5yo birthday party - too much?

[Sussana30]

My DD is one of the oldest in the school year, so I am trying to be organised and get her bday party booked / planned ahead of the summer holidays so we can hand out invitations as soon as school starts in Sept.

She'll be starting reception & as it's too soon for friendship groups I'll invite the whole class. Plus a few of her friends from nursery and cousins who live close by. Would estimate about 35 kids plus parents.

I'm planning to hire out a large church hall, get a bouncy castle and some soft play bits. Will also do a crafts table, glitter tattoos and do musical statues. I think there will be too many kids for the other classic games. Will probably do a very simple party lunch.

Does this sound like it's going to be a disaster, having so many kids? Will they be occupied for a couple of hours or should I try and reduce the scale of this? Or add things for them to do. Any advice appreciated.
She's my only child so I'm completely new to school age bday parties.

Sorry just read your last post

Get an entertainer and keep it short! Hour and a half will be fine

I say go for it! In my experience the children love it and will be super excited about coming. I did a whole class party for my two eldest and they were well received I think.
Ime most of the parents will stay, especially that early into term with one or two parents leaving their child usually in the care of another adult who was staying. ( especially those children with older siblings)
I had a bouncy castle set up throughout, a table of biscuit/cupcake decorating with tubes of icing and sprinkles and a table of craft with colouring sheets, plus masks & crowns to colour in and pom poms, feathers and gem stones to stick on so there were quieter activities for those that wanted them.
I also did musical statues and a sort of pass the parcel with pillow cases full of dressing up items to put on which was fun! ( I wouldn't do pass the parcel with that number of children unless you have 4 or 5 parcels for the group as it gets too boring waiting for their turn.
I did party boxes for food so each child got exactly the same and nothin had to be laid out or served up....each child got w box and if they didn't like the contents, then too bad!
I also feel it's a good opportunity for the parents to have some time to get to know each other too as well as the children, I don't think it matters if your child doesn't really know the children yet, these will be their class mates for the next few years so they will get to know them.
I've found that after reception, whole class parties are less common so this is the year to do it!
I won't lie, it's hard work but it's fun too. 😀🎉

Bouncy castle parties are stressful! You dont know the children yet so dont know if you've got any in the class who will go crazy on it and need one of either you or dh on them at all times.

Get an entertainer for structure, also limit the mess and set up/tidy up needed.

Remember not everyone will be able to make it.

Take tea and coffee stuff for adults plus a tin of biscuits, dont make it difficult for yourself with hosting the parents much. Set the bar low and other parents will be grateful. I always find its easier to get a hall booking for an afternoon party, say 3-5 (you book the hall 2:30-5:30 to give yourself set up/clean up time).

Sounds good, I would just be aware there's a trend for parents to stay (wasn't the case 15 years ago)

I have done similar parties and my top tip would be to swap bouncy castle for bouncy slide - much easier to manage and less inclined for accidents as it is easier to manage. Get one adult to stand next to it and ensure they only slide down when clear. Not much waiting time and they don’t bounce into each other.
With a bouncy castle you would have to count people on/ off as they often have a maximum number allowed etc

BlueMerchant are large parties in reception not the norm where you are? Or do you perhaps not have children at this age now?

They certainly are the usual where we used to live and now where we are in London, and despite low budgets and basic entertainment there's none of the drama you describe. Parents don't run off without letting at least one other adult know the child is unaccompanied, there isn't much in the way of falling out (or if there is, it's easily fixed, unlike in older years!) , and parents let you know in advance of food issues.

Half the point is to get them to meet the other kids in the year outside of school, and for you to meet the parents, so a party with nursery kids you may never see again and cousins who you'll definitely see anyway doesn't feel as useful, really, or particularly more enjoyable.

We just had DDs 5th party in May. Bouncy castle and soft play at the local leisure centre.

No entertainment or activities needed, just left them to bounce and play and they all had great fun.

We just had picky bits to eat, cooked up 4 big cheese and tomato pizzas and had those cold with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, carrot sticks. Satsumas, melon chunks and blueberries then some party rings and jam n cream biscuits.

They all looked forward to and enjoyed the cake, blowing out the candles, singing and then eating it.

We got colour in tote bags from The Works for £1 each and there was some kind of multi buy or % off discount at the time. Popped a little bag of hair I in each and that was the party bags done.

stucknoue do you really mean that 15 years ago people would leave a 4 year old who had just started Reception in a hall with 34 other small children and just the hosting parents?

These bags www.theworks.co.uk/p/craft-activities-for-kids/colour-your-own-everyday-bag---assorted/5052089219069 and they have 20% off so 80p per party bag

Sorry again, just to add. We invite the whole class but only about half attended and most parents stuck around so other than late/non-existent RSVPs there was really no stress

My DD was the eldest in her year. She actually started school after her 5th birthday. We had a small party that year with her old friends from pre-school then for her 6th had a bigger one with an entertainer. I would personally wait a year... and also stick to 1.5 hours!

Meant to add - for DDs 6th party all the parents dropped the kids off.

That's pretty much what we did for DD, who is also a September birthday. I didn't know the children's names, so I sent 30 unnamed invitations which the teacher put in bookbags, and invited a few of her old nursery friends. We had a bouncy castle, couple of craft activities, glitter tattoos and a load of balloons for them to chase. We'd planned a couple of games but didn't get round to doing them. My mum and MIL made a metric shitload of cheese sandwiches and jam sandwiches (most of which were rejected in favour of crisps, biscuits and fruit) and we provided tea and coffee for the parents.

It was a good opportunity to chat to some of the other parents, so I'm glad I did it.

I agree with an entertainer - craft table, entertainer (they will LOVE it), simple food and done!

I would also agree If funds allow definitely get an entertainer. To save over doing it on the food make party boxes for each kid with a carton of juice, crisps, jam sandwich, biscuits/ cake etc.

Either party bags or sweet cones are popular party favours this way.

Balloons are a nightmare, I’ve had party entertainers insist we don’t give kids balloons until the end. They seem to cause arguments over whose is who and upset when one inevitably pops.

I don’t know if I would do this for a large bunch of kids my child isn’t yet friends with. We just had my son’s 4th birthday on the weekend in our garden and about 15 kids came (25 invited). We had an entertainer so I hardly spared the kids a thought tbh as she was fabulous. It was quite enough work putting on food and drinks for the kids + parents as parents all come at that age! I asked local fb parents group for a teenager who wanted to be paid for a few hours to help out so she heated food and passed it around. Lovely day but very tiring!

Stuckforthefourthtime my DC are 8&9 now. Have been to several large parties with my DC from age 5+ and I can honestly say in my experience they we're not without drama. Upset kids (Yr1)who wanted to go home when they had been dropped-off ( host Dad had to drive around looking for their house as the parent had left no contact details and the DC was insistent he had to go and was trying to 'escape'.Upset children who had fallen out with friends, host mum's in tears behind the buffet, parents arguing over different children's behaviour and kids running around unsupervised with small snacks and lollies in their mouths.
I think there are plenty of other opportunities to get to know the children/parents in your child's class.
Maybe go to someone else's but certainly don't host your own

My sobs party is booked for next year, he'll be 6.

He's an October birthday, for his fifth he really didn't know names and have proper friendships yet... so we didn't book a party.

This year, he's been invited to so many parties within a year, we've invited the whole class. I've hired a children's entertainer and facepainter (so 2 people) for 2 hours for under £150.

Leaving it all to the entertainer and I'll bring out a cake at the end 😂

Sobs - sons 😂

I think what you have planned is lovely. In my experience a bouncy castle, music and food are enough to entertain 35 5 year olds. You’ve got loads. Also, if your child is starting reception it’s a great way to meet other parents. I’d not spoken to any before my sons party and it really broke the ice.

I did this last year as my dd started reception and was 5 in Sept. I invited about 40 and about 30 came. Booked a big hall and fan entertainer for the 2 hours, with a break for something to eat. I would definitely recommend an entertainer for such a big crowd, we used Froggles and found them great but there are lots of options and you will easily find reviews for entertainers local to you. Most of the parents stayed for ours as a lot of the kids were only 4 and we didn't know them. I'm surprised at people talking about parents expecting food, I would never expect that at a kids party and I was so busy at my DD's I didn't even have time to offer tea and coffee. Good luck organising.

I did exactly the same for my DC birthday. Tbh he doesn't make friends easily and knew no1 at school so thought invite them all which should hopefully get him some reciprocal invites. I know friends are about more than just a party but honestly you should have seen how all the kids flocked to him for weeks afterwards talking about how exciting his party was as it had lots of different elements - bouncy castle, magician, outdoor games and characters visiting.

It is a lot and it is over the top but if you can afford it without hassle and it'll make the child you love happy why not

Sounds great. We've done parties like this for years, and they've always gone well.

My patented party plan is an hour on the bouncy castle/running around/craft table, then around 3 games (musical bumps, musical statues and pass the parcel with multiple parcels generally) then food, with another 15 mins free play at the end.

Make sure you have helpers ready. Bring kitchen towel, wet wipes and plasters for unexpected situations, and a sharpie to label presents with who they come from if you aren't opening them at the party. If possible allocate a helper to making teas and coffees for grown ups.

I'm sure it will go brilliantly.

Bluemerchant you must live in an exciting area! I've hosted three full class parties already and a number of smaller ones too, and been to what feels like one a weekend for the last couple of years, and there's usually a fair bit of noise and a bit much sugar but no drama or upset. Maybe it's also about mindset?