I have a six year old daughter, for her first birthday my Mother-In-Law hired a caterer (complete with waiters) and hired people in charge of the entertainment (clown, a host and the clown's assistant. It was of course expensive and the only reason we didn't contradict her was because that was what she wanted for her first girl grandchild. Plus we didn't have to pay for anything, which is always great. :)

For her second birthday party we decided to have a simple gathering at home with only our immediate relatives and closest friends as guests, since she was only 2, we figured she was too young to appreciate a party like the one my Mother-In-Law gave her on her first birthday. Since we only have a few friends who had children of their own, we served grown up food, and we didn't have to worry about picky eaters, which most children are.

On her third birthday party, my husband and I decided to treat our family and friends to a lunch in a restaurant. Quite expensive, but atleast we didn't have to clean up after.

Everything changed when our daughter started pre-school. All of a sudden she has friends that she'd like to invite to her birthday party. So, we have to accommodate 15 toddlers, we decided to have it at home, in our garden, but it didn't turn out the way we expected. It was, to say the least, a nightmare. The kids were everywhere, there were children running around, screaming, well, you know how kids are. After the party, which seemed to last forever, there were so many things to clean up. My daughter seemed to have fun, which was great but we only wished we could've enjoyed the party with her, instead we ended up running around just to make sure no child falls into the koi pond or falls down the stairs, stuff like that. It was definitely not as successful as we thought it would be, for us, anyway.

After the experience we had on our daughter's fourth birthday, we decided for her fifth birthday to just bring snack to school, and that was it.

We weren't able to celebrate her sixth birthday because we were all preparing for the coming of her new baby brother and she thought she'd like to celebrate when the baby comes.

Because of my past experiences with my daughter's birthday parties, I've come up with a guideline for a stress free birthday party. I hope these tips help you organize the perfect stress free birthday party!

1. Plan a budget. Making a budget will help you save money and will help you to avoid things that you don't need.

2. Make a list and Stick to it. Make a list of all the things you will be needing, like paper plates, plastic cups, plastic spoons and forks and table napkins, these will help you save a lot of time cleaning up afterwards. Don't get too many things as to not waste anything. Stick to your list and don't buy anything you don't really need.

3. Plan a menu. Make a simple menu of what you will serve. Remember that this is a children's party and your primary guests are children, so make sure you serve food that they will like, but also serve food that parents will like. Cocktail hot dogs dipped in pancake batter on toothpicks will work great as an hors d'oeuvre for kids. Bite sized sandwiches for the adults will work great. For the main course, try spaghetti and fried chicken, go simple, you can never go wrong with fried chicken.

4. Make a guest list. Making a guest list and sending out invitations will help you to plan how much food and supplies you need for the party.

5. Plan at least a month before the party itself.

6. Create a theme for the party. It's fun for the kids and it's easier to think of food to serve when you have a theme.

7. Make your own party favors. If you have the time, then make your own party favors, make it with your child, it will be more special that way and it'll be good to have your child involved in the planning stages of his/her birthday party. It'll also save you a lot of money and will bring out your childs creativity.