How to choose a Party Theme in 3 easy steps

Themes are a great way to focus a party!  Depending on what theme you choose, stores from the Dollar Store to Walmart may have plates, napkins, cups and decorations you can choose from! With so many options, how do you choose??

Step One:
Where and What?
Where are you going to have the party and what type of party will it be?

Location will go a long way to help you decide if you are going to have a theme for the invitation, plates and favor bags alone or go deeper with the theme.

For example: a child's birthday party at a Pizza Parlor or Bowling Alley... you might have a simple theme that is carried through the invite (maybe) and the plates and napkins.   If your child's birthday is at your home (or maybe a park), the theme will carry the whole party and will help you decide on games, crafts and decorations.

Step Two:
Determine interest and availability.
What is your child interested in?  What is available in the stores?

If your daughter is obsessed with My Little Pony, or your son must have a Star Wars Lego party chances are you will be able to find decorations and paper products to go with the theme. However, if your child likes something a little more obscure (like the year my son wanted an Origami Yoda party), you will have to get creative.  Just because it is not available in the stores doesn't mean you can't use the theme, but if you want something simple and easy to implement, creating your own theme might not be the direction you want to go!

Step Three:
Make time for Research
Choose a couple of possible themes and do some research {leaving time to make a choice}

Make sure you leave yourself time to research and choose a theme for your party.  If you end up ordering supplies or invitations online, you need to give yourself at least 6 weeks to make the choice and put in your order so you aren't waiting at the last minute for invitations or favors.

No matter what theme you choose for the party, make sure you have ideas of how you are going to implement your theme.  I often Google a theme for ideas for homemade decorations, snacks, games and crafts that line up nicely with my theme.  Another GREAT resource is Pinterest.  See below the different boards I have already created around types of themes.