Party stress!

[glowworm5]

I have arranged a class party for my dd for her 5th birthday next weekend. Hall booked, bouncy castle and entertainer booked for the second half. I will be basically catering it myself. Dh will help but he will be coming later with dd and younger sibling so I can set up without them running about.

The closer it gets the more stressed I’m feeling about it. I know it’s just a kids party but doing it alone is overwhelming. I will have an hour to set up. I’m planning to cook a few bits on the morning such as pizzas and sausage rolls, hopefully have the rest done the day before and can just throw it all in the car. Party bags will also have to be done the day or a few days before and boxed up ready to go.

Have a few banners and balloons which I will get up as quickly as I can when I get access to the hall. Tea and coffee for parents of course. Can anyone offer me any tips or reassurance? It’s the first time I’ve done a full class party. There just seems to be so much to remember.

It sounds like a lovely party - you’ll be fine!

My tips:

They definitely don’t eat as much as you think. So go easy on the sandwiches to give yourself a break. Ditch the pizza idea for ease.

Don’t do sausage rolls that need cooking, get pre-cooked cocktail sausages - dump on table, they’ll be gone in seconds.

Likewise with crudetes, they eat them but not in the quantities you think.

Crisps: we got a box/multi-pack of Pom-Bears. They had a packet (or two) each. That was there’s no faffing decanting into and then washing of serving bowls.

And definitely don’t do stupid fruit kebabs like I did for first party. What a bloody mistake that was! Bowls of little apples and tangerines is a good idea.

I did a hall party like this for my DD last year. It went really well.

My top tip is to allow loads of time. Bunting takes a while to thread onto the ribbon- do all that the day before. Pack scissors/masking tape/white tack. I had all the dry party food bagged up the day before, then focused on getting up early to make the sandwiches and prep the salad, fruit etc fresh on the morning. Did mine and my DD’s hair & nails the night before. Like you, I organised everything at the hall, but we asked my mum to wait at our house with our children so DH could help me set up the table and chairs for lunch, reach higher stuff, carry everything in, etc.

Things always come up which take longer than you think. Like in theory the hall should have been swept/hoovered by previous clients, but it wasn’t and we really did need to do that before guests arrived, despite it being a fairly new hall. Tie a few balloons outside.

Other parents were really supportive when I was getting the lunch out once the entertainer had gone, offered to take trays of food for me, pour cups of squash, etc. You could even ask a couple in advance if it’s ok to ask for help with anything specific you may need.

The bonus of this type of party was I felt it was much more personal, all the decs and tableware matched my daughter’s favourite theme, and it did all look really good and the children loved it! It’s well worth the effort, good luck! 🥳

Done this a few times- keep it simple.

• get a dominos/Pizza Hut delivery for party tea (after the bouncy castle/entertsiber- they won’t eat it beforehand).
• crisps, veg sticks and party rings/choc fingers in bowls
• jugs of squash and water or fruit shoots/juice cartons
• beer/prosecco/soft drink for parents, didn’t ever bother with tea/coffee
• kids barely notice decorations in a hall/ a few balloons blown up before hang and stuffed into bin bags
• I bought a cake for singing HB but put individual Colin’s or cupcakes in party bags
• if no family ask a mum friend or two to help- they’ll be stuff that comes up at the party that requires two adults (random stuff- someone twisted their ankle on the bouncy castle, spilt drinks, crying kids- whilst parents will be there it’s good to be around a bit to check in as host and your own child might need you for something)
• defo don’t make unappealing food- avoid cold oven pizza cooked previously, sandwich platters with ‘adult’ choices (nothing with salad or mayo), frozen/defrosted sandwiches- they barely eat the appealing stuff! If you do sandwiches stick to white bread with ham, cheese or jam and make fresh. Takeout pizza was always most popular- as long as very simple toppings- mix of cheese and tomato/pepperoni. Get a couple of spare ones and offer to adults.

good luck!

Do you have any large plastic storage boxes? We used one to take all the stuff to the hall and it made packing up much easier as well.

Thanks all this is super helpful, the double cake idea is genius. I could just get a cheap traybake for party bags. I literally kept myself up last night worrying. I don’t have family support and I try really hard to make it so my dc don’t miss out but things like this are a hell of a lot of work on your own! Some really great tips here I’m very grateful.

Cold food is fine. Sandwiches. Don't bother heating sausage rolls or pizzas.

I've done fairy cakes rather than a cake before. You can arrange them on a plate, stick a candle in the middle one. Then juat give out the cakes for the kids to eat.

Blow balloons up day before and just put in black bin bags.
prep as much food as possible the day before.
is there anyone that can help you load from car to venue? Any other mum if you have no family to help?

Honestly, you’ll be fine. The fact you’re even thinking about it and not just winging it means you’re on it. A bouncy castle and entertainer are ideal for that age.

Great advice from pps on prep, double cake, present table, etc. I would absolutely get a second pair of hands if you can.

My bits to add:

1. Make sure you’ve got some balloons, balls or other games for the first hour if the only thing is the bouncy castle
2. Let people know the schedule in advance, especially food timing and e.g. as pp said if you’re planning to take the bouncy castle down for a bit. Some kids need a bit of managing and it really helps. It doesn’t have to be like a work agenda! But if you’re messaging round a reminder, you can just say ‘please arrive at 11, we’ll have a bouncy castle for an hour with food at 12 and an entertainer”.

I do the traybake idea for the party bags and frost it with the same colours as the fancy birthday cake.

I get the same level of stress and anxiety as you even though I have done quite a few of these now, I just want everything to go well and can’t stop thinking about it all until it’s done.

Longer than you think especially if you don't have a giant table to lay all the slices of bread out side by side to butter them all at once a la 'watch me prep food for my family of 20 kids' tiktok videos 😂

Make cheese sandwiches and freeze them, nothing dodgy about it. Same with ham. Agreed that bought sandwich platters are overkill for a kids party.

@GoBackToBooks @TiptoesJones Don't you ever freeze bread at home? Does It go soggy? Basic cheese or ham sarnies freeze absolutely fine. Sandwiches only goes soggy if you put something wet in, those wouldn't freeze well... definitely don't freeze cucumber 😂

I would buy fruit shoots/bottles of water rather than have cups
At the first party I gave for DS they spilt all the cups and it was a nightmare to clean all the sticky squash residue up in the limited time I had to clear the hall.

The next party was bottles only and I stuck each child's name on the bottle with a pre written name tag as at another party a few weeks before there was a scuffle over someone drinking from someone else's bottle.....ah 6 year olds.
But yet again, they do sell wine charms for adults.

No, I can’t say that I have. How long do they take to defrost?

I'm thinking you probably don't need an entertainer and a bouncy castle. At this age they tend to just run around and dance and be a bit crazy. Getting them to sit for an entertainer might be stressful

Colouring sheets on a table with some pens can be an easy and cheap idea for those who want some time out from the craziness.

As others have said, keep food simple, they don't actually eat much anyway.
I do cold drinks for the adults after a running child got burnt by a cup of tea at another party. Juices, lemonade, cola

Tip-get everything out of the car and into the hall immediately, close the hall door and put a sign on it.

"xxxx's party!" with the start time underneath. You can get the birthday kid to decorate it, aaaw.

Stops invitees entering early and parents pissing off, which I guarantee some will try, although it does also prevent willing parents giving a hand.
Just an idea if it helps you.