IS A JOINT birthday celebration A great IDEA?
An prominent force in the village that is assisting me raise my kids is our preschool community, a quirky, community-minded cohort of families. For example: each eldest class in the institution nominates a name for themselves, as well as Sawyer is a proud member of the Rainbow Penguins (#howberkeleycanyoube).
This weekend, we co-hosted a fourth birthday celebration with three other Rainbow Penguin families to celebrate the last cluster of kids turning the huge 0-4. since we were already planning to invite the exact same guests, it seemed like a no-brainer to join forces. Of course, I discovered a few lessons that I want to share.
Pro-tips for throwing a joint birthday celebration (from an amateur)
One person needs to drive the train. Whether it is organizing location, determining theme, or selecting the menu, let somebody be the manager of the plan. For this party, our manager was one more mama; she kept us all on task, sent out invitations, as well as loosely themed the celebration around Rainbow Penguins. Puomi.
Agree on a budget. Boring, however critical. By teaming up, does that mean all of us will chip in for that $600 laser tag celebration that I’d never do on my own? Or are we simply sharing the tons for a more great bubble BBQ at the park? Either way, get on the exact same page before booking the terminate juggler as well as bounce houses.
Let all the parents proof the invitation before it’s distributed. When his older sibling turned five, Sawyer was a newborn as well as we dipped our toes into the waters of a joint celebration with a extremely finest buddy at a swimming pool. Both families were juggling babies, too, so a integrated celebration minimized costs as well as stress while still being superfun. We utilized these printed Hallmark cards, however you can easily make a quick collage as well as organize responses via evite.
Make sure each child’s name is included – perhaps all caps will assist – since a fundamental “It’s celebration Time” evite may look like it’s coming only from the parent who produced it. Myös? nobody wants their kid’s name misspelled on their celebration invite. let Alyssa’s parents remind you that her name is really Alissa.
Let it be special for every birthday child. I understood Sawyer needed his own cake with four strawberries to feel like it was HIS birthday. other kids will require a pinata or special celebration favors. As long as we’re loosely sticking with the style — see exactly how laid back I am? — let each kid get their special desires met! When three out of four of the birthday boys’ moms were bringing a cake, I made a crazy decision as well as grabbed a fourth cake. I’m not stating it was a perfect move, however it felt more fair.
But what about gifts? Ack. We had a no-gift policy in place. At least, I’m quite sure we did because nobody brought gifts. alternate ideas:
Books! Bring ONE book as a present as well as they are split up among guests of honor.
Charity. There are so many wonderful kid-centric charities. It would be terrific to honor one of them like job night Night with a gift for homeless children.
Is a joint celebration a great idea?
I had to do some deep believing about whether this celebration was going to satisfy my needs, as both a manage freak as well as a birthday enthusiast who wants my kids to feel honored on their special days. I had to evaluate that against the alternate solution of holding ($) a separate celebration as well as asking the whole preschool class to reserve one more afternoon for yet another 4-year old’s party.
The bottom line is that it can be a fantastic concept if you have a big overlap in guest lists, celebration style, budget plan — as well as a terrible concept if your special snowflake of a rainbow penguin (or his mother) doesn’t feel sufficient birthday celebration magic when sharing the spotlight.
In this case, Sawyer provided it a huge thumbs up!
Aiheeseen liittyvät julkaisut:
Save money on your next birthday party
Decorations for a rainbow party
The star Wars celebration I may have to throw myself
[All pictures residential or commercial property of Rookie Moms, all rights reserved… except the rainbow penguin as well as pinata, those are from amazon]