Birthday party close to Xmas- what to do?

[Prinsessa]

Hi,

My son is born on the 11 Dec. He is having his 4th birthday party on the weekend, but as I am finding out most are busy with Christmas fairs and other Christmas events, so it is only going to be a handful of children...

Do you have any fun ideas for a small party (4-5 children)? I am thinking I might want to do something crafty with them, as easier with a small group of children. Any ideas welcome to try and make a small party special.

What do others do with children born close to Christmas? Do you move the party to earlier, like November or do you do smaller parties generally?

Keen to find out what others do.
Thanks

My son's is around the end of term. Weirdly we have virtually everyone accept every year, always have. As they get older and have more established friendships you can jiggle it a bit around VIP guests' commitments. We avoid Saturdays until about 3pm as a lot of children have activities before then. But it's surprising how many are free the weekend or so before Christmas. I used to think maybe people appreciate a couple of childfree hours so close to christmas, but it's not a very useful amount of time really. Maybe you just got unlucky or it clashes with a particular event?

Smaller parties are the best anyway and I'm sure your son's will be lovely. Maybe ask him if he wants it Christmas themed or not. Baker Ross has multipacks with 3-6 sets of a craft activity, and they're perfect for parties. Treasure hunts are good with this age group, and pass the parcel of course.

Mine's close to Christmas the other side. I have to say that I still remember a certain 5th birthday party when nearly nobody came although that was as much due to snow as not being able to show up, but I found it quite hard to forget (still remember the feeling).

I would love to have a bonfire party in November instead, but that's just me and possibly at 4 he would still be a bit young to decide whether that's his thing.

Possibly a trip to the pantomime or cinema at some point with a few friends, linking it overtly to his birthday?

Another great thing would be to buy a gift card for him to use on a few occasions over the year as gifts get quite concentrated into one hedonistic flurry and can also often be wintry (e.g. I never really have a summer wardrobe!) So a hidden-away gift card can string this out very well and can also be great when they've been ill or had a setback or something.