Things you like and dislike at kids parties

[icequeenelsa]

Dd turns 4 in May and has asked for a party this year. Will need to invite her pre school class and friends/family so at the moment I’m leaning towards hiring the church hall. She loves Frozen so I thought about getting an Elsa character to come and sing some songs. I think they are relatively cheap. Other than that I’m stumped.

I’ve been to a few kids parties recently and the ones I really dislike are soft play parties, I know they do everything for you but they tend to be very busy and chaotic. Also been to a few village hall ones where they’ve just hired a bouncy castle and played some music. Games and entertainers don’t seem to be a thing at this age (at least not from what I’ve seen) maybe because they are quite little and don’t have the attention span!

So if your dc got invited to a party what do you like to see there and which ones do you dread? Thank you!

Likes
I like soft play and bouncy castle parties. DCs need free play time rather than constant structured instructions by an adult.
I've seen some very good entertainers and also some very poor ones. The timing and pace is critical, some have been amazing and have clearly come from a drama background and have lots of energy and humour.
Exclusive use or hired hall better than entry to a large soft play with lots of other dcs/adults present.
Craft table and quiet activities for some independent down time.
Sibling invites and nibbles and drinks for the parents for a relaxed community feel.

Dislikes
Don't like entertainers who have no real rapport with young children, we've seen some who seem to be reading from a crib sheet but have no idea how to interact with dcs.
We've been to a party with an Anna and Elsa and unfortunately it wasn't great, they didn't sing very much, one of them sang very well but the other was OK but clearly not trained, and they introduced some games which went over the heads of the 3 year olds.
Entertainers who can't keep track of who has had a turn and leave the quieter kids to miss out while the loud kids push in.
Entertainers/activities which pack in a series of guided activities, it was just too exhausting and dcs were rushed from one thing to another.
Games with just 1 or 2 winners leaving 3 year olds in tears.
Games with queues and taking turns or complex rules.
Parties in the late afternoon for younger kids, when you've had to keep them busy already all day and they're tired already by the start.
Parties strategically timed to avoid mealtimes so they don't have to provide food. DCs will get hungry when running around with their mates, they don't care what the clock says.
I prefer food to be as individual and less communal as possible. Hate to see kids grab handfuls of popcorn out of a big bowl, lick it off their hands and then dive in for a second helping.
I've been to low effort park parties with no entertainment and barely any activities, located miles away from the playground and the family dog invited and the food poorly secured so it managed to snaffle the kids snacks. I definitely did not enjoy that.

Bouncy castle big enough for the number of kids. Lots of balloons (perhaps brought out part way through). An entertainer maybe for parachute games but at 4 years old they won't all engage with pass the parcel or musical statues. Plenty of seats for parents. Remember, it will soon be over!

OP if you want an Elsa party for your daughter to enjoy, that’s fine. But why are you asking for hints and tips about parties in general?! I can tell you that my boys would have been bored out of their minds at an Elsa party, if there’d been nothing else to do.

Dislike-

When no tea/coffee/drink is provided for the adults
Balshy entertainers

Like -
opportunities to try something different for the children - science parties or ones held in a different venue

Pizza Express did a brilliant party for DS. Wish I’d done them for my older kids.

We went to a party for 3 year olds recently where they had crafts, balloons and music for the first hour, then food, then a chap who brought some reptiles to show the children for half an hour - it worked really well. I think at that age keeping it short and a mix of free time and some short focus is best.

I hated the disco type parties where the parents have to come and join in for 'fun' competitions. Also hate the entertainers who pick the 'best dancers' as it always seemed to end in tears for my DD.

Best ones were the magicians and ones with animals.

The only type of party I have really disliked is very loud discos, but that's mostly because our son finds them stressful (sensory overload).

I generally find that kids will enjoy whatever type of party you throw because they're excited to be there! If you do a bouncy castle, highly suggest having a couple of other things (e.g. a toy corner, a colouring / craft / play dough table, pass the parcel etc) to help keep them entertained.

If you want an entertainer, we used a local provider called 'Toddler Sense' for our son's 4th birthday and she was fantastic. Bought soft play to the hall and they did that 40 mins and then she did fantastic games with the kids. Maybe a Google will throw up something similar in your area.

Other great ones we have been to include outdoor forest adventure type thing and one with a really good magician.

Because I’m looking for tips and extra ideas? It won’t be an ‘Elsa party’ it would just be a normal party where an Elsa would show up and do some songs. There would be other things on offer like a bouncy castle, maybe games, food etc. I’m just looking for ideas. It’s been a long time since I did a kids party.

We have a soft play near us that let us hire it exclusively for DD2’s 5th birthday. Perfect for a whole class party and reasonably priced for what it was. Nowhere near as chaotic as when the soft play is still open to the public.

She’s been to loads of parties and come home covered in tattoos! The last lot had only just disappeared. Can’t stand it!

I personally don’t really care what the party is as long as I’m not expected to do much. I’ve done the hire a hall and play games and the pressure to entertain was too much! Get the entertainer or a venue with built in entertainment.

Look up little city nesr you. Perfect for this age. Enough to keep them entertained. Less chaos. Not too loud and plus of someone turning up and setting up alot of it for you.

Softplay parties are great if you have exclusive hire. Entertainers are ok but you need something else too.

My toddler DD is really shy so no matter what sort of party it is she will be really reserved and scared for the first 90% of the time and then suddenly come out of her shell and want to play in the last 5 minutes 😂

But I personally hate party bag tat. I like party bags if they've got something nice in them that won't just be chucked away- a cheap book or teddy bear from a charity shop is great, or if a girls party then a pretty hairbow or something. Hate plastic tat except for balloons as balloons provide endless entertainment for my DD

Favourite. Old school house parties, about 10 kids, about an hour of games (musical statutes/bumps, sleeping lions, pin the tail on something, easy crafting activity ( we always used to have pirate parties so made telescopes out of loo roll tubes, decorate with stickers, then use them to go oj a treasure hunt for chocolate coins, get kids to make their own pizzas, and cupcake decorating, eat food. Hide party bags in a "treasure chest - cardboard box" . Parents given alcohol and nibbles. Last bit if possible take them to the local park- 5 mins away to run around and burn off the excitement.

Also have done the same party in the with little water pistols for a water fight. Just bring a little bit of water. So they don't all get soaking.

Now they have parties and I need to provide pizzas and sick buckets 😫

I like anything where they organise it all for me! Soft play, trampolines, role play cafes all good.

Village hall with disco where the DJ does games & gives out prizes. Face painter.

I also dislike soft play parties & bouncy castle parties although my kids love them.

Old school parties: pass the parcel (you can put challenges like sing a nursery rhyme or hop round the circle on each layer to make it more interesting)

musical chairs, statues or corners

mummy game - in teams and they have to wrap a child up in toilet roll

the one where everyone gets a balloon on a rubber band round their ankle and they have to stamp on everyone else's while protecting their own balloon

mars bar game - take turns to roll a six on a dice, then they have to put on some random items of clothing then try to eat a mars bar with a knife and fork. They keep going until someone else rolls a six. Winner is the one who eats the last slice of mars bar.

As most parties are structured in some way with soft play or an entertainer etc, the children thought it was a novelty playing old fashioned party games!

Fully recommend a toddler sensory party and no I don’t work for them. You tend to get 45mins free play with their equipment which includes bounce castles etc then 45 of structured play with the leader.

I hate party bags, the plastic rubbish goes in the bin quick. For this age get 10 books for £10 from the works and give each kid a book.

At that age I had parties at home with 6 or 7 kids, and pass the parcel type games. Short and simple. I didn't go soft play till about 7 or 8 when they get more boisterous

And very simple party bags. A balloon, some crayons

I like it when they provide fizz and cake for adults 😁

I don't like bouncy castles if there are a wide range of ages at the party as the little ones get squashed.

I dread the entertainers - give me a bouncy castle any day

Oh and I hate build a bear parties - so many tears at the end when some parents are buying their kids accessories and some can't afford it. Awful.

My kids are older now, but a thing I really appreciated was snacks and drinks just for the adults if they are having to hang around.

Kids, to be honest, were happy with most things; theme entertainers, craft type parties, musical entertainers. Just do try to get reviews/personal recommendations because I think some people advertising can be pretty lacklustre. All the people we used were pretty good, one or two were really outstanding.

You may want to avoid lots of balloons lying around because sometimes what happens is the more boisterous kids discover they can pop them and you have 2 hours of balloons banging and the more sensitive children crying at the noise (and it's no picnic for the parents). I've seen it happen

Party games. There’s nothing actually wrong with party games being part of a party, but on a personal level I just sometimes wish people wouldn’t do them. My DD has Autism and while she enjoys being part of party games, she has a meltdown at the end if she doesn’t win.

Yep, that’s our challenge to deal with and the world doesn’t revolve around us. But quietly I dislike the party games very much.

I can’t stand entertainers - they always have the sound up to max volume so the sound distorts it’s so loud. Most of the time my children won’t participate because it’s just too noisy and intimidating.
The best ones for me are when you either drop the children off and leave (ideal) or the children go off and play in someone’s garden or a village hall with an activity eg nerf, go carting, gaming (not loud disco/entertainment) with food and drink for the adults supplied.

Go retro - pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey etc.