Introduction<br >We are three Early Childhood Education teachers with many years of experience dealing<br >with young children and their parents. As well， we have children of our own. It is our<br >personal experience that busy parents are searching for alternatives to expensive and<br >commercial birthday parties. Often they are frustrated and concerned about costs， and<br >they feel inadequately prepared to plan and host a successful party.<br > We believe that planning and preparing for your child s birthday party can be an enjoy-<br >able experience for you and your child. It is the purpose of this book to offer party plans<br >and ideas on how to give an inexpensive， yet novel and fun birthday party for children<br >under the age of 9. Included are seven birthday party themes， with easy-to-follow party<br >plans. Each theme was chosen because of its well-known appeal to young children. We<br >have tried out each one to make sure it goes smoothly， so you can be confident about<br >choosing any of the themes for your own child.<br > Suggestions and samples of party invitations， decorations， party favors (to make or<br >buy)， games， menus， schedules， stories and thank-you notes are included in each plan.<br >There is more than ample choice for you in every chapter. Due to the large number of<br >ideas presented for each theme， we strongly suggest you resist trying to do all of them at<br >your party. Remember to consider your child s age and interests， as well as what you<br >yourself feel comfortable doing.<br > We suggest you plan for a party of about an hour and a half in length for children three<br >and four years of age， and two to two and a half hours long for older children. A short<br >party with a few well-chosen activities will be far more successful than a long drawn-out<br >affair.<br > Finally， don t forget to plan for the few minutes after all the guests have left. Your child<br >will be very excited and may feel let down when everyone is gone. Spend 10 or 15<br >minutes after the party quietly discussing the events of the day and the gifts received， to<br >help your youngster come down to earth gently.<br > Now you re ready--be creative， enjoy， and remember: IT S A PIECE OF CAKE!!<br >