Birthday Etiquette for Kids
Birthday etiquette for a kid’s party is not complicated and simple to follow. The goal of the birthday etiquette is to make sure your child’s party will be fun and enjoyable with host and guests in mind.
When to invite: invite about a week to two weeks in advance
How to invite: Invitations can be made by phone, mail or emails and in person. If you are having the party outside the home in a hall/kid’s play venue and need an RSVP you can send out the invitations by email or mail and ask parents to RSVP, if it’s a home party any mode of invitation is acceptable
Who to invite: Etiquette says do not hurt anyone’s feeling, you should try to invite all of your child’s friends or the whole class or only the boys or only the girls, never exclude anyone, it is not nice and you would not like it if your child was the one excluded
What to put on the invitation: Put as much information as necessary, Date, Time, Location, Duration and specify if it is for kids only or adults are welcome or even expected. If the party is outside the home for example in a movie theatre, hockey arena, etc… and kids are old enough (5 years old and older) it is acceptable to invite only the kids. If you only want to invite the kids without adults you can say Kids Party “parents’ afternoon off” or “kids party, parents enjoy your freedom for three hours” etc… Always specify when parents should pick up the kids. If adults are also invited you can say for example “Adam’s birthday party adults welcome, or looking forward to seeing all of you”…
What to serve: Depending on the time of day, before lunch, lunch, after lunch or even early dinner the menu will vary. One thing is for sure, you must serve something, and the choice of menu will depend on the venue and the kids’ age. Kids look forward to cake but etiquette calls for some food to be served. Kids menu is uncomplicated; it could be anything from pizza, sandwiches, finger foods, fried chicken, cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, chips, ice cream, cupcakes, donuts, candies and drinks. The adults attending will enjoy an addition of some simple salads (green, tuna, macaroni, egg or potato) and crudités. A kids birthday party should be fun for kids so always prepare what kids enjoy
What to do: Kids are happy with very little, no need to be complicated. The idea is to plan ahead. A few games, some arts and craft, you can have a family member do a few magic tricks or disguise as an entertainer like a magician, a Disney character, an action figure or plan a puppet show etc.. You do not need to spend a fortune to have a great party that kids will enjoy
Be attentive to all your guests: many times kids are so busy playing that they don’t notice that one of their little guests is not participating or alone, it is very important to be attentive to all our guests and make sure they are all included and feel welcome
Theme party: many young girls love to have a princess theme party for their birthday or for boys a Spiderman theme party or any action figure that is popular at the time. It is simple and so much fun, a few theme items from party central or any dollar store will do the job. If you buy same theme balloons, paper/plastic tablecloth, napkins, confetti’s, table decorations, plates, cups and cutlery (same color as theme pink for princess, red and blue for Spiderman) your child will be in heaven
What gifts to bring? Many time we wonder what the proper gift is, ask yourself the question what does your child need or enjoys to receive in deciding what gift to bring. Some people opt for books, gifts certificates, toys, clothes items it is all good. During the school year a kid might have a birthday party every weekend, it can get expensive, consequently, many parents establish a price limit per gift, it could be $10 or $20. However, the etiquette is to give what you can afford
Should you open gifts at the party? Gift opening can take away from the allotted party time especially when the party is not at home but in a rented hall, furthermore, kids are not very patient and if the gift opening process will take long you will not be able to contain a large group of kids for very long. The trend has been to open gifts after the party is over and not during. But if the party consist of a small intimate group of very close friends it is acceptable to open the gifts during the party
When attending a birthday party: Birthday etiquette is not only for host but also for guests. As a guest never forget your manners, always be friendly to everyone, say hello, thank you, goodbye, and practice good table manners (parents should teach or remind their kids beforehand about good manners)
Parting gifts bags / goody bags: It is a nice attention to give a small goody bag for kids when they leave. Again a few candies or chocolate nothing complicated will make kids happy. The dollar store provides a variety of fun and inexpensive items that you can put in any goody bag
Never forget to say thank you to your little guests and a nice etiquette touch is to send a thank you card that your child wrote or at least signed