Ideas for primary school party

[PollyPocketLucyLocket]

I'm planning my DD's 7th birthday party, and am stuck for ideas.
My DS1 is lucky enough to have a summer birthday, and so lots of BBQ's / pool parties etc for him. DC2 has ASD, so his have always been simple.

DD is another matter. I'm not sure what to do for her this year. She'll be allowed to invite up to 6 children, and I won't usually book at a party venue, although am open to it if it's reasonable.

Thought I'd turn to the collective genius that is MN, so any ideas for a 7yr old girls party would be much appreciated

That's just what I was about to post, except DD will be 8.
The last two have been a simple experiment and slime party
and decorating plant pots - buttons, glitter glue, fake tattoos, ceramic pens, sequins etc.
Ours will have to be at home due to siblings SN. I'm debating a painting party which has been requested, but I'd rather not do that inside...

A biscuit/cake decorating party?

Six mini-gingerbread houses would keep them happy all afternoon! You could buy a cheap IKEA kit if you didn't feel up to baking gingerbread.

My almost 9 year old has been to a bowling party, bowling and karaoke party, bowling and disco dancing

Do you have Baby Loves Disco near you? DD had that for her 7th and it was amazing.

Pottery painting (either go to a place or DIY it)
Art party - cheap canvases, paints etc
cake decorating party
bowling
swimming
cinema
PJ party - girsl come in PJs watch film and eat pizza, play games etc and then go home arounf 9pm
actual sleepover
harry potter themed party with some science activities

The last few parties my 6 year old has been too (birthday kids turning 7) have been

Bouncy castle in back garden & glitter tattoos
Baking party
Fancy dress party with glitter tattoos and hair braids etc
And dd has requested a party at a local trampoline park for her 7th birthday.

@katy1213 Tell me more about this ikea gingerbread house! Is it pre-baked and all you need to do is assemble it?

How soon does the best before date run out? (i.e. if I get it now, can I use it in a couple of months)

We did a build a bear type party at home when one of my DDs was around that age. You can buy the kits on line- the company we used was Be My Bear. These work out significantly cheaper than those at the Build a Bear shops.

I sent a photo of the choices to DDs friends in advance of the party so they could choose what they wanted. ( They actually do party packs but we thought they would like to choose their own.)

They need stuffing which isn't that hard ( might need a few wooden spoons/ chopsticks to get this to the ends of the arms and legs) and come with a recordable thing to go inside. I did a bit of a demo to show them what to do but they didn't find it hard.

We also bought some little white t- shirts which can be decorated with fabric pens. We padded out the time with a few party games and then had tea which easily filled up a couple of hours. Went down a storm ( and didn't need to bother with party bags as they had a new toy to take away. )

We did a Be My Bear party once - sort of like build a bear with kits you do at home. I bought white t-shirts for the bears and fabric pens so they could decorate them.

This year we are doing a harry potter party for dd2's 7th birthday. Me and dp will pretend to be teachers and we will do some classes (charms, potions etc) and then have a treasure hunt.

I am just sorting an 8th birthday party. I am doing craft and some baking activities.

I got some of the pocket money kits from Hobbycraft.

Pizza Express used to do parties where the DC made their own pizzas, then ate them for the birthday meal. My DD always enjoyed those.

We've bought craft set fro amazon - things like paint a pony, decorate a jewellery box - depends obviously on your childs interests. Best bit about these is that they take the craft home as their gift.

• Make a pizza party - they can all make the dough together, knead the dough - leave it to rise while you play pass the parcel, musical bumps etc Then come back - roll it out and assemble the toppings.
• There is a lady in our area that does amazing jewellery making parties - they aren't cheap - probably the same price as booking a party out. But obviously much more personal.
• With just 6 kids could you book a space in a pottery painting centre that isn't a 'party' and then take the kids home for birthday tea? - get a friend to help with transport.

Honestly - my daughter is just pleased to have her friends to play - I've always limited an at home party to 6 - and the girls are so well behaved they disappear and only come back when called. Minimum interaction required.

Now boys on the other hand - jump all over everything, charge about, scream and shout......etc etc!!!! (It might not be gender specific and more to do with the friends my kids have.....but my youngest has scored more parties out because of this. Lol)

If you're quick, the IKEA kits are reduced to about £1.50. They're like a flat-pack! Well, they would be, wouldn't they! Slabs of readymade gingerbread already cut into shape - and you stick it with icing and your own sweets. There is a sell-by date, months ahead. I've stashed them in a cupboard before now and used them 12 months out of date and we have all survived! As biscuits go, they taste like MDF - but we've had fun with them.

Remember that you'll need some kind of flat base for the houses if they're taking them home. You can get silver cakeboards of various sizes from Amazon/Lakeland/Squires.

My favourite one was a cookery party. They made tortilla pizzas hummus & decorated cupcakes. They each had a paper chefs hat & fabric apron which they decorated with fabric pens. I also didn't have to worry about party bags.

Ah, so many ideas. Thank you lovely MNetters. Much appreciated.

I really like all the crafting ideas. And the pretend sleepover one.

Probably best to save some of the ideas for next year too.

Side note, I was actually going to start a thread about what I should buy at ikea, as I'm going tomorrow. Now I know top of my list are those kits.

I love the Be my Bear idea. Have just checked out the website.

If I were to do this, I'd probably order the right amount of bears needed, and maybe the T shirts too.

Would love to do a teddy bears picnic afterward, at home. Just wondered if it's 'too young' for 7yr olds? I don't think so, just wanted to check with others

We had the snow leopards from the Be My Bear company for a work event where we could bring our children. 18 months later, two of them are always in DD's bed and still in great condition.

Teddy Bear picnic can be upgraded to a mini disco or a pizza picnic or a posh afternoon tea. I did one for DD when she turned 10, individual mini Victoria sponge, these chocolate bites from M&S, chocolate chip cookies, jam and chocolate spread sandwiches and Appletiser in cheap champagne flutes.

My DD recently turned six. We had an adopt a puppy party. I bought cuddly dogs from Ikea, we made tags, collars and leads, clay dog bones, mini dog beds and decorated dog treats. They were all given an adoption certificate. Then played pin tail on puppy and did mask colouring activities. Children are food (hot dogs, pupizza etc), had a little play with their new pets and went home.
Puppies were much better than party bags!
Had 11 at the party (admittedly that was too many!).

My 10 year old would still enjoy a teddy party (she is a little on the young side) - but for 7 years olds it will be fine if your daughter likes that sort of thing as her friends probably will too. (My son is turning 8 next month and has asked for a new soft toy - but maybe don't tell his friends!)