Children's birthday parties
Checklists for children's birthdays from age one to twelve. Each one is built around what changes with age: who the guests really are, how long it lasts and where everyone sleeps.
Kids birthday party planning checklist
Six weeks of tasks with real dates, plus plates, cups and party bags counted for your guest list.
First birthday party checklist
A short party built around nap time, with most guests being adults and a few babies on the floor.
Sleepover party checklist
Bedding, dinner, a film, lights out and breakfast for a handful of children staying the night.
How to choose
Choose by the age of the birthday child, because the age decides who you are really hosting. At a first birthday the guests are adults, so that checklist counts plates and cups from the adult number and bibs, bowls and play mats from the number of babies, and fits the whole party between two naps.
The kids birthday party checklist is the main one, for ages three to twelve. It starts six weeks before the date, changes its games and its advice about parents staying with the age group you pick, and switches between a party at home and a hired venue. Tableware and party bags follow the number of children invited.
A sleepover is a different job: fewer guests, a longer shift. That checklist counts mattresses, pillows and breakfast for the friends staying plus your own child, and words the message to other parents. It changes with the age of the children, with who brings the bedding and with a night in a tent in the garden.
If the party is a mix, such as a birthday tea followed by a sleepover for three friends, use both lists. They share almost no lines, and each keeps its own ticks.