Birthday Party Planning During the Holiday Season

While most of us are running around getting ready for Christmas, some of us are trying to find time to plan our kid’s epic birthday party. It can be stressful trying to create birthday magic while planning all the festivities of the holiday season. My kids’ birthday falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so birthday planning isn’t as easy as taking cake and ice cream to a park, or having some backyard fun.

This time of the year people are already strapped for cash due to the holidays; the stomach bugs are popping up EVERYWHERE so the day of your party people are dropping like flies. And you obsess about cold fronts and storm warnings. It’s too cold outside to send the kids out to play in the backyard, so you have to search for a space to rent. You pay $200 for two hours of kids running and crying and you barely get a chance to even say hello to the guests. It’s all so stressful to me!

Over the years we have had to get creative with how we celebrate our winter babies. We have bucked convention and either partied at home, or taken a vacation. This year we caved and hosted our first party at a gym. While we were treated to wonderful service and a helpful staff, we still prefer to have all day experiences vs. a time limited party. Experiences are more memorable than rushing to clean up and get out of the space before the next crowd hits.

Here are some fun and unique ways to celebrate your cold weather birthday child.

Limit the number of guests and celebrate at home. Invite only a handful of children. Some parents limit one guest per child’s age (example, age 5 = invite 5 kids). If you have a large family that requires renting a space, you can save money by booking a church hall, or community center. These spaces are usually big enough for a crowd, offer tables and chairs and kitchen space. And it is usually cheaper than renting an over booked party place. Plus, you’ll have the whole space to yourself.

Focus on activities - if you can’t find an indoor space big enough you can still move the party outdoors! Host your guests at a popular sledding hill, a snowshoe trail or ice skating rink. You can end your time with hot cocoa and cupcakes. Older kids might enjoy taking a night walk outside with lanterns and end with a fire pit to roast marshmallows. Preschool kids are happy with just playing in the snow. If your little ones are at the age they hate being outside, you can always bring in bowls of snow to make snow ice cream.  

Go old school and just have friends over for cake and ice cream. Or if you want to change it up go with a cookie and cocoa bar, s’mores bar or even build small gingerbread houses together. Host a Christmas movie night and pull out some classic seasonal favorites.

Brunch is popular with any age group, so invite a handful of your child’s friends over for a pajamas and pancake brunch. You can buy packages of already made pancakes, toss some premade frozen sausage into the oven and line up the toppings on the kitchen counter. Pile the pancakes up high and add a candle. Everyone can sing happy birthday when pancakes are served. Skip the favors and the take-aways. Kids are about to get so much stuff under the tree anyway!

Take advantage of the season and make a day trip to NYC to see the tree in Rockefeller Center, or visit Santa and his reindeer in North Pole NY. Stay local and visit Frosty Fest with a group of friends and stop at the diner on the way home for dessert and cocoa. If you are willing to travel, the Yankee Candle Flagship store in Deerfield MA has Santa on hand for a meet and greet and they have a room that snows every 15 minutes. You can make an entire day of fun and create lasting memories for the same amount you’d spend for two hours of fun.

Take a mini vacation. Spend the weekend at an indoor water park, or a fancy hotel and order room service. We love visiting the Berkshires for a short getaway. We visit museums and explore aquariums and eat the local fare before returning home. Again, those memories last longer than an expensive party.

Celebrating winter birthdays can be a challenge around the  holidays, but it allows for creativity and the chance to do something different or new. Less is more when you focus on the fun and ditch the trendy party places. The bottom line is forming lasting memories with your kids. And cake. Let there be cake.  

The Whatever Mom is a full-time wife and twin mama living on coffee and wine. She enjoys the pure rush of cleaning the BIG potty between loads of laundry. It is her dream that moms everywhere accept and embrace the Whatever Mom philosophy which can be found here. You can also find her musings and popular shares on Facebook and Twitter. Stay up to date with her creative ideas and outings on Pinterest.