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There are plenty of things you need to do to organise the perfect birthday party at home. We’ve created the ultimate list everything you need to think about, including some great ideas, tips, tricks and even a free printable party planning checklist!
Set the Budget
Planning a birthday party at home is a great way of reducing the cost of your event. But there are still plenty of ways you can host a party on a budget. The first thing you need to do though is be clear on exactly how much you want to spend and keep a clear track of it. So set a figure before you start anything else.
You can keep tabs on what you’re spending by simply writing it all down, or even better by using an excel document. This will help you keep an eye on the total amount you’ve spent and how much you’ve got left so you never overspend. If you’re looking for ways to cut the cost of your party down, check out our quick tips to planning a party on a budget.
Make the Guest List
The number of guests you will be able to invite to your party will depend on the amount of space you have, and your budget.
There’s plenty of things you need to buy for a party, and these often relate to how many guests you’re inviting. So make sure you have enough room in your budget for everyone’s food and drinks.
The next limiting factor to the amount of guests you can invite, is the size of the house. Estimate about 5-8 people per room and figure out how many rooms you’re guests can go in and it’ll give you a rough number. Try and invite around 10-20% more guests than you actually want at your house party.
Once you’ve decided how many guests you are inviting, it’s time to decide who’s made the cut. Think about your essential guests first, like your close friends and family. Then you can start adding more people until you reach a sensibly sized guest list. Try and think about groups of friends and family when deciding who to invite, and make sure you’ve not left anyone out!
Get your Invitations Sorted
The next thing you need to do, is send out the invitations.
You can go for a casual text if you’re not inviting many people, or even a group email can work well. Handwritten invitations offer a personal touch, but are often time consuming.
If you want an easy and quick way of sending your invitations, make a Facebook event. It’ll allow you to add everyone in one go, and keeps a track of everyone’s response so you know exactly who’s coming.
Decide the Date and Time
First, check with your essential guests to see what is the best date for them. Ideally you should be planning your party around 1-2 months in advance, so it’ll give everyone plenty of notice.
The best time for a party depends mostly on what type of party it is. We think these are the best times to host a birthday party at home:
Here’s the best times and length of popular parties:
Toddler’s birthday party- 11:30-13:00 on a weekend
Kid’s birthday party- 14:00-16:00 on a weekend
Teenager’s birthday party- 15:00-18-00 on a weekend or 18:00-20:00 on a weeknight
Adult’s birthday party- 20:00 onward on a Friday or Saturday
If you’re looking for more help, check out this guide to help you decide best time for a kid’s birthday party!
Pick a Party Theme
Choosing a theme is one of the most fun things about planning a birthday party, but it’s also one of the hardest!
If you’re planning a birthday party at home for your child, it’s a great idea to get them involved with choosing the theme! Asking them what their favourite books and films are is a great place to start. Here’s a list of some great party theme ideas for kid’s:
- Pirate
- Princess
- Sports
- Jungle
- Outer-space
- Superheroes
- Circus
- Rainbow
- Unicorn
- Dinosaur
Kit your Home out with Decorations
You can go to your local party supply store to find a range of great decorations that won’t cost a fortune. There are loads of ideas online too, so hop on Amazon or Ebay to find some inspiration for your birthday party at home. If you’ve picked a theme for your party, you’ll have no trouble finding some great decorations to complete the look!
Shindigz is a great online party supply store that you can use to find great decoration ideas with over 34,000 party supplies for every occasion and next day delivery!
Stumps Party is another awesome party supply store offering custom event supplies and regular deals and discounts.
Keep your Guests Entertained
There are loads of great entertainment ideas for every party theme and any budget. If you’re hosting a more casual party with close friends, why not go for some classic game night ideas? Here’s a list of the best classic games to play at a party for adults:
- Charades
- Cards against Humanity
- Pictionary
- Joking Hazard
- Jenga
If you’re going for a wild house party, don’t forget to check out the best drinking games for large groups and small groups!
The easiest and cheapest way to entertain your guests at your birthday party at home is with great music! You don’t need to be a professional DJ to create a great party playlist. You just need some decent speakers, your phone, an AUX lead and an Apple Music account. Check out these party playlist tips to help you make the perfect playlist!
Apple Music is the perfect way to create a party playlist. It’s intelligent recommendation feature makes it really quick to add songs to create the perfect track list and it’s cross fade feature makes seamless song transitions. It’s only $9.99/ £9.99 per month and you can get a free 3 month trial to check it out. And don’t worry, you can use it on Android devices too!
Join over 50 million subscribers and sign up for your 3 month free trial today!
Sort out the Party Food
There are plenty of food options for your at home birthday party. The easiest way to sort your party food is to hire a caterer, the only problem with this is the cost. The cheapest option is to sort out the catering yourself. It doesn’t have to be too difficult either, you can ask for help from your friends and family to take the pressure off. If you want the best of both worlds, plenty of supermarkets offer a service where you can order buffet food in advance and collect it on the day of your party. Check out our ultimate party food guide to help decide the best option for your birthday party at home.
Here are some party food ideas to get you started!
5 Best Party Snacks
- Pigs in blankets
- Sliders
- Bruschetta
- Baguette pizza
- Deviled eggs
5 Best Party Main Dishes
- Curry
- Enchiladas
- Pasta bake
- Caserole
- Salads
5 Best Party Desserts
- Cheesecake
- Tarts
- Cupcakes
- Mousse
- Brownies
So how much party food do you need? Here’s a list of some popular party foods and the amount to serve per guest to give you a rough idea.
Food | Amount Per Guest |
Sandwiches | 1.5 servings |
Cupcakes | 1.5 |
Drinks | 1.5 per hour |
Pizza | 2 slices |
Salads | 1 cup |
Crisps | 1 bag |
Cold meats | 3 slices |
Cheese | 2 slices |
Bread | 1-2 slices/ buns |
Burgers | 1 |
Hot dogs | 1 |
Choose the Party Drinks
No matter what type of party you’re hosting, you need to make sure there’s a selection of drinks on offer to try and keep everyone happy.
If you’re planning a children’s birthday party, fizzy drinks are always popular, but not so healthy. Fruit juice is a better option, but a tad boring. So why not try this healthy strawberry and banana smoothie recipe? It’s easy to make in batches, tastes great and isn’t too unhealthy either!
Strawberry and Banana Smoothie Recipe (makes 10 drinks)
Ingredients:
- Peeled banana
- Strawberries 400g
- Natural yogurt 3 tablespoons
- Runny honey 1 tablespoon
Blend 400g of ice with the rest of the ingredients and then garnish with some strawberries.
If you’re hosting a birthday party at home for adults, there are plenty of great alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. Here are two great party drink recipes that can be made in large batches. If you want some more recipes, check our our list of the 10 best party drinks for more inspiration.
Raspberry Lemonade – Non-Alcoholic (makes 5 drinks)
Ingredients:
- Lemonade 1 litre
- Large handful of Raspberries
- Sugar syrup 50ml
- Juice from 1 Lemon
Simply mix the raspberries, lemonade, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice, strain and serve. You could also try garnishing it with raspberries and a lemon slice.
Mojito (Alcoholic) – Makes 4 drinks
Ingredients:
- 200ml White Rum
- Soda Water
- 100ml Sugar Syrup
- 8 Lime Wedges
- 20 Mint Leaves
Muddle the lime wedges, mint leaves and sugar syrup. Add the white rum and fill the glass with crushed ice. Top with soda and garnish with mint leaves and a lime wedge.
How to Host a Birthday Party in a Small House
Hosting a birthday party in a small house can be a bit of a challenge, but it’s definitely possible. You just need to plan carefully and use your space creatively to make the most of it. Here are our favourite tips for hosting a birthday party in a small house or apartment.
Remove all the Clutter
The first thing you need to do to maximise your party space is get rid of all the clutter. Furniture or ornaments that don’t serve a purpose at your party need to go elsewhere. Moving clutter either upstairs or in a garage is a great way to help host a party in a small space.
Strategically Arrange the Furniture
Stackable chairs are a great space saver. You can have them upstairs to keep your main party space free, and bring them out if more of your guests want to sit down.
If your living room is square-shaped, rather than rectangular, it’s best to have all of your furniture on the edge of the room and your food and drinks tables in the middle to maximise the space. Your guests are likely to congregate around tables, so dot them around to spread people out. You can have a few different small tables to ensure your guests can move between them without creating a queue.
If your space is narrower instead, it can be a good idea to have one long table in the centre with all your food and drink. Then you can place chairs around the edge. This will create a flow around the area that prevents congestion when your guests are moving about.
If you don’t have enough room for many chairs, you can always throw down some pillows and blankets. It’s a good space saver because more people can usually fit on a blanket than a bench and it’ll take up less room.
Make Sure you Have Enough Bins
Make sure there are enough bins at various places in your house. It’ll make the cleaning up process the next day a lot quicker. Plus it’ll stop more people getting up and moving around creating congestion if there is a bin near them. Having a lot of people moving about is what makes your area seem smaller. When people are sat down and settled, you’re likely to feel the effects of a small space a lot less.
Stagger the Arrival Time
Another thing you can do that’ll help you host a party in a small space, is to stagger the arrival time. Having a large window for your guests to arrive, stops a massive influx of people at one time. This will make it seem like the area is larger, because trying to cram everyone in at once will highlight a small space even more.
Create a Mini Bar Area
Creating a mini bar area is a great way to maximise your outdoor space. It can also be a good idea to make drinks in batches too. You can serve them in drink dispensers to avoid having loads of cups spread across your table taking up a lot of space.
So that’s it! Now you know everything you need to about planning a birthday party at home! Don’t forget to use our free printable party planning checklist to keep you on track.
We hope you have a great party!
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