Low-cost party idea for 6 year old?

[ILikePaperHats]

My DS will be 6 on 1 Feb and I'm trying to think of something low cost we could do as he's expecting a party. We've done parties in church halls and pub back rooms before and they've always been quite expensive with the cost of catering and entertainment and the venue hire, plus all the hassle! Soft play parties are expensive too. We could do it at home but I am divorced so it would mean either me going to my ex's or him coming to mine which will be awkward. Obviously we will both want to be there. Any ideas please Mumsnetters?

Do you have a Burger King with the soft play inside? They usually give you a deal for so many meals and free ice cream.

I don’t think decorating and eating pancakes will keep 5/6 yo very interested for more than 10/15 minutes , they want to run about .

Science party at home? Make slime, do coke and mentos rocket, loads of other things you could do .

Then party food and send them home!

Hi op. I'm in south Sheffield. My dd is turning 6 soon and she has been to lots of small parties at home which have been nice. I'd say there needs to be a few games or activities to make it feel partyish and not just a group playdate. We went to one that was mostly unstructured with one game and food and it didn't feel like a party.

We are doing my dd's at inflatable planet but it is working out pricey. I'd say it's much more common to have church hall / room in pub parties with parents organising simple games and friends pitching in.

Pancake party sounds awesome, my 6 year old would love that.
We've done winter bonfire parties before... toffee apples, baked spuds, sparklers, glo treasure hunt, hot chocolate, then inside for pass the parcel and cake.
There is also a local pub with pizza oven that lets kids decorate a huge pizza for a fiver each. I always thought that would be a fun party for 5-10 kids, if you have anything similar near you.

Don't do pancakes, that'll be quite boring and lots of children don't like them.
I'd just do the regular party foods like pizza, sausage rolls, crisps, the obligatory veg sticks etc and have music, balloon swords, pass the parcel, musical statues, pin the tail on the donkey.

Pizza Express party is a fab idea, thanks, will look into it. Glad we don't live in Woking!

I’ve had a few parties at home and one of the biggest successes was making up a bunch of sword balloons, putting on some music and just letting them dance about and sword fight Kept a group of about 12 6/7 year olds busy for about 40 minutes!

Or do a home cinema? We bought a projector for less than £50 and we do film nights using amazon prime or a dvd + popcorn. All in that might be just as cheap? Especially if timed after dinner (6-8ish?).

If you do games where some children are ‘out’ make sure they get some prize for taking part, like a sweet from a big tub of haribo etc. May save arguments.

@MillicentMartha yes I know, I made pass the parcel once and forgot to put sweets in a couple of the layers. Had mums coming up to me demanding why their little Tommy hadn't got any sweets. It's the parents that are the hardest work not the children in my experience. I'm hoping they will all just drop off !

A junk modelling party! Put out lots of cardboard, sticky tape, cartons, fabric etc. Set kids a challenge - who can build the tallest tower, best robot, scariest monster or most interesting house?

Try a sports centre. Dronfield leisure centre offers various party options for you to run simple activities using their facilities including a kids climbing area. Put individual bags together with sandwich, crisps and sweet treat for the party food then the food doesn’t cost much either. At age 6, being able to run off steam is key.

Sorry! Wrong thread