Kiddie birthday parties usually take a lot of preparation and cost much money. After hosting 4 birthday parties for my daughter, I realized great parties can be achieved without exerting so much effort. We have to be smart in planning the party essentials: Food, Venue, Party Favors, and Entertainment. We also have to learn what kids really like. Let me share with you some ideas from my daughter, and tips I got from friends and from some articles I’ve read.

Kiddie birthday parties usually serve spaghetti or pancit (sometimes both), sandwiches, fried chicken, cake, and mom’s specialty dishes. Surprisingly, even the sweetest spaghetti and other bite size sandwiches could not please our most difficult food critic, kids. Here are some some steps to a kid-friendly menu.

Try fun food presentation by decorating dishes to make them visually appealing to the kids. An example of this is ketchup or mustard happy face drawn on their food. Disguise non-kiddie dishes like vegetables by battering and crisping them up or by sprinkling cheese to help camouflage unappealing food for kids. Serve dishes with dips like star or flower shaped vegetables served with colorful dips (melted cheese, ketchup, etc) on the side are also ideal for kids. My best bet for kiddie parties are mini burgers, alphabet chicken nuggets, mini pizzas, spaghetti (prepared with a lot of chopped tomatoes), battered and crisped carrot sticks or vegetable fries served with melted cheese dips.

Kiddie party venues should not be too extravagant. It will be nice thought to have a colorful happy birthday streamer and a few balloons to set the mood. Kids will appreciate wide spaces to run around and play games in.

Kids always look forward to receiving loot bags and other party favors. The best place to get them in the Philippines is in Divisoria Mall. Bubbles, clay, stickers, pencils and erasers, loot bags, and other toys can be bought by the bulk. Toys or items with cartoon characters for prizes are also available.

Party entertainment is very important. Instead of hiring clowns, magicians, and balloon sculptures, learn their craft and host the party yourself. Learning these tricks will save you a lot of money and will elicit recognition and even admiration from kids. You can start off by searching for websites about party games, easy magic tricks, and balloon twisting demonstrations.

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