// 5 SIMPLE TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED
1. SAVE EVERYTHING
Some of you know this as….hoarding. I call it collecting for purpose. Anyway- when it comes time for those random things you WISH you had saved so you didn’t have to repurchase or overspend…guess who’s in luck? Me 🙂
You can always add your leftover decorations into your stock-pile but it’s a good idea to always keep your receipts for those instant buyer’s-remorse purchases or items you just won’t ever need.
2. USE EVERNOTE TO STAY ORGANIZED
I usually opt for Evernote because you can sync it to your phone, web and computers so it makes my life a lot simpler.
I still have post-it notes and lists in my notebook because I’m a physical-creative and need to tangibly sift through my thoughts but it does help to organize it all when you can break it into bullet points and check off as you go. If you’re confused, don’t worry, I’ve included a screen shot of one of the notes I used to plan this pirate party.
To give you an idea, here are the various ways you can use Evernote to plan your party. Start by creating a note or notebook for the following titles:
- RECEIPTS. I’m sure you can guess what that one’s for…and having the app on your phone is key with this because you can take a photo right after your purchase so you never have to stress about it.
- TO-DO/TO PURCHASE. This is great because your active list of items you need to purchase or tasks you need to complete constantly shifts for busy parents. This makes it hassle free when you have a central list you can reference to when you’re at the store.
- CRAFTS & GAMES. Super important when doing your research because it isn’t realistic to do everything. Creating this list (pictured above) really helped me visualize every task that went into every project so I could decide ahead of time if it was worth the stress or not.
- FOOD & BEVERAGE. Again, pretty to the point. Sometimes when you’re shopping you think you might not have enough, so you grab extra, only to not need half of it. A common mom-practice. This can be avoided by creating this list and including what you paid for it, because food ain’t cheap and I like a visual reminder of what I spend.
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3. SET A REALISTIC BUDGET
I think we can all agree that shopping is a big chunk of planning for a party.
It’s important to make an actual paper-pen list (or use whatever app) so you can visualize, prioritize and negotiate with your want’s/needs before you find yourself in the center of a crisis at the craft store because you “want” things you really didn’t plan for.
I advise setting a budget because I’ve been there, many times…but that’s when you have to throw on your crafty-mom hat and engineer an idea out of what you can find. For me it always ends up being something I enjoy but if you’re not the crafty type then you might have to opt for some nice handmade’s on Etsy or ask favors from friends.
And by “realistic”- all I’m saying is to remind yourself at the end of the day that its a birthday party…you and your child will survive if you have to say no to some streamers in order to feed your guests. The best tool you can have in this scenario is the ability to rationalize. It makes the next party that much more fun to plan because you’ll have your spending in-check ahead of time.
4. PRE-PREP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
I didn’t give myself enough time to prep BEFORE guests arrived, thus, causing the well-known domino effect of things that just don’t work out like you planned.
If I have any real-life advice I’d simply tell you to plan with your time and not with your money. You can buy all the cutest little party favors that Etsy sells but if you don’t remember to bring them to the party and put them inside the party bags, they loose their purpose. So avoid that headache and prep as much as you can at home, it’ll save you in the long run.
5. DESIGNATE ACTIVITY AREAS
In my case we were limited to our options and held the party in a rectangular shaped room with a bunch of tables and chairs that happened to be an art studio.
Having an empty room made it easy for us to move around tables and dedicate areas to specific crafts and activities – essentially making clean up seem a bit easier because we were able to heard kids from one area to another with a new activity and my helpers assisted in “clean as you go”.
// PIRATE PARTY SUPPLIES
- black and red anything
- fake mustaches
- sea shells
- skull decorations and netting
- jewels, pearls and other costume jewelry and toys
- eye patches
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// SHIP OUT INVITATIONS
- gold paint
- red and white twine
- Popsicle sticks
- stained paper (plain paper will do just fine)
- glue gun
// CREATE A PARTY FAVOR CRAFT
We went with jumbo paper lunch sacks and cut slits at the top to weave in themed ribbon I found on sale. I had found some halloween labels and made sure to leave out sharpie markers so everyone had their name on their bag.
I’m sure there are ton’s of brands and producers but I wen’t with Oriental-Trading and ordered their Papier-Mâché Mini Treasure Chests dozen packs.
I didn’t use any handmade props but do want to give a shout out to A Joyful Bow on Etsy- a fellow Coast Guard Wife and obviously brilliant crafter. If I had known her then, I would have opted for her handmade Pirate Set.
// GATHER ITEMS FOR A BURIED TREASURE HUNT
You would be surprised how simple this activity is to throw together! I scored on these paper skull treat bags and turned them into a treasure satchel to collect buried treasure and take home.
Supplies I used in my buried treasure:
- large open-mouth bucket
- sand (or pavers sand if you can’t find the real stuff!)
- coins
- sea shells
- costume jewels
- fake diamonds
- etc…
// SET UP A TATTOO PARLOR ON-BOARD
There are tons of ways to do this one. Here’s my rendition…
I literally painted over an old (ugly) painting from a drunken paint night and made the background to look like my version of a run-down ship parlor where all I had to do was let it dry and use double sided tape to stick on the tattoo’s.
[A little tip: You can use chalk on dry acrylic paint to write out text or draw and then paint over]
Best advice, keep it simple.
// USE PHOTO PROPS TO SET THE SCENE
// ARRRR! THE SNACK BARRRR
The food is always a hover-point for many at a party so it’s important to give your guests options. Its not required but be mindful of who you invite and any food allergies they may have. You don’t want to have the party go down hill fast for no reason!
Sit back, grab a snack…or a drink.
