birthday party 3 year old

[notsoladyjess]

hello. it is ds1's 3rd bday on saturday and we are having a party at home. the trouble is we have 12 kids coming. am i mad??
we have a loose plan but i don't want too turn into one of those crazed mothers - is this possible?
any ideas of good things to do?
we have thhe usuals - pass the parcel, what's the time mr wolf, musical bumps/statues, reading a story (will they think ithis is to boring??). we are also projecting some fireman sam onto othe wall kind of like a cinema as ds1 adores fireman sam. then tea and go home with party bag.
got booze and cheese board for parents. i plan on gettig merry but will this hinder my ability to control 12 kids??
my husband will be worse than useless. my sisters and friends will be great though.

[aDadOnTheXmasSherry]

you dont say how long your party is scheduled to last.

We just did our 3yr old dd1's party for 12 kids a couple of weeks back. We had more or less the same activities as you, plus to occupy them when they all arrived (at different times) got them to decorate cardboard crowns and other cut out shapes- just had loads of stuff for them to glue on. was useful to have that to fill the first half hour.

Otherwise you'll be fine! You said your sisters and friends will be great, kids tend to entertain themselves too, so dont worry. A glass or two of alcohol for yourself should calm your nerves.

[Clary]

have you got a big space for them to run about? IME 3yos don?t really get party games and might not manage much more than pass the parcel.

We had ds2?s 3rd party at home but it was fine (April) and they all ran about in the garden.

If you have a big living room could you bring in pop-up tent, indoor slide, tunnel, rocker etc?
Nursery rhymes and songs are good too.

[aDadOnTheXmasSherry]

Musical bumps went down really well at ours. And to vary it and make it last longer, each time the music stops get them to do different things, like stretch as tall as they can, or curl up in a ball, or pretend to be an animal, or a star, or put a hat on. They loved it.

[paulaplumpbottom]

We got a pinata for my 3yr old DD'd b-day and the kids loved it.

[notsoladyjess]

ah thank you all!
i was wondering how much they would 'get' party games.
we are having it at home and our sitting room is a big knocked through room. we are taking all the furniture out except corner sofa so they will have some space. also borrowing a gazebo tent thing and outdoor heater for the patio (plan is grownups can get drunk outside).
where do i get a pinata? are they those mexican things that you pull and sweets come out?
by the way i got loads of nice party bag toys from this place online called www.woolgartoys.co.uk. they arrived really quickly, were cheap and were a bit of a blast from the past for me!! i got them all fake moustache, nose and glasses..in mini version. so funny.

i think i am more worried about the amount of people who will be here as loads of parents are coming. you know when you try to imagine 30 people in your 3 bed house!!
damn i will have to get cleaning and pretend i always have such a clean house. ahem.

[Clary]

pinata from asda.

Be careful tho as they take some destroying - kids may get fed up.

We had a pulna (pull ribbons for sweets to come out) but online from partypieces so not much good for you.

[paulaplumpbottom]

You could make them yourself. They are fun to make and you could fill them with the sweets and small toys of your choice. They don't usually put good stuff in the store bought ones.

[Boleyn]

Tried to find the online shop mentioned earlier. Here it is
www.woolgarstoys.co.uk/shop/pages/PartyBags/partybags.html