I start planning for birthdays a couple of months beforehand. First, I figure out the date of the party (my husband likes to have the party the Saturday AFTER the actual birthday). I usually send family a save-the-date text.

Then, I book the space and any other rentals. This year our girl wanted an inflatable slide, so we booked the gym at church and rented the slide she wanted well ahead of time (the slide had to have Blaze colors- Blaze and the Monster Machines is her favorite tv show right now).

Next, I ordered the cake. Depending on where you get it, you may need to do this a couple of months ahead, but if you get it from the grocery store, they usually only need a 24 hour notice.

I buy toys as they go on sale (usually during January and the summer), but I’ll take some time at this point to figure out what she will get for her birthday.

Then, I figured out what food we were going to serve. For the Blaze party, we had BLAZING hot soup (taco soup and chili), and cornbread. I like to scroll Pinterest for creative and punny ideas for decorations. Sometimes I will make my own decorations, but usually I order them from Party City, Oriental Trading, Etsy, or Amazon.

I did a Sam’s Club order a few weeks ahead in case something was out of stock, and then stocked up on the perishables the week of the party. I also made a list of what to pack for the church, and started pulling that together the week of the party. Coolers for ice, chalkboard signs, balloon holders, plates and utensils, etc.

I also like to make a photo banner with a photo from each month of the previous year. This means I make the photo banner the month of the party. I just print out 4×6 photos and tape them to baker’s twine. After the party, I’ll use the photos to make scrapbook pages (my latest favorite hobby!).