Whether you’re planning your child’s birthday party or a professional event, choosing the right app is crucial for success.
It’s coming—your baby’s first birthday.
And as it edges closer and closer, Googling “party themes for babies” and “games for 1-year olds” have become something an obsession for you. In fact, you are slowly becoming more like the Pinterest moms you used to mock.
Until you realize, there’s nothing wrong with those Pinterest moms! It’s your child’s first birthday, and they only turn 1 once, right? So don’t they deserve to have a big blowout bash with a smash-cake, party favors, friends, family, and of course, a photographer? (Because let’s be honest—they’ll need photos to remember it.)
Yes, they do! And you’ve sat idly by long enough. Surfing the web casually for ideas will not a party make. The time has come for some serious planning!
First Step: Get Help
Okay, you may not be planning the next International Exhibit on Ancient Egypt, but even a 1-year old’s birthday party requires preparation, organization, and legwork. If you happen to be one of those super-organized, weekly menu-plan kind of moms, planning the party will be a piece of cake (cake, you need cake! Add that to your shopping list.).
If, however, organization is not your strong suit, you will need a little bit of extra help.
And that’s where party and event planning apps can really save the day.
Party and Event Planning Apps
You may be surprised at just how many party and event planning apps exist. But when you think about it, it makes sense—you’re not the only mom who wants to plan her kid a birthday party, right? Not to mention other people in the world who get engaged, married, make holiday parties, and other such events.
So yeah, party and event planning apps are all the rage for anyone who has anything to plan that involves other people.
People who are super-organized will have great fun with these apps—they include loads of tools for coordination, management, sending messages, and more. People who are not naturally organized will love the way these apps keep them on track, especially the ones that send reminders for important tasks.
What’s the Scope of Your Event?
There is a wide variety when it comes to party and event planning apps. Some are geared toward domestic occasions, such as birthday parties, engagement parties, get-togethers with friends, etc. Others are suited for mid-level events, like weddings, bar/batmitzvahs, Sweet 16s, and the like. And still others are built for professional situations, like art gallery openings, business conferences, concerts, and other such events that require tickets. These are mainly used by professional event planners and companies.
If you are said mom planning a party for her 1-year old, you don’t need to waste a passing glance at the more professional apps. While these apps are terrific if you’re planning a conference or concert or any event that sells tickets - you are not selling tickets to your 1-year old’s birthday party. So you can breeze by them because they simply don’t suit your needs.
Rather, you need smaller-scale apps that will give you the appropriate tools to plan your child’s birthday party, or other comparable event.
Features to Look For
Just because you’re organizing a small-scale event doesn’t mean that you don’t need to be, well, organized. If you plan to invite 30 people to your 1-year old’s birthday party, that’s 30 people you actually need to invite, check if they’re coming, buy food and party favors for, etc. (Not to mention buying a fabulous outfit for your baby, finding/baking a cake that suits everyone’s allergies, setting up a birthday song playlist, etc.)
So when choosing a party planning app, you’ll want to look for features to help you stay on top of all your responsibilities. These features can include an invitation sender, RSVP manager, to-do lists, shopping lists, and whatever else you determine will help you stay organized.
Planning Bigger Events
Congratulations! The birthday party you threw was a rousing success. In fact, you’re on such a high from a party well-planned that you’d like to tackle another one! Perhaps a New Year’s bash? Halloween party? Easter egg hunt? Whatever type of event you choose to throw, you can be sure that it will be even bigger and better than the previous one.
So, can you still use the same app?
Sure! If you were happy with the app you used, by all means use it again. Apps like Event Planner, Pro Party Planner, and Yada can all be used for smaller-scale events like birthdays to mid-level affairs like holiday parties, engagement parties, community happenings, and more.
Of course, if you want to add a dash of class to your event, you can turn to Hello Vino, which helps you choose the best wine to suit your food, your tastes, and the general ambience of your get-together. If you prefer to keep your event casual and between friends, Advencha allows group chats and GIF sharing, which brings everyone into the event-planning along with you.
Professional Events
Let’s say that word gets out about your incredible event-planning skills and people you don’t even know start clamoring to attend what will obviously be the biggest and best New Year’s party ever. You may find yourself in need of an app that can handle ticket sales, check-ins, even payments. If that’s the case (you never know, right?), you can turn to Eventbrite, SquadUp, and Bizzabo, all of which offer various plans depending on what you need for your now-professional event.
And if we’re dreaming big here, with all of your stunning success, you may even consider becoming a professional event planner. In which case, an app like Evernote, which allows you to keep track of ideas, notes, and web pages all in one place, could help you manage your multiple projects.
Planning Makes Perfect
Planning an event, big or small, can be daunting, especially when you probably have a thousand other things going on in your life. Even when you’re using an app, the app won’t actually do the work for you, it will only help you stay organized. So there will still be work involved.
But bear in mind, even though putting together an event means a lot of legwork, the more planning and preparation you do, the better your results will be.
So go on—browse Pinterest for children’s birthday themes, plan your song-list, buy that adorable kiddy outfit, and hire that photographer. And when the day finally arrives, you’ll see how all of your investment and planning pays off.
