Updated on: Feb 25, 2024
Birthday parties for family or friends are a lot of fun! From party favors to decorations to gifts, a birthday party celebrates another year in your loved one’s life. Whether you’re planning the party with the birthday boy or girl, or it’s a surprise event, getting all the details straight is super important. Our handy birthday party checklist will make sure you don’t miss a thing while planning your next birthday event! Easy Event Planning did all the legwork in finding what tasks you’ll need to prepare for and put them into an easy-to-use checklist template.
If you’re planning a surprise birthday party, you might want to check out our surprise party checklist here!
4 Reasons to Love Our Birthday Party Checklist
1. Automatic Timeline
Just add the birth date and the day you’re going to start to plan, and the sheet will populate the due dates for the tasks. The dates are chosen on your time table, and put in an order that accounts for everything, even up to tasks to be completed the day of!
2. User-Friendly Formatting
Static checklists can be helpful in planning, but one that visually shows your progress makes the process that much simpler!
Did you place an order for the birthday cake? Check it off the list, and the row will turn green.
Did you forget to send invites? The due date will turn yellow when the date is approaching and will turn red if you miss it. This will help you visually see what tasks need to be done pronto!
3. Shareable!
This document is easily shared through google sheets, so if you’re planning with a group, everyone can see the same information, real-time!
4. Links Included
Easy Event Planning makes your party planning simpler by adding useful links to the checklist itself.
Looking for an online invitation to send to friends, but don’t know where to look? Links to helpful websites will be included!
Trying to decide where to host the party? Vendor links will be added that can help you find the perfect spot.
Trying to decide how much to spend on your event? Make your birthday party budget simple by using our budget sheet that is specifically made for this type of event! This sheet will be linked in the checklist as well.
Recommended Instructions:
Swapping, Deleting, or Adding Tasks
If you have more tasks you want to add to the checklist, you can easily overwrite an existing task by erasing the task and adding your new one. This will give it the same due date as the original task.
If you want to keep all the tasks and add more:
- Right-click on the row number of a row within the checklist and select ‘insert one above/below’.
- Merge the three cells within the task box so you have room to type.
- This task won’t have a due date unless you add one, so make sure someone’s assigned to it right away!
You can also manually add a due date to the task, and the sheet will let you know if that day is comping up or has passed, just like the ones original to the sheet.
To delete a task, right-click on the row number and select ‘delete row’.
Assigning people
If you’re planning this birthday party with friends or family, it is super easy to make sure your group knows who’s doing what task. Have your party planners add their name in the column labeled ‘person assigned’ for the tasks they’re going to take care of. This also makes it easy to spot if there are tasks that no one has gotten to yet.
Organizing your sheet
While you’re planning, you might want to view the sheet for specific information. In our template, there is an easy way to filter for this instance! In the title cell for the column, you’ll want to click on the triangular icon and select your criteria.
Here are a few top questions you might ask, along with how to filter for them:
- What tasks are left to do?
- Select ‘FALSE’ in the ‘Done’ column.
- What tasks am I (or a friend) assigned to?
- Select whoever you’re looking for in the ‘Person Assigned’ column.
- What tasks do I have to do myself?
- Select ‘DIY’ in the ‘Task Type’ column.
Changing a date
If you want to change the date of a task, you can simply overwrite the due date that is provided for you. Keep in mind that if you end up changing your event date, this due date will not readjust to the new timeline.
Birthday Party Checklist: Conclusion
For the next birthday party you’re going to plan, you should consider our birthday party checklist! It is easy to view and simple to change. This checklist will make planning the party a piece of cake! If you find this template to be as useful as we do, try the template we created for other events, too.
Written by Kayla Lattas