Do you gave kids parties at home?

[ImFree2doasiwant]

I'm considering this for my oldest child. Thinking a couple of hours, 6 friends, hopefully good weather, paddling pool, pass the parcel, pin the tail etc. Am I hugely out of touch with this? I know my DC will enjoy this, but would your 5/6/7 yr old child? All other parties we've been to have been soft play or Hall with bouncy castle

Yes I did up to age 7. Cheap and cheerful and the kids loved it

Literally did this on Saturday for my daughters 6th birthday.

We had a piñata and I had some left over tie dye kit so I got the kids some super cheap T-shirt’s and they dyed them. They played musical statues, musical bumps and sleeping lions. Scoffed sausages in buns and oven chips and finished it off with jelly and ice cream. They just ran about and played. We had them for 2.5hrs and could have have them longer.

The kids loved it!

@CanIGoHomeNowPlease how many did you have? Do parents drop and run?

I’ve done multiple traditional parties at home for my DDs. They and their friends seem to love them.

We usually include some kind of activity as well as a mix of games, eg a craft activity as they arrive; one year we did “make your own pizza” when they arrived, which they then ate for the party tea. This year we did “make your own shaped bread rolls” and then they ate them for their party tea. There was only DD and her 4 friends (only 4 cos of the Covid restrictions) and they all seemed to love that too! Made hedgehog, snail and plait rolls.

Go for it!

Used to ... great fun, but DH and I are ex Cub/Scout Leaders so confident about organising large groups of children .

Yes! All 3 have mostly had birthdays at home.
My 7-year-old had a nerf gun party which went a bit mad, but god, they did have so much fun! We do have a generous garden. I always have a pinata as well. We usually have a BBQ or let the kids roast hot dogs over the fire bowl.

@Ragwort - yes, I think some parents are nervous about managing a groups of kids. In our case, DH is a teacher and I am naturally bossy!

And from age 7, we always had parents drop and run. It's a PITA with parents... they tend to helicopter their own child or want to chat excessively, looking for the wine bottle, and this doesn't allow me to fully focus on the kids. No booze/parents at my kids' parties. They really are ALL about the children, our house parties.
Also, if you get a disco light for the living room, make space, and grab Alexa, voila! Disco, musical statues... the world is your oyster.

I have had parties at home but not whole class parties and I am discerning in who gets an invitation.

They are great fun, my 8 year old is wanting a sleepover for her next one.

Yes this is still very much a thing for that age group. By year 1 it's normally ok to drop and run (round here anyway!), and honestly I used to make it v clear it was a drop and run as I couldn't be doing with having to entertain the parents as well as the kids!

We had 8 including my daughter from her class and my eldest had a friend over (they are 7) and they loved getting involved with it all so 10 in total.

Parents all dropped and ran which was nice as i didn’t have me to entertain them.

My idea of hell. Church hall much easier, entertainer, time limited. Pizza.

Job done!

Age 4 was my limit on home parties. We only had a smallish house though then, and a tiny garden. Plus until then it was mainly our friends and their kids plus cousins so I didn't mind "entertaining" the adults. It was church hall/swimming party/soft play after that.

This year was different as my 7 year old has her birthday in May which was when you weren't allowed guests indoors and no venues were open. We had a bouncy castle in the garden and two school friends and their mums round, did some hot dogs and ice cream, a bubble machine. It was ok but weather chilly and a bit drizzly so they kept sneaking into the house (which was a bit hazardous as mid decoration with furniture randomly stacked up, wet paint etc.) I was bloody relieved when they went home!