5 Fresh Ways to Throw Your Child's Next Birthday Bash

Planning a kid’s birthday party can be so much fun, but at the same time it can be a bit daunting. Especially if you’re running out of inspired ideas or trying not to kill your budget.

Does your party idea bank need to be replenished? Here are five creative twists that will add some fun and pizazz to your family birthday celebrations this year.

1. Bake it special

In our home, baking homemade goodies has always been the norm. There's nothing like spending an afternoon together in the kitchen. With a mixing bowl, yummy ingredients, and messy hands, we would concoct, decorate, and then devour our lovingly made treats.

Not every recipe we tried was a success, but we were able to spend so much fun time together trying to whip up a new masterpiece.

Several years ago, my youngest daughter was hooked on the Food Network show, Cake Wars. We would watch every new show and make notes about the many new delectable creations we wanted to recreate. Not every recipe we tried was a success, but we were able to spend so much fun time together trying to whip up a new masterpiece.

Because of that show, my daughter wanted to have a birthday party where she and her friends got to get super creative and decorate their own cakes. We called it Annie’s Birthday Bake-off. Five years later, it's still one of her favorite birthday party memories.

HERE'S HOW

Purchase chef’s hats to make it feel like the real thing. You can pre-decorate with each guest’s name in advance in fun, funky lettering.

Create a personalized workstation for each child with a foam placemat they can decorate. We found our placemats at Dollar Tree. I also found fun and whimsical stickers, paper cut-outs and die cuts, and even sparkling confetti that each child loved adding to their decorating hubs.

Depending on the age group of your party-goers, you can choose to take your bake-off in two different directions.

Older Kids (ages 8 – 15) 

Let them bake their own cakes and decorate. Use packaged cake mix to keep it simple. This approach works best if you have a small number of guests (4 – 5 kids) because you will need to have enough baking pans and supplies on hand. Keep in mind that when the cakes are cooling, you’ll need to have another activity to keep them entertained before the decorating fun can begin.

Younger kids (ages 4 – 7)

Use baked and pre-frosted cakes. You can either purchase them or bake them yourself.

Now the real fun begins. Each child gets to decorate their...

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