Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

To think 3/4-yr olds need more entertainment at a birthday party?

103 replies

Butttons · 12/03/2017 17:03

It is eldest DD's 4th birthday party next week. We have booked room downstairs in a pub with a photobooth for 2 hrs in the afternoon. I figure we can have a couple of party games (musical chairs, pass the parcel etc) and the photobooth itself will be the fun for kids and parents (we'll be laying on some food and drinks too obviously).

Just got back from another 4-yr old party and they had a pirate who entertained the kids with a show, some magic tricks and a parachute. There was also a bouncy castle so plenty of opportunity for them to off load energy.

Now I am worried that the party we are planning with DD won't have enough entertainment laid on. We can't afford a formal entertainer on top of everything else so it would have to be me or DH living out our worst nightmare and doing the entertainment ourselves. The horror. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I start a crash course in balloon animals?

OP posts:

NudeDude · 12/03/2017 18:05

Also they played musical bumps, but instead of the last one down being 'out of the game', the first one down got a pack of haribo and they all carried on dancing.

PetitTorteois · 12/03/2017 18:05

What happened to kids just playing on their own and being inventive? I can't believe that toddlers need an entertainer and/or a photo booth. I must be getting old (and I'm 27). In answer to your question, YABU.

AndKnowItsSeven · 12/03/2017 18:09

Because it's a party not recess.

MoreProseccoNow · 12/03/2017 18:13

Petit And a roomful of toddlers whipping each other up in to a frenzy for 2 hours : I'd rather eat my own flesh than be in charge of that! They need a bit of structure at that age.

OffRoader · 12/03/2017 18:15

Yes just put a load of 4yos in a empty hall and leave them to be 'imaginative', I'm sure it'll be great

PetitTorteois · 12/03/2017 18:26

I cannot recall getting 'whipped up', or equally, whipping somebody else up as a kid.

I honestly had never heard of paid entertainers and photo booths etc. at 4-year-olds' birthday parties. Hence my confusion.

GrassWillBeGreener · 12/03/2017 18:27

I see someone else has mentioned the difficulties with pass the parcel - we tried it for an old-in-the-year 5th birthday and most of them didn't get it; so just be aware that very close supervision and assistance may be necessary!

If there's lots of dressing up with the photobooth then yes that could be good - but don't be surprised if the photo side is less used.

Absolutely agree about lots and lots of balloons, that and bubbles and some craft activities should go a long way.

OhMrBadger · 12/03/2017 18:30

For one of my DS's parties we'd hired a hall plus a sport type entertainment. All great except the entertainment didn't turn up. So we had to run a load of games for them; musical statues, musical chairs, duck duck goose etc etc.

As it turned out, the kids loved to because they mostly got to run about for a couple of hours having fun rather than having to join in the team type games the entertainment would have organised.

Me...? I was rocking back and forth in a corner gibbering quietly!

Original poster

Butttons · 12/03/2017 18:39

Lol at badger

If that happens at this party at least I'll have a nice quiet photobooth to sit in and rock back and forth

OP posts:

TheMysteriousJackelope · 12/03/2017 18:45

Get them to play musical statues. For as long as possible.

'Simon Says' is good as you get control over what they do for the most part.

My mother didn't book an entertainer for my sixth birthday party. She still talks about that disaster nearly 50 years later.

angeldelightedme · 12/03/2017 18:48

maybe at 5 party games, might be ok but for a fourth birthyday party (ie 3 and 4 year olds) they really don't want anything structured IME.Lots won't wont to join in party games

HamletsSister · 12/03/2017 18:52

Get them to make something they can wear. Hats? Decorate hats?

Or, decorate biscuits (sweets, icing tubes).

EssentialHummus · 12/03/2017 18:57

How many will there be OP?

I'm also a bit puzzled by the photobooth, but if it's booked and paid for, so be it. A decorating/painting/mask making activity is a good shout.

DropZoneOne · 12/03/2017 18:58

You don't need an entertainer but you do need to know lots of games and be prepared to lead them.

At my DD 4th party we did What's the time Mr Wolf with the winner being the wolf next time. Went on for ages as they all wanted a turn at being wolf! Add in a few Musical Statues (no one was out, winner got a fancy sticker and we carried on), and Captains Coming and that was the first hour done.

Break for food and birthday cake, followed by Pass the parcel and we were done - handed out party bags and a balloon and waved them out the door.

We had a craft area set up in the corner and every now and again a child would take themselves away to do some colouring. Just a roll of lining paper and a giant pack of Wilkos crayons - they just crouched down and doodled in a space and when it filled up I unrolled some more.

longestlurkerever · 12/03/2017 19:12

It's not just getting your picture taken though - presumably you get to press buttons and watch the picture emerge. My dd would be delighted by that!

Kat3L · 12/03/2017 19:19

We did a few cheap activities for my DD's 3-5th birthdays. Here's a few I can remember.

Buy a pack of plain white paper plates and have felt tips on hand and ask the kids to decorate a plate when they arrive. They can write their name on the plate or get adults to help and then use the plate for their party meal.

Another good arrival activity could be to give each child a playing card (wilkos did nice animal themed picture cards), they have to find a matching card somewhere in the room that you've hidden in advance. You can tape a choc coin or individual sweet to the card. You may have to get two packs of cards depending on how many children are coming.

Printing off a range of colouring sheets if you've got access to a printer etc is another good one, just add felt tips/crayons etc

Ditto biscuit decorating. We've found that rich tea are good as they don't crumble (and are dead cheap). You can mix your own coloured icings on the day - food colouring and icing sugar -to save money and Poundshop/Aldi do selections of cake decorations/sprinkles etc. Smarties and choc buttons are also very popular with this one.

If you've got a party theme you could look online for 'pin the tail' type thing that fits or even draw your own. Could be pin eyepatch on the pirate, tiara on the princess, carrot on the Olaf etc. Then you just need a scarf to cover their eyes, blutac to stick down the patch or whatever and a pencil to record each child's guess so you know who's won at the end.

We've always had free time for activities where people just move between them as they want interspersed with a few organised games like you mention.

I also agree that balloons provide far more entertainment than you'd expect, so plenty of them combined with music can provide fun to kids that don't want to sit for activities or to do it between etc.

IadoreEfteling · 12/03/2017 19:20

mine would love - photo booth!! its tough one, sometimes they just like to run around, rather then being entertained at every single party...

WandaBack · 12/03/2017 19:25

Never heard of a photo booth but I recall 4 year olds have the attention span of a grasshopper.
Four year olds? Any time they are not being ruthlessly organised will descend into anarchy.

halfofme · 12/03/2017 19:28

For my dds 4th party we did the following:
Had a colouring corner with birthday themed colouring sheets.
Had all dds playmobil and old happyland stuff in a corner.
These two activities kept kids happy whilst they arrived in dribs and drabs.
I then did pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey then I bought a bunch of plain gingerbread men, a load of tubes of icing and we did biscuit decorating.
It took up all the time and was a bit!

halfofme · 12/03/2017 19:28

Oh forgot we also had a face painter

Flisstizzy · 12/03/2017 19:43

Yes to more games, i think you have to expect to interact a bit more with the kids, as you might get wingeing asking what they are doing next if you just leave them to it for too long bitter experience
I also think a table set up with colouring, craft etc is good, but expect to lead the kids and be involved otherwise they will spend 2 mins only doing it.

AppleAndBlackberry · 12/03/2017 19:47

2 hours is quite a long time to entertain other people's kids. Party tea won't take longer than half an hour. I think the photo booth will be fun for them, but I'd plan several more games and/or bring toys & craft things. It's worth having a backup list of things you could do to fill time too.

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 12/03/2017 19:55

Oh crikey all these activities! I'm throwing DD a 4th birthday party and we're just having a bouncy castle, balloons and bubble machine (with food and drink) and I was worried that was overkill!

PatriciaHolm · 12/03/2017 19:57

This room downstairs in a pub - does it have a lot of space to run around in?

And you haven't said how many kids. 4-5 well behaved girls who want to dress up and do crafts - fine. 20+ kids who want to run around and play games - not fine.

Nectarines · 12/03/2017 20:09

Loads of balloons

Music

Instead of pass the parcel you could play pass the object (we use a beanbag) and if the music stops when you're holding it, you get a prize (sweets, stickers, bubbles etc). Can be done as many times as you have prizes.

I d avoid games where kids are 'out'

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Swipe left for the next trending thread