Organizing a party

Learn how to make choices

Your child is already capable of taking part in some decisions. With your help, he or she can choose from possible activities and see how these selections can affect the amount needed to hold the party. Making and refining choices will help your child learn.

Let your child help choose:

• Where to hold the party: Celebrate at home—or in a public place like a park, restaurant, museum, etc.?
• The number of guests: You'll need to consider your budget, the party venue and how much space is available.
  Tip: Let your child's age determine the number of guests: 6 years old = 6 guests
• The length of the party and type of food served: Have some friends over for a few hours—or hold a sleepover?
• The decorations and the cake: Make the them yourself—or buy them?
• Favours: Should guests receive gifts too, or not?

Balancing budget and wants

For kids ages 6 or 7, the word “party” is synonymous with fun and treats. So don't start your conversation about party plans with a discussion of money. Ideally you will determine a budget for the party first, and share it with your child later.

You, as the parent, are the one who'll need to determine when the time is right to introduce the concept of “budget” to your child. At this age, children can start to grasp what works within an established budget and what is too much.

Participate in the prep

By being involved in the preparations, your child will become aware of how much time goes into planning an event. Making kids responsible for some of the party arrangements is an excellent way to develop their autonomy and help them formulate concepts about money.

Let everyone shine

Giving older kids a role to play will help them shine too, especially when there are other siblings or friends from several age groups taking part in the festivities.

A day of group activities is ideal for promoting cooperative values like supporting others, developing a sense of responsibility, fairness, etc.

A party represents a host of chances to let your child make decisions or take on responsibilities. As a parent, you know your child's abilities and how best to showcase them. Why not take this chance to develop new skills too? Here is a list of tasks that your child can take on, with your assistance.

Before the party

• Pick a theme: suggest several ideas your child can choose from
• Set the date, time and duration of the party
• Make up a guest list
• Prepare and edit the invitation
• Choose or make invitations and mail them
• Plan the order of activities
• Choose activities and games. Encourage your child to select cooperative games that let all the players have fun together and that emphasize values like sharing and solidarity.

During the party

• Welcome the guests
• Start off with a fun game that gets everyone involved
• Follow the set order for activities and games

After the party

• Help clean up and put away the gifts received
• Determine whether you stayed within budget
• Decide whether the party was a success:
  • Did everyone have a good time?
  • Does your child feel good about the way it was organized?
  • What did he or she like most?
  • What would he or she like to change for the next time?
  • Did your child enjoy organizing the party?
  • Did everything come off as planned?
  • Does your child recognize the benefit in having taken part in all aspects of planning the party?