Throwing a birthday party for kids can be daunting.  Do you want to go somewhere or have it at your house?  What’s your budget?  How many kids?  What kind of food?  Do I *have* to buy those expensive goody bag treats?

First, decide the logistics of the party: venue, amount to invite, how many Wiis and which games.

  • Venue: if you have room to have all the party-goers in your house, then that’s perfect.  If not, think about renting a room at your local park district.
  • Amount to invite: while your child might want to invite their entire class of 20 kids, that isn’t always practical.  Base the amount of children invited on the type of games you’re going to play, how much room you have and how many Wiis you’ll have
  • How many Wiis: do you have access to more than one Wii?  If so, that will help for a larger party.  If not, then be practical about how many kids to invite.  If you have a 4 player game but invite 20 kids, that will leave 16 kids getting bored watching others play
  • Games: Look for multi-player games that are good for the age group.  Even just the Wii Sports (which come with the system) are great.  Bowling is a fun game that all ages can play and it doesn’t require extra remotes like tennis would.  Mario Party is a fun game also for up to 4 people but it requires 4 different remotes.

Second, decide what kind of competitions to set up for the party and have prizes
  • Bowling? Play one game for the highest score or a game for the funniest bowling move.  If you’re doing it based on moves, then you don’t have to play a full game.  Play one player and let each kid go once or twice to get in their best move
  • Tennis? Play a game where you compete for the best volley
  • Mario Party?  Play a round robin tournament on the battles or mini games to determine a winner
  • Prizes: Find a teacher supply store to get prizes like #1 Ribbons, Trophies, You Did It award cards and more.  Or, find a party supply store for packs of gold medals, stickers and more

Third, determine other activities to occupy time when they’re not playing.  Since there will always be downtime at a party like this, help combat that idle time.
  • Make your own Mii: You can find places online that have programs to make your own Mii.  You can print out some of these pages and set up a station where the guests can cut out and paste together their own Miis, then glue them all together onto a piece of construction paper.
  • Decorate a cupcake: Have a cupcake station and let them decorate with things that pertain to the games you’re playing
  • Get ready to rumble: Have a station where the kids can do jumping jacks, stretch, run in place, etc (lead by an adult) to get ready for the games

Fourth, determine decorations.  There are currently no Wii party decorations on the market (at least that I could find).  Which can be a plus!  Rather than paying extra for those theme decorations, use plain colored ones.  Buy plates, napkins, cups, balloons, streamers, etc in your kid’s favorite colors.  Anything bold and fun will work great.
  • Invitations: Be creative and make your own!  Have your kid draw a picture of their Mii and then scan it and put it into a Word document to create a custom invitation.  Or, go to www.evite.com and use that Mii picture to customize an invite on there
  • Thank You Cards: If you’re having the guests make their own Miis on paper, scan it first and put that one, with your child’s Mii on the Thank You Note to make it more personal.  Or, take pictures of the kids as they are playing and use them on the Thank You Cards

Fifth, what about party favors?  Again, since there are no Wii party decorations out, that also means there are not Wii party favors.  So you have to get creative and of course, coordinate to the games you’re playing
  • Goody bags in the party colors
  • There are tons of reusable bags on the market now, buy some plain ones and use fabric paint to put the guest’s names on them and something to remember the party
  • Playing sports?  Buy sweatbands/wristbands and pair them with bottles of water as favors
  • Playing Mario Party?  Buy some mini card games (Old Maid, Crazy 8s, etc)

• Last, have a good structure ready for the party.  When the guests arrive, what will they do first?  It will take time for everyone to make their own Mii.  Have the different stations set up and extra adults to help man each station.  Most kids will want to make their Mii first on the Wii.  Set up a system that limits the time each child gets to do this or it could take forever.  When the Miis are made, spread the party out around the stations and enjoy!!!