Birthday parties

March is a busy time of month at my house. All four of my children our March babies, so instead of having four small parties we have one huge party. It is a huge money saver and the kids get to have a much nicer party than if they had them separate. I've been doing it this way for about 5 years now, and it's always a great success. Everyone looks forward to it, it's been dubbed "THE" party by family and friends. With four kids ranging in age from 2 to 10, with the oldest a little boy, it takes some planning to make it work for everyone. I've come up with several tips that can be used for multiple child parties or for single child parties. I would like to share some of these tips with you.
Picking the date and Invites

The most important part of party planning is to select your party date well in advance. I usually select my date and mark it on my calendar a year in advance. My sister use to tease me about picking dates so early. Close family members know the date well in advance and they are able to plan their schedules accordingly. Invitations go out one month before the party. As a parent one of the worst things is getting an invite the week of a party. Kids don't always understand that previous obligations have priority to attending a birthday party! As a busy parent, I appreciate receiving invites well in advance. This gives me time to plan. It also prevents me from rushing into a store at the last minute trying to get a present. Each of my children send out personalized invites in the theme they have chosen. For example, my second grader took Tinkerbell themed invites to school, inviting her classmates to her party only. I also like  to include some sort of statement on the bottom of the invitation that says no present is necessary, the child's presence is gift enough. The kids would rather have a lot of people show up to their party without gifts, than to have just a couple show up with a gift. I usually make the invitations on the computer. I make them about the size of a note-card and print them on cardstock. I let the kids help by cutting the carts out using scissors that cut in shapes. I have also discovered that we have a  better turnout when I include directions to the party with the invitations. 
Themes
Each child gets to select the party theme they want. This years themes are Dragonball Z, Tinkerbell and Bubble Guppies. I wind up purchasing the same amount of plates, cups, etc I would purchase if they had just one theme. It works out really good, because any little boys who come from my daughter's class can get party themed items for a boy and little girls from my son's class get little girl themed stuff.  To cut back on costs, I mix and match solid color plates, cups and table clothes with the themed ones. If I purchase a themed table cloth, I buy solid color plates from the dollar store, that coordinate with the themed cloth. If I get a package of themed plates, I purchase solid color table clothes and cups. Because this year's themes of Dragonball Z and Bubble Guppies didn't have themed party supplies to purchase, I had to get creative. I printed large pictures from each theme and laminated them. They will be set on the table as place-mats and the kids will be able to take them home as a party favor. For favor bags, I picked up small craft bags from the dollar store. I picked up an assortment of colors with three bags in each pack. I purchased iron on transfer paper and printed off small pictures for each theme. I ironed them on the bags and now have customized favor bags. As each child arrives, I plan on using fabric paint to put their name on their bag for a customized bag. I also picked up t-shirts from the dollar store, and made a few shirts, using the themes, for game prizes. Because my party is held outdoors, I do not require many decorations but some other ideas I had toyed with include laminating pictures and hanging them from trees. For the Bubble Guppies theme I thought of making an underwater world by placing sea themed items around and putting goldfish crackers in bowls for snacking. For Dragonball Z I'm still considering spray painting Styrofoam balls yellow and placing orange stars on them. I will hide these around the yard and send the boys on a scavenger hunt to find the balls. At each balls location they will pick up a token. The first child to collect all 7 dragonballs, will receive a "wish"/prize. For Tinkerbell, I thought about placing bright colored, artificial flowers around the yard, so the girls would feel like they are in a fairy land. I have thought about a scavenger hunt for the girls, finding items that will be put together to make something, after all Tinkerbell is always making things!
Games
We have an inflatable bouncer/slide at our party, but with such a wide range of kids, it is necessary to give each age group time to jump without the other age groups around.  During these time periods is when the games and activities are played. Even if it is an organized game of "Freiza" tag (freeze tag with a play on a villains name from Dragonball Z, the only difference is if a child is tagged 3 times they cannot be unfrozen any more), a time for the kids to make a simple craft or some game such as bing bag toss, each age group has plenty to do. It is very important to make yourself a schedule of the order of things for the party. Just remember, the schedule should be a guideline not an absolute. If you focus to much on sticking to the schedule, you will put yourself under to much pressure and no one will have fun. Remember, a schedule can be helpful as long as you stay flexible and go with the flow of the party. It is better to plan extra activities and not need them than to either have nothing planned or else to force the kids to do more than they want to.
Pinatas
Pinatas are a great way to give the kids candy and party favors, while keeping them busy. to save money, I always make my pinatas. For the easiest pinatas, I buy mylar balloons, the balloons already have shapes that lend themselves to a pinata nicely. I put a straw in them and blow them up and then duck tape a wire coat hanger to the back. This will be used for the hook to hang the pinata up. Hang the pinata and begin to cover it. I have found that the best place to hang the balloon is on the shower rod. I am able to move around and it has some where to hang as it dries. I use a mixture of liquid starch and flour to make the mache liquid. Dip strips of newspaper into the mixture and cover the entire balloon. Make sure you put extra reinforcement over the places where the hanger is attached to the balloon. I allow the first layer to dry and add a second layer. For small children I stop at 2 layers. For older children I cover the pinata with 3-4 layers. The more layers you add, the harder it will be to bust. I usually start the mache a week before and put on one layer in the morning and one at night. If I'm crunched for time, I will add a layer at lunch time. After they are completely dried, cut a half circle in the top part of the balloon. Do not remove this piece, it will be pressed back down to hide the candy entrance.  Next it's time to decorate. To decorate I use two different techniques. One technique is to spray paint the pinata and put various stickers, coordinating with the theme, all over. When I spray paint the pinata, I like to take crepe paper and glue it around the edges to make it more decorative. The other technique I use, is to hot glue rows of crepe paper over the entire balloon. After I finish this I place a large picture I have printed off the computer into the center. You can get as fancy as you want or keep it simple. If you are more creative you can take various shapes of latex balloons and tape them together to make a figure. Last year, I did this and made Pablo from the Backyardigans. After the pinata is finished, fill it with goodies and you are ready. Just make sure you have a location to hang it that has lots of swinging room. Also make sure you have a strong string to hang it with, it will be heavy. Each year, I make three pinatas cheaper than what it would cost me to buy one at the store, and I'm guaranteed that the pinatas will match my children's party themes.
Cakes
I usually do a separate cake for each child, simply because my mother does birthday cakes, and fixes each child a cake. This year we are doing cupcakes. Cupcakes are an excellent way to allow each child to have their theme included at a multi child party and to give party goers a choice of cake flavor. It is also a lot easier to get rid of cupcakes than it is to get rid of a regular cake! If your child wants a cake because they want a themed design, it can still be done. Example, for a Tinkerbell theme, the cupcakes can be arranged into the shape of a flower. Frost them all as if they are one cake, in the middle of the cake you can place Tinkerbell. If you are artistic you can draw her with icing, if not you can order edible images fairly inexpensively. Many websites sell them for a few dollars and sometimes your local store may be able to sell you an image. You can also buy small figures to create a design on the top. When your ready to serve, no knife is necessary, just pull apart and serve!
Other cost cutters
Keep an eye out for mark downs. If your party follows a holiday, you can rack up on candy and favors when they have been marked down 50% or more. Trust me, as the kids are scrambling to get their candy they do not care if it has valentine's day wrappers. If you notice the dates on the packages most of them are good for at least another year and a half. Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter are all great times to get marked down goodies. Many stores sell party favors and trinkets that can be used year round, but because they specially package them during the holiday, they are included in the holiday merchandise.

The most important thing to remember about any party is to have fun. Using a little creativity, you can give your child a great party without going into debt. Allow your children to help out as much as they are able. They will be so proud of their work and it will mean a lot to them. Together, you will create memories that will be cherished in years to come.