First it was the showers, now it’s the birthday parties. Dressing for a kid’s birthday party is not exactly like dressing for an adult birthday party in that kids are messy and their parties often involve some form of activity that doesn’t exactly mesh well with heels or cute dry-clean only dresses. Still, cutoff shorts and a t-shirt doesn’t exactly live up to the effort involved in an event that often involves hired kiddy entertainment, catered food, and personalized decorations (or at least in NYC, where the birthday parties we’ve been to can be way over the top).

And hey, kids are a lot of work, so after making it through another year, it really should be just as much about celebrating the parents, right? The trick to dressing for a kid’s birthday party is finding that perfect blend of comfy and casual and kid/baby-proof but still chic. Easy enough? Yeah right!

To help, I put together a guide for what to wear to a kid’s birthday party. 

Outfit 1

Blue Floral Blouse; White Jeans; Black Flats

Outfit 2

Striped Tee; High-Waisted Cropped Jeans; Leopard Print Loafers

Outfit 3

Chambray Shirt; Wide-Leg Cropped Jeans; Sneakers

Outfit 4

Floral Button-Up Blouse; Grey Cropped Jeans; Nude Bow Flats

Outfit 5

Camel Turtleneck Sweater; Red Wide-Leg Pants; Black Loafers

Outfit 6

Sporty Top; Black Skinny Ripped Jeans; Flat Espadrilles

Outfit 7

Leopard Cardigan; Skinny High-Waisted Jeans; Black Slides