It’s the time of year when you and your family enjoy a carte blanche to party as much as you like --at least, party as much as you like in a clean, family-friendly way. Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Back to School – kids are always in the mood for a party and winter is when parents share the sentiment. Though Christmas may have just passed, there are plenty more opportunities to get your family’s friends together this season, but the question lingers of how best to organize a family-friendly party? We’ve got the perfect answer: don’t. Check out this list of party planners who will organize everything for you, leaving the children entertained and yourself free to kick back with an over-sugared soda.

Party Box
Featured in our last issue of City Weekend Parents & Kids, Party Box is managed by expatriates and offers party planning and management services for families. From life size piñatas to custom made cookies, clowns to magicians, and bouncing castles to candy counters, there’s nothing that this party planning company can’t do. Prices vary, but book a party between Monday and Friday to receive a 10-50% discount off select services.

Fun Kid’s Party
Another killer party planning organization (which is a little cheaper than some), the not-entirely-imaginatively-named Fun Kid’s Party will come to your home, school or park (though perhaps avoid the latter 'til spring) and provide the clowns, balloon art, piñatas and face painting, while also putting together fun group activities like origami, clay or play dough crafts.

JT Kids Party
Our final pick for party planning agencies also dabbles in corporate events, but specializes in themed parties, which range from Pixar to Potter. In their own words, "By organizing your party around a particular theme you can can co-ordinate the whole party. The entertainment, cake, food, tableware, decorations, balloons, games, activities, prizes can all be organized around the theme.”

Looking to be a little more involved with your party’s organization? Get your own supplies from these stores and set everything up yourself for a more personalized party experience.

Party Monster
Feel like a costume party? For those of you based out in Pudong, this store specializes in costumes and party supplies, with a small selection of about eighty quality imported outfits (about RMB80) more than twenty masks (RMB15-50), as well as a selection of decorations, banners, balloons, face paint, lanterns, etc. Employees are bilingual and are happy to offer advice on how to get the most out of your party.

Holiday House
Though a little on the expensive side, Holiday House is still very family friendly and has a very wide variety of fancy dress costumes, seasonal decorations and everything you can think of to deck out your party, be it Christmas, New Year, Easter or even Valentine’s day themed.

Finally, for the best of both worlds, try heading to a party centre like...

Ruby’s Party Place
This two-storey party institution hosts a large space for themed birthday parties (ie Princesses, Soccer, etc.) that can hold up to a hundred people. All sorts of toys and activities are available, from ball pits to blocks, arts and crafts, a reading corner, and an entire glass wall for painting. The activities (and price) range depending on the age of the children.

And there you have it – whether you need to micromanage every aspect of your family’s special day or whether you relish the chance to hand the reins over to someone else, these guys should have you covered to make the most of a special day.