Planning a children’s party should be exciting, but we know that organising everything can sometimes feel a little overwhelming! From remembering the birthday cake to making sure your entertainment runs smoothly, there are lots of little details that can easily be forgotten.
At The CopyCat Party Company, we’ve helped bring hundreds of parties to life, so we know a thing or two about making the day run smoothly!
Whether you’re planning a birthday party at home or hiring a venue, we’ve put together our ultimate party planning checklist, packed with practical tips to help you prepare, stay organised and, most importantly, enjoy the day with your little one.
1. Get Organised Before the Big Day
A little preparation goes a long way! Getting the essentials sorted before the party means you can spend less time worrying about the details and more time enjoying the celebrations.
Here are a few things we recommend doing in advance:
- Contact your suppliers: Get in touch with the businesses you’ve booked for your party to confirm the final details. Check arrival times, timings for activities and whether they have any special requirements. For example, our DJs and face painters may need a suitable table setup.
- Keep contact details handy: Make a list of the businesses you’ve booked, including their contact numbers, so you can easily reach them if needed.
- Prepare your party bags: Assemble these in advance to save yourself a last-minute job on the day.
- Gather your decorations: Collect everything you need, from balloons and banners to table decorations and party extras, and keep it together ready for the big day.
- Plan your transport: If you’re heading to a venue early to decorate, make sure you’ve arranged how the birthday child will get there, particularly if they’re travelling separately while you set up.
- Make a running order: If you’ve booked several activities, plan roughly when each one will take place. This will help you make the most of your entertainment without making the party feel rushed.
Our team will always aim to contact you during the week before your booking for a courtesy call to go through the final details. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and make sure everything is ready!
2. Pack Your Party Day Essentials
There’s nothing worse than realising you’ve forgotten something important just as your guests start arriving!
To avoid unnecessary stress, we recommend putting together a little party essentials kit before the big day.
Here’s what to include:
- Sellotape
- Blu-Tack or sticky tack
- Scissors
- Birthday candles
- A lighter or suitable candle lighter
- Bin bags
- Baby wipes
- Any decorations or tableware you need
- Your party bags
- Your phone and your suppliers’ contact details
And don’t forget the birthday cake! It might sound obvious, but cakes have been forgotten before. Double-check that you have everything you need before leaving home or heading to your venue.
Having everything in one place will make those last-minute fixes much easier to manage.
3. Make Your Party Easy to Find
If you’re holding your party at a venue, help your guests find their way to the right place.
Adding balloons, banners or a sign near the entrance can make it much easier for guests to identify the correct building, room or party space.
If your venue has multiple rooms or hosts several parties at once, this is particularly useful!
Just remember to check with your venue before putting up decorations, and make sure that entrances, walkways and fire exits remain clear.
4. Set Up a Gift Table
Birthday presents are lovely, but keeping track of them all can become a little chaotic!
We recommend setting aside a designated table or area where guests can leave their gifts as they arrive. This keeps everything together and helps prevent presents from getting mixed up with coats, bags and other belongings.
Although opening presents can be an exciting part of a birthday, we generally recommend saving this until after the main party activities have finished.
This allows your child and their guests to enjoy the entertainment without interruptions and means you won’t lose valuable party time to present opening.
You can then enjoy a quieter moment together afterwards to discover what’s inside!
5. Encourage Parents to Stay
Children’s parties can get busy, particularly when there are lots of little ones running around!
Where possible, we recommend encouraging parents to stay throughout the party, especially if you’re hosting younger children.
Having parents nearby can help with any toileting needs, provide reassurance to children who become overwhelmed and offer an extra pair of hands if something unexpected happens.
It also means that responsibility for supervising each child doesn’t fall entirely on the party host.
If you’re hosting a drop-off party for older children, make sure you’ve agreed the arrangements with parents in advance and have a clear plan for supervision and collection.
6. Avoid Too Many Distractions
When planning a party, it’s tempting to include absolutely everything!
A bouncy castle, a face painter, a DJ, character visits, party games, party blowers and musical instruments might all sound like fantastic additions. However, too many things happening at once can make it difficult for children to focus on any one activity.
For example, it’s tricky for children to concentrate on an entertainer when everyone is busy blowing party whistles or running between different activities!
Our advice? Give your entertainment the opportunity to shine.
If you’ve bought party blowers, noisemakers or other small extras, consider saving them for the end of the party or popping them into party bags for guests to enjoy at home.
This doesn’t mean you can’t have lots of exciting activities. It simply means thinking carefully about when each one takes place so that everyone gets the most out of the experience.
7. Give Each Activity Time to Shine
One of the most common things we see is parents trying to squeeze too much into a short party!
It’s understandable. You want to give your child the best possible birthday, and there are so many fantastic entertainment options available.
However, if you’ve booked a DJ, a face painter, a character visit and a bouncy castle, you need to think carefully about how these activities will work together.
Rather than having everything happening at once, try to create a simple schedule.
For example:
- Arrival time: Allow guests to arrive, settle in and get comfortable.
- First activity: Start with your main entertainment, such as a DJ-led party or character visit.
- Food break: Give everyone time to eat, drink and recharge.
- Second activity: Bring out the face painter, enjoy some free play or continue with your planned entertainment.
- Final celebrations: Finish with the birthday cake, a special birthday moment and party bags.
Of course, every party is different, and you don’t need to plan every minute!
The aim is to avoid having so many activities competing for attention that nobody gets to enjoy them properly.
If you’ve booked an entertainer, let them know what else you’ve arranged. They may be able to help you work out the best order for everything.
8. Plan Your Food Break
Children put a lot of energy into celebrating, so a food break is a great way to give everyone a chance to recharge.
We often recommend scheduling food around the middle of your party. This creates a natural pause between activities and gives children time to sit down, eat and have a drink before the fun continues.
If possible, keep food covered until it’s time to eat. This helps keep it fresh and prevents little hands from helping themselves before you’ve had a chance to serve everyone!
It’s also worth considering any dietary requirements or allergies when planning your menu. Ask parents about these in advance so you can make appropriate arrangements.
And remember, food doesn’t need to be complicated. Simple, child-friendly options can work perfectly well.
9. Keep Your Venue Safe and Clear
Safety might not be the most exciting part of party planning, but it’s one of the most important!
Before guests arrive, take a few minutes to check the party space.
Make sure:
- All fire exits are clear and accessible.
- Walkways are free from bags, decorations and other obstructions.
- Any stage or performance area is clear and safe to use.
- Tables and equipment are positioned securely.
- There is enough room for children to move around safely.
- Any hired equipment is being used in accordance with the supplier’s instructions.
If you’re hiring a venue, follow its safety guidance and ask the staff if you’re unsure about anything.
A quick check before the party begins can help you feel more confident that everything is ready for your guests.
10. Ask for Help!
We know how tempting it can be to take on every single task yourself, especially when it’s your child’s birthday.
However, you don’t have to do everything alone!
Friends and family are often more than happy to lend a hand, so don’t be afraid to ask.
You could ask a relative to arrive 20 minutes early to help with decorations, ask someone to organise the party bags or ask a trusted friend to help direct guests to the right room.
You might also find it helpful to delegate a few simple jobs in advance, such as keeping an eye on the food table or helping guests find the toilets.
A little teamwork can make a big difference.
The more you can organise beforehand and share with others, the less you’ll have to worry about when the party is underway.
11. Put Your Camera Down and Enjoy the Moment!
We know, we know. You want to capture every single moment of your child’s special day!
From the excitement of seeing their friends arrive to the birthday cake and all the fun in between, there are so many memories you’ll want to keep.
But here’s our advice: don’t spend the entire party behind your phone or camera!
Instead, nominate a friend or family member to take photographs and videos throughout the day.
That way, you can enjoy the celebrations with your little one without worrying about capturing everything yourself.
You’ll also have the opportunity to be in some of the photographs rather than always being the person behind the camera!
Of course, take a few pictures yourself if you want to, but remember that you don’t need to document every second to make wonderful memories.
Sometimes, the best moments are the ones you simply get to enjoy.
12. Don’t Forget the Cake!
The birthday cake is often one of the highlights of the party, so make sure you’ve allowed time for it!
Think about when you’d like to sing Happy Birthday, take photographs and blow out the candles.
If you’ve booked an entertainer, you may be able to incorporate the cake presentation into the party itself. Just let them know your plans beforehand so they can help everything run smoothly.
We also recommend keeping candles and a suitable lighter with your party essentials, rather than leaving them to be found at the last minute.
Once the cake has been cut, you can move on to the final activities or begin handing out party bags.
It’s a lovely way to bring the celebrations together before everyone heads home.
13. Make Time to Enjoy the Day!
This is probably our most important tip.
We know how much effort goes into planning a party, particularly when you’re trying to make everything perfect for your child.
It’s easy to become so caught up in the timings, decorations, food and entertainment that you forget to stop and enjoy what’s happening around you.
So, give yourself permission to take a breath!
We recommend making time for a few little moments throughout the day:
- Five minutes before the party starts: Take a moment to look around, check that everything is ready and appreciate all the work you’ve put in.
- During the birthday celebrations: Put your phone away for a little while and enjoy watching your child have fun.
- Before the cake is cut: Take a moment to soak up the excitement and enjoy this special birthday tradition.
- At the end of the party: Pause for a moment before the tidying begins. You’ve made it through the celebrations, and you deserve a little breather!
Remember, your child isn’t going to remember whether every decoration was perfectly positioned or whether the party followed your schedule to the minute.
They’re much more likely to remember the laughter, the games, their favourite character and the fun they had with their friends.
A successful party isn’t about everything being perfect. It’s about creating happy memories together.
Your Party Day Checklist: Don’t Forget These Essentials!
Before the celebrations begin, run through this quick checklist to make sure you’re ready.
Before the party:
- Confirm your bookings and final details with your suppliers.
- Save your suppliers’ contact details.
- Prepare your party bags.
- Gather decorations and party essentials.
- Plan your activities and timings.
- Arrange any help you might need.
- Check dietary requirements and any additional needs.
On the day:
- Pack your essentials kit.
- Bring the birthday cake and candles!
- Make the venue easy to find.
- Set up a designated gift table.
- Check that fire exits and walkways are clear.
- Make sure your entertainment has the space it needs.
- Allow time for food, the cake and party bags.
- Delegate photographs to someone you trust.
- Take a breath and enjoy the celebrations!
Need a Little Extra Help With Your Party?
At The CopyCat Party Company, we want you to enjoy your child’s special day just as much as they do!
Our team provides a range of entertainment options to help make your celebrations memorable, from interactive DJ-led parties to face painting and exciting character visits.
If you’ve already booked with us, our team will be in touch ahead of your event to go through the final details. We’ll also contact you when we’re on our way to your party, although please be aware that the call may show as an unknown number.
If you have any questions before your booking, please don’t hesitate to contact us here.
We’re always happy to help!
And finally, our biggest piece of advice? Don’t forget to enjoy yourself!
You’ve put the time and effort into organising a special day for your little one. Now it’s time to enjoy the fun, make some wonderful memories and let the celebrations begin! 🎉
