ds' 4th birthday soon, please help!

[chocolatefudgebrownie]

I could really do with some help to plan my ds' birthday next month. He will be 4. I have already booked an hours bouncy castle in a sports centre and there is 30 mins for food in a separate room.

I really need some advice on the following

1. how many guests is ok for this sort of party? 2)when do I need to send the invites, how far in advance?
2. games? Do we need them? His friends are from ages range from 2-6 years.
3. what food and how much?
4. is a theme important? He likes spiderman, can we incorporate this without too much hassle.

Any advice much appreciated, it's the first party I have planned and want it go well

dd is 4 next week

we have booked a hall for hers but we have invited around 10-12 (might be worth seeign how many can go on the bouncy castkle at one time and what there is for them to do when it's not their turn?)

i sent out invites 3 weeks in advance

games - find out how much space there is and like i said, how many can go on the bouncy castle at one time. If they are goingt o be taking turns then maybe some duplo/lego would be a good idea or some kind of craft activity/colouring in.

food - i have got little card boxes from woolworths party website at 35p each. Will put in a sandwich, crisps, carton of drink as well as grapes, biscuits and the obligatory cocktail sausages and party rings!

theme - can probably get table cloth/napkins/cups etc with spiderman on?

Hi
I would have thought about 15 is prob the max you would want with a bouncy castle. You might also want to have some games at the same time so that some of the kids can play them rather than all be on the bouncy castle. Games that have been good at a 4 year old's party include pass the parcel (have a sweety or v small party bag type toy in each layer so that everyone gets one), musical statues, muscial chairs, grandmothers footsteps, pin the tail on the donkey (or equivalent - you can usually get these in Asda/Tesco at their party stuff section).
Food - they won't eat too much - the suggestion above of the food boxes is a really good one as its easy for you to transport them there, otherwise keep it basic and have cartons of drink, crips, biscuits and some sandwiches - i always put some healthy stuff out eg grapes carrots cucumber but it doesnt all get eaten!

Give 3-4 weeks notice and add a RSVP date on it.

Theme not necessary but you can always get a spiderman tablecloth to put on table or for them to sit on floor on to give it some sort of theme

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions. Feeling more confident about organization thanks to your tips!