4 fun, easy and mess-free birthday party ideas

We all know that birthday parties can be a pain to organise, even if the end result is a lot of fun for everyone. Then there’s the post-party clean-up which can add hours more to proceedings.

If you’re looking for ways to whittle down the amount of effort this all involves, without sacrificing anyone’s enjoyment, here are a few handy tips and tricks which will make your next birthday party a breeze.

Swap candles for an ice fountain

Birthday candles are a traditional inclusion on any cake, but they aren’t the most convenient thing because of the likelihood of wax dripping down onto the otherwise pristine icing. Plus if you’ve had lots of birthdays before, they aren’t the most exciting or special inclusion.

This is where ice fountains come into play. These are a type of indoor firework that emit eye-catching sparkles and last for a little over a minute, creating no smoke and leaving no trace after they are burnt out.

Pop a few ice foundations into a birthday cake and the whole affair will be head-turning, classy, and also easy to clean.

Choose biodegradable tableware

One of the best ways to make a birthday party more streamlined from an admin point of view is to use disposable plates and cutlery. However, in an age where concerns over single use plastics are at a fever pitch, you might be tempted to forgo these accessories in favor of reusable items that then have to be washed and stored.

The ideal halfway house between these two extremes is to opt for biodegradable tableware, which you can then either compost at home or send off with your green waste for recycling if this is available in your area.

There are all sorts of products that fit this category out there, and even if you don’t have time to recycle them, or lack access to adequate recycling services locally, you can rest assured that biodegradable tableware will break down quickly even if it ends up in a landfill.

Finger food is your friend

Whether you are planning an adult-oriented affair, or you are catering for kids, it’s better to choose finger foods served buffet-style than having larger dishes served up separately.

Finger foods not only minimize mess, but also mean that attendees don’t get over-faced, and only need to eat what they actually want. This leads to less food waste and lets you re-use the food in the following days for lunches that will keep the whole family going.

In terms of the fun aspect, you can design finger food displays in such a way that looks cute and appealing, whether that means mini sandwiches arranged in the shape of an animal or sausage rolls that spell out the birthday boy or girl’s name.

To take this one step further, why not plan to send guests home with a little parcel of food which is left over? Invest in biodegradable containers and encourage everyone to take what they like when the party is winding down so that you’ve got less food to store yourself.

Proactive cleaning is a priority

Rather than leaving all of the tidyings up until the end of the party, try to integrate this throughout proceedings; and don’t try to do it all yourself. Get the guests involved if you can, which is surprisingly easily done if they are kids. If the cleaning becomes a game in its own right, then you’ll feel like a regular Mary Poppins, and have a clean and tidy house at the end.

Lastly, learn from any mistakes you make and aim not to repeat them in the future, and don’t be too draconian as a host, or else people might not want to come again.