Party at home for 4yr old boys...HELP!

[gerbo]

Need advice!

We are having a simple party at home for our son, turning four. We have a small house so are inviting only 6 boys.

We are planning coffee for mums, lots of toys out on coffee table/around the room for the boys, for around 45 mins, then pass the parcel, then simple party food (mini sausages, crisps, party rings only) followed by singing happy birthday, cake cutting, and home with party bags. Hoping it will be around an hour or hour and half at most.

I suppose I'm worried about the first "play" bit. Will put out his large toy castle and knights, rocket, etc. but can you think of any crafts or fiddly little toys to keep them busy for half an hour ish????? I don't really want them outside as the garden's a mud pit and there's nothing there to play with really (that's the springtime project!) and they'll trample mud all over my lounge if I'm honest!

What would four year old boys like to do??? Any making/colouring things y can think of??? Have only comeup with printing off colour in pictured of buzz light year etc. was thinking loads of balloons but could be bit of a menace......

Really grateful for any ideas. Just can't quite face leading loads of party games in front of six nursery mums I don't know! And to be honest am nervous about his "energetic" friends.....help!

I once did "design your own pants" for boys that age, they loved it.
Multipacks of pants and fabric pens. Do remove the brown pen though!

I love your phrase.... Hoping it will be around an hour or hour and half at most.

At least all the other mummies are there to help keep control of their particular DC and mop up tears! I personally find parties quite stressful. I've found that if you have any swords/lightsabers etc around they generally bash the life out of each other (in a nice way) and run around the house like nutters!
Attention span won't be great, and they'll be mega excited, probably won't listen to you that much.
Keep it simple. Suggest having loads of little things for them to do (just in case - don't get them all out at once) ... colouring/play-doh/stickers/feathers/googlie eyes. I can keep my DS occupied for a while with some paper, feathers and funny eyes. He decides which animal he wants to make - sticks feathers on a piece of paper then sticks some eyes on... and you have an animal/monster/whatever! Something to take home too!
Actually they'll probably behave very well if all the mummies are there. Ohh... and dressing up always works well - though can lead to more energetic behaviour!
Have fun...
Actually ignore everything I've said.... do the pants!! FANTASTIC! Am laughing! That'll work at any age...

The absolute best game for small boys it to lie them on the floor with a sweet on their heads. If it falls off, they can eat it. Last one to fall off wins the rest of the packet.

Keeps them quiet for ages.:)

Super advice from chilli. Pants game sounds ace. Laughing my ass off at laying them all down with a sweetly on their head -- absolutely love it :-D

Sorry no ideas of my own. I just stopped by to admire everyone else's ideas!

All the best for the party.

We did cookie decorating, that was at a party for slightly older children but DD (3) and some of the other younger siblings also enjoyed it with a little help. Get some interesting cookie cutters, make up a moderately runny base icing in one or two colours and get some writing icing and assorted sprinkly stuff for them to chuck on top. You'll also need some trays or plates to put them, and a sandwich bag with a label each (put them on top of the bag until dry, then bag them up). Just keep a wet flannel and some kitchen roll handy, but we didn't find it got that messy considering.

Another thing we hadn't planned but accidentally ended up doing which was popular, was drawing on an enormous roll of paper - just needs someone to start them off with a few ideas.

But pants sounds very fab too!

My four year old boy would last five minutes doing crafts.

He would however love Lego. We went to a Lego party a few months ago which was good (they had Lego building sessions). They also did a magic show (by the dad, very basic which the kids loved).

Piñata is an option? Musical statues? Get them running about dancing.

I would do (and have done frequently ) traditional party games, some quiet, some noisy. Just a thought - do you need all six mums to stay? Sounds like a lot of adults in the house (and might some bring younger siblings?). It is always harder to organise discipline children if their parents are there. Do you have a DH/DP who will help with the games?

I understand not wanting to appear a muppet doing party games in front of adults you don't know. But musical statues and pin the tail on the donkey / beak on the angry bird (which we did for my 5yo ds) or equivalent don't leave much opportunity for embarrassment (no singing involved or dancing yourself). I think you might find free play goes painfully slowly if you don't have an extra activity in the middle to break it up a bit. I was also going to suggest balloons, lots of them. A pinata is a good suggestion above, too. I've seen them in Tesco.

Get them round a table doing stuff.
What about baking gingerbread men before the party - day before! Then put 3 bowls of different colored icing out, different sprinkles, choc chips etc and a paper table cloth. Keeps them happy for an age. Then you can just lift the table cloth and mess together and bin.
Another idea would be to make pirate hats out of black card (hobbycraft or similar will have) and give them glue, foam letters, glitter, stickers etc to decorate.

Especially with boys, you want them calm and focused. When you tidy up and get the party food leave music on and balloons on the floor and they will amuse themselves then the food will keep them happy.

After that you will struggle to fit pass the parcel, cake cutting and party bags into the hour and a half!

I noticed someone said boys would last 5 minutes doing crafts.
I have 2 boys and a girl and had party's doing the stuff above.
All the boys LOVED it. Maybe it's the messy stuff.
I feel really self conscious doing party games too OP so the stuff above filled in time and they loved it. They will mess around with balloons inbetween.

Ds and his friends loved a pinata at that age, also pin the tail on the donkey (although I think it was pin the belt on Mickey Mouse - it only cost £2 from Tesco).
Pass the parcel always ended up a bit fraught at our parties because people know different rules ie if the music stops are you out? or do you take off a layer of wrapping paper?!
Musical statues but when the music stops they have to freeze in a certain pose eg a dinosaur; a fireman with a hose, etc.
Don't be afraid to rope the other mums in to help eg ask one to turn the music on and off for statues, ask another one to judge.

We had a dinosaur party for DS2 (4) and got them making dinosaur masks (Yellow Moon). We pinned (blutacked) the horn on a triceratops, did some dino-dancing, dino musical statues, pass the parcel and got them out in the garden a bit.

At DS1's 6th birthday party we did 'make your own pizza' - I put out pizza bases and a selection of toppings, kids customised their own, I bunged them in the oven and they ate them!

Pants are a grand idea and Pinata is a good one for burning some energy too, though best done outside if you can.