Although many will say the “twos are terrible,” this age can actually be a ton of fun! The birthday parties can be great fun as well! Your two-year-old won’t have any expectations at this age, so there is no need to go crazy on an extravagant party. However, a fun theme, an activity or two, and little bit of planning can go a long way!
Here are a few tips for a successful second birthday party:
Invite Both Parents and Children
At this age, the parties are mostly about inviting close family and friends. Make sure if you are inviting small children that the parents are also invited to the festivities, because you will need to have the extra supervision. Note how your child does with different sized groups, and take that into consideration when making your guest list.
Schedule Around Naptime
Most toddlers are still taking an afternoon nap, so take this into account when party planning. For example, my son usually naps from around 1-3pm, so the best timing for us to have a party was either in the morning at 10am or in the afternoon at 4pm. We went with the later party time so we would have more of the day to prep, and that worked well for us.
Choose a Fun Theme
Although a theme isn’t necessary for a toddler party, it might make things more fun and easier to plan if you have a vision in mind. If your child has a favorite animal, toy, or character, you can choose a theme around that and plan food, decor, and maybe even some activities around it.
We did a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme for my son’s second birthday, and created felt masks for all the kids, blew up balloons with complete with turtle masks (a huge hit!), had a themed cake, and made turtle goodie bags for the kids to take home. The goodie bags were filled with snacks, a ball, stickers, and other small things for the kids to get excited about. My son was definitely into the idea of having a theme around the party, and it made for adorable photos as well!
Gather Ideas from Pinterest
If you do decide to have a themed event, it’s almost guaranteed that someone on Pinterest may have some great ideas for your party! We were able to find many DIY ideas and fun activities to make the party more interesting. Pick a few of your favorites and run with it!
Serve Finger Foods
Finger foods are the perfect party food for kids this age. Things like mini pizzas, fruits, veggies, sandwiches, or other things they can pick up with their hands will make it easy for them to eat…and easier for the parents!
Plan a Few Activities
Two-year-olds have short attention spans, and things could get a little crazy if there aren’t a few organized activities for them to do. I have also found that kids really do enjoy and are excited by a party activity. For example, last year we hired a musician for my son’s birthday. He played guitar and drums, and all the kids had little instruments to shake and bang along. They loved it, and all the kids were very engaged!
This year, it was a hot day, and we decided to blow up a little pool outside for them to play in along with a water table. The kids had an absolute blast splashing around and having something to do. If you have outdoor space, things like sidewalk chalk and bubbles are also fun outdoor activities for a party.
Do you have any tips to add for planning your kid’s second birthday party?
