The Fine Art of RSVP-ing

When I go over invitation details with parents and we discuss the RSVP date, I'm often met with a big sigh from the Mom or Dad. Parents are notoriously bad at responding to a child's birthday invitation. As a Party Planner, I ask for the final number two days before the party. I need this time to build the decorative loot bags, thank you bookmarks, etc. Sadly, the parents have to give me a give-or-take number and may end up having to pay for more children than actually attend, simply because they did not get responses.

We've all been there. A party invitation is lost at the bottom of a napsack, only to be discovered the day before said party, or a parent calls you, asking if your child will be at the party and you've forgotten to RSVP, or children tell each other they will be at the party but it doesn't get passed along to the hosting parent.

These are all forgiveable scenarios for not RSVP-ing to a party, but it still creates stress for the party Mom or Dad who doesn't know how many loot bags to prepare, how many places to set at the table, or how much food to provide.

It has become a very bad trend lately for parents to not RSVP at all. Roughly translated, RSVP means "please respond because I really do need to know how many children will be at this party that is already an overwhelming thought for me."

Some parents have the phone numbers of the little guests and can follow up, but why should they have to?

The next time you receive an invitation, take a moment to make responding your priority. Nothing says sad like a child arriving unexpectedly at a party, forcing the parents to scramble when they already have enough on their plate. To those parents whose children are not attending, have the courtesy to let the hosting Mom or Dad know so they don't go to the added expense and effort for nothing.

Oh and P.S. - check your child's napsack!

ARRGGHH! It's Treasure Ye Seek!

Having conducted a few treasure hunts for pirate parties, I've figured out what works and what doesn't work.

Find a bunch of half shells that your clues will go in. This makes it easy for the children to know what they're looking for and the shells go well with your theme. The clue itself could be a short rhyme that hints at an object in your house, such as a fridge. I usually print off pictures and place those in the shells. That way children of all ages can easily participate in the hunt.

Decide ahead of time if you want the clues to be throughout your house, including your child's room, the bathroom, etc. and order the clues so they are going from one end of the house to the other, back and forth, instead of all in one or two rooms. Make sure the shells are well hidden or throughout the party the children may find them and bring them to you. That will mess up the flow of the whole hunt, as you manically try to redirect the children to the next clue.

Schedule the hunt to be toward the end of the party. Parents arriving early can witness the fun and as this is perhaps your most boisterous activity, you can get them all riled up and then send them on their way. You can make their loot bags the found treasure, so having the hunt at the end of the party means the children aren't opening the loot bags during the party.

As the hunt gets underway, explain to the children that you're going to show or read the clue and they have to go together to search for the next clue. Now this next part is important. Tell them that when they find each clue, they have to bring it to you. This will prevent a stampede of older children racing all over the house and leaving the younger, smaller ones behind. Everyone gets a chance to see and search for each clue.

It's up to you if you want to have mini prizes at each shell location, such as gold coins. If you do, make sure the little pirates have small bags to carry everything in.