How to Throw a Wicked Kid Birthday after the Holidays

For those of us with children born in the months of December and January, birthday parties during or after the holidays can be tricky.

In our family, for 3 months in a row, we have a birthday to celebrate (November, December, and January.) We get a break with our youngest in June and our wedding anniversary in August.

Having a winter birthday to plan requires one to be creative. You don’t exactly get to take advantage of the outdoors as a venue and the weather makes everyone dread leaving the house.

Throughout of daughter’s life, we’ve thrown parties themed as Winter-One-derlands, spa themed slumber parties, and various indoor playgrounds and bounce house with guest appearances from Elsa. Recently we threw our daughter a “Wicked Watch and Pajama” party with a few of her closest friends. Due to unexpected winter weather unusual for the South, we were able to throw together a fun night in at home with very little notice and super budget friendly!

Birthdays are kind of a big deal around here

My kids’ birthdays are some of my most favorite days of the year. I also love to plan events for others so though the winter can be a challenge, it’s one that I enjoy.

In parenthood, I’ve learned is that the best days don’t always require anything other than a little creative magic and togetherness. Grand gestures don’t mean much to kids but rather the time spent is invaluable.

Whether you are planning a birthday over the holidays or one back to back, here’s a few tips I’ve learned throughout the years to help make your little one’s birthday event epic and one they will remember forever.

Set a simple theme

I will admit, I’m a theme girl. Whether it’s game night at home, a meeting at work, or a dinner with friends, I love a good theme. So when planning one of my children’s parties, themes are no exception. But what I like most however about themes, is it operates like a guide or a parameter for you to plan around. You can play off the age or if your child has a special interest or hobby, it can help you select a venue or activity. It will also help you in creating an invitation, picking out a cake, decor, and party favors. For our daughter’s first birthday we hosted a “Winter One-derland”. In picking a theme, consider playing off on the year your little one is turning. Not feeling clever? Try Pinterest or Instagram and type in the year to find themed birthday ideas.

Opt for an Experience vs a Party

Birthdays are a celebration so we may want to make every year a party! But that does get expensive and even more so if you have multiple children. Consider the strategy of having a party every other year or only during milestone years. And in the in-between birthdays, consider rewarding the birthday boy/girl with a special event or experience that they will enjoy. Maybe that is a day trip out of town, a concert, movie, or to their favorite place in town. One idea I received from TikTok our daughter enjoyed last year was a “Yes Day”. For the entire day, we treated her to her favorite things from an activity planned at her favorite DIY Craft Studio, a trip to the kids spa, and ending the night at her favorite restaurant for dinner. A day filled with many of their favorite things can be a pretty memorable birthday.

Consider Unique or Free Venues

The markup on kids birthday venues is ridiculous. For “mere” few hundred dollars, you can enjoy 2-3 hours over sensory overload, with cold pizza, and caffeine induced children that don’t include your own. The sacrifices we make as parents. If the idea of an indoor trampoline park breaks you out into hives, consider different venue spaces to host the fun. Consider throwing a party at home and transforming your backyard, living room, spare room, etc. into a free party space. For our son’s “Big One” we transformed our front yard into a neighborhood block party and invited our neighbors in on the fun. We fired up the grill, made BBQ plates, and played hip-hop classics that took everyone down memory lane. A local public, neighborhood pool, splash pad, or park all may be budget friendly.

Looking for an indoor space but want a change in scenery? Consider hotels and Airbnbs. At 5, daughter was obsessed with the idea of living in a hotel suite. To make her dreams come true, I rented a hotel suite with 5 little girls in tow and enjoyed a night of jewelry making, take out, nail painting, and a showing of her favorite, “The Princess and the Frog”. I was 6 months pregnant and initially thought I was in over my head. But we had a blast and it was probably one of my most favorite birthday parties we’ve had.

DIY Everything

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.If you click on the linked photos and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Beauty & the Briefcase!

Again, kids are simple. So resist the urge to spend a small fortune on decorations or on party favors. With stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Joanne’s, birthday decorations are things you can easily do yourself. Amazon is also a great for what I like to call “Parties in Amazon box”. Last year for less than $20 we were able to purchase all of the decor supplies we used for our dinosaur themed party which included all the foil balloons used plus cake topper.

Because it was a backyard party, I shopped around for bounce house to fit our dinosaur theme. There was only one vendor with one available and the price was crazy expensive for a small party at home. However for $50 I was able to buy a Jurassic themed inflatable kiddie pool set and it became our very own water park fit for our little Three-Rex. There is nothing more fun than an active water hose on hot summer day!

Happy Planning!