Kid’s parties are big business. So it’s not surprising that a host of companies specialising in parties for kids has sprung up. If you like the idea of outsourcing your next party, they can supply you with advice and ideas for party themes, party decorations and accessories, and even the party activities.

Send in the clowns – or the guinea pigs

Want a circus theme for your child’s party? If you can afford real circus animals the insurance premium to cover all your guests in the event of a "performance malfunction" would be astronomical.

But you can still have your circus – with animals too. Just enlist the advice of a children’s party planner that has a connection with a petting zoo.

Before you know it – and with the addition of bright banners, circus tent backdrops and a hired clown who can make balloon animals – you have your very own guinea pig, Shetland pony, dwarf rabbit and baa-lamb animal circus. Instant hit!

Of course, lining all that up yourself, plus the catering, the activities and the fire eater (a brilliant finale to your show) would be a logistical nightmare. But a kids party specialist will take it all in their stride and deliver all the paper plates, helium balloons and cute little guinea pigs you need. After all, that’s their job.

The one stop shop – online!

Party planners can organise everything you need to make your child’s special day an awesome event. Most of the online party supply companies can post party supplies Australia-wide. This means you don’t only have to plan and organise events based on your local area’s offerings.

You can draw on stores and services across the country. This includes children’s parties, themed parties, corporate children’s events – everything from theming and planning to catering and entertainment.

Companies that specialise in kids parties can offer party products from a monster ice-cream cake to a jumping castle. If you have the budget, they can supply the experience.

Top Party Tips

• Transform your space. Try taping streamers to the windows in a criss-cross pattern or hanging backdrops on the walls to create a new party world, and put décor on the floor too. Find party supplies here;
• Get your game on. Activities are a must, so plan something fun: try a treasure hunt for a pirate party, complete with maps and clues with a piñata reward;
• Layering works. If it’s a SpongeBob SquarePants theme, drop fishing nets over the tables and serve lollies in goldfish bowls (sans fish);
• Don’t forget presents – for the guests! Send kids home with fun, thoughtful goodies. For a pirate theme, think eye patches, bandanas, pirate hats and hooks.

The key to a good kids’ party is simple: make it fun and end on a high note. Sure, their parents may not thank you for sending their kids home in state of screeching excitement, clutching a piece of cake in one hand and a pirate hook in the other.

But you can rest assured that the party will be a memorable one so long as you engage the right advice to make it that way. Party planners know how to make you and your child the pin-ups of the year’s party calendar.

Then you just have to do it all again next year.