6 Tips for Helping Parents Out at Kid’s Birthday Parties

Having a birthday party is no easy task. and we go to a lot of birthday parties. I mean isn't that parent law? It goes with the territory.

I have three children. My sister has three children. My kids are in school and have lots of friends.

At least once or twice a month, it seems that there is another birthday party to attend. In fact, I have had a few weekends where we go from party to party in addition the other activities that my children participate in.

With so many things going on, I try to be as helpful as possible at birthday parties because I know all too well how stressful it is when you are throwing a birthday party for your child. In fact here are a few tips that I try to practice at parties and that I have gotten some great feedback on:

1.Throw in the Batteries – If you are getting the guest of honor anything that requires batteries, do the parents a favor and throw some batteries in the gift bag. I have done this for years. They don't have to be wrapped. It doesn't even have to be an entire package. Just enough to get the toy going will suffice. Throw them in. This will give the child instant gratification and save the parents a headache if they don't have batteries on hand. Of course, Rayovac is my first choice. We stock up on AA and AAA batteries which tend to be what most children's toys require.

2. Grab the Camera – I cannot tell you how many times I missed an event because I was behind the camera the entire time. Now whenever I go to a birthday party, I immediately ask the parents hosting the party, if they would like me to take pictures with their camera. I haven't been turned down yet. This allows the parents to actually enjoy the party a little (if that is possible) and actually get in some of the pictures as well.

3. Cut the Cake – This is always one of my favorites. As a host, it is incredibly hard to cut a cake, deal with kids, deal with guests and everything else going on. I always offer to help cut the cake or at least pass out pieces of cake to the children. Nothing is harder than trying to do everything yourself and sometimes it is hard for people to ask for help. I always offer right away and save them the trouble.

4. Drop in a thank you note – We have started putting a self addressed, stamped envelope in the gift bag as well. It is kind of fun letting my children address the envelope. They make some really cute kids thank you notes where all you have to do is write in the person's name and the item received. Totally easy. One less thing for the parents to worry about afterwards.

5. Help pass things out – Are juice boxes and pizza on the menu? Help pass things out if you can. Make sure that every child is happy and has what they need. This also puts the parents at ease.

6. Grab a garbage bag – When it is time for the presents to be opened.

Now these are not hard and fast rules but they do tend to endear you to that frazzled parents who are spending hours that day catering to their child. At kids parties, I tend to give what I would like to receive in return when I am throwing a party. And I always do.

For more great tips, check out what my friend, Mommy Niri has to say about Being a Good Party Guest.

Photo credit: kakisky from morguefile.com

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