How to Have a Simple Kids Birthday Party

Hey friends! I find as I get more into my mid 30’s I just don’t have the energy to throw big elaborate birthday parties, full of DIY games and personalized invitations. Not that I think anything negative of those that do, I just don’t have the time and energy anymore. And, I quickly learned that it makes absolutely no difference to my kids! So, today I wanted to share how to have a simple kids birthday party!

I always go to Walmart for my party supplies! By going to Walmart I’m saving time and money, because I can legitimately get everything I need all in one stop and all for amazing prices! They can cover my food, party supplies, decorations, gifts and cake! 

So, now let’s break down how to throw a simple, easy party! We recently had a Shopkins Party for my daughter with some of her little friends!

#1 INVITATIONS

Let’s get real guys, kids don’t care if you have a super fancy, customized invitation! Especially when they’re younger! So, I say go with something pre-made that can be purchased. Walmart has everything themed all in one area, so it was easy for me to grab a package of the Shopkins Party invites that I could quickly fill out! If you have kids a little older then my daughter, they could easily do it themselves. 

#2 FOOD

For a kids-only party, I generally try to host the party between 2-5:30, so that I don’t have to serve a full meal. But, sometimes you’ll end up having your party where it overlaps with meal time and that is another reason why I love working with Walmart for my parties! They have awesome options in their deli area and then they always have great prices on their groceries. Last year I purchased one of their 6-ft long subs that worked perfect! This year I decided to go the hot dog route and use our hot dog cooker! I knew it would make my life so easy, plus kids love hot dogs!

Also, as a tip, I love using 12×12 cardstock or poster board as a place mat! It’s super cheap and can be super cute! I even utilized the back side of ours, after we ate (see under games below)!!

For serving the food, I used Shopkins Plates, Paper Shopkins Cups, Shopkins Party Napkins, and pink cutlery!

#3 ENTERTAINMENT & GAMES

If you’re having a home party I suggest looking through your network of friends that may be able to help for little to no cost! My friend had one of her friends come do a Magic Show last year that was talked about by the neighbor kids for a few weeks!

Also, see if friends have bounce houses, water slides, water games, backyard games, etc that can be utilized! I guarantee that you’ll have some good options, once you get looking!

For little kids you can seriously keep it simple! This party we had a dance party! The kids loved it and we even ended up doing a 2nd round of dancing at the end!

Then we flipped over the poster board placemats over and covered them in Shopkins stickers and colored pictures!

Then played Shopkins, which the kids loved too!

#4 DECORATIONS

Walmart’s got themed party sets that go on for days! Dylan knew right away that she wanted to have a Shopkins Party and I knew that Walmart would have me covered! They had all the decorations and disposable tableware I needed! I got a Shopkins plastic table cover, Shopkins party decoration kit, Shopkins Latex Balloons, Shopkins Birthday Banner, latex colored balloons and a helium tank to fill the balloons! 

#5 TREAT

To simplify life – just buy your dessert guys! Unless you TRULY love adding a cake onto your day of party prep! Walmart always has me covered for dessert! I love ordering the cupcake cakes or just doing, because it makes serving so easy! Especially if the weather is warm and I can serve them outside! No dessert plates and forks needed!

For this party, I went the cupcake and cookie route! The kids always love the rings that top the cupcakes!

#6 PARTY BAGS

Party bags can be a pain in the butt and costly, but they don’t have to be. Kids LOVE them! Literally my kids will play around with them and the items they get for days after the party! So, even thought it can add a small additional cost, I personally feel it is more than worth it! I find going with the favor kits that are generally available at WalMart to be the easiest! It also tends to be more affordable! I then added a few extra small items that they had available in the same section!

For this Shopkins party I went with the Shopkins Party Favor Bags,  Shopkins Party Favor Kit, Shopkins Candy Mix, Shopkins Pencils, Shopkins Tattoos!

The whole party was such a success and literally only took me like 2 hours to put together in total. That includes shopping and setting up! 

What do you do to make parties a success with not too much work?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Walmart. The opinions and text are all mine.