How to Host a Stress Free Birthday Party for your Toddler
On February 17th of 2017 my baby officially became a toddler.
How did that happen!!! My husband and I knew that we wanted to celebrate her birthday but I will be honest with you, I was nervous about throwing her a birthday party. Do I need to choose a theme? What food should I serve? Should we decorate?If you have seen some of the elaborate toddler birthday parties on Instagram and Pinterest it can be a bit daunting. Rather than stress myself out trying to throw the perfect Instagram and Pinterest worthy birthday party, I decided to save my sanity and keep things simple.My daughter’s birthday party ended up going better than I could have hoped. These are the steps we took that helped this party to be stress free, fun and enjoyable.
Choose the Right Time
I had hoped to have the party from 2pm-4pm, after lunch and before dinner. But scheduling did not work out that way so our party ended up being from 11am-2pm. I was worried about feeding everyone lunch. Thankfully, with a little preparation it went extremely well.
Have a Kid Friendly Menu
Because you will probably be feeding little kids, try to have kid friendly foods. Lunch meet, cheese slices, chips, crackers, veggies, dips and things of that nature work great. If you want to serve a main dish, utilize a slow cooker. If you want to make a dessert from scratch, choose one that is easy to make and is not messy to eat. When choosing a beverage, stick with clear liquids that will not stain your floors if spilled. If your child has food allergies plan the menu around them. It is their special day.
Prep your Food
I want to thank Kyra’s Bake Shop for sponsoring my munchkins party. Prepare as much food as you can the day before the party! I prepared lunch meat, cheese, gluten and dairy free chocolate rice crispy treats and cut up sausage to be cooked in the slow cooker. The morning of the party I put the sausage in the slow cooker. 30 minutes before the party, I made a large pot of rice in the rice cooker and pulled out the prepared food from the fridge. We also decided to get special gluten free, vegan cupcakes from Kyra’s Bake Shop. They are Genevieve’s favorite and it only seemed fitting to have them for her birthday.
Don’t Spend a Fortune on Party Supplies or Decorations
My daughter and I went to the dollar store for our party supplies. She had so much fun helping me pick things out. Did everything match? No! I really wanted her to chose what she wanted for her party. She also picked out the goody bags and what went inside them.
Keep the Decorating Simple
The night before the party my husband and I hung streamers and blew up balloons. A LOT of balloons. The look on my daughters face when she saw our decorated living room was priceless. The balloons were the perfect thing to keep the kids distracted and entertained during the party. (Balloons can be a choking hazard if swallowed so be sure to keep a close eye on the little ones.)
Ask for Books
My daughter received 23 new books on her birthday. I think we will ask for books every year and use it as an opportunity to add to our family library. This is not really a party tip but thought it was worth mentioning.
Remember the most Important Thing
My sanity was saved because I decided ahead of time this party was not about the theme, fancy food, amazing activities or Instagram worthy photos. The most important thing was that my daughter had fun. 
