1. Dream it up early –

You don’t have to physically get started but go ahead and dream. ‘Why not?!’. I love this one because it’s free :). Go to Pinterest, scroll through and create boards that inspire you. Chances are you’ll gravitate to a theme that you’ll love and get excited about. This excitement will usually fuel you to get started early with the actual physical planning. Early is always best.

2. The theme that motivates.

It doesn’t have to be complicated but you’d be surprised how a theme can put things together for you and organize your thoughts. It can be a colour motif, your child’s favourite hobby, the celebrant’s unique characteristic (We just celebrated my little ‘fashionista’s 5th birthday party and made a collection’). Pin the theme down and creatively own it. Don’t you just love hearing people say, ‘That party had YOU all over it” or “That was so her style”, “On-point”. In the world of design and marketing your theme acts as your ‘branding’, being consistent adds a polished look.

3. Don’t forget your budget –

Hey, I said less stress, not no stress. I’m sure budget is that piece that can give you the heebie-jeebies. But take a deep breathe and relax, you’ve got this. Depending on the celebration, you decide your budget, different cultures and families give certain life events importance. Say a quinceañera for the latin culture is a large event, but for others they save for the 18th birthday called the debut. Personally, we put a lot of importance on baptisms and first birthdays – the mustache theme was a fun one. So I know cultural expectation plays a big part in your decisions but your savings and realistic budget should be honored.

If most of your budget goes toward the venue opt for DIY invitations or ask for help from your talented friends and relatives for entertainment, photography or food options. We have been fortunate to find The Cakebooth to create our cakes and some giveaways.  That’s the nice thing about cultural events, since others see it as being big, for the most part they are also willing to lend a hand. And if your event is more low-key, have fun using creative ideas that relate to your theme (i.e. use blue KoolAid in an aquarium as a punch bowl for an undersea party, add cute names to your food dishes related to the theme, personalized gift tags with your event details). No matter what, don’t forget to spend your money on what makes sense to you and your family.

4. Ask for help …even from the world.

Brings me to the next point, don’t forget that help comes in many forms. Some of you might say “I don’t know people who can help” or “they are too busy”…”too much drama”…so you might even be thinking I’m talking about immediate people in your lives, of course there’s that but I also suggest help in the not-so immediate. Jump on social, I learned how to create DIY Mickey Mouse Oreo cookie sticks from Youtube, you can even ask your Facebook friends if anyone knows of cool and affordable venues.

The great thing about social media is that so many people are eager to share and help because they know a time will come when they will need your help too. You know for yourself how excited you get when you’ve had a good experience with something. There are tons of freebies you can find online, and we personally love sharing, so just for visiting we created these “Thank you” tags for you.

Customizable DIY black and white Thank you cards. Use them as tags or print them on label sheets to cut out and use as stickers.

Don’t forget to check out reviews of vendors too, it’s a huge thing when you have a lot of money invested in an event, especially for weddings. Point is, ask the world!

5. Smile…let’s celebrate!

Things aren’t always going to go as planned but the saying holds true that ‘when you’re having fun, your guests will too.’ All will become a distant memory so don’t forget to enjoy the moment, the photos will help you reminisce and the smiles will make all the difference. Focus on the celebrant, and let them get involved. Play, play, play. Remember what I said earlier ‘It’s a blessing to be able to celebrate’.

Here are a few ideas from some of our events and designs from our online store. You can even follow us on Pinterest for more inspiration.