Nothing flattens a kid’s party faster than games that are too old or too young for the party-goers. Keep your party games age appropriate. This is easily accomplished by letting your child select a few games they like. Be sure to include a few games appropriate for both girls and boys or create different versions for boys and girls separately, and then pit the two teams against each other for a special prize.

Streamers in bright red will make the garden party attractive for the red hat club if you are hosting a party and go ahead and make up goodie bags for the ladies with red hat stickers and buttons in them. This is also a good place to have a brunch party, especially if you are hosting a more adult party group. The garden will delight the eyes, ears and nose and the brunch will delight the taste buds, hopefully.

Approach your next kids party as if it were an adventure which you are going to record for posterity from beginning to end. This will mean capturing the significant high points of the party such as the guests arriving, playing party games, opening presents, and of course the cake and ice cream “Happy Birthday to You” part.

As soon as you take a drink order, sell an appetizer. Many servers completely skip this opportunity to boost sales. Do not just ask if they would like an appetizer. Offer one or two choices and describe them briefly but lusciously. Try something along the lines of, “Would you like to start out with our caprese salad? It has fresh garden tomatoes and house-made mozzarella cheese drizzled with balsamic vinegar and topped with fresh basil. It’s fantastic!” This creates an image of the dish in the guest’s mind and also makes them think about an appetizer. They may not choose what you suggest, but it opens the door for them to ask for something else.

Get creative with questions– ask embarrassing or funny ones to keep your guests laughing. If possible, come up with a list of question beforehand if you’re not great at thinking them up on the spot.

For example, guests at a pirate theme party can pose with their bandannas and eyepatches, looking like fierce buccaneers. Guests at a princess party could pose in their pretty dress-up clothes. Guests at a construction party can pose with their trucks in the sandbox.

Your little princess can wear a bigger tiara (also from Dollar Tree) than what comes as the party favors. You can give her matching jewelry to wear and dress her up if she wants. If her other friends aren’t dressed up depending on her age and sensitivity she may want to change so be prepared with a second outfit as a back-up plan.

Make sure you read the fine print on food labels, however. So-called ‘low-fat’ cream cheese contains a whopping 21g of fat per l00g of product, and ‘reduced-fat’ cheddar can easily contain 20g per l00g. Although this is less than regular cheddar, which has a fat content in excess of 30g, it’s still loads of fat. At less than five grams of fat per l00g of product, low-fat or fat-free cottage cheeses are obviously your best cheesy choice.