Smash Hit: Celebrate the Big Birthdays with these Party Ideas

Smash Hit: Celebrate the Big Birthdays with these Party Ideas

by Kristen Kelly

Starting with their first birthday, each year we celebrate our children as they slowly grow from that cake-smashing infant into an 18-year-old high school graduate. Every birthday is special, but there are certain milestones along the way that bring something new and exciting.

Planning these milestone celebrations can be overwhelming, but Whitney Neidus, owner of Party Couture, located in Gates Mills, has some tips to help you get started. “Sometimes planning a day that’s the perfect fit for your occasion takes a little more creativity and customization,” Neidus says. So where do you start? “When planning the vision of what you want the event to encompass, a great place to start is creating a personalized document that has pictures and brainstorming ideas for your event,” she advises.
Here are a few popular trends for milestone birthday celebrations.

First Birthday

A baby’s first face-full of cake has now become the main event at a first birthday party. Customized mini-cakes or cupcakes for the birthday girl or boy are becoming more popular. The cake smash isn’t just for the day of the party anymore, either. Cake smash photo sessions are in high demand with professional photographers, and the images often are on display during the birthday party.

Cake smash images aren’t the only pictures on display at the birthday parties. Creating a banner using monthly pictures, or a collage of pictures in the shape of a “1” allows guests to see the adorable transformation of the guest of honor over the first year of his or her life.

A personalized chalkboard display is a fun trend that captures milestones that the 1-year-old has reached in a fun way that also can serve as a keepsake. Preserve the memories of your birthday celebration by having guests write a note to your birthday boy or girl that can be opened on his or her 18th birthday.

Fifth Birthday

For the fifth birthday, your now school-aged child’s celebration will involve inviting more of his or her friends than your own. Keeping a group of five year-olds entertained often is the focus at this milestone celebration.

“Five-year-olds tend to just love carnival-themed parties and parties that allow them to let out all of their energy,” Neidus says. “Carnival parties are great for a large group of children, as well as for various ages attending the party. The carnival games have different skill levels, which makes this party a blast for all ages.”

Hosting the party out of the home is a great option at this age, or try an alternative location such as a museum, indoor play area or art studio, which provide party packages that do a lot of the work for you. Besides the carnival theme, other popular party celebrations are My Little Pony or Disney’s “Frozen” for girls and super heroes or Legos for boys.

 

13th Birthday

When your child officially enters the teen years, sleepover birthday parties become increasingly popular, while the focus moves away from planning activities and games.

A fun party trend for teens is creating a food bar. Allow the self-sufficient teen guests to put their own twist on a childhood favorite by featuring a mac n’ cheese bar for dinner or provide a candy station for snacks or favors. You also can set up a waffle bar with different toppings for the morning.

Besides the sleepover, other popular ideas for a 13th birthday party are paintball, laser tag, pool parties and an outdoor movie night.

16th Birthday

“Over the last year, I’ve seen an increase with girls having sweet 16 parties,” Neidus says. “I’ve seen many customers turn these events into dance parties with full dinner service, a band or DJ, and hundreds of invited guests. These parties can sometimes be compared to high school graduation parties or even ‘mini’ weddings.”

Neon and glow-in-the-dark are popular themes for these dance parties and having photo booths with an Instagram hashtag are some popular trends.

However, if you are looking to do something on a smaller scale, Whitney also said that spa parties are popular amongst girls turning 16, and are great for a small group.

Kristen is a mom, wife, educator, and blogger living in Cleveland Heights with her husband Dave and almost 2 year-old son Patrick. Kristen moved to Cleveland 9 years ago after living in southern Ohio all of her life. After graduating from Ohio University (Go Bobcats!), she moved to Northeast Ohio, and has loved it ever since! Kristen and her family love getting out to enjoy all that NEO has to offer, and shares her experiences, both in parenting and NEO, on her blog www.readysetparenthood.com

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