BIRTHDAY PARTYS!!!

[Prettyfull]

Hi,

Sorry didnt have a clue where to put this but...

My dd will be 2 in August and i would like to have a party for her. i only have a smallish flat so am looking for ideas really,..

Any ideas from people who have thrown a childrens party b4,...ideas on food, games etc

Oh and...if anyone knows of banners, ballons,, cups etc at a bargain price :)

Thanks x

[justmummy]

Hi, i've found this place really good. \link{http://www.partypieces.co.uk/pages/home/index.asp\partypieces}

[yomellamoHelly]

At 2 ds and his friends weren't into much. I'd say maybe get hold of one special toy - something like a slide or a ball-pit - but otherwise just get out dd's everyday toys, lay on some simple food and leave them to it.

[sunnydelight]

Keep the food really minimal - it's easy to get carried away but they won't eat it!

[AUBINA]

The key thing to remember is that young children can't handle "losing" games, so don't make a big deal about "winning". Ideal games would be, pass the parcel(you can put little presents or sweets in between the layers), musical bumps and statues. You could do action songs like ring a ring roses, hokey cokey.

Its a good idea to have an activity for them to do when they arrive, to keep them occupied until everyone is there. I suggest buying a plain white paper table cloth and letting them draw on it. Or they could make paper crowns, staple them together when they're finished.

The best thing is to have a list of things to do but just see how it pans out, they might start playing musical bumps and then want to carry on dancing, don't get hung up on following your plan through if they are quite happy.

A good source of cups, plates, party bag pressies are pound shops, I just keep a look out all year round. Don't buy cheap balloons though, you could be disappointed.

They won't eat much they'll be too excited, favourite things are little sarnies, cocktail sausages, crisps, grapes.

I hope its a success!

[Yummymum1]

Agree with yomellamohelly.I really stressed over ds1s parties until i relised they really didnt need anything more than their friends and some yummy food.It is only when they get older eg 4,5 that they need games.Ds2 is nearly 3 and last year we had a few friends who played really nicely while us mummies drank tea and chatted.So relaxing and stress free,and being JUly we were outside as you will be hopefully if it ever stops raining!!

[hulababy]

Also recommend Party Pieces. Used them last month for DD's party and they were really good and very competitive prices.

At 2yo they aren't really going to be into party games - maybe pass the parcel with mummy or daddy perhaps? I would go for action songs - wheels ont he bus, I'm a little teapot, etc. nd then maybe an action story such as We're going on a bear hunt.

Or keep it really informal and just have a few toys out - enough for each child there - and let them have frr play.

Keep food small and simple - they won't eat much. A little bit of finger food adnd some water/juice/milk followed by some cake and a biscuit should be loads.

And have fun :)

[KenningtonKitty]

What about doing a Teddy Bears picnic - Get each child to bring a teddy bear and they can then get the teddies involved in tea - You could even set up a "mini" picnic with kids plastic plates & cups etc for teddies

[Elibean]

The best 2 year old parties we went to last year were the ones with simple food (a cake, a few sandwiches, fruit) and informal play with some toys around. And tea for the Mummies
dd's involved four or five friends, a party dress (big hit), blowing out candles, and her presents: more than enough joy and excitement all round!
Mind you, if she was a summer baby and not a Christmas one, I'd have gone for the picnic idea too...teddies or not...
Have fun!

[Prettyfull]

Wow!! Thankyou everyone!!

Partypieces looks great thanks for the recommendation!

Thanks for all ideas, sounds great....aww hope it goes well!! I cant wait now lol, not till August though :(

Thanks again :)

[IamBlossom]

My friend had her 3 yo's party last weekend, and she sat them all around a paper tablecloth on the floor and gave them all a box (used chinese takeaway boxes) with their lunches in, just dairy lea sandos, cheese stings, bar of choc, and put fruit pieces and suasage rolls in bowls in the middle. She also had a game where each child had a balloon and drew faces on them and stuck ears and eyes and noses to them which they could all take home, I thought that was a great idea.

She also had one of the those paper mache horses (spanish?) full of sweets that you had to bash to get the sweets out and all the kids took turns, but that was less successful because in the end it took the Dad 10 minutes of jumping on it to break in! Hilarious.

[justmummy]

Yes my friend's DH had to destroy their pinata as no-one could hit it hard enough to get sweets out. I had one which had lots of strings hanging from the bottom which the children pulled. Only one string opened the box. It worked!

[rarrie]

For my DD's second party we didn't do many traditional games, just three - we did a pin the tail on the donkey type game (but without the blindfold!), a game where pieces were hidden around the house and they found the bits for their board (with help from mummy) and then pass the parcel (which was done whilst they were finishing off their food, and each layer contained chocs to keep them sitting there!). Other than that, we just got a bubble machine (big hit!) and then blew up loads of balloons and stuck them in a net to the ceiling, and then let them fall on the children as they danced. Plus they decorated hats as they arrived, and had some free play. That pretty much filled the hour and a half that we allocated!
HTH

[LIZS]

Have used Party Pieces and \link{http://www.partybox.co.uk/\Partybox} for decorations , boxes etc. If you live near an Outlet village Paperchase may have reduced stuff. For ds' 2nd we had bought him a Little Tikes climb and slide so that was the main toy with other sit-ons and activity toys around. You may be abel to hire something from a toy library. For his 3rd we had a local lady come and sing with mini instruments and do a story time. Bubbles also a big hit for all ages, or you could buy loads of cheap stickers for them to make a picture or decorate a hat, and maybe playdoh.

[Prettyfull]

Hi,...change of plan lol.

Im now thinking of having a MacDonalds party as my flat is only small and i keep invoting people along to dd's party!!! Naughty mummy!!!

Has anyone had a MacDonalds party before and know the cost??? Also, anything else i should know???

Thanks xxx

[gegs73]

Hi - my ds and most of his friends have just had their second birthday parties.

We have been to 3 in the local park. The parents just took along a picnic basket with snack food, lots of blankets for the ground and let the children all run around and play together. At 2 I don't think they really need much - loads of fancies are more for the parents than the children IMO. Nice and relaxing as long as the weather is good. Maybe you could take a bubble machine too if you had one (batteries of course - not expecting you to have a generator )Great hit at ds's party £5 from Tesco.

We got all the cups/banners etc for ds from Tesco best choice we saw around and a good price.