We live in a large neighborhood with many children the same age. This is great for raising a family. The neighbors help each other out with car pooling, yard projects and we generally enjoy each others company.

Competitive games are enjoyable only for the people who win, a party should be Fun, avoid tears by selecting games that everyone gets a chance to succeed

Living in a community that has many children means that there are a great number of birthday parities. Due to this it is sometimes difficult to come up with birthday decorating ideas that are unique.

I have three children so this means coming up with birthday decorating ideas three times each year. When the children were younger they did not care what the decorations looked like, but this is changing especially with my daughter. She is very detailed oriented and does not like to be the same as others. As her birthday approached she asked me what birthday decorating ideas I had for this year’s event. She is going to be eleven years old, this is an awkward age. I asked her if she wanted the traditional neighborhood party or if she wanted to have a sleep over with her close friends. Of course she wanted both.

Her birthday is in early August. We planned to have an outdoor event for the neighborhood party. We went to a party supply store to get birthday decorating ideas for the patio area. My daughter liked the colorful Chinese lanterns that are made of paper and can be strung along the deck. She has always liked Chinese food also so we decided to have an oriental theme to the party. This was one of the easiest birthday decorating ideas that I ever dealt with. We bought the paper Chinese lanterns as well as a strand of Chinese lantern lights. We also bought paper plates and cups that had oriental floral designs on them. For food I ordered takeout from our favorite Chinese restaurant. I took one of the paper plates to the bakery to see if they could duplicate the design onto the birthday cake. The decorator said she would be able to do this.

Planning to bake a birthday party can be very stressful - it can also be great fun

On the morning of the party we strung the lanterns along with some balloons. We set up several backyard games for the children to play. Everyone enjoyed the Chinese food as well as the birthday decorating ideas that we had come up with. When the party was over I surprised my daughter by showing her the family room area. I had strung the strands of Chinese lights and had set out sleeping bags for her and her friends. I had also rented several movies for them to watch along with her favorite snacks.

The day turned out very well. I know that as time passes the children will no longer want the parties and the birthday decorating ideas will be a worry of the past. It is fun to plan the events while the kids still enjoy them and want to be involved with their birthday decorating ideas.