LookLoveSend Blog

Can anyone forget Steve Martin’s character in the movie Parenthood, when he does a last-minute stand-in guest appearance as “Cowboy Dan” on behalf of his hyper-anxious, socially awkward little boy? If only all of us had a Steve Martin character for back-up at all our parties.

Choosing a theme for your child’s birthday party is the biggest hurdle in party planning. Once you’ve settled on an idea, it’s onto the birthday party invitations, and the rest is a cake walk!

Many of us have experienced firsthand that overzealous thematic details are not the same as a crash-test. Just because we’ve found the perfect clip-art for the party favor bags doesn’t mean we’re prepared for the pitfalls of popular party themes.

The experts at Parenting.com offer a few guidelines to consider when planning a themed birthday party. If you’re in the planning stages, enjoy these theme ideas and crash-test your next party by considering their expert tips:

• Arts & Crafts For moms who treasure crafty creations, making stuff easily doubles as party favors, but introduces mess and boredom for some kids. Expert Tip: Prepare with smocks and alternative activity for early finishers

• Sports & Games Moms with active kids love the low cost, group interaction, especially with professional help available at venues like bowling alleys, skating rinks, and some gyms. Just watch out for injuries and tentative or shy individuals who might need extra guidance. Expert Tip: Bring extra adults, ask about a facility’s insurance, and focus on teamwork rather than winning.

• Field Trips & Outings The potential entertainment and educational value of museums, live performances, and such is tremendous, but cost, transportation and age-appropriateness are considerations. Expert Tip: Bring extra adults for supervision and be clear about transportation in your party invitations.

• Guest Stars As long as your guest shows up, you can keep large groups entertained. We think it’s worth checking out specific ideas on Parenting.com for some age-appropriate entertainers. Expert tip: Just remember your back-up “Cowboy Dan” if your guest is a no-show:

• Restaurants Make-your-own or getting a behind-the-scenes tour involves kids, but cost, finicky eaters, and room to expend energy are considerations. Expert tip: Check out eateries with private rooms and know about specific menu items with wide appeal ahead of time.

Once you’ve settled on the theme and are comfortably prepared for possible pitfalls, get your invitations out. Start by looking at the growing collection of original birthday party invitations at LookLoveSend.com. All invitation cards are printed on high quality paper. Subscribe today and receive 20% off your first order!