For many years I went through this struggle with our now 13 year old son. Every year my son and I would head online and look at the different themes out there. This is one of the beauties of buying party supplies online, you can see pictures of what they look like. But, it’s also the curse of buying party supplies online – pictures that excite your child and cause them to jump up and down pointing wildly at the monitor.

His birthday is in June, but we’d start the party theme ‘vetting’ process in March.

Here’s a little insight into how this process used to go:

Son:   Mom…I really, REALLY want a Pokemon party this year!

 

Me:   Okay son…let’s go online and see if we can find some party supplies in this theme.

 

<pulling up the website>

 

Son:   Oh Mom!!!  Look…they have POWER RANGERS!!! I really, REALLY want a Power Ranger party this year!!!

 

Me:   Um, okay son. Looks like a fun idea for a party. It looks like they have balloons and…

 

Son:   Oh, cool!  Check out the Super Mario!  Mom, I really REALLY want a Super Mario party this year!!! Please????

 

Me:   <pulling my hair out> Aaaarrrgggg!

Need I go on? You see the pattern – in fact if I was a betting woman, I’d say that this sounds VERY familiar to you, right? Through a process of trial and error, I eliminated most of the frustration of helping my son pick a party theme. Here are some of the things that I did:

About 4-6 weeks before the party date, sit down at your computer by yourself with a large cup of your favorite coffee or herbal tea and start looking at what themes are available. It’s important that this step is done without your child otherwise you will fall into the same ADHD party planning that I used to do! Pick 10 themes that your child would like.

Worried about not picking the right ones? Think about what your child likes. Are they into video games? Are there any new movies that they really liked seeing? How about TV shows they love to watch or sports they like to play? All of these things will help you narrow the field for your child.

Got 10 good ones? Great!

Before you bring in the munchkin, here’s a good tip. Open each theme that you chose in it’s own browser window. This way you’ll avoid any chance of your child seeing other themes that could throw them off track. I learned this one the hard way, believe me!

Now, bring in the birthday child and show them their 10 choices. Give them a little time to digest and think about it. Most times, this is all it takes – your child should then be able to pick out one of the 10 and your birthday theme will be set!

But, what if you child can’t decide?

Sometimes kids get overwhelmed by choices as was the case with my 13 yr old who has ADHD.

This is when you make picking the party theme a game.

• Have them draw one of the 10 themes from a hat.
• Throw darts at balloons containing all the themes and whichever one breaks is this year’s winner.
• Play musical chairs with the theme ideas in envelopes on the chair. Whichever they stop on is the winner.

I know many parents who do this game method year after year and it actually makes picking a birthday theme something their children look forward to. Get creative and think like a kid.

Now that you have your theme, it’s time to print off your birthday party checklist. This will help you plan out your party so that it’s fun for your child and stress-free for you!