Childens party- please give me your tips! I’m terrified!

[Crayzeefrog]

So DD is going to be 4 soon and I’ve invited 15 kids to our house for a party. Parents will be staying (god knows where we are going to seat all of these people)

Please please please give me your best tips for kids food/adult food/games/party bags/prizes/getting people to leave etc

Last year we were in lockdown so I haven’t thrown her a proper party before and everyone else seems to have gone for soft play parties (for a very good reason it seems!). I feel out of my depth.

My biggest tip would be to have it for 1.5 hours not 2!

Wine 🍷 afterwards helps too. For you, not the DC.

Do lunch bags / boxes for the kids with a sandwich / fruit / carrot sticks etc / crisps / biscuit / drink rather than doing platters of food. Did this recently and it was so much easier because we had it all ready a few hours before, didn't over do the catering, each child just had what they wanted from their box and it saved loads of clearing up and time. Do be mindful of allergies / vegetarians etc and have some back up options

Traditional parties are the best! I used to do them for my kids - and their friends, now 6th form age or above - still talk about what fun they were.

Don't over-complicate your plans or catering arrangements. They're too little for anything complicated in the way of games; many of them won't have been to a party like this before so expect to explain the rules. Keep it fun and fast moving; nothing too serious. You can always have joint winners for something and move on if you sense that attention is waning.

Musical Statues is a good one, Musical Bumps, Dead Lions for calming down. Pass the Parcel is a must, but one layer per child and make sure everyone gets something.

If you run out of activities, a disco dancing competition with sweets for everyone at the end, or a "pretend to be an animal" session (you shout it the animal) and they have to mime it).

Maybe set up a craft activity table in a side room if you have space - nothing messy, stickers are good - think of it as a chill out zone for anyone who gets overwhelmed.

Move any precious or breakable things out of reach will make it easier for you to relax. If you're worried about carpet or soft furniture you could get a huge decorators dust-sheet (and tape it down so no one can trip).

Have some basic first aid - ice packs for bumped heads etc.

Plan on 15 minutes of free play while people arrive, 20-30 minutes of games, 30 mins of eating and then maybe another15 mins of games before people leave. 90 mins is more than enough for tiny ones.

Keep the food simple. Jam, cheese, ham sandwiches on white bread, sausages, few different kinds of crisps and biscuits (you can't have a party without chocolate fingers and party rings!) and some cucumber sticks and fruit - maybe halved grapes or hulled strawberries - as a concession to healthy eating. You'll throw most of it away. Don't do jelly and icecream (so messy!).

Have paper plates or pre packed boxes and a bins bag handy to clear it all up quickly afterwards. Get the other mums to help with these kinds of tasks.

Small piece of cake goes in the party bag. Set the most capable mum on cutting and wrapping them while you finish off the party.

It will go super-fast, I promise and you won't know what you were worried about! And you'll save a fortune compared to hosting a softplay party.

Any toys you don't want them to play with put away in one of the upstairs rooms (and lock the door!!) I'm traumatised from my classmates raiding my toyboxes when they came to my birthday parties at home!

Oh, have games where everyone's a winner, like treasure hunts for chocolate coins, and if you do musical statues or musical bumps have a prize for the best dancing as well as winner.

Food tips

If doing buffet style do 3 or 4 large trays/ platters with a bit of everything on each rather than 1 tray sandwiches, 1 tray sausages, 1 tray veg/fruit , one bowl crisps. Much less passing around different plates.

Even better do one of those cardboard lunch boxes per child. Sandwich, crisps, yogurt, fruit and choc biscuit with no waste and less hassle. You might want to supply separate nibbles crisps/dips for the parents if you do this option tho as parents often help themselves to what's left if buffet style.

If you do mini sausage rolls buy frozen and bake the night before much cheaper than the fridge ones. If you do pizza basic individual mini margaritas cut up go down a storm and super cheap. Own brand on everything is fine......

Bouncy castle for garden, entertainer if you can afford one

have a few extra games up your sleeve for when things get fraught - rope other parents to "do the music" etc or be judges for musical statues or sleeping lions.

Food wise just do stuff you know they will all eat - pizzas are quite good - chop them up in squares so easy to handle and not too big

Avoid anything on those nasty toothpicks. Biscuits in a wrapper, ice cream cones

Adults tea coffee and fruit juice help your self area away from main kitchen so not in your way etc. and away from kids play area so spliiage not an issue

Snacks for adults - same biscuits as for kids, maybe some sausage rolls or easy pick up food maybe some veg sticks and humous but that would be pushing the boat out

Always have lots of little prizes that can also be used as consolation e.g. mini haribo packs

I would second books as take home or colouring set from one of the cheap places. I used to get annoyed at plastic tutt and balloons - sorry I know kids like em but choking hazard at 4 esp if younger siblings

Would also second a bit of disco dancing

Can you get a small bouncy castle in the garden? Pass the parcel is a good one! I now do sweet cones instead of party bags, much cheaper as well. Ham sandwiches, cheeses sandwiches, sausage rolls, cupcakes you get in supermarket, mini gems, party rings, mr Kipling finger cakes, crisps etc.

Balloons also, kids love balloons and also piñata!

Shit ton of balloons.
How every many you think…. Do more. (As a minimum. One for each child, spares for the inevitable burst balloons and some to tie to the door.)
They will run about and entertain themselves with them very happily and it will fill some time.

If you haven’t enough seating, clear a space on the floor, cover with picnic blankets and have a picnic.
Try and be outside if the weather is good.
If you have another few weeks, have an Easter egg hunt

My children have never been to a house party.

They have always been in function rooms, soft play centres etc

No way would I host at my house

In early primary I was never brave enough to do a party at home-luckily we hired the local community hall for about £20. One year I hired our city's 'premier children's entertainer' - I admit I lied to late DH about the cost. It was party boot camp and it was amazing, no opportunity for them to become feral. I was surprised that she started a game of sleeping lions 5 mins before home time as parents arrived. However the moment any child was out she tapped them and said 'you are out, collect your party bag and meet mum/dad to go home'. Bloody genius!

My go-to 'going home bag' always used to be a tub of play dog, with a bag of haribo sellotaped to the top. Went down well with a surprisingly wide age range, from about 18 months to about 6 years old. We lived in the USA at the time, and I completely hated the rubbish 'rat' given out as going home gifts normally.

Playdoh, not play dog!

Keep it simple with games.

Musical statues - encourage lots of dancing/jumping on the spot (tires them out). Have a couple of rounds of “oh you’re all so good, no-one is moving” to make them all feel amazing (and extend the game).

Pass the parcel - don’t bother with layers, it takes too long. Wrap the prize and then have a tub of sweets. When each person is out they go get a sweet (keeps them busy when the game keeps going. Also means you can do 2/3 games and don’t need a fuck tonne of wrapping paper.

For food - serve their whole meal/food except the sandwich in a bag or box. That way you just hand out bags. Then have one adult with a tray of sandwiches offering the choice. Quicker (and more hygenic) than kiddy fingers picking stuff up. Also encourage them to put leftovers and wrappers in their bag/box and it’s easier to tidy.

Have a sheet with the kids names and columns. Take a minute after each game to tick who won each game. Then for last five mins have a dancing five mins and give prizes for best dancer/most energetic/etc. At 4 it’s well worth them all going home with a prize.

If you have space have them pick a prize and put it in their party bag at the end of each game - saves tears when Mary can’t find her prize and John and Billy argue over which is theirs.

Do party bags as they leave. When you want them to go announce they should get their shoes, coats and adult and then line up to get their bag on their way out.

If at all possible can you hire a local village hall or church hall? That's what I did for my girls little years parties. They were usually only £25/30 for a few hours and had little kitchens too.
So much more room to play otherwise I would have had about 5 to the home.
Sorry if that's not a possibility just ignore but it really makes it easier especially with parents staying.
Otherwise same as others have said not much food needed have some fun old style games pass the parcel, dancing, musical bumps.
I used to do a few little crafting stations if we had a hall for colouring in or decorating little fairy cakes. You can also do those little temp tattoo's that you put on with water.
Kids love a tat party bag I know it's not the thing and people prefer a book or whatever but they love taking a little bag of sweets home maybe a lip balm and piece of cake.
It's hard work but try not to stress they always have a fun time.

@fruitpastille

I wouldn't encourage parents to stay. It's much easier to tell children what to do without them there. Definitely have a holding activity e.g. colouring, for everyone to do on arrival until they are all there. I would say nobody allowed upstairs except for the toilet. Plan and write down what activities you are doing. You will need more than you think. Premade boxes or bags with sandwich(jam/nutella/houmous), crisps, bun and carton of juice is easier than a buffet tea. You need party bags to signal the end so they all leave I wouldn't do booze for adults to be honest. Leave out stuff for tea and coffee and let them help themselves.

This …children are so much better behaved without their parents there ! Never invited parents and it wasn’t an issue!

Lots of great ideas here. Mine is to put a sticky label name badge on each child, so you know who they are. Also write on plastic cups with their names & keep drinks in the kitchen. I think it’s lovely that you are having a traditional birthday party at home.

If doing pass the parcel, split the children into smaller groups and have 2 or 3 parcels going round groups or 6 or 7.
And yes, some parents will bring their extra DC (whether younger or older), and expect them to be able to join in. They will smile and say “oh what’s one more”, often with a tinkly laugh.
These are the parents you don’t invite next time

Also have a small cake for candle blowing and a sing song and then individual cakes (cupcakes or french fancies!) to put in patty bags (before kids even arrive) to take home, so much easier than spending time cutting up the cake and parcelling up for the party bags. Then enjoy the cake (and wine) when everyone has gone 👍🏻

*party!

Treasure hunts with little prizes are a great game - get a big bag of little dinosaurs/cats/digs etc and hide in lounge)garden etc..