Planning Toddler Birthday Parties

As parents, we look forward to our child's first, second, and third birthday as a marker of their huge accomplishments in growth and development. What better way to celebrate these accomplishments then to have a party! Always keep in mind children of these ages tire easy and have no idea what all the fuss and excitement is about. The ideal toddler's birthday party is small, short and above all, fun! Here are a few tips to help make this special time fun and memorable.

Time
The ideal length of a toddlers birthday party is one- to one-and-a-half-hour. Have a lunch time birthday party. Kids usually get cranky later in the day; throw the bash around 12:00 or 1:00 P.M. This will allow for all the fun and festivities to be over just in time for a lap.

Decorations
Theme parties are fun! Center your child's party around their favorite Disney character or cartoon character. Party invitations, party favors, plates, and cake are easy to coordinate once a theme is selected. At these young ages there is no need to be extravagant, simple is best.

Who to invite:
Toddlers are happy with having just family members to celebrate his/her big day. At this age separation anxiety is still an issue so keep this in mind when inviting little friends from his/her playgroup.

Foods
If serving lunch, it is always best to advise parents of your planned menu as many children have food allergies. Sandwiches or finger food such as cheese sticks and crackers or peanut butter and crackers , slices bananas, orange ctions, or small chunks of watermelon are terrific for small fingers. Fruit juice or milk are best served at a toddler's birthday party as we don't want to have a sugar over load. Of course no birthday is complete without cake and ice cream!

Games
In the early ages structured games will never do. Games such as bean bag toss or Ring-a-Round- the-Rosy are fun and non-competitive. Toddlers tend to get bored easily so it is best to keep the amount of games to a minimum.

Don't forget the film!
What better way to make the memories of these first years last then to have tons of birthday pictures. Make sure you have plenty of film on hand for their special day. It is always a good idea to test the camera's flash just in case the batteries need to be replaced.