6yo dd party for 20 ish in church hall

[Hearts]

Having been a solicitor before having dd now 6, I have a habit of over-analysing my sahm job now!! Get my knickers in a twist about all sorts that really don't warrant it but think brain goes "oooh something I could exercise myself on" etc. Throw in a perfectionist habit and I am stressed already! Anyone know that feeling?!!

DD 6 end Sept. Had entertainer at home last year as I was heavily pregnant but now over to us and DIY. Anyway, can't see wood for trees now. Really need someone to say - "this is what you do - just do it". Can anyone help?!

Its princesses and pirates theme, loosely... About 5/6 boys rest girls. All 5yo with couple who are 6 already.

Did party lunch boxes and fruit shoot drinks last year which worked.

Decorating a large hall? Would having face painter/setting up decorating biscuits be too much with games? What games go down well? Prizes? How to keep control of the crowd? How many helpers?What pass parcel presents go down well? Can't decide party bags lots of tat or something different (what?) or one quality book etc. Lucky dip as go out?

Arhhhhhhgggghhh! Feel like cancelling and taking her to Pizza Express (got a 9month old baby to contend with too!)

Thanks in advance for advice - might not post again til later today myself as getting ready for school tomorrow!

[hermykne]

can you rent a bouncy castle thing (the tye wit obstacle things on them not just bouncing ones) that fits into the hall, we can now do that locally as the weather is so undependable.fortunately we have no problems with insurance or an of that malarky.

one choice of food only is what i am doing for a forthcoming joint birthday for dd & ds, hotdogs. drink and cake & buns.

no party bags.
no presents expected.

pass the parcel - keep the circle small as they get terribly frustrated !!! maybe two circles.

do an obstacle course sort of race in the hall.

[Karam]

I love parties in the hall - still retains the 'party' feel of it, whilst having the added benefit of not wrecking your house.

Agreed, if you can get a bouncy castle, they are great and easily entertain your children for an hour.

Last year, I did hall (bouncy castle was included in that) with face painter and one game (pass the parcel as a quiet activity for after the food had been eaten). There was no time for anything else.

However, I did set up a simple colouring table for children to do if they needed a break from bouncing. That went down well.

Personally, I like party bags - My DD usually helps to decide what goes in them and she chooses what she thinks other children would like to receive (we usually just go through the party pieces catalogue together, or something similar). I think it is a nice way of reminding my daughter that although it is her party, she has got to think about her guests too and that her party is not all about 'me, me me', which I find they can be at times. However, we do try and avoid plastic tat and do often go down the books route. One year, I got a load of Dora books and she chose which book each child would enjoy and so on...
HTH

[Hearts]

Thank you guys - some good advice there. Am calming down a bit now school's gone back - funny that!

[PandaG]

if princess themed do a 'pin the shoe on cinderella' - can draw a rough princess on some wallpaper or similar.

could make princess crowns and pirate hats

could also do some singing - 'there was a princess long ago' type stuff

decorating biscuits does go down well if you can't/don't get a bouncy castle

[Eve4Walle]

In my experience, if you've more than 8 or so kids, you'll need an adult supervising the bouncy castle all the time.

I had 30 kids to DDs party last year and DH and his buddy had to stand guard for the whole 2 hours - there were little boys scrapping each other and just generally being naughty, which isn't conducive to a nice calm party.

[LauraIngallsWilder]

I went to a kids party the other day
She did a fab thing re food:

Lay out 20 plates, put on 3 squares of sandwich per plate, 3 choc fingers, one fairy cake, plus something else - grapes?
Then put packet of unopened crisps (15 packets?) on top

Plate nearby with additional sandwiches and a bit more food

Worked a treat, almost all food gone, no waste

Everybody happy

Tescos Extra have (well they did in June!) a put the star on the fairys wand poster with stickers £1.50 like pin tail on donkey

Tescos extra are fab for party bag stuff and prizes - I have never been to a party where the children havent said "Ooooh party bags yes please" So I wouldnt think of not doing them

I usually buy tescos bags of fudge for ours - as they are individually wrapped and most kids seem to like fudge (we are veggie and thus not keen on haribo!)

HTH

[Guntrip01]

Check out Pop in parties website popinparties.co.uk. They have loads of parties and they run the whole event. I have had bear party and princess party so far and would recommned them, I have to all my friends. It's great all you have to do is sit back and watch much more relaxing and the girls (or boys if you have boys!) all go home with a lovely gift rather then the normal tat my girls get from other parties.(

[Niecie]

DS2 went to a party in a hall where the hall was split into zones and the children did different things in each zone.

They had a bouncy castle, blind folded lucky dip, bowling/skittles, apple bobbing, pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel and a couple of other things that elude me at the moment. I am pretty sure there was a craft in there somewhere (have a look at Baker Ross for multiple packs of crafts).

There were a riduculous no. of children for a 5 yr olds party, probably about 30 maybe more, so they had to have several of small groups. You could do the same with less groups and less activities.

Whatever they won in each zone be it sweets or a small toy or book, they took back to the party bag table and the that was what they collected at the end.

DS had a great time but as one of the first parties of Yr R it really raised the bar for other parents!!

[haggisaggis]

When I did a pirates party for ds when he was 5, I split the 20 or so kids into 3 groups with 1 group at a time on the bouncy castle while the rest did pirate themed games.
Having a table set up for them to decorate crowns (baker ross website has cardboard crowns for decorating quite cheap) as they come in.
Game suggestions: pin the parrot on the pirate, musical crowns, dress up game ( a bag of old clothes - when the music stops they pick something out and put it on - when the game finishes have a fashion parade)
Write a list of all the game syou intend to play - and in what order - before you start. Have plenty (although you won't need them all!) Have someone in charge of the bouncy castle and someone else in charge of the music. Corner a couple of mums (if they;'re staying) to help hand out food.

[GooseyLoosey]

We play a version of musical chairs called "Sharks". Put several mats on the floor and say its 3 children to a mat. Play music as normal and then when music stops, adult "shark" chases children and any caught not on a mat are eaten! One mat removed each time (you do have to adjust the number of children to mats as you go along). Ds loved it at his 6th birthday party. However, you do have to be prepared for some "shark baiting"!