To not worry about the older kids who might come to my sons 1st bday party?

[itwillbegrandsure]

So, we're going to do exactly what we did for our daughters 1st bday party for our sons 1st - hire the same function room, same soft play, finger food etc.

Should I be worrying about accommodating the older children who may come along? As it's a 1 year olds party, I don't really feel I should. The soft play is more tailored to under 3's really but what I'm hoping is that the older kids will be happy to play with each other/entertain themselves.

Appreciate your thoughts or advice on past experiences please!
We didn't really have this issue with our daughter as the kids were mostly around her age (most were under 3 at the time) and they all had a blast.

Depends on how many older children there would be. if your going to the effort of hiring somewhere could you not have music/DJ so the kids can dance?

Won't the older kids just trash / take over the soft play though and the babies not get a look in or get accidentally stamped on?!

If you're inviting the older kids, you should be willing to cater for their needs too, I think.

How old are the older kids+

?*

How many older kids and how much older?

Given that a lot of your friends this time are likely to have kids your dd age, I would actually be more concerned about entertaining them than the 1 year olds.

I can't imagine inviting people to a party and not catering for them. They don't have to be the main focus of the day but a shall thing for them to do would be nicer

If you don't want to accommodate older children, then obviously don't invite them!

I'm confused. Have you invited older children, or are these possible siblings turning up your worried about

Depends on the age of the older kids. I always think it's a bit unfair on older children who are playing normally for their age but end up getting told off all the time for being too noisy/boisterous etc.

No thanks that I'm implying you will be telling them off of course, but it's difficult to manage lots of different ages in a soft play environment if it's designed for babies and toddlers

*That not thanks

I don't think I'd be inviting older children to a 1st birthday party, unless they were going to be catered for somehow!

It's not a huge party. The vast majority will be under 4, with a handful between 5 & 8.
Older kids are being invited due to younger siblings (most older kids are family).

We don't have a fortune to spend on it unfortunately and soft play was the best option for most of the kids (including my own).
Was considering having a table set aside with some colouring books and crayons them maybe.

Really don't understand why people have birthday parties for first birthday.

It's not as if the kid has a clue what's going on.

Grumpy, Um...because they want to?

yes, but why would you want to?

There's enough hassle and expense when they get older. And it's not for the child's sake is it?

When my dc were 1 we wanted to mark the occasion, of course, and did it by inviting a couple of close friends and family round for tea and cake.

And the OP is already stressing about it!

i think you can't expect the older kids to not play. They will play in the soft play for a while, then probably get bored and play some run about bursting balloon games that are likely to scare the babies. I can't imagine a lively six year old happily sitting colouring in for longer than two minutes.

I think you should probably try to have something for them, if only to stop them taking over the bits for the babies and getting bored.

Trust me, if we could have something at home, we would (and we have done here in UK with my daughter for subsequent birthdays). But we're flying back to Ireland for it (as we did with DD) so we can mark his first birthday with my family and close friends. Unfortunately my parents house isn't big enough to accommodate us.

Im not worried about the older kids playing in the soft play - my concern was would it be enough to entertain them. I can't afford to hire a dj or specific entertainment for them.
I was more looking for ideas or advice based on fellow parents past experiences rather than criticism and comments about why I'm even having a party.

I'm sure the older kids will play in the soft play, but this might make it harder for the toddlers to play in it.

You don't need an entertainer or anything like that. Can you not organise a few party games, e.g. musical statues, the chocolate game (adults will join in with this too), or kim's game? Total cost about £1 for a big bar of cheap chocolate.

Do you have any toys from home you can bring for the older kids, or look in a charity shop/ebay or at a toy library for kids' board games, giant connect four, velcro archery, etc?

Blow up some balloons and let the older kids tear around kicking balloons and hitting each other with them - that will keep them entertained (cheaply) for hours!

No five year old I know is going to sit colouring if there is soft play in the background! You have said the soft play is tailored to under 3s which means that when the 5 to 8 year olds get in there, they are going to be in the way of the little ones. If soft play is your only option and you are determined to have a party, then you'll just have to keep a very good eye on the older ones but colouring isn't going to do it!

We did a party with inflatable soft play for DD1's 3rd birthday. She loved it, the younger ones (18mo+) loved it, and her big brother (8yo) and her friends' older siblings loved it too. I can't remember there being any problems at all with it, in fact, for any of them.

I think you may be overthinking this a little. As long as they're 'nice' (i.e., relatively thoughtful, only boisterous when overexcited rather than generally roughhousy) kids, then I wouldn't be too concerned.