Birthday party for 4yo

[Goosethemoose]

Hi, looking for inspiration! Hosting a party for my son who will be turning 4. It’s in a big hall, I’ve got a bouncy castle and a cake, but I’ve put the party duration as 3h (in the pm) and now wondering how to keep the kids entertained for that length of time?? Hoping we’ll get about 12-15 attendees (have invited 20). What great kids’ parties have you been to?

3 hours is too long for that age. Max of 2 hours is enough.

Can you hire ride on vehicles too?

I thought 3h was long, but we went to one recently that ended up being that long as the kids were having so much fun! I imagine it will be a rolling start and a rolling finish, due to younger siblings and naps and other commitments.

So far I’ve planned some games: pin the tail, duck duck goose, Simon says, musical statues, pass the parcel, maybe I’ll try a story time along the theme of the party (possibly too ambitious) and then sleeping lions to finish.

I thought we could have a craft table, a Lego table, and a table with a toy car track set up…? Does that sound okay? Any obvious pitfalls?

If you can afford it, the best thing is to get an entertainer or a sport coach to do fun, sporty activities. Just for a couple of hours. You will be busy with parents, safety of the children, preparing food...
Also, have you ever tried for 15 children to follow you/obey the rules of a game? It's like trying to herd cats!

An entertainer will certainly take the heat off.

Try to get them to sit down to have the birthday tea and cake - that will kill time!