Birthday party supplies cover everything from decorations, food, favors and partyware. The thoughtful planner will first choose a theme (for example: disco, 1950s, Mardi Gras, Hawaiian or Western). Once you've chosen a theme, you'll find everything else for the celebration easily falls into place -- and the planning is actually fun!

You can purchase birthday party supplies at Party City or Coolest-kid-birthday-parties, which also offer clues about kids birthday and adult birthday themes. For instance, some popular kids themes include: Harry Potter, undersea, princesses, pirates, dinosaurs, fiesta, western, army and safari. Popular adult themes are: 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, mardi gras, Victorian ball, luau, western and casino.

Sometimes your guests will appreciate a simple theme, with costumes that merely involve silly hats or masquerade masks. Theme is your key to finding decorations and deciding which food to serve.

For kids parties, your best bet is sheet pizza and munchies or a little home cooking. If you're throwing a theme party, there are tons of themed food ideas for kids parties at Coolest-kid-birthday-parties. For a superhero theme, you might serve "Superhero sandwiches", "Green Goblin guacamole" and "Penguin Tuna Salad".

For a circus theme, you might want corndogs, nachos, clown face dip and animal shaped sandwiches. For adult theme parties, you might choose catering from Subway or a Chinese Buffet to save money. If you want something a little more eloquent, Foodnetwork has great recipe suggestions.

Also, for adult birthday celebration supplies, you'll certainly want to include alcohol and special drink recipes. Jello shots, Mint Juleps, Sake, Martinis, Margaritas and Kahlua-with-coffee make great treats for your guests.

For partyware, Orientaltrading, Partysupplydirect or Party City offer deals on birthday party supplies like bulk plates, cups and silverware. Your best bet if planning a large celebration is to purchase solid tableware and spice up the decorating in other areas, like tablecloths or props.

While eight themed dinner plates are only $2.50, imagine spending just as much on napkins, cake plates and cups; and if you have fifty or more guests coming, that stuff can really add up!

Theme celebration decorations are a quintessential part of birthday party supplies purchases. For kids parties, find decorating ideas at Coolest-kid-birthday-parties where you can do-it-yourself and save money.

If you're low on time, Celebrateexpress offers all-in-one decoration kits that include all partyware, tablecloths, balloons, streamers, and sometimes even celebration favors as well.

Adults can purchase most decorations separately at Party City or in kits at Birthdayzbyshindigz. This can be a really fun part of birthday party supplies shopping as long as you set a budget and stick to it.

Nothing beats a great celebration that's carefully planned, from the invitations to the favors. You'll be happy to know that you're not alone in your planning. There are plenty of online resources to help minimize the stress and give you more creative ideas for your birthday party supplies purchasing.