If your toddler’s birthday is fast approaching and you’ve hit a party planning roadblock, worry no more! The thought of managing a group of toddlers during a party can be overwhelming, but our general toddler party planning tips, fun food and decorating ideas and activity suggestions are sure to set your mind at ease. With the right game plan and plenty of supervision, you can throw a great party that will thrill your toddler and entertain your guests… without wiping you out!
Party Planning
For peace of mind, begin planning 6 - 8 weeks in advance to allow time to purchase and mail invitations, as well as to give your guests time to RSVP and make travel plans, if needed. Don't panic if you find yourself short on time; you can still plan a great party! Planning ahead simply reduces the risk of conflicts with guests' plans and may increase attendance.
To simplify the rest of the party planning process, check out our Party Planning Timeline, take a look at our When & Where to Have the Party page, and read the paragraphs below for information on selecting decorations, supplies, activities, and more for your child's party.
What Do I Need for the Party?
If you plan to use paper tableware and themed party supplies, our Suggested Party Supply List may be helpful when placing an order. Please note that you may not need everything on the list; it is intended only as a guide.
Who Should I Invite?
You have several options when it comes to who you invite to your toddler’s party. If your child has friends from a playgroup, a daycare center, or the neighborhood, consider inviting a few of the children your toddler talks about most. The general rule is to invite one friend for every year of your child’s age, plus one. So, if your toddler is turning two, you would invite three friends. Keep in mind that at least one parent and, quite possibly, other siblings of each child will stay during the party. This can dramatically expand your guest list, so plan for it in advance by keeping the list of friends to invite short. If you would like any of the parents or older siblings to help out during the party, call them in addition to mailing them invitations. (Remember: More parents present means less kiddy chaos!)
As an alternative to inviting your toddler’s friends, you may choose to have a party with just family in attendance. At this age, your child will be just as excited to see his favorite aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents as he would have been to see his friends, and it may be less stressful for you. You can always invite one or two special friends to join the festivities with their parents, if desired.
Decorating & Food Ideas
Fun Ideas to Set the Mood
There is tremendous flexibility in decorating for a toddler’s birthday party. You can keep things simple with a handful of traditional decorations like helium-filled balloons and streamers, or you can select a theme for your child’s party and bring it to life with themed decorations. Here are a few standard tips that you can implement to set the mood for a basic party or a theme party:
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Hang or float bunches of balloons throughout the party area. For girls, you may use a combination of pink, purple, and white, or your daughter's favorite colors. For boys, red, yellow, and blue work well, unless your son prefers other colors. If you’ve chosen a theme for your party, select colors that compliment the designs on your cups, plates, and other partyware.
- Twist together streamers in the same color scheme as the balloons, and hang them along the walls and doorway(s) of the main party area(s). For a fun touch, you can also hang long strips of streamers in a row across each entryway into the main party area(s), creating curtain(s) for your guests to pass through as they come and go.
- Decorate the walls of the party area with letters of the alphabet and numbers cut from construction paper, or use pictures of your toddler’s favorite characters cut from magazines or printed from the Internet.
- Play popular children’s music, or the soundtrack from your child’s favorite movie or TV show.
- Set up a special spot for the guest of honor to sit for pictures and/or story time. If one is available, use a child-sized chair, and decorate it with balloons, streamers, pictures of your child’s favorite cartoon characters, or anything else your child likes.
- Block off a bit of the main party area, and turn it into a giant play pen stocked with age-appropriate toys and/or art supplies, such as crayons and blank paper. You can use this space to entertain your little guests in between activities, or as an area where they can cool down after playing more active games.
- Make a playhouse out of a large refrigerator or furniture box. Decorate it to compliment your chosen theme or to look like a miniature of your own home. This can be incorporated into the designated play area or another part of the party area.
Tasty Treats for Toddlers
When it comes to food, children are usually perfectly content to eat pizza or hotdogs, which is certainly much easier on the hosts! However, if you have time, you can serve theme-related treats like animal crackers for an animal party or seawater (i.e. apple juice with blue food coloring) for an ocean party. Either way, minimally-messy finger foods are best for toddlers, so consider things like:
- Animal Crackers
- Apple Wedges
- Baby Carrots
- Bagel Bites
- Berries
- Cheese Cubes
- Cupcakes
- Cut Veggies
- Goldfish Crackers
- Grapes
- Ice Cream Cups
- Juice Boxes
- Mini Cookies
- Olives
- Pear Wedges
- Pigs in a Blanket
- Pretzels
Note: For more theme-specific ideas, make sure to check out the “Plan a Theme Party” section of our Party Planning page.
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