Birthday Party Hacks for Lazy Moms

 

I’m a lazy mother when it comes to throwing parties. The last party I had in my house was during our house’s blessing, which was 6 years ago.

My second kid, Alfonso Liam turned four years old last May 15th, and just like their previous birthdays, the original plan was to “wake” them up by midnight with a lighted birthday cake and have some family time in a restaurant or go to the beach. But my husband was away for work while I’ll be leaving for Davao the next day, feeling guilty of not giving him a special time. I was also planning to book a night in a nearby hotel because he loves staycations but Liam said he wants Jollibee chicken joy. Spell deprived.

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One afternoon after playtime, my eldest told me, ” Mama, Liam invited kid X, Y and Z for his birthday!“. Oh my! Should I just give him a party or not? The next morning, Liam’s Ninang in Canada sent me a cash gift via PayPal and I thought it’s God’s final sign to throw Liam a party. But wait, in two days?!

I’m blogging this one because after watching the photos, my husband said it is really fun to give your child a party even if at simplest form and without the real intention of his parents.hehe.  With just two days and just one helper to help me out with writing assignments and a trip, it was not that easy. But I pulled it off. Let me share some party hacks.

Go digital

A birthday party will never be complete without an invitation. There are many online tools you can use and print right away. Here is Liam’s birthday invitation that I did in less than an hour.

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I printed them on photo paper and I deserved a pat at my back. The look on my child’s eyes as we handed out each invitation door to door was a memory to behold. “ It’s my birthday! Come to my party!

Don’t be shy to use disposable utensils

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Cutlery is nice but washing dishes is not. Using disposable utensils especially for children’s parties are quite a norm now. Besides, there are beautiful paper utensils widely available that can add color to your party venue. I reserved the paper plates for the kids and real utensils for my adult visitors but they were gracious to use paper plates. Thank God for good neighbours! My house was clean by 9pm.

Order food or serve ready-to-eat choices

Yes, why complicate life when there are many options? Because it was 2 days before Liam’s party, I thought that it was too late to order food. Instead, I bought a cake from a local bakeshop and ordered pizza and of course, Jollibee!

For appetisers, I served French bread with chicken pátê and Krainer sausages from Don Rite Gourmet Food. All quick and easy and my guests loved them!

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Choose baked dishes

If you need to cook, choose baked dishes over stews, stir fry, or grilled. Why? It gives you more time. Just pop in the oven and you can do other dishes or do other things for the event like decorating.

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For the adults, we had roasted chicken and lasagna. We only cooked chopsuey because I have one visitor ( Liam’s ninang) who has some dietary restrictions and my helper cooks the best chopsuey.

Limit your number of guests

This must the on top of the list. Haha. Not that you hate people but let’s be frank, you can’t do it. Entertaining them plus having a small space is another issue. I assume people are mature enough not to be feel bad when uninvited. I only invited our neighbours, two of which are Liam’s godmothers and my eldest’s best friend. It was a great time for us to talk again because it was a long time since  we bonded over food.

Happy kids from our block! No games, just eat and watch TV. Then they played outside, giving us time to set the table for the adults.

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Ask for suggestions

Reach out to people and they don’t have to be fellow moms. Sometimes, some people have the craziest yet logical idea. Liam was to have a Spiderman party but when I bought the cake days before his birthday, the closest birthday cake on display was Angry Bird. When I came back two days after, I saw a Spiderman cake which was then sold to another customer. Not meant to be mine!

Jorry of  FlavoursofIloilo suggested to place Spiderman on top instead. Cute right? haha. “What’s Spidey doing there?

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My sister also suggested adding candies and chips. Never thought of serving chips but it was a good idea. Some kids are picky eaters or don’t eat at all at parties! They just ate the chips and the gummy bears. I know it’s not good but I want them to be happy! No judgement please!

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So there you go, that’s how I survived and gave Liam an awesome ( his exact word) party. It doesn’t have to be grand or perfect nor do you have to follow all the rules.  My back was aching a little and had to rush packing my bag for my Davao trip but it was nice leaving my kids for the weekend with a big cake on the fridge and new toys to play while Mama is away.

I did and I think my kids will have it yearly. It’s not that hard at all yet the memories are all worth the extra effort.

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How about you? What other party hacks can you share?

 

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