little xmas party for 5year old DC and friends

[duaihfn]

Was hoping to organise a little get together for DC with a few of their friends as just moved into a bigger place. If you've organised one before - what do you usually do for food and games/activities? Usually we just have his friends over for playdates and I let them get on with it. However, would like to make this a little bit more special. Am only thinking inviting 5 kids - so 7 in total. Any suggestions - food - activities? Anything for the parents?

Pass the Parcel, musical chairs, dead lions, have a dance-off.

Supply loads of those glowsticks that you snap to activate, they can be made into hats, necklaces, bracelets etc.

Have a big bolt of paper - like cheap roll of wallpaper because it-s tough. Kids lie on it like a gingerbread man, you draw their outline and they colour it in, it can be taken home to finish and adorn their door.

Christmas/ themed pinata before they leave, don-t buy one, just use any kind of box, make it easy enough to bash.

For food, i-d have a little plate prepared for each with food already on it\in a cute paper bag, ready at the table. Buffet style would be chaos!

My parents always threw a Christmas party for me and my sibling on Christmas eve, admittedly there were only two of us! Fantastic memories.

Oh that's so cute.

Kids love a mini roll at that age or maybe a big yule log.

Find a short Christmas's film if you think they need some down time?

Pass the parcel xmas edition.

We’re having ours this weekend, I’ve got an inflatable throw-the-hoops-on-the-antlers game, pin the nose on the snowman and a what’s in the box game where I fill a mixing bowl with loads of fake snow, put it in a box so the kids can’t see and then they put their hands in to find small items hidden in there.

Also, pass the parcel etc.

Normal party food, possibly a piñata from Home Bargains if I have time to pick one up, then gift bags with mini mugs with hot chocolate cones in, Christmas book, sweet cone and other Christmas themed tat

I’ve bought some icing pens and sprinkles and I’ll make a batch of gingerbread men for them to decorate.
We’re also going to play ‘pin the nose on the snowman’, musical bumps, pass the parcel and watch Shaun the Sheep The Flight Before Christmas (only 30 minutes). If the weather’s ok, I’ll turf them out in the garden to hunt for chocolate coins.

Christmassy temporary tattoos.
Decorating biscuits (often a plain digestive with sweets stuck on with icing.)
Someone on here said they do decorating tshirts and then there's the part bag sorted too, as they have the shirt to take home. Seemed a good idea, or with baubles or similar.

At that age I would structure what is happening. Something like this:

Free play as they arrive (maybe some toys put out in the dc's bedroom - dolls or lego, something multiple DC can play with together).

Craft activity - decorating cupcakes or visits is good (glace icing in squeezy bottles reduces the mess).

Party games - start with two active games that are well known, maybe musical bumps and musical statutes. Then a sitting down game like pass the parcel or dead lions. Then go back to more active games.

Party tea - have everything pre-prepped.

Then more free play, but have a plan to run extra party games (can be a repeat of earlier games) if the kids seem bored or are getting disruptive.

Run for a max of 2 hours. You need at least two adults present to help with crowd control, showing people the toilet etc.

Sorry, when did Sleeping Lions become "Dead Lions"?! Poor Lions!

Invite no more than your child's age in numbers (so if they are 4, invite 4 friends) otherwise it gets overwhelming!

Pass the parcel or musical statues

Kids like pinatas but you need to be able to control the massive whacker you're giving them. I tend to avoid if I can.

Have you already invited people? Lots of people's Christmases are getting a bit booked up so I hope your friends can come!

So at the moment we have a park playdate booked for the first week of school holidays but was actually hoping to turn it into a little xmas house party rather than the park.

Don't underestimate how long it takes to make a pass the parcel and ask another parent to help on the day. It's a game that can descend into chaos if children don't take turns and not all parents encourage fair play. Use games they know but change the them so duck duck goose becomes elf, elf, santa etc

We have hosted a festive open house the Sunday before Christmas since DS was 3 - he is almost 21 now.
The family room was the designated kids zone 🫣
We used to have a kids table with sandwiches cut into stars, red pepper, cucumber and carrot sticks, strawberries, cubes of cheddar, sausage rolls, top hats (marshmallow, chocolate and a red smartie), festive cupcakes and crisps.

Over the years we did build something Christmassy from duplo/Lego, decorate a gingerbread man, colour a cardboard gingerbread house, musical chairs/bumps, glow stick disco, short movie with popcorn, indoor snowball fight (Amazon) etc.