Kids party in a hall

[Ak627]

We’ve hired a hall with bouncy castle and soft play for a 3rd birthday. We invited his full nursery class, but also have some friends coming plus younger siblings.

I thought some people may not be able to make it, but everyone has rsvpd yes (I should have staggered the invites). In total we’re looking at just over 30 kids 😱 plus parents (this includes a few babies and younger children).

Is it ok to just have an unstructured party and just let the kids just go nuts on the bouncy castle for a couple of hours?

We’re going to put some food out (sandwiches, crisps, cakes etc) and kids and parents are welcome to help themselves, but we’re not planning to get all the kids to sit down and eat together, they can just eat as and when.

Anyone have any advice based on parties you’ve attended? I don’t really want to hire an entertainer, the plan is just to keep it relaxed….is it going to be chaos?! 😆

Plan a couple of games in case it all goes pear shaped.

Sleeping lions, pass the parcel etc.

Yes will be chaos but good fun too. If you think theyre old enough, maybe I'd look at maybe doing pass the parcel or musical chairs or a dancing competition or something. My kids are a lot older so maybe 3 year olds wouldn't have the concentration span for games...I forget what's normal.

Yes it will be chaos! But fabulous all the same. Bouncy castle will be the focus but id also set up a few chill out tables eg Lego table, colouring table, eating table, decorate a cupcake table, play dough table etc. Coffees and flapjack for parents would go down well too.

I’ve done hall parties with a bouncy castle. I generally did let them just play BUT I made them sit down for food at a set time otherwise you’ll end up with food and drinks everywhere. Have lots of balloons! We usually did pass the parcel before food to calm them down and switched the bouncy castle off. I also had a quiet area with some crafts for those who wanted to do something more sedate.

I do think you’d be better off getting the kids to sit down and have food and cake at a specific time as it splits the party up a bit! This is coming from someone who has 4 kids age 11-3 so I’ve done a fair few kids parties!!!!!

Is the food in the same room? I would probably still try and get them to sit down for something to eat and have a drink, just breaks up the two hours a bit.

Did a similar sized party for DS1 at that age.
I had traditional party games like pass the parcel, musical statutes as well as some more energetic ones to burn off a bit energy 1st - some races, beanbag race, what the time Mr wolf & plenty of metals for all. It worked well, kept them busy for an hour with taking turns on bouncy castle before sitting down for food with I'd sorted into lunchboxes. Most parents stayed so many were roped into help (they knew this beforehand!) but also had DH, my parents & sis

Pass the parcel will go down well but for thirty children I'd have three parcels going round at once.

I would set some crafts or toys away from the castle so you don't get too many kids on at once.

Don't hire an entertainer (unless you want to), no. At that age the kids will be happy with what you've got. I'd suggest having a few small diversions or focal points. E.g. blowing out candles. Activities in a corner (like colouring, or some really basic and cheap craft thing), so it's not just relentless bouncing for two hours. Area where parents can relax at a distance (and sit down if they have younger kids), rather than just a screaming two hour huddle. Maybe put some kids music on a short playlist and do musical chairs or something for 10 mins. There is no need to spend money - but you know what they say, fail to plan, plan to fail!

Unstructured play will be fine, but I would get the kids sat down together for food. It's a good precursor to bringing in the cake.

I think a craft table is always good to have for overwhelmed kids - print out colouring sheets or homemade playdoh both work well.

Sorry, OP, not what you want to hear, but I think you're going to need a bit more structure for that many and at that age. There's too many to fit on a bouncy castle in one go, plus I think they're a bit too young "go crazy" at 3 (maybe I've forgotten that age but 5+ sure, I'm just not sure 3 year olds would) and so they might be wandering off looking for something else after the first half hour. Yes they might come and go on it, but I think you'll need something else for when they're not bouncing. Entertainer suitable for that age would be great but they are expensive but worth it if you can afford one. Or maybe set up a face paint station? Craft station? Just so there is something else for them to wander off too and for parents to guide them towards if the bouncy castle gets too busy or for those who get bored of it.

You have to have a sit down food time. (Or stand, but a set time)

Otherwise the food will be everywhere, kids will be sick, slippage everything.

Doesn't have to be formal but does need to be controlled at that age (especially with allergies wtc)

Also have party bags. It is the Go Home sign.

Good luck.

I’ve done a few parties in halls, for that age I’d get them to sit down and eat and maybe have a table set up for colouring for those who don’t want to go on the bouncy castle.
one year I did tattoo transfers that went down well and was easy to organise.
have some drinks for the parents too.

We did this type of party for my DS 6th birthday last weekend; we had a bouncy castle and a few ride ons that came with it, but I also had some colouring sheets I’d printed out on a table and we had one party game (pin the tail on the donkey). The max kids on the bouncy castle was 8 so you have to have some other things for them to do. Also lots of balloons around but at 3 there may be too many tears if they pop!
if you have any ride ons or little toddler slides or garden toys at home, they could be good to bring along. I think they’re too young for pass the parcel to work very well, sorry! Musical statues or just a bit of music could be good too. Other than the colouring, I was also thinking of buying some precut card crowns or party hats to decorate with stickers / pens.

Is it ok to just have an unstructured party and just let the kids just go nuts on the bouncy castle for a couple of hours?

Does the bouncy castle come with someone first aid trained? They tend to attract bumped heads and twisted knees at the best of times.

I'd have someone in charge of games for those who don't want to go on the castle.

I would do:
Bouncy castle
Pass the parcel
Food - plastic table cloths on the floor for 'picnic' blankets
Party games (musical statues, musical bumps etc) - don't go straight back on bouncy castle straight after eating
Bouncy Castle

and a table of craft activities for the quieter children available the whole session (Baker Ross website is good for this, colouring sheets, stickers, a roll of lining paper spread across the floor for group drawings, a table with rich tea biscuits, white icing and writing icing tubes, a bubble machine will be a hit too)

Whether it’s all sit at tables for food or dotted around the hall picnic style I’d definitely sit all kids at same time for food otherwise it would be carnage. Bouncy castle and maybe game of pass the parcel, musical statues and bumps will be enough to keep the kids occupied.

The village hall doesn’t have kid size table and chairs - what do you do to sit them all together? Get them to sit on the floor?

We did this for DS' 5th he's older in the year so lots of 4 year old classmates, we also had a lot more yesses than expected and DS got hold of the spare invitations and gave them out at after school club! We made sure there were plenty of balloons for them to chase around as well as the bouncy castle and I did a table with colouring in, dot to dots and some kits to make suncatchers for the children who wanted quieter activities or just a break.

Food was just laid out on a long buffet table part way through big urn for teas and coffees. I made sure the adults knew to help themselves after making first drinks and we got done if the mini pastry platters from Costco which went down well with parents.

I was frazzled by the end but the children all had a great time. We didn't do games or anything I was ready to do musical statues or similar if needed but it was hard enough getting them to stop for the cake/candles

We did exactly this for my DD 4th bday, also 30-odd kids from 2-7 yo. Bouncy castle, food and drink all out (except the cake) on the table the whole time and nothing structured except bringing out the cake. We also had a craft table and a pin the tail on the animal type game stuck to a wall but it was up to the parents to support their kids with those, we had no one running any of it. Worked really well just having stuff “available”. Needless to say the bouncy castle was the main event but the craft table was always busy too, I think a lot of kids like something like that away from the bustle

When I organised a party for Beavers, we used one of these to sit/eat on:

Paper Roll

Provided lots of crayons to keep them occupied

I personally hate parties where pretty much the only thing to do is a bouncy castle. Some parents are oblivious but when I've been at them with my daughter I've always noticed all the kids who end up crying and coming off hurt! At one party we went to another mum and I told our kids (quietly) that they weren't allowed on anymore as there were too many kids on and it was dangerous. Fortunately there was some colouring in for them to do. It can work at smaller parties but when there's lots of kids you need to do something to make sure that there are only limited number of kids on there at all times.

Yes I'd sit them on the floor.

I'd buy a tarpaulin or two from a DIY store, very cheap

When you say they don't have kid sized tables and chairs, do they have "normal" sized takes and chairs? If so, get them out! Three year olds can sit on normal sized chairs as a one-off.

Agree with everyone else that you need a time for food and you will need a bit of structure for thirty 3 year olds I'm afraid!

I wouldn't do pass the parcel cos you've got too many kids, but some other easy games are musical statues, best dancer, and of course sleeping lions at the end to chill them all out!

Agree with having a craft table and face painting/tattoos.

Don't forget that party bags signal the end so if you're desperate for kids to start going, just start rustling the bags!