Many people of different ages at some point come up with the idea of celebrating a birthday in the style of a favorite movie, the traditions of a distant country or a historical era.
It’s nice and easy to get together with friends, but in the era of social networks, a series of photos from a themed holiday attracts much more likes and comments, and this is not only pleasant, but sometimes necessary for the development of a personal account for commercial purposes.
Organizing a birthday and anniversary yourself: 14 tips
Not every holiday needs a professional, but organizing a birthday or anniversary yourself should not neglect the free advice of experienced people.
Our staff has extensive experience in organizing small and large events. Countless weddings, birthdays, and events have been successfully implemented in collaboration with professional event agencies.
Learn the basic mechanics of organizing an event, consider what makes a birthday party unforgettable and what pitfalls are at stake when planning.
Take our 14 tips and organizing your own birthday and anniversary will be successful. You will definitely write wonderful memories of her.
Common cause
This is some kind of master class that engages all the children at the same time.
- long roll of floor drawing paper that ten people can draw on
- a large figure of an animal made of white plastic, which needs to be sculpted using the “plasticine applique” technique
- a huge coloring book in a frame with a plot dedicated to the theme of the event, each child can color a character
- cardboard house coloring book. Don't give paint, you can color it perfectly with wax crayons and pencils.
Pirate's house (110 cm) buy here
Coloring book “Princess House” (110 cm) buy HERE.
The alphabet house is the most popular option, suitable for boys and girls. Sturdy, beautiful, height 110 cm.
Where does organizing a birthday party begin?
How would you like to celebrate your birthday?
The mother of all questions: how do you imagine your party? What kind of party are you having? What about you? What is important to you on your birthday?
Do you want to eat in a small cafe? Or does it make sense to throw a big feast?
Do you want musical entertainment, invite an artist, musician, show? Do you want to organize a dance party?
There are dozens of ways to throw a successful party. Be the first to clarify the nature of your event. Know what shape you want your holiday to take.
Find out about your options
Opportunities are: organizational, technical, financial. A celebration with 200 guests, timpani and trumpets and a famous orchestra, entertainment with 20 participants in a rented castle is carefully planned. It requires a small family party in a cabin in the woods and will probably be a lot more expensive...
Do you want to organize a birthday or anniversary yourself? Or do you want to hire a professional such as an event planning company? What is your budget for your party? What are your wishes and what are your financial capabilities? How do both factors relate?
Answer these questions and decide how much you want to spend on your party.
Start planning early
How you want to celebrate your birthday affects your preparation schedule. The bigger the special party, the sooner you should start organizing.
Not every type of holiday requires the same preparation time. Start planning at least 3 months in advance. The sooner the better. The “dream wedding” should be decided at least six months in advance. A family reunion in a forest cabin will likely make the preparation process shorter.
However, you need to start preparing early.
Set the date
When should the holiday take place? Set a date and prevent deadline conflicts.
Always good: Friday or Saturday evening. Or the evening before the holiday. Or on a Sunday afternoon - if everyone gets together quite comfortably on this day. Or on the day you were born?
Clarification: are your colleagues planning a similar party, or is there a big village or city celebration taking place on your day? What about food or musical entertainment? Good service providers are often already booked months in advance. So if you are looking for a specific entertainer, host, DJ or musician: check availability!
Create a to-do list
Create a checklist. Write down everything you need to do. Write down the days of completion, who will do them, you or someone else will entrust them. And: stick with it!
Who do you want to invite?
Who would you like to see at your birthday party? How many guests would you like to invite? How many guests does your budget allow? Create a guest list. Among other things, ask yourself the following questions: How good will the guest lineup be? Who is suitable for each other, what kind of people should be invited? Who brings the mood, who is calmer? Is there a conflicted person? This is to help you find a good middle ground. Your guests. A good party largely lives on its guests.
7. Advance Notice – “Save the Date”
This is especially convenient in cases where organizing a birthday party requires lengthy preparation. Create a business card for your guests to communicate the date of your party and ask them to book the day for you.
The business card will be sent as an invitation and will not contain any additional information other than the booking request.
So make sure your guests can come to you. You have time for further organization, such as choosing a location.
Where is the party taking place?
Where should a personal celebration take place? Find and book a suitable venue that suits your space needs and has your desired ambience.
You should be aware of the desired holiday setting. So the venue suits your needs and wishes.
Is there enough space for music, a solo artist, a show? Is there room for a perhaps necessary children's corner? If the wardrobe and how many guests - in winter you need more space for many jackets...
Pay attention to the area. Not too big, not too small. In too much space, society can feel a little lost.
Other points to keep in mind:
Is the location convenient for arrival or difficult to get to? Will they come themselves, or will you take care of transporting the guests?
If you are planning to organize a birthday party at a recreation center, in a country house, or in the open air:
Is there sufficient parking or do you need to arrange a shuttle?
What power source? Are there any special precautions that must be taken?
Do you have enough toilets or do you need to provide additional portable toilets?
Are neighbors affected who may be disturbed by music or noise from guests? Remember: Residents who feel uneasy can stop the celebration. All it takes is one phone call to the police...
Cornerstones of your invitation
If the venue is booked, you should be aware of these party cornerstones:
When does the party start? What time do you want to invite guests?
Is there a pick-up period or would you like to start at a designated time?
Do you start with an aperitif?
Coordinate planning with your service providers: catering, solo artists or sound engineer, and the like.
What is missing
Since the holiday takes place at home and everyone has a computer or laptop at home, you can prepare the following pictures in advance using the Internet and ingenuity: in one picture there are three drawings, with the first and second being depicted. And what should be in the place of the third one must be guessed by the guests. Whoever guesses first raises his hand and answers; the correct answer is one point. Whoever has the most points is the winner Examples of pictures: Picture “gold”, picture “silver”, picture __________ (bronze) Picture “blonde”, picture “brown-haired”, picture ____________ (brunette) Picture “stone”, picture “scissors”, picture _________ (paper ) and so on.
Entertainment program for a birthday (anniversary) “DIY Celebration”
If you are thinking about how to organize a fun family holiday in the company of close friends, colleagues and relatives, then this scenario is for you.
The presented entertainment program by the talented author A. Zaitsev is designed to hold a holiday in a close circle and on your own, without the involvement of professionals, which means that even a beginner can take on its preparation, and the holiday itself can be organized at home. During the evening, for example, prizes with the following names can be drawn:
A traveling art exhibition of unpainted paintings by future artists from the Art Doodles gallery - (sketchbook).
Competitions for men at the table
- Each male guest takes turns naming cartoon characters (which ones he remembers). To win, you need to name as many as possible.
- Inflate a balloon and draw a face on it with a felt-tip pen. Whoever does it first wins.
- The participant holds a pencil between his lip and nose. The guests try their best to make him laugh. This action is performed by all men in turn. Whoever lasts the longest without dropping the pencil wins.
- Those present ask the participants leading questions about famous children's fairy tales, cartoons, and poems. Whoever guesses the most wins.
- For this competition you will need fishing rods or sticks with fishing lines attached to them (according to the number of participants). The fishing rod is held above the participant so that the candy dangles above him. The task is to unwrap and eat the candy without using your hands.
- From plasticine you need to mold any object with a given letter. Similarity and speed are assessed.
- If there are several children at the party, you can hold this competition. Each male representative is blindfolded and given a bag of children's clothing. The task is to dress the children correctly for the time being.
- Each person is given several potatoes and a knife. The time during which you need to peel the potatoes as efficiently as possible is recorded.
- Remember as many children's poems as possible and recite them.
- Write the recipe for borscht on a piece of paper. Female guests evaluate and determine the winner.
Entertainment program for guests “DIY Feast”
The owners of the house greet guests with the words: “We are glad to have guests as good news!”, “Welcome!”
Each guest is invited to the aperitif table and offered to choose a drink and one of the notes prepared in advance with a comic toast. When all the guests are gathered, they are invited to the table. Leading. Hello! People have many ways of greeting each other, so I want to give a special greeting to everyone on our holiday.
(The presenter shakes someone’s hand, hugs someone, kisses someone, pats someone on the shoulder, waves his hand to someone, blows a kiss to someone, etc.)
(Next comes a feast with toasts and congratulations. The host periodically inserts remarks.)
- Dear guests! Which of you can add something to what has been said about the hero of the day?
– Who can highlight other aspects of the outstanding nature of our birthday boy?
– I suggest choosing an analyst among the guests. The one who will say: “How about pouring it?”*
- (Addresses one of the guests.) And we will call you “lad,” because you clap your hands louder than anyone else.
Comic description of the hero of the day
Leading. I have in my hands a description of our hero of the occasion (reads):
His clothes are a feast for the eyes.
His hard work is worthy of the highest praise.
Honest, like an ATM.
Mobile like a phone.
Beautiful, like a rare diamond.
Brave as a furious lion.
– If you agree with this, let me know with applause (Guests applaud.)
Table game “Stable Expression”
Leading. For our holiday, I have prepared a list of common expressions. For example, Indian...summer, scarecrow...garden, etc. The one who accurately continues the stable expression receives a token. The guest who collects the most tokens is awarded a prize. Let's start the game.
(Counting of tokens is in progress.)
Fun for guests “Get a prize”
Leading. Prizes are up for grabs!
2. (The presenter hands the guests several tear-off calendars.) The one who is the fastest to tear out the sheets with Fridays from the calendar will receive a prize that is suitable for any make of car. (A competition is taking place. The winner receives a keychain that fits any make of car. The presenter takes tear-off calendars from the players and gives out several piles of old newspapers.)
Auction “Drinks of the World”.
(The hero of the day fills the winner’s glass with his own hand.)
(A dance block is in progress. Next, guests are invited to the festive table to continue the ceremony of congratulating the hero of the occasion.)
Outdoor games “Rope competitions”
The presenter takes out a shoe box, the ends of the ropes stick out from the slot
(The presenter takes scissors and cuts about one meter of rope from the ball.)
Leading. I propose to hold a competition. The rules are simple: step on the rope. The players sit on chairs in a circle. I will walk behind the players and suddenly throw a rope into the middle of the circle. Everyone stands up, trying to step on it as quickly as possible. Whoever does not have enough space is eliminated from the game. Each time I will shorten the rope by 15-20 cm. The game goes until the last player.
Leading. Today, not only the birthday boy, but all participants of our holiday will receive pleasant surprises and prizes.
Funny riddles
Leading. Attention riddles!
“Women love it, workers demand it, soldiers don’t like it.” What is this? (outfit)
– Brown, wrinkled, is there in every woman? (highlight)
“Yesenin was a wonderful poet; he has no equal in talent. Duncan also knew about this, having performed for him... (“International”)
(Those who answer correctly become participants in the next games).
Game “Disconnect”.
The presenter presents the prize with a humorous comment: “Go ahead and cheat!”
Holiday theme
Why is choosing a topic important in the first place? It is on this choice that your entire flight of thought depends. Ideas for all the other points from my instructions immediately come up, so start with this.
If you don’t want to dedicate the holiday to just one character or one fairy tale, just choose a color! Well, let there be an orange party where everyone is in an orange mood. However, here are the main themes of children's parties, study the article and get inspired!
I also recommend studying the table with our programs for inspiration, because it contains the most popular topics that are most often ordered from us.
How to Celebrate a Birthday: Ideas and Planning
An approaching birthday is not so much about pleasant expectations of surprises and gifts, but rather a painful puzzle: how to celebrate your birthday? where to celebrate? who to invite? and in general, is it worth celebrating your birthday? In this article, I propose to analyze these questions and together choose the most optimal option for celebrating a birthday. I also share my personal planning experience, my ideas and birthday celebration program.
Let's start with the last question - to celebrate or not to celebrate your birthday? If you believe in the magic of the day on which you were born, and deep down in your soul you expect special impressions and emotions on this day, then the answer is clear: of course, celebrate!
Should you expect a surprise or organize your own birthday party? You can, of course, let the situation take its course and expect surprises from family and friends. If your environment knows about your passion for surprises and is able to organize them, well, this is a great option! But if you wait for miracles for years, and they don’t happen, and you objectively understand that in your environment you are the most active and creative person, then there is only one way out - to organize your birthday yourself.
Drawing invitation cards
The holiday begins with an invitation. You can simply call and verbally invite guests, or you can show creative ingenuity and use the “grandmother’s” method - send out beautifully designed invitation cards by mail. For adults, it will be a surprise to find in the mailbox, along with the rent receipt, a beautiful envelope with an invitation to a children's party. And children will be interested in tearing open the packaging and looking at its contents. There are various ways to decorate cards for a children's birthday:
- Draw an individual card for each invited guest (child and his parents).
- Design in one of the graphic editors.
- Buy ready-made invitations and sign them beautifully or compose a short quatrain.
The best way, of course, is to make an individual card together with the child for each invitee.
Birthday activities
If you have the opportunity, be sure to travel! And if not, create such an opportunity.
I often remember one parable that I heard back in school from a wonderful teacher: once upon a time there were 2 girls. The parents gave one a gold ornament for every birthday, and the parents took the second girl on a trip to a new country every year. After 10 years, it so happened that both families were robbed. The first girl was very upset - all her gifts for 10 years (a box with gold jewelry) were stolen by thieves and she was left with nothing... The second girl was also upset because of the theft - but all her gifts, impressions of traveling to amazing cities and countries, are forever stayed with her. No one can take away our impressions and memories - this is what stays with us forever and makes our life truly rich!
If you are interested in this option, you will be interested in my article on how I organized a trip to Spain
Master classes
Your children played, had competitions with them, danced, walked, and the wedding is still in full swing. What to do? Make gifts! Mom, dad, groom, bride, grandma at home, girlfriend in kindergarten, anyone!
Here I do not dare list all the master classes that can be organized for children, here is a description of several in this article, I will give only a few tips. At such events it is better to do a mix of different activities. We paint wooden toys, gingerbread cookies, make cards, decorate T-shirts, make figures from sugar mastic for a cake, etc. Let everyone choose something they like.
Who will take the photos?
This is an important question. Appoint someone responsible for reportage photography before the start of the holiday, because the preparation shots are also very interesting. How mom sets the table. How dad hangs balloons. How the whole family together cuts out petals for a giant flower.
Great!
If there will be a lot of volunteer photographers (for example, someone’s parents), ask everyone to collect photos on Yandex.Disk, so that later you can select the best shots and exchange “happy moments.”
"Quests out of the box"
There are many ready-made scripts with brightly printed props on sale. The instructions describe everything in detail; children eventually find the gift you have hidden by completing a chain of tasks.
Here are examples of such quests:
If you are in Moscow, I am happy to offer professional programs, here again is the entire list of the most popular ones. It could be one, two or three leaders. It all depends on the scale of the celebration.
