Children’s birthdays are a special event, the anticipation and excitement are infectious and it’s great to see the delight in your child’s eyes when celebrating their special day. Of course, not every year can be a big birthday party, budget restrictions are one reason but also the loss of that important anticipated and excitement when the events become expected.

Avoid falling into the trap of throwing a big party for every single birthday, in the younger years your child won’t understand and will often be overwhelmed by all the fuss. Once they get older, you may find they are content with a small gathering of their closest friends and family or taking them and a few friends out for a day to a theme park or zoo.

Instead, why not stick to celebrating the milestone birthdays that they are likely to remember and cope with, most common are 10 (moving from juniors to senior school), 13 (considered a teenager) and 16. This gives you plenty of time to save in between to throw a bigger than usual bash to celebrate their milestone birthdays and plan a party that’s a bit different or more personal to your child.

When it comes to throwing a party, we all want to do something a bit different for our children so why not consider the following birthday party ideas.

Tech-orientated party

Perfect for the current generation that is being brought up on smartphones and technology, where everything is available with a few taps of a touchscreen. Consider setting up some games consoles, hiring a VR rig for children over 10. There are even coding parties you can hold that teach children to program through games and interactive experiences like building robots! Not only will they have fun but it’s a great learning opportunity that may influence interests going forward.

Food and drinks and decorations can be themed around tech, emoji decorated cupcakes, cookies shaped like video game controllers, balloons of their favourite gaming characters.

Star Gazing party

There are a few times a year where the sky comes to life with shooting stars that we can see without any assistance. If your child and their friends are interested in the world beyond our own, why not hold a stargazing party? Start the party earlier on in the afternoon and after letting them expel some energy, get the kids to have a nap (it’s easier to encourage them when they know they will be able to “stay up late” later). Plan ahead and find an area you can take the kids with little light pollution if you have lots of street lights or bright nightlife near your backyard, set out some blankets and snacks and let the night sky do the rest.

The best display in the UK is the Perseid Meteor Shower, every year between mid-July and the end of August there can be up to 80 to 100 shooting stars seen every hour, reaching an astounding 200 meteors across the peak on the night of Sunday, 12^th August.

Painting Party

Great for scalability, painting parties are a great way to keep kids entertained for a few hours. Colouring pages for kids have been around for decades, and recently adults have been jumping on board so that everyone can get involved. Options include ordering custom-sized colouring pages in numerous designs from popular characters or standard kids designs or set out a large, durable blank tablecloth for the kids to decorate themselves. Outside is the best place to reduce the amount of mess (splattered paint can be hosed away) although putting down some larger tarpaulins are a great way to make cleaning up quick and easy.

When it comes to organising a kid’s party, if you are going big, sometimes your home isn’t large enough to host, and you may investigate hire of a party room or party venue. This can take away some of the hassles if your venue can also provide decorations and catering, leaving you less to worry and more time to spend with your child on their special day. Lastly, if budgets are tight and your child’s birthday is coming up, don’t let it stress you out. Focus on spending time with them and letting them know they are special to you, they’re sure to appreciate it, especially when life gets busy with school and work, it’s nice to appreciate time together.

*Collaborative post