^[1]This year is very strange for me. Dates and holidays seem to spring up suddenly. I know they are coming and have them noted on my calendar ^[2], but I just seem to run out of time preparing for items. Finding myself grabbing a card on the way out the door or waking up a tad early to wrap a gift, I just feel out of balance.

Working around illnesses and friends’ schedules just added to the delay to my daughter’s birthday party this year. I appreciate her so much as we celebrated her birthday on the day she turned 3. Then we waited until we found a non-soccer, non-event running, and non-illness Friday evening to host my daughter’s Mickey Mouse birthday party.

Though choosing the party date ended up being more challenging than choosing the theme, we started the birthday party process with choosing the theme.

Part 1: Choosing the Theme

Long are the days when I could ask, “Do you want a princess party?,” and get an immediate, “Yes!” Now, the process must begin months in advance to weed out the list compiled during brainstorming.

Discussing the Theme

When the question was first posed to my youngest daughter, her siblings were present. Of course, they wanted to “help” choose her birthday theme to something they wanted. Let’s just say, the first session was unproductive.

The next time we discussed her birthday party, brother and sister were at school. In chatting with my daughter, she needed some choices. Going back to party ideas we have hosted for other family members, I suggested Strawberry Shortcake, princess, Mickey Mouse, or Good Night, Gorilla (party based on the book by the same title).

Choosing the Theme

As an avid Mickey Mouse Clubhouse viewer, she excitedly chose Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Daisy, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto because they all get included. I was thrilled with her response as my son chose the same theme for his 3-year-old and 4-year-old parties and my oldest daughter had a Minnie and Daisy party for her 3-year-old party.

Reinforcing the Theme

Realizing that I had most of the supplies, I fed my daughter’s excitement in the weeks prior to her party by asking her which games she wanted to play, allowing her to choose the colors for her cake, and helping to remind me to look for Mickey Mouse items at the store.

By keeping her focused on the party elements, my daughter never wavered in choosing the theme for her 3-year-old birthday party. As the days approached for her party, I worked with her to prepare a party itinerary which I will share next week in Part 2. The last installment of this series will reveal the execution of that itinerary.

In using time wisely to create a special memory of my daughter’s third birthday, we started by choosing the theme. Knowing where we were going allowed us to find party favors and ideas to add to our celebration. Though I needed to start earlier this year in choosing the theme, we did decide which gave us direction to plan her Mickey Mouse birthday party. Happy theme choosing!

Question: How do you or your children get through the process of choosing the theme for a birthday party?