies mentioned in this post. I just like sharing great resources with you.

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