The week before, and the morning of
A practical checklist for the week before a children's birthday party and the morning of the booking.
Confirm it in writing
Confirm the booking in writing: time, room, food, numbers, price left to pay. A phone call you half-remember is how you arrive for a 2pm slot that was moved to 1.30. Screenshot the email and the balance.
Charge cameras and decide who is actually taking photos, so it is not everybody and therefore nobody. Pack cake, candles, a lighter the venue allows, wipes, a spare top, socks if you are bowling or bouncing, and the present from you — the one you will otherwise remember in the car park.
The list you think you will remember
Waivers are often online the day before. Do them at the kitchen table, not in the foyer while the birthday child vibrates. Socks, in a carrier bag, for every child who might forget. Wellies in the boot if the venue is a farm. The postcode in the maps app, not 'the zoo'.
Tell the one adult who is helping you what they are helping with. Cake. Door. Names. If everyone helps with everything, the child who needs the toilet will be the organiser's problem at the exact moment the host wants the group.
Leave earlier than the house suggests
On the morning, leave earlier than the mood in the house suggests. The child is vibrating. You still need petrol, the postcode, and a grown-up who has eaten. A party you arrive at already frayed is harder than the one the venue is running.
Eat something. You will not want the children's pizza, and you will be worse at the party if you are hungry and late. The venue has hosted this party before. Your only novel job is to arrive as a person who can still be polite.