Can I do a 7th birthday party without an entertainer?

[BergamotMouse]

Every party we've been to has either been at a venue or had an entertainer.

Would I be ok to just do a traditional kids party at a church hall with old school party games, some food and a bit of a disco?

Or are kids much more demanding than they were in the old days?

I did the same as you but instead of a disco we had a bouncy castle. Children loved it. 😍

I’ve found kids are happy to run around a hall with music tbh.

Children love games.
Pass the parcel, musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey - you'll be good to go.
Don't under-estimate how much 7 year olds just enjoy running around.

Of course you can! My dd’s 7th birthday party was at home with old fashioned party games and she still speaks about it as her favourite 20 years later

Yes you can.
Much more fun for the children in my humble opinion.
Pass the Parcel was a firm favourite for parties I did plus pin the tail on a donkey always got lots of giggles.
I never hired a hall because I never invited more than about 6 or 7 friends so we just had it at home.

I think instead of 2 hours you can do 1.5 hours as even with a event like soft play or tarka party, I find it hard to fill in 2 hours! Also am I the only one who hates bouncy castles? It's like a accident waiting to happen.

Instead of a bouncy castle you could get an obstacle course one. Most bouncy castles do them. Also you could get some giant versions of games e.g. connect 4 and Jenga.

Yes but keep the time short and have lots of games planned as they burn through. I remember doing one at home which was lovely but I'd made it 3 hours, big mistake. Top thing from that party (had it been 2 hours!) was we made it Hawaiian themed and had these big cardboard surf board shapes we'd cut out, was one activity to decorate them then one to stand /surf on to the music and do games like musical statues but surfing)

Yes do it at home, don’t invite too many unless you have a mansion, plan what your going to do ahead of the party and depending on your house size/number of party guests maybe entrust the help of a relation or mum friend and get rid of the other mums.

I would keep it to 1.5 which should be perfect and leave them wanting more rather than possibly struggling for two hours if one child turns moody etc.

Parent of adults here. It never crossed our minds to have an entertainer. We did parties out of the house only after baby days, we couldn't face the mess! Hired church halls and bouncy castle, as they got older we took smaller crowds to things like laser quest, Diggerland, paintball. We took huge amounts of food and drink, and let them off to have fun. Our children still love looking back at photos of those parties.

We always did parties at home. One activity I found great for that age was a "quiet" activity in the corner in case someone needed a break. Massive piece of card, told the children to decorate it however they wanted as long as it had something to do with the theme of the party. Provided stickers, stencils, pencils, felt tips and glitter pens. It's been hanging on DD's wall ever since.

Oh please do! Last party I went to with an entertainer was awful. He was basically yelling for 2 hours and I came back with a headache. There was no opportunity for kids to just play. Every minute was him telling them what to do.

You can also do a treasure hunt in teams, where the kids have to think of the answers to get the next clue. You could do a obstacles course also in reams if hall big enough, with dressing up, hula hoops, walk the plank that sort of thing, have a corner where the kids can chill. We also went to one where the kids had to stuff as many marshmallows in their mouth (wouldn't recommend was very dangerous and messy- but this was 20+ years ago.

I think 7 is optimum party game age. Go for it they'll love it

Two parties spring to mind...an 8th birthday when we were on a v tight budget. Village hall, lots of traditional games, hotdogs. Kids queued up for a sausage in a bun.

The other one was a 13th - took a few boys to the beach, disposable bbqs. Gave them each a family sized Cadburys bar as a party bag. I heard one boy saying it was the best party he'd ever been to.

Both the cheapest we ever did! (4 DC!)

I booked a puppet entertainer for 1 hour for my DS’s birthday party at home, he was rubbish and arrived late. One by one the children left to play in the garden with my DS’s toys and dressing up clothes. My poor MIL was left inside with 2 children at the end. I’d paid him on arrival and when he left, I did say I thought his show wasn’t very entertaining, all he said was that it was usual that not all children enjoyed his show. I think at the age of 7, they just love getting together in someone else’s house and playing. After food, they get a bit hyper anyway, so you could just put some music on.

Absolutely, lots of balloons to play with, a craft table and games and they'll have a great time.

When my one was small we never had an entertainer.

We just hired a local hall and played games, had a buffet after.

As long as there is space to play, music, and refreshments it's fine.

I think parents try too hard and spend too much on parties. As long as there is fun, it's all good.