State of Birthday Party Planning 2025

What 100 Parents Planning Birthday Parties Told Us

There’s a moment every parent remembers.

Your child’s first birthday candle.
The preschool party where everyone sang a little too loud.
The tween celebration that somehow felt very grown up and very emotional all at once.

Kids birthday parties are not just events on a calendar. They are milestones. Memory makers. Tiny time capsules of who our kids were at that exact moment.

But let’s be honest.

As magical as they are, birthday parties can also feel overwhelming. The planning. The decisions. The budgeting. The day-of chaos that starts before you’ve had coffee.

At Confetti Jar, we listen closely to parents. And what they’re telling us is clear: they want birthday parties to feel joyful, not stressful. Fun, not frantic. Memorable, not exhausting.

So we asked parents directly how they plan, what they outsource, where they struggle, and what really makes a party feel like a success. We surveyed 100 parents in party planning mode and the answers are shaping how we build Confetti Jar into a platform that truly supports families and the amazing kids party vendors who serve them.

Here, we’ve shared what parents told us about how they plan birthday parties and where they feel the most stress. We’re using those insights to build a platform that makes party planning easier and more joyful for families.

We’ve also translated those insights into meaningful takeaways for kids’ party businesses and vendors. Our goal is to help you show up in the moments that matter most to parents by connecting you with families who are actively planning, ready to book, and looking for trusted partners to bring their celebrations to life.

Let’s dig in.

The Birthday Party Journey Starts Earlier Than You Think

67% of parents start hosting birthday parties at age 1.

That means the party-planning journey begins almost immediately. Often when parents are sleep-deprived, short on time, and still figuring out what kind of celebrations actually work for their family.

This matters because first birthday parties often set the tone for what comes next. Toddler birthday parties, preschool parties, and eventually teen birthday parties all build on those early experiences.

What parents need early on

• An easy way to find ideas and the right local businesses to bring those ideas to life.

• Trusted recommendations

• Vendors who understand first-time hosts

How Confetti Jar helps
Instead of starting from scratch or piecing together recommendations from five different places, Confetti Jar brings trusted, age-appropriate vendors together in one place. That means less guessing, more confidence, and more joy when it comes to celebrating that first special milestone.

For kids party vendors
The market starts early. Clear first birthday packages and easy booking matter more than ever.

Parents Plan Fast (and Don’t Have Time to Waste)

70% of parents plan their child’s birthday party within 1–3 months.

That’s a short runway.

Parents are juggling work, school schedules, sports, and family life while trying to pull together something special. They don’t have time to endlessly scroll, message, compare, and follow up.

What parents want

• Fast discovery

• Clear pricing

• Easy communication

How Confetti Jar helps
Confetti Jar is built for real-life timelines. Parents can browse and find vendors efficiently without bouncing between Google searches, Facebook groups, and unanswered messages. To make it even easier to plan on a short timeline, avoid wasting hours checking availability with multiple vendors. Instead, use Confetti Concierge to find vendors available for your date and make the booking process faster and easier.

For kids party vendors
Quick responses and ease of communication win. Parents are making decisions faster than you think.

Birthday Party Planning Is a Real Time Commitment

55% of parents spend more than 5 hours planning a birthday party.
Over 20% spend more than 15 hours.

That’s a lot of late-night planning after kids are asleep. A lot of tabs open. A lot of “Is this really the best option?” Parents are spending a ton of time researching online, asking in social media group, checking with friends. They find inspiration photos, make phone calls, seek prices, email back and forth with vendors, and check to ensure they are staying on budget. This process becomes super time consuming and this is the main challenge Confetti Jar is seeking to help parents solve. We are here to save you time.

How Confetti Jar helps
By consolidating vendors and services into one platform, Confetti Jar dramatically reduces planning time. Parents get to spend more time enjoying the moment instead of managing it. Parents can even use the Confetti Concierge service, our done-for-you virtual event planning services that makes the process easier than ever, saving even more time.

For kids party vendors
Time saved is a huge value driver. Clear packages and smooth booking directly reduce parent stress.

What Stresses Parents Out the Most 

The biggest pain points fall into two categories:

Decision stress

• Budgeting and comparing pricing (40%)

• Finding the right vendors and venue (over 20%)

Execution stress

• Day-of logistics and prep (40%)

• Setup and cleanup (37.6%)

Parents don’t need more Pinterest boards. They need clarity, coordination, and confidence.

How Confetti Jar helps
Confetti Jar reduces decision stress by making it easier to find amazing vendors and transparent pricing. It also supports execution by helping parents assemble the right mix of services without juggling multiple searches.

Most Parents Spend Between $250-$750 on the Party

The core birthday party budget is $250–$750 (nearly 60% of families).
Over 30% spend $750 or more.

And while nearly half of parents say their budget stayed the same this year, more than a third increased spending.

What does that tell us? Parents are still investing in these special moments.

How Confetti Jar helps
Confetti Jar helps parents stretch their budget by reducing wasted time and helping them make informed choices upfront. Use our Price filters to find vendors within your budget. Check Pricing & Packaging on our vendor profiles for clear information about costs.

What Parents Outsource for Kids Birthday Parties

Most parents outsource many products or services when planning birthday parties:

• Cake and desserts (73%)

• Entertainment (53%)

• Venue (49%)

• Decor / balloons (24%)

Most parents don’t want to do everything themselves and they don’t have to.

When it comes to kids' birthday parties, parents consistently outsource the pieces that make the biggest impact: the cake and desserts everyone gathers around, the kids' party entertainment that keeps kids laughing, and the venue that sets the stage for the celebration.

How Confetti Jar helps

That’s exactly where Confetti Jar comes in.

Confetti Jar brings the most in-demand party vendors together in one trusted place. From incredible cake and dessert artists to fun and unique entertainers, top venues, and talented balloon designers, parents can find and book the key elements of their party without juggling multiple searches, bouncing to websites and making tons of call.

What Matters Most to Parents When Choosing Birthday Party Vendors

When parents choose vendors for a kids birthday party, one factor stands out above the rest: cost.

72.9% of parents say cost is one of the most important factors when selecting a birthday party vendor. Trust and convenience closely follow, shaping how parents actually make decisions.

Key decision drivers include:

• Cost: 72.9%

• Ease of communication: 38.8%

• Reviews or testimonials: 36.5%

Together, these numbers tell a clear story. Parents want to understand the costs and choose vendors who offer ease of communication, with a track record of stellar reviews.

How Confetti Jar helps

Confetti Jar is built around these priorities.

By bringing trusted kids party vendors into one place, Confetti Jar makes it easier for parents to view pricing, check out reviews, business information photos, and more, then quickly contact to book.

For kids party vendors

For kids’ party businesses, the data shows that price gets parents in the door, but trust closes the booking.

Vendors who stand out are those who respond quickly and communicate clearly, showcase strong reviews and real examples, and make the booking process simple and transparent.

Confetti Jar helps surface these strengths, through reviews on each profile, and plenty of room for content and photos so parents can choose your business.

What Really Makes a Birthday Party a Success?

This might be our favorite part.

95% of parents say success is their child having a great time.
76% say the guests having fun matters most.

We believe joy wins every time. We’re here for the fun and here to help you create amazing experiences your kids will remember forever.

Parents also care deeply about:

• Everything going smoothly (62%)

• The party looked great (45%)

• I got to enjoy the party too (37%)

How Confetti Jar helps
We make it easy to find venues, entertainment and more that your child will truly love. We offer a huge variety of entertainment and venue options that fit every style of celebration. Plus, when planning is simpler and vendors are reliable, parents get to be present and actually see that their child and guests are having a blast.

Why Confetti Jar Exists

Confetti Jar was created because parents deserve support during life’s most meaningful celebrations.

We are building a business that that:

• Listens to parents

• Supports kids party vendors

• Makes kids birthday parties, toddler birthday parties, and teen birthday parties easier to plan and more joyful to experience

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters, better.

Because the best birthday parties are not just well planned.

They’re filled with laughter, connection, and moments your family will talk about for years.

And if we can help make that happen with a little less stress and a lot more confetti?

That’s the magic.

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