When it comes to planning a birthday party for that extraordinary child in your family, you probably want to do everything you can to make their big day as fun as possible. That could require a little thinking outside the box. Here are five creative tips to making your child's birthday party magically memorable.

1. Concentrate on Cool Characters

Many children are obsessed with certain book, movie, or television characters. What better way to turn up the excitement of their birthday than to plan a party that highlights their favorite characters? Buy decorations and plan activities that revolve around their favorite characters. For example, if your child loves Sheriff Woody from Toy Story, you could plan a party with cowboy decorations a Woody cake, and have the kids play Wild West–themed games. They could try to throw a lasso around a toy rocking horse's neck. You could play cowboy music in the background to set the mood. If your child enjoys cosplay, they could dress up as their favorite movie character and you could encourage their friends to dress up as the other characters from the movie. If you really want to go all out, you could hire a paid actor to come dressed as their favorite character to act out scenes or sing songs from their favorite movie. If you don't want to spend as much money on that idea, you could find a willing friend or relative to take on the role.

2. Add Awesome Activities

There's nothing that says “fun” to a child more than engaging in recreational activities. Since you probably know your child's favorite activities more than anyone, you can choose activities that will suit their personal tastes. You could plan their entire party around an activity, such as roller skating or ice skating, going to an indoor trampoline park such as Sky Zone. If your child enjoys playing arcade games and interacting with characters, Chuck E. Cheese would be a perfect active party destination. Bowling is another great option. Some bowling allies even offer special glow bowling parties that can kick the fun up to a whole new level! Laser tag or paint ball are some other exciting activities you could try. Artistic kids may enjoy having a party at a painting station where they and their friends are instructed on how to paint a picture. If you want to keep the kids active without spending a lot of extra money, consider having a party outside at a local playground. Having a party planned at a place where there's already a lot to do can take the pressure off of yourself to come up with activities.

3. Gear Up For Great Games

If you're not planning to have the party at a location with built-in activities like a birthday party place in Utah, you may want to plan out some games of your own. Of course there are birthday classics like piñatas and pin the tail on the donkey. But you could add some other creative games that go along with or enhance your theme. For a pirate themed party you could set up a scavenger hunt and send out your little pirates to search for the “treasure.” For a fun-in-the-sun party you could play games with water balloons, such as a water balloon toss or old fashioned water fight. You could plan an obstacle course in your yard for a “ninja warrior” themed party. The sky's the limit when it comes to creative games to try.

4. Fill Them Up On Fun Food!

One key ingredient to a special birthday party is including tasty treats on the menu. You can find out what your child's favorite snacks are and include them along with the main dish. You can also get the kids involved in making the food as one of the party activities. For example, they could all get to roll out the dough, spread the sauce, and add the toppings to their own miniature pizzas. Or they could each get to add one ingredient to a large bowl of cereal snack mix. The kids could place fruit on skewers and dip them into chocolate sauce. The more hands on fun they can have with their food, the better.

5. Simplify For Sanity's Sake

With all of these great plans swirling around in your mind you may begin to feel a bit overwhelmed. Don't panic. There's no need to implement too many ideas into one party. The beautiful thing about birthdays is that they come around every year. Rather than try to cram too much into one party and end up feeling too stressed to enjoy your child's big day, try to keep it simple. Pick your theme, settle on the amount of time you want the party to last, and pick only the amount of activities that will realistically suit the time and budget you have available. You may want to have a few possible back up games in mind in case one of the activities doesn't take as long as you expect it to, but there's no need to over plan and end up wasting time and money. It's okay to cross a few things off the list. You can always use those ideas in future birthday parties.

Hopefully these tips will get you off to a great start in planning your child's big birthday bash. The most important thing to remember is to have fun celebrating with that special boy or girl. They may be growing up, but you can help them to make memories that will last a lifetime!