Hosting a Stress-free Birthday Party for Your Kiddo During the Holidays - Part 1 🎂

Wow! What an incredible line-up of birthday celebrations we've had in the past couple of weekends. 

All but one of them have been what we call our private DIY parties. Which has led here. 

With most families having to put a name to every penny in this tight economy, we thought it wise to share a few tips on how not to skimp on the joy while planning and paying for a fun-filled birthday celebration for your little one this holiday season.

Before we go on, let's define what our DIY party is. For our party packages, we have 2 main structures - DIY or DFY (Premium). 

• DIY Party: You pay for the space only. Your kids and guests come to party and play. You take care of all your party food, party decor and favors, party set-up and clean-up.
• DFY (Premium) Party: You pay for the space, food & drinks, decor, party favors and cleaning. It's all done for you (DFY).

DIY parties hosted at The Homie Hub have gone anything from decking out the whole space, including the bathroom sinks and little playhouses to a single birthday banner, a birthday cake and a number balloon. But the one constant in all these? The amount of fun had by all the kiddos. 

Seeing how much fun kids and adults alike have had at both the simple and the elaborate DIY parties, we've come to the conclusion that DIY parties could really be stress-free and some of the best for this holiday season. It all comes down to you, your crowd and your preferences.

Here are Some Tips to a Budget-friendly, Stress-free Birthday Celebration This Holiday Season

1. DIY: Do it yourself. If you're one who loves to be in control like I do, the opportunity to DIY your party puts you in the driver's seat. You're in control of everything, including the outcome of your party. How much you spend, your decor - according to how minimal or elaborate your style is, your food spread, etc. You expect no surprises, so you more than likely get none. Result? Minimal stress. 
2. Plan: Have a plan for everything - your party guests, the food, the decor, the party structure, and even the meltdowns.
   • PARTY GUESTS - First and foremost, winter dates go quick - both on our birthday booking calendar and on your guests' busy holiday calendars! Pick out a date way in advance and plan for it. Create a Facebook event and send out invites. That's the easiest and fastest way to do it. Anticipate 75% of those you invited showing up (way less in the summer). Plan for waivers to be done prior to the party. Send the link out to your invitee list. Plan for some forgetting to bring socks. Bring extra socks with you.
   • FOOD - Depends on your crowd but crockpot-able meals have been a party favorite here per our observations. Hot dogs and sandwich meats (pulled pork, sloppy joes) for the adults. Pizza for the kiddos. Cupcakes, cookie and veggie trays. A number candle on one of the cupcakes for the birthday girl/boy. Simple.

• • DECOR - No kidding, but in order to keep our costs low and our premium party prices affordable, most of our party decor is purchased from Amazon. We love quality, so though we try as much as we can to stick to the all-in-one packages, we sometimes deviate if the reviews are not the best. What are we saying? There are all-in-one decor packages for your chosen theme on Amazon. It might take hours to find. Search high and low, purchase those and fill in with local goods or Party City decor. Once you get your decor, prepare it in advance of your party day. Unpack it, string it together beforehand, blow up balloons - place them in a large balloon bag and bring with you to go up, as opposed to blowing up balloons here at your party.
  • PEOPLE - It goes without saying "It takes a village". Have your people for everything. The ones to come help you set up (we allow max of 5 adults in before the party). The ones to bring the kiddos at party time. The one to pick up the pizza. Your runner for things you forget. And of course, gigi and pop pop for the after-party drop off 😉
  • PARTY STRUCTURE - Have an itinerary for your 2 hours of party time. This is what we've seen work best:
    • 20 minutes: Arrival, Welcome & Play
    • 20 minutes: Eat
    • 40 minutes: More Play while adults connect
    • 20 minutes: Cutting of the cake, Happy Birthday Song & Favor Bags
    • Last 20 minutes: Play & Goodbyes.
  • In favor of more play time for all the kiddos (and tbh, some akward moments), most families are skipping opening the presents to be done at home. Wise, my friends. Very wise 😊. 
  • Lastly, PLAN FOR THE MELTDOWNS - You won't believe it but 2 hours and lots of family and friends, plus being the center of attention is A LOT OF STIMULATION for these little ones. They will meltdown. That's a given. Prepare for it. Maybe that plan includes ditching them to mimi's or paw paw's (kidding, not) while you, the parents, go unwind for one night  at a local hotel. You can't pour from an empty cup, right?! You've been pouring all night. Have a plan to recharge after it all. 

Last but not least, here are some extras we offer our DIY'ers to make your day even more stress-free:

• 30 minutes before your party time to set up your decor and food.
• 30 minutes AFTER your party time to tear down your decor, clean up and pack up your car. This is not part of your party time. This ensures you have your full 2 hours to party and play.
• Our faithful blue wagon to help wheel your items in on one go, or wheel your presents out at the end of your party.
• Simple balloon decor add-ons which make your party room pop for very little additional cost, while taking the stress of balloon decor off your hands.

Anything else? Just ask us. We understand days like these could very easily become overwhelming for anyone. We don't want that to be the case for you. 

You might forget stuff. Food could spill over on your way to the party (ask us how we know). We don't want simple mishaps or things you forget to spoil your fun. Talk to us. We can make anything work. Be it making a quick run to the store for you or hugging you, letting you cry it out and praying with you (we've had to do that too). 

We enjoy creating memorable moments for your entire family. Let us help as much as we can ✨