15 x 5 year olds at my house for ds's birthday-any tips?

[coldtea]

Except don't do it!!

Last year i had 28 children for ds's birthday & learnt lots, mainly what not to do!

Can anyone give me some good tips to make this one run smoothly?

Like, what games work/don't work.
How do you manage the group of children that are 'out' in a game.
How long do you give it for everyone to arrive before starting games? (Last year some were up to 1/2 hour late!)

The party is 2 1/2 hours & i have an entertainer for the last hour, so i only need to occupy them for the 1st hour, then they'll eat.

Any suggestions welcome!

Bouncy castle in the garden, sorted!

ditto www They love it! Remember to deflate it when it's time for the entertainer or they may rather stay on the castle.

Hire the village hall

definitely a bouncy castle

or if no space my sister once got this lorry to come round that was outfitted in the back like a ball park - slides, the lot, maybe there's something like that round your way

treasure hunt (hide chocolates)

creative table (colouring and stuff) for those who want to be quiet

don't do it

Thanks everyone, we did the castle last year & he's having a bouncy castle the next day(on his actual birthday).

He really wants a traditional party with games.

Go out!!

Did this last year for my ds2. I bought a load of cheap plastic hoops on ebay and we played lots of games involving them - musical chairs type thing, skipping, bowling. It was great, then they took them home instead of a party bag.
Another great success was putting them in colour teams, cutting simple pictures into jigsaw pieces (colour coded as teams) then they had to hunt for the pieces around the garden/ house and put it together. We also have a trampoline and TBH I think they would have all been happy playing on that all afternoon!

When DS had his 5th birthday I posted a similar query and as a result we all had a great time including me!
Suggestions included musical bumps/statues or chairs, pin the tail on the donkey, fan the kipper, pass the parcel, treasure hunt, skittles and pinata. In fact the kids were so happy playing footie outside and playing with the toys that we only did 2 of the games lined up!
Check in the past threads for details, get organised then relax and enjoy! Oh, and get out the video camera to keep a record to show on his 18th birthday.

Albert, i'm a bit worried about just that! Ds is desperate to have games & i'm a bit worrried that the other children won't be that keen! Whilst i'm happy to go with the flow i know he'll be upset if nobody wants to play the games.

What is fan the kipper?

Fan the kipper is really simple but a lot of fun. Cut out a fish shape from a piece of paper, one fish per person/team, give each person/team a flapper (piece of card is fine, we used cereal box card) then set up a race circuit. Each person has to flap the fish with the card to make it move around the circuit. First person or team to complete the course is the winner. This is my Dads favourite, we had to play it every New Years Eve for years (can you imagine a bunch of drunken adults doing this) but also a big hit with my DS although we didn't actually play it in the end.
The only game DS was really adamant he wanted to play was pass the parcel, maybe you could ask your DS to select a few games in particular and start the party off with them, then if the kids drift into the garden or play with the toys at least he has played his favourites. Good luck. I found that the thought of the party was far far worse than the actual event itself which went amazingly smoothly in the end

Thanks albert! I've just come back from the shops with all the sweets & prizes & though a little nervous i'm quite excited now