NOW CLOSED Share your top party tips for children aged 3-6 with My Little Pony, and you could win a £100 Argos voucher.

[KatieBMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at My Little Pony (www.mumsnet.com/microsites/my-little-pony) to find your top tips for kids' parties - specifically for children aged 3-6.

This could be anything - from using a theme, to party foods, venues, drinks, present etiquette, and cake or the all important (or not-at-all-important) party bags. So, do share your top tips and funny stories on this thread, and everyone who does so will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Argos voucher.

Please note your tips and stories may appear in an email MNHQ will be sending out in April.

Timing - I try to time parties around meal time, so there isn't that horrible question "do i feed before the party or will there be food or ..."

Present giving - When giving gifts, I sellotape the card to the back of the birthday present so that they don't go astray.

party bags - I stock up through the year. This year I got a whole load of the small tubs of play-doh for next to nothing. I then bought some cheap and cheerful cookie cutters and some sweets which filled the bag perfectly when finished off with a slice of cake.

Finally, always plan a takeway for dinner afterwards, the last thing you want to be doing afterwards is cooking a family meal!

The best / easiest party we ever had was when we had a "fire engine" themed party. All children were asked to wear red, we gave them all a yellow plastic fireman's helmet to wear as a going home present instead of a party bag. We asked the local fire brigade to turn up with a fire engine which they did for a few minutes with lights and sirens and all the guys jumped out and sprayed DH's car with the hose. Quick chat with the children about NEVER lighting matches and off they went! Kids absolutely loved it - there are lots of fire engine themed party plates and cups available. Red and yellow balloons etc - easy!

Top tips I ve found is (for ages 2-5 )

1. appoint one or two adults (a call or text the day before) to help out if they re staying - so have one parent tea and coffee / beer making ( also a and a plate of brownies and bowl of tortillas for the parents that are staying) - (nothing worse than having parents staying for duration of the party and them standing round looking bored...

If summer -

Have a few play stations
eg
sand/water table (emptied actually.... but with all the sand toys n trucks in it ... avoids sand everywhere and on everyone fo the party but kids still like playing in the pit part! )
Theme - a few games are easily adaptable to most themes eg toystory..

.last year we had 'woodys shooting range' - kids had to shoot waterpistols at green army men and whom ever knocked them off the
got a prize! (they all got the water pistols in party bag to take home! actually the waterpistols were from poundland and they were a huge hit .....)

we also had buzz s blast off ... whom ever could do the highest bounce on the trampoline .... (max 2 on tramp at a time .... Dad s in charge of the tramp)

Buzz s 'meteor' treasure hunt (foil wrapped chocs hidden in the garden)

Jessy s round up - musical statues to toy story music (from disney album)

Pin the tail on REX (the dinosaur)

Disposable plates cups and tablecloth - you can just swipe the whole table contents into the recycle bin when they leave....

face painting - with a selection of characters (get a book to show you how it s so easy)

Finally cupcakes - iced with butter cream (diff colours depending on theme ... and a lolly stuck out of the top - these were so simple and a huge hit with kids - easily made and great party bag filler!

Ice cream cake - crushed biscuits (bourbon for choc base is great) as a base - mix with melted butter ) - put into cheese cake tin with removable sides) then soften a couple of block s of ice cream - add in choc chips if wanted or chopped strawberries ...... spread on top of biscuit base freeze - take out of freezer 10 mins before serving - cover with mini smarties or choc flakes - add candles and voila - (be sure and make this big enough as on a hot day parents and kids will want some it s a humongous hit !!!)

watching this one - most of the parties we've been to have been at the local gym's soft play. I think the one that was most successful was a church hall. The entertainer had got loads and loads of the long squeaky balloons that fly about the room, and had a horde of preschoolers chasing them for half an hour. Got rid of a lot of energy. He finished off with modelling balloons too, and rather amusingly made little balloon swords (was a pirate party) which the boys loved (though the one or two sibling girls there were rather about it all!)

Schlumberger what an excellent idea. I would love our local FB to do that, perhaps I should bear this in mind! Esp the free car wash! did you have to donate something to their funds?

If a child wins a prize in a party game, put it in their party bag to go home. Saves them running around with sweets/toys which get lost/broken/stolen.

Getting the adults in on the Hokey-Cokey saves many bumped heads

Have fairy cakes for the party bags to save having to rush off to cut up the proper birthday cake.

Nominate a friend/grandparent as photographer. Lets you get on with everything and not have to faff about making sure you take photos.

Balloons. Lots and lots of balloons. Bubbles too, though only really if you're outside.

Source plain smallish, shallow cardboard boxes which the children can decorate, They can then be used to serve individual party teas in. Have them put their names on the boxes that way you can cater easily for any allergies you have been informed of.

Lay on a big platter of sandwiches for any adults who are staying.

90 mins maximum at this age group. 8 kids maximum.
We have a 3rd b-day coming up?..planning to have it outside in garden. 11-12.30pm ? find that 3yr olds have more energy in the morning and it stops them asking constantly about when the party is going to be and also for other mums/dads coming, doesn?t interrupt the whole day.
Have hired a bouncy castle (if it rains, you don?t pay!) only £50 ? cheaper than paying for kids to go to a softplay.
Having a ?playdoh? table set up and a ?craft? table set up ? both outside for those that want to colour/stick/tip glitter out
Balloons ? at least 10 per child! (blown up before they arrive)
Bubbles for all
Water pistols
Pass the parcel game ? with treat hidden in each layer?
Cut out sarnies with dino/star/gingerbread cutters ? easy
Skittles ? just used empty plastic bottles
I like to make cakes myself, even if they?re not very successful (!), but this year DD is asking for a ?character? cake?so will buy her a Hello kitty (or some such thing) and then bake a sponge for the adults?
Instead of party bags, we do a lucky dip ? each child gets to choose a wrapped present for themselves on the way out from a big tub. Agree it works out cheaper to give them one nice gift (last yr we bought everyone a Mr Men book) ? worked out £3 each, cheaper than filling up those plastic bags with tat that breaks immediately!
Do NOT let child open gits when others are still there! (hahahah)
I will be ruthlessly stealing Gooseyloosey?s beautiful idea once my DD is old enough!

Ive done all sorts of parties ...thats why im grey and my heads fried ....if your doing a party at home it is nice to let the children pick what they like but be prepared for the child that doesnt like anything except swiss roll ,plated up is easier but to be frank it takes them less time to eat it and if you make jugs of juice rather than fizzy ,trust me it makes a huuuuuuuuuge difference.

The best idea ive had is to bake my home made cake and buy plastic characters of whoever the birthday child likes and sticking them on top .....this means no need for fancy icing and the birthday child keeps the character.

It WILL without doubt be the longest 2 hours of your year but youll be daft enough to do it again next year .

Yy great idea re plastic characters for cake.

I just remembered another - don't waste money each year on paper plates and cups that just get manky - buy a load of plastic ones from Ikea and reuse. A lot cheaper and less hassle. Did this for DD's 6th party but wich I had done it for DS1's 3rd!!

Make up a few extra party bags. That way surprise little brothers, cousins and sisters who turn up unexpectedly feel welcome and avoids tears.

I used wooden decorations on a tray of brownies last year - very simple to do, looked good, went down v well, no sickly icing.

Wonder whether I can do that again this year?

We took a group of 5 year olds who wanted to do something 'grown up' to a pottery workshop!

It was great fun and they got to throw their own pot and then choose a ceramic to paint and they could take it home. Was bargainous and a nice non-stressy and fun way to spend the day.

Also no need for party bags etc as they all had something to take home to remember their day!

Save up your old carrier bags. Give one to each child 15 minutes before home time and tell them they can have a party bag if they pick up some rubbish. Put a few buckets around the hall so that half full cups can be emptied into them.

To make a Barbie type cake, first buy a cheap tarty doll. Then rip its legs off. Very cathartic. Make three layers of Victoria sponge cake and sandwich them together with butter icing. Make a hole in the middle and stick the doll in. Carve a skirt out of the cake. Cover in butter icing or similar and sprinkle with edible glitter. Warning: she will look drunk lean to the side if the butter icing melts.

Pretty party 'bags' - a helium filled balloon, each weighted down with a flump or similar oblong sweet. The balloons look really pretty all set out on a table and it's amazing how excited kids get over helium balloons.

Also, serve birthday cake as dessert. Offer cake to adults too. Never give out pieces to take home.

I also do the 'lucky dip' pass the parcel - you could pass round something suiting the theme of the party -eg fairy wand.

Of course you have to play Teddy's Pants. But you all know that by now......

I pretty much do what suepurblybuilt does with one addition.

I set up a separate small table with colouring stuff, stickers, etc for kids to take a break. Some kids really enjoy this at first, as an ice breaker and it also serves as a quieter place for a break from the madness for those who need it.

I second all the people saying Book People for books for party bags.

Entertainers can be boring even for kids if there are too many parties with them. Try to do something that isn't the same as every other party your child's been invited to recently.

Oh and dancing is great too - and the parents like to join in!

we've had many parties over the last few years, the kids' 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th 's

we hired bouncy castles that came with rain covers, and lots of plastic cups
my sister made the birthday cake, a massive ballgown-shaped sponge around a barbie doll; have the music cd/ ipod ready to roll so you aren't fumbling when they're all assembled for statues or bumps.

pass the parcel - just do one layer per child or everyone will get bored
if you have time/energy/funds have 2 parcels which travel round the circle in opposite directions

try and make sure each kid wins something
a pinyata is fun for something a bit different

a friend did a crazy hat theme, or cowboy hat theme, bit easier and cheaper than full fancy dress and fun for the adults too;

instead of hide and seek, hide a toy/ toys then have a treasure hunt, if kids a bit older write crypticky-clues... not too difficult but hard enough to keep them busy while you down a big glass of vino :-)

Not too many kids
Keep it simple
Let them just play for a bit if they want to
Kids don't care how much you spend on the party, so dont spend a fortune!

Give each child a bowl of jelly and a straw, set a timer, whoever slurps the bowl of jelly first wins. A timeless classic!

Do your own party at home or hire a hall and Make sure you offer hot drinks, soft drinks, nibbles and a glass of wine on hand for the parents who need to stay !

One of our best parties involved dh acting out the story of The Gruffalo in the garden. Our kids had great fun setting up all the props before hand (dressed a toy dog up as a fox, made a pond, log pile, etc), and then at the party the kids trailed round with dh reading out the book. Was such a hit they had to do the Gruffalo's Child too. Works with any great book!

for DD last party i bought cheap white t shirts from asda and fabric pens and this was the activity and they took them home as party gifts along with cake and any wee prizes they won.

with DS i had 2 craft tables 1 with colouring things and 1 with fairy cakes, icing and sprinkles to decorate.

Also if doing pass the parcel i put a wee thing in each layer eg bag of haribo jellies or an other small gift so that the majority get a wee something.

Although i do get uber stressed at the partys and also find outsourcing to another venue that does it all or my plan for next year is to give each child a birthday day out of there choice within reason

Instead of a party bag have a box filled with tubes of smarties and other sweets and children get to stick their hand in at the end as a lucky dip.

Write down a list of who brought what present as your child unwraps them (helps if they don't actually open them at the party) - that way you know who to thank for what.

Have a cake for singing and another already cut for party bags (or cupcakes).

The old games are the best- statues, bumps, pass the parcel.

Take a group picture and print it out to use as a thank you card.

Always do extra food and have a spare party bag or two for siblings who end up staying whether you wanted them to or not.