Happy Birthday

With this being the beginning of a new year, it's also the beginning of a new age. My children have started telling me what they want for their birthday party and the nearest birthday is at least two months away.
My youngest daughter loves Hello Kitty, tea parties, and beauty pageants so she has decided she wants a Hello Kitty tea party pageant for her birthday. My oldest son says he wants to bring sports day to his party. This got me to thinking about birthday ideas (conventional and unconventional).
After the hit show My Super Sweet Sixteen, birthday parties have changed from the hot dog and nachos with a moonwalk to these extraveganzas. So for my daughter's very unconventional birthday party, everything will decorated with Hello Kitty and we will have activities set up based on pageant categories. Such as the Beauty category, there will be hair and makeup and for talent category, there will be a dance instruction.
These are some ideas for your child's birthday but whatever you do, you should take into consideration your child's age, interests, fears, and most importantly your BUDGET. 
Depending on how old your child and the child's guests are, you may not want to go too over the top. If your child has certain characters they love you should include them into the theme. Be careful though because if you have your child's favorite character there but your child is fearful of large strangers, they will be scared of the character. I found this out when my daughter wanted Dora the Explorer at her birthday, I wanted to make her so happy just for her to scream in terror and now she hates Dora.
My biggest demand is that all events stay within my budget and I am open to ideas that will accomplish that.  I have made cake pops and cupcakes myself in order to save on a baker.  But if you know someone who would be willing to do it as a gift for your child, that is great. Sometimes having activities set up is more cost efficient than a moonwalk. My children had a Micheal Jackson Experience station, a Archery area, and a tatoo station set up at one birthday party. This required two televisions, water, and removable tatoos. The children loved it and it was cost efficient. You can also buy popcorn or cotton candy machines at stores such as Wal-Mart or Target or on their websites.
Remember that every new year is important and every detail can make your event stand out over the rest. I will post pictures from my youngest daughter's party in March.
Good luck and happy planning.

--Brides Made Consulting is where dreams live and brides are made.