Reception party - Pyjama or magic/clown?

@longestlurkerever I'm all for homemade activities to entertain kids! I just don't have the time, patience or artistic ability 😂

My DM used to throw me a party every year and make the full buffet and birthday cake herself as well as sorting the pass the parcel presents and the very important task of stopping and starting the music for musical statues or bumps!

What I meant is the themes of princesses or superheroes work because kids like that stuff. They can be done on any budget. One party my dd went to was a superhero party and they all got given a cape rather than a party bag and had a craft table to customise them with fabric pens, etc

What does your 5yo want?

OP, its really nice that you're throwing a party. Its lovely receiving invitations. With everything being so expensive, i've seen a decline in parties already. Do what you feel your DC would like best.

The only thing I would be cautious about is setting a dress code, as this could be too expensive for some people. Have fun

He ain't been around in decades

That sounds lovely, but also very expensive! Some of us have to go down more of a DIY route. I always used it as a way to entertain my own kids in the run up though - making a pinata out of paper mache, or tickets for a carnival game or whatever. They helped make their own cakes as well. They looked a bit, erm, rustic but did the job.

Both my kids had a magician party around that age. The magician was really good at keeping their attention and basically stopping them all going wild. Find a good magician who will host the entire two hour party. Normally it’s a bit of music/ dancing while people turn up then 30-40 minutes magic show. Stop for food then a few round of musical statues/best dancer/bubble machine if venue allows it and then home.

Do you know why a lot of kids parties are superheroes or princesses? Because kids like them!

DD turns 4 in December and she is having a party with Ariel and Moana coming along, we also have a face painter, bouncy castle, kids games and loads of balloons! There's about 60 kids coming

All the activities of the pj party, but no pj’s. It’s a bit weird and intimate and lots of kids just sleep in whatever because matching cute sets are expensive, so the added cost of an outfit would be annoying. Just hall with bouncy castle and activities and food and coffee for adults is fine.

When my kids were small we all just had soft play parties where they supplied everything. Everyone loved them. Why all the dress up.

Neither - soft play , organised ball games / football , bouncy castle and games in a hall .

This the point though isn't it? Inverting social norns can be fun for kids. A lot of the magicians/entertainers will play on that theme with them.

I'm not sure the OP was really asking for an overcomplicated theme idea. More a simple one but different from superheroes and not overly gendered. I agree she doesn't necessarily need one but it's hardly an outrageous question and some kids enjoy that stuff. I know mine did, though they generally requested the theme themselves.
. OP I did rainbow for my dd's 4th birthday as she loved them. She got to dress up in her favourite rainbow clothes and i just put "wear your favourite rainbow colours" on the invitation and got loads of cut price rainbow napkins etc from tiger after pride.

@longestlurkerever well ideas for a 5 year olds birthday party are this -
Traditional party games like pass the parcel, musical chairs, musical bumps, pin the tail on the donkey.
Party food - cake etc.
Some music the children can dance/jump around too.
Party bags when leaving.
That's it. You don't need an over complicated theme.

When my DS was that age I did parties that were themed in as much as the invitations, table wear, decorations and activities followed the theme but there was no expectation for the children to come dressed up.

I'm finding some of the comments about PJs a little weird to be honest. They are little children and their winter PJs are likely to be of the long sleeve top and loose leggings variety with a cartoon character on the front. I'm sure they can wear their underwear with them if that's bothering people. And why would they be cold in a heated venue?

I do find the tone of mumsnet threads have gone a bit weird over the years. The OP asked for ideas for a birthday party for 5 year olds and got a lot of yabu, sneery responses. I just want to say I loved taking my kids to parties when they were small. They always has a great time, and I enjoyed seeing them happy. I didn't generally have loads else more important to do with my weekend, and I enjoyed the company of the other adults if it wasn't drop and run. From threads like this you'd think hosting a party was a massive imposition but I don't think everyone feels that way.

@BuzzieLittleBee McDonalds (in the UK anyway) retired Ronald McDonald because children were finding him too scary. For their recent 50th birthday event they had all the other old characters on the displays etc - but no Ronald.

Wasn't/isn't Ronald MacDonald a clown? So many kids' parties themed around him in the past without an eyelid being batted.

A "PJ party " is fine if it's a sleepover but for running around in a church hall it is a bit odd.
As I said upthread - there doesn't need to be a theme because the theme is "birthday".

And yet where I am they do. Newsflash other people do things differently.

Nonsense. It's really not common except on Mumsnet. Out in the real world, no parents will refuse a party because it's PJ themed.

Don't understand the need for a theme, we don't have themed parties often and my dd is that age. Both my kids just like wearing their party or normal outfits to a party and focus on the cake, entertainment and party bags.

Parties my kids have had include magician and a guy who does various games based on sports. The latter was most loved by all the kids, we had 40 children and he was brilliant with them. Best £100 I've spent compared to the £300 magician who was good but didn't hold attention.

Don't get an animal company to visit. Animals being transported in boxes then passed around kids in a noisy brightly lit room doesn't create empathy for animals, it's about money for the person who thinks that's a good thing to do to animals.

I think you're focusing on the wrong thing. You need to get planning good activities rather than worrying about the theme. Nearly all parties round here are unthemed but vary in having a bouncy castle/face painter/magician/visiting fairy etc. As per a pp above, I'm a teacher so undaunted by big groups of children but a 2 hour party is worse than teaching for a day! You really need to make sure there's plenty to entertain the children.

I'd also just bear in mind that children that age attend a lot of parties so parents don't want to spend much on clothes or whatever. I'd be frustrated by something like Stars & Stripes because what's the point? Child would have as much fun (or more) in their usual party dress.

I have stated it in two posts.

I'm not a safeguarding expert, no. But I don't think sleep clothes are a trigger for a safeguarding risk. I just don't. You were advised- ok. I'd be fully prepared to listen to an explanation by experts on increased risk because of PJs. But you're not explaining anything.