DD's 3rd birthday party! we need a plan!!!

[KarisTiasMum]

Not really sure how to go about planning a birthday party for our 3 yr old DD....
... and we have already invited her friends! arghh!! 17 of them!! (i am hoping we get a few who cant make it..)

We have gone with a Wizard of OZ theme (fancy dress) as this is her favourite film.. (odd choice for a 3 year old i know, but we introduced it to her and now she LOVES it.. and will be very excited by a house full of lions, witches and scarecrows...).

But... other than the theme I am a bit baffled about the rest! How long do they stay for? we have asked them to arrive at 1pm (on a sunday, few weeks to go).. and most parents are staying... so do we just kick everyone out after 2 hours?! (lol) or let people stay for as long as they want?! or a really strict structured party with games time, and free time and food time etc??

all the parties i have so far been to with her, have either been in soft play centres or big gardens with bouncy castles... so they have just amused themselves.. we have a fairly small house, average back garden, no bouncy castle... and trusty English weather!

and what do we feed these little rascals!? i am not over keen on DD eating crap, sweets, chocolate etc (as i am sure most mums are the same) so do i stick with the healthy approach, or will i get lots of little noses turned up?

help!

For dd's 3rd, we blew up loads and loads of balloons and put them in her bedroom having removed most of her stuff. Most of the kids just wanted to play in there with the balloons. We had a few organised games like musical statues. A friend came along and did face painting and my bro did some juggling to keep them amused in the queue. For food, we had a mixture of crap and good - what are birthdays for if not to eat lots of sugar and stuff you're not usually allowed? So amongst the party food we had carrot sticks, orange segments, cucumber sticks and a lot of watermelon chunks (dd's favourite). It was 6 years ago, and I can't remember it in great detail, tbh.

Thanks! the ballons are a great idea! and face paints too... they will love those! yes i think i agree about the food thing too.. parties need treats..