Birthday Party Planning

B has his 4th birthday coming up at the end of the month. I am hoping to be quite organised for the party this year to cut down on my stress levels and to spread the cost over a month or so rather than pay for most things in the week of the party. Last year's party was a hit but I left way too much stuff till the last minute and was very disorganised on the day.

I have been purchasing some of the necessary supplies and sourcing a few other items that we need over the last month or so but am heading into serious planning territory now with less than a month to go.

Unfortunately I do not have any extra freezer space (a situation I hope to rectify soon). However, I have some wonderful friends who have offered their freezer space so that I can make food ahead of time and freeze. Today I have made 50+ sausage rolls so they have gone to their freezer. I'll make some more things the next couple of weekends which should cover a lot of the food for the party.

And lists. I am only a recent convert to lists (see this post here). I have created a list of things to do and things I have done. I'm looking forward to moving things from one list to the other!! He is having a sport theme for his birthday so I have created a list of the games we want to play which will also help make sure I have the necessary equipment.

Any suggestions for making birthday parties go smoothly? I would love to hear your success stories and any little tips you have learnt along the way. I have many years of birthday parties ahead of me and not many behind me so tips from the more experienced would be great.