Plan a kid's birthday party without the 40-tab spiral

What you'll need

• Age, date, start and end time, and about how many kids
• Where it will be (home, park, or a place you can name)
• A spending limit you already decided, and any allergies you know about

Step 1: Ask for a schedule, not a theme catalog

Help me plan a child's birthday party. Do not invent prices. If something costs money, write "check the price" instead of a number.

Child's age: [age]
Date and hours: [date, start, end]
Place: [home / park / other]
Kids coming: [number]
Adults who will help: [number]
Allergies or foods to avoid: [list or none]
Spending limit I set: [amount]
Activities I am willing to run: [example: one game, cake, free play]

Give me:
1. A run-of-show with times, from 30 minutes before start to cleanup
2. A shopping list based only on the foods and supplies that fit this plan. Mark anything I must price myself.
3. One indoor backup if the place depends on weather
4. A 5-line invite I can edit, with a blank for the address. No phone numbers.

Do not add paid entertainers, favors, or decorations unless I listed them.

Step 2: Cut anything you will not do

If the schedule has three games and you will only run one, delete two. A short plan you follow beats a cute plan you abandon at minute ten.

Step 3: Price the list in the real world

Open the store site or walk the aisle for the rows marked "check the price." Put the party back inside the limit by removing items, not by asking the chat for a cheaper fantasy total.

Step 4: Send an invite you edited

Here is my edited invite: [paste].
Check it for a missing time, date, or "please reply." Do not add jokes or extra events.

Director check: look before you use it

• Does the schedule fit the hours and the number of helpers you named? Two adults cannot run five stations.
• Are allergies handled in the food list, not as a footnote you might miss? Put the safe food on the shopping list.
• Did any price appear that you didn't look up? Ignore it and check the store.
• Did you paste children's full names, school name, home address, and phone numbers? Take those out. The chat does not need them to build a schedule.

One extra tip

While you are away from your desk, ask Meta AI in WhatsApp for a rain backup that uses only the supplies already on your list. You still confirm the place and the allergies yourself.

A trip with the same budget rule is Plan a trip. You still book the place. More home guides are on Life.