1) Prepare him/her well in advance. Let them come with their own ideas for celebrating their birthday.

2) While you are making preparations, involve them in all the activities possible like booking a hall or planning games for the party. Ask them for suggestions as they know what their friends would enjoy.

3) Never miss his/her dear friends while giving invitations.

4) Take them to the bakery for selecting a cake design from the album. Explain them that it should be affordable.

5)Know from him/her about the food items that his/her friends would like to have at the party. Do not miss his favorite item.

6) Let him know your budget for return gifts and allow them to choose for their friends.

7) Make sure that they have a nap before the party.

Giving a choice to them makes them feel more responsible and also understand your effort behind the party preparation.

You are welcome to share your ideas and experiences below.

Children love birthday parties. They love to play games, watch entertainment shows, and relish cake and chocolates. Make the children remember your kid’s big day by giving away wonderful return gifts. Here are some ideas for Indian return gifts for Indian birthday parties. Choose the gifts depending on the age of the invited kids. Based on the budget a single gift or a combination of these gifts can be given

Indian return Gifts for birthday party for children aged 0-4 yrs

1)      Bath toys: Make the bath time enjoyable by gifting bath toys. They are durable and babies & toddlers love them. Bath toys include floating ducks, bath alphabets, bath books, bath machines, bubble makers etc.,

2)      Squeaky toys

Indian return Gifts for birthday party for children above 3

1)      Story books: Books can be stored forever. Children love listening and reading stories.

2)      Coloring books: A coloring book along with crayons makes a great return gift.

3)      Other books: Books for nursery rhymes, teaching manners, about festivals, activity books and many more.

4)      Jigsaw puzzles

5)      Set of small animal toys

6)      Clay items

7)      Posters of cartoon characters

8)      Tiffin box: This is essential for all school going kids. So, this makes a gift which will definitely be put to use.

9)      Water bottle

10)  Pencil box

11)  A pouch consisting of items like pencil, eraser, scale etc.,

12)  Coloring items like sketch pens, color pencils.

13)  Bubble makers

14)  Masks

15)  Caps/hats

16)  Tops with ropes

17)  Tattoos

18)  Stickers/ labels

Here are some more ideas if you are planning to have different gifts for boys and girls

For girls

1)      Dolls

2)      Kitchen set

3)      Jewellery making kit

For boys

1)      Cars

2)      Pokemon toys

A writing pad is an ideal gift for children aged above 7-8 yrs, as they can use it for many years.

Children love to open their return gifts. Add many things like a candy, some balloons, a sticker etc., which though would not add to expenses much, yet generate curiosity in children.

You are welcome to share your ideas and experiences below.

Kids too love having birthday parties. They like inviting their friends and cutting cake among them. Entertainment programs like magic shows, mimicry etc; are events that will be memorable to them for a long time.

A birthday party is also an opportunity to get rid of shyness and making your little one an extrovert. These parties are a platform for kids to mingle with all other kids.  A program in which your kid can show his/her talents like dance, playing an instrument , singing, elocution , telling jokes can largely decrease his stage fear and build his confidence. You can also express your love and tell your guests how proud you are to have a wonderful kid like him/her. This will make them more loving and responsible towards you.

.  In today’s system of education parents and teachers put a lot of stress on their kids. In this competitive world this stress is also justified. Birthday parties give a lot of relaxation from their mediocre life. . Different kids activities can be performed which provide a lot of entertainment and relaxation to all the elders at the party too.

These parties show children the custom of giving and receiving gifts . This will help in cultivating the habit of sharing between them. Children enjoy opening their surprise gifts and also feel proud to give away return gifts

There are also some hidden fears behind these parties. They sometimes make kids extravagant and boastful. Parents should take care to include more games and activities for kids rather than spending on unnecessary things which make them to “show off”. A small charity like “ annadanam”on birthday will help your kid to be more down to earth and realize his/her blessings.

Last but not the least, recording these parties will help your kid in recalling his childhood days.

 So have a blast on your kid’s birthday. Invite all your well-wishers to bless your kid and at the same time make your birthday party memorable for your guests.

You are welcome to share your ideas and experiences below.

1)      Books:  As Charles W. Eliot said , books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. Different kinds of books for gifting are activity books, A set of story books like panchatantra, Akbar Birbal, Tenali Rama etc., Coloring books, Dictionary,  etc.,

2)      CDs: These include game CDs, entertainment CDs like songs or story CDs and educational CDs.

3)      Book Subscription : A one year subscription of the kid’s favourite Magazine like Tinkle or Chandamama will make him/her remember you throughout the year

4)      Tickets for amusement park, movie, planetarium etc.,: Children love them. This is a right gift if you wish them to have fun and entertainment.

5)      Room decors: Select from a wide range of items to decorate the kids room from furniture, lamps, fans to posters.

6)      Sports Item :A cricket bat, a tennis racket, sports shoes , skating boards or any other item depending upon which sport the kid is involved in will not only make him happy , but also will prove to be  a useful gift.

7)      Musical Instrument: Guitar, Mini Piano, Violin

8)      Toys: Toys are unlimited for kids. They sometimes vary depending on gender too. Like dolls or utensil sets for girls and cars for boys. There are remote operated toys and some are creativity developing toys. Educational toys create a lot of interest among kids towards learning. The list is never ending.

9)      Bicycle/ Tricycle/ Toy car/Toy Bike: Choice of this has to be made based on budget and age of the child.

10)   Piggy Bank: This is an ideal gift for any kid as you can teach him the value of money and the way to save.

11)      Diary: Gift a diary and advice him to write in it everyday. This way you are cultivating a good habit for a lifetime that will make the child analyze his/her actions in all walks of life. Click here to read an article about diary writing

12)      Camera

13)      Watch

14)      Photo album

15)      Games like Snakes & ladders, scrabble, Ludo etc.,

You are welcome to share your ideas and experiences below.

1) Magic show: This is one program which has been entertaining people of all ages from time unknown. An expert in doing magic can create a lot of excitement through proper interaction with kids. There are many professionals coming up for entertaining Indian birthday parties in Metreos.

2) Ventriloquism: This is a show where a toy is made to talk. They are filled with humor and kids love such shows. Ventriloquism is a famous art form and has good number of professionals in India

3) Fancy dress: The above two programs involve inviting a professional and sometimes seem to be expensive. A fancy dress competition at the Indian birthday party makes the atmosphere very joyful. Children have to be informed beforehand (while inviting) about the show and do not forget to mention about the exciting prizes to the winners.

4) Talent show: All the children should be informed about the talent show. They can bring their guitar, prepare for a dance or sing in the party. Arrangements should be made well in advance. The child who entertains the most can be declared a winner. Also have some participation prizes to encourage kids.

5) Clown: An adult can dress up like a clown and entertain kids with jokes, riddles and silly talk and absent minded actions. This needs creativity. The clown should end up being a good friend to all the kids.

6) Dance Party: If you have enough space at the party venue, play some good songs and let the children dance on a small area which you can act as a dance floor.

 Entertainment shows at Indian children’s birthday parties should be interactive and should draw the attention of kids mainly. For example, a professional singing Ghazals would not drag the attention of children. So, the program should be child-centric.

You are welcome to share your ideas and experiences below.

Indian Birthday Party Games which need no or a few resources.

1)   Antakshari: This is a very popular game in India. In this game, a song is sung. The next song has to be sung by the next team with the letter at which the previous song is stopped. Instead of a song, a movie name can also be taken. Similar Indian birthday party games involving songs can be prepared. For instance, some words can be written on chits. Songs that have to be sung should include that word.

2)      Dumb charades: Two or more teams are made. One at a time member from each team picks a chit. He/she has to enact the word (which can be movie’s name, name of a personality) or simple sentence or a proverb written on the chit. A time limit should be set within which the team has to guess the correct word or sentence.

3)      Choose a chit: In this game, some chits in which some actions are written are placed in a bowl. Each child has to pick a chit and perform whatever is given in the chit. This game can be made very enjoyable by writing  funny things in the chits.

4)      Mark the spot: A big poster is arranged to the wall. Any specific point like eyes, nose or anything depending on the picture in the poster is selected and a small dot is put. A kid is blind folded and he/she has to mark on the poster near to the dot. All the kids are blind folded one by one in the same way. Whoever marks a point nearest to the dot wins the game.

5)      Tug of war: This game needs some amount of space. Children should be divided into two teams (better if this done thru lottery). Two teams are put against each other on two sides of the rope. Both the teams try to pull the other towards them. The team which succeeds in pulling in the other towards their team wins the game.

Games which need some resources.

1)     Lemon and the spoon: This requires spoons (big enough to hold lemon), lemons and some space. A starting and ending point are set depending on the space available. Children have to stand in a row (like in a race). They have to keep a spoon holding one lemon in their mouth. Whoever reaches the boundary first by successfully balancing the lemon on the spoon wins the race. If there are many children it can be played turn by turn by a small group and later the winners of all the groups can play at the end.

2)  Musical chair: This game requires large space. Though this is a common game, children love playing this

3)      Memory games: This game should have atleast two children.

Requirements:
Long bag/Pillow cover.
Household items like pen, plate, watch etc;

Procedure:

• Take a long bag/Pillow cover.
•  Keep some household items in them like spoon, comb, pen, etc.(around 20)
•  A child has to keep his hand inside the bag and feel the items( without looking at them) for say 2 minutes
• After that  she/he has to write the names of the things on a paper.
• Each child repeats this activity.
• Whoever writes more number of names correctly wins the game.

3) Test your memory game: This game is similar to the above game.There can be any number of kids.

Requirements:
Household items like pen, plate, watch etc;
Paper and pen for each child

Procedure:

• A number of things(say 35) are placed  in a room on a table.
• All the children are allowed to go inside the room at once.
• They can watch the items for say 5 minutes.
• They have to come out of the room and write down the names of the things they have seen on their papers  in say 10 minutes.
• Whoever writes more correct names wins the game.

4)    Blowing the balloons: Set a start time, give many balloons to kids. Whoever blows more balloons wins the game.

5)      Activities: Similar to the above game, include many activities like throwing balls into a bucket from a distance, covering the books with brown sheet, dressing up dolls and many more.

Add your own Indian birthday party game ideas

1) Set your budget: The first and foremost step is to decide on how much you are ready to spend for the party. Usually the Indian first birthdays are celebrated lavishly when compared to other birthdays.

2) Guest List: Based on the first step, decide who all are going to be present in the celebration. Collect the phone  numbers or addresses of the invitees. Do not forget your kids’ pals for the party as they are the ones who make your child happy. Plan for the necessary arrangements if the guests invited are from far away places. An Indian birthday party usually has a long guest list

3) Decide the venue: Select a venue for the birthday party that is within your budget and convenient to all your guests. Also it is preferable if it is near to your home as you can keep a watch on the arrangements on the day of the party.

4) Invitations: Select the invitation cards. They can be prepared with cute photos of the birthday kid on them in addition to good matter. These days e-invitations can also be made. You can also stick to calling the guests through phone or visiting their home to reduce the budget and have a personal touch to invitation. 

5) Select the cake: Cake is the most essential part of the birthday party. If your kid is old enough, give him/her a chance to select it from the cake album at the bakery. You can later decide the weight of the cake needed depending on the number of guests.

6) Food : Finalize the items for the food that is to be served at the party.  Do not forget to include the birthday kid’s favourite dish. Afterall it is his/her big day. Select the resources for serving the food. Arrange for paper plates, cups, disposable glasses, napkins, tissue papers etc., There is a lot of choce for Indian birthday party menu.

7) Entertainment show: Arrange for a program to entertain kids. A professional can be called for performing a magic show or ventriloquism. To reduce the budget, a pre-informed simple fancy dress competition can be arranged which creates a lot of curiousity among children for the party day. For more ideas of entertainment click here.

8)Games at the party: Birthday party games are the heart of the party. Different games can be arranged depending upon the age of the invitee kids and the time available. Here is a good collection of birthday party games.

9) Give away gifts: These are the items which are distributed to children during party. They include birthday caps, chocolates, masks and bubble makers. They bring in the party mood and make the party colorful.

10) Return Gifts and Prizes for game winners: These gifts make the children remember your party for a long time. Click here for more ideas of gifts.

10) Decoration: After deciding the venue, plan for the decoration. This includes balloons, candles, cartoon characters, color papers, and many more. You can leave the job of decorating to a professional. If there are many helpers around you,  bring in your creativity and purchase all the necessary items in advance.

11) Photography and video arrangements: Let your child remember your effort for a long time. Make the birthday party memorable by storing it in an album and disc.

12) Music arrangement: Music is the life of any party. Do not forget the happy birthday song. Play the birthday kid’s favourite music.

13) Other arrangements at the venue: Place a  good banner/flexi welcoming the guests and wishing happy birthday to the kid. Check the seating arrangement. Arrange for  nice table cloth for the table on which cake is going to be cut, as this catches everyone’s attention.Check the arrangements needed for games. Arrange for trash bags or dustbins especially if your home is the venue. It is really going to be a mess after the party. 

14) Child safety measures: Make the place child proof. If the  venue is your home, keep the delicate things away from the reach of small kids.

15) Prepare the kid for the birthday in advance. Let him/her have a nap before the event. Relax and have fun!!!

Click here to download the free Indian birthday party planner / Indian birthday party checkoff list

You are welcome to share your ideas and experiences below.