Top Party Ideas, How to have a great party with minimal stress.

We have a birthday coming up, and it’s time to start thinking about Party ideas. How can you make sure you have a fantastic party for your birthday kid, without a lot of stress. I’m always on the lookout for great party ideas and party favors that help make the time memorable, but also cut down on my stress. Recently Big Cookie sent me some cookies to try out and I think they just made it onto my list of great party favor ideas! But let’s talk about all the low stress party ideas!

When Planing a party; Top Party ideas

When planning a party, the first thing you need to decide is the type of party. Will it be a family only party? Or a friend party? How many people are you inviting? A great rule of thumb, for little ones is to allow one friend for every year of age they are turning. This will help keep over crowding to a minimal. Help the kid from being overwhelmed. And also help you not be stressed. Let’s face it. What one year old is going to remember the most amazing birthday party with 20 friends, a $50 birthday cake and party decorations galore? Plan according to your child’s age. I know as Mom’s we love to lavish our children. But it’s not a time to over stress yourself or else you will be too uptight to enjoy the day. And it is important that you enjoy the day as well!

Select a theme Once you know how many people are coming, and if they are adults or kids. It will help you better select the theme. Are you going low key? Or are you going with decorations and invites, etc. A theme can make it all fun and bring the entire party together. I always ask my kids what type of cake they want. And then I build the theme around that. There are lots of great places to find party ideas for each theme you may select. And lots of places online to shop for party supplies.

Have games Once you pick a theme, then it is really easy to do an online search for great party ideas that will keep the kids entertained. I often do an internet search for {insert theme here} party games. Then I am usually given more ideas than I can ever use. I just select a couple to host. You don’t need a lot. You don’t need the birthday party to go on for hours. Once the kids arrive, it’s great to have a craft type activity based on the theme. This gives them something to do while you are waiting for the rest of the guests. Once all the guests arrive, you can play the games, then do party favors, presents and the cake and ice cream.

Selecting Party Favors Parties are always fun for other kids when there are party favors. This is the best way to solve any jealousy issues that may arise during the opening of the presents. Lots of times other kids are so excited about their party favor bag, they don’t feel jealous about the presents the birthday kid is opening. These don’t have to be elaborate. Often times I fill them with little toys from the Dollar store, or sometimes I can find inexpensive toys that relate to the theme at a party supply store.

Other times the party favor bag can have treats. This is where I think Big Cookie would be great. Each cookie is individually wrapped, so they make great party favors. Plus they are homemade from scratch with no preservatives. So you don’t have to worry about a lot of gunk in the cookie itself. You will be sharing a delicious homemade cookie, but without having to make them yourselves.

The cookies really are big too! Big and delicious! In fact the cookies are quite gourmet. They are so rich in flavor that really you probably won’t be able to eat one cookie in one setting. But that’s ok, because they store well. Just rewrap the cookie into the package and store in an air tight container until you are ready to finish off the cookie.

The big cookie also features large chucks and made of delicious goodness. They come in 10 different flavors, so you are sure to find a great variety that everyone can enjoy. We tried out the Big Butterscotch Walnut, Big Milk Chocolate Chunk, and Big double Chocolate Peanut Butter Unity. We all tried out a piece of each cookie. And while everyone enjoyed each cookie. It was unanimous that the favorite was the Big Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Unity. It was hands down the most delicious cookie of the pack. And my kids kept raving about how delicious it was.

The Big cookie is a great party favor for any birthday party. And even perfect to order a box for a party treat table and events. You can get them all in one flavor or order special variety boxes. To learn more about Big Cookie be sure to like and follow them on Facebook.

Cake and Ice Cream The final touch to a birthday party is the cake and ice cream. Infact I think this is one of the highlights! Every year I allow my kids to pick their cake. They get to pick the flavor of the cake and the frosting. They get to pick the flavor of the ice cream. And they even get to pick how they want the cake decorated. For us, the cake is actually part of their birthday present. We have had years when the kids wanted an ice cream cake. For those I usually order them from the local bakery.

But sometimes they specifically ask for Mommy’s homemade cake. And that always makes me feel so special! My kids are fairly easy to please. They usually just say “Star Wars”. And I know how to pull that off. We have made an R2-D2 cake, and a Star Wars Hoth cake. But one of the easiest ways to make an amazing birthday cake without a lot of work, or cake decorating experience is with toy cake toppers or regular toys from the toy isle! No joke.

I’m not a great cake decorator. I can bake a delicious cake. I can frost it fairly easily. But decorating? I’m not so good at that. So in order to complete the “theme” of the cake, I find some toys that fit the theme and use them as cake toppers. This way the kid gets additional birthday toys, and the cake always pleases! And I don’t have to stress about how I’m going to get the cake decorated. I’ve not once had a kid disappointed by one of my cakes.

This year Talmage, my now 8 year old, asked for Mommy’s Chocolate cake. And a Star Wars themed cake. Well My chocolate cake is actually my Grandma’s Devil’s Food Cake recipe  made from scratch. It is super simple. Super moist. And oh so delicious. It is the cake that everyone in my extended family always asks for! This year I used a whipped frosting and Angry birds Star wars Game toys for the toppings. He said it was the best cake ever! And yet, I’m not the most amazing Cake decorator. But it still turned out great for him.

Do you host family or friend birthday parties?

Which Big Cookie would you love to taste?

What are your top Party ideas to keep stress minimal?