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.

Forgot to add, do not, under any circmsutances, agree to 10 little girls for a sleepover. You will regret it.

Village hall, balloons and a bouncy castle all go down well. Don't organise too many party games - effort required vs benefit received really isn't worth it. Children are creatures of habit. They love to sit around a table, paper plate in front of them, and eat party food. You can chuck in the odd carrot baton, but I wouldn't bother personally. Sandwiches, sausage rolls and crisps are probably all you need. Plus jelly for afters.

Above anything else, please give the parents who stay a cup of tea at least. Believe me, there is little worse than being stuck in a grotty village hall on a cold, wet Sunday afternoon in December - when there are a thousand things you'd rather be doing - and not even getting a cups for the whole miserable 2 hours you are there for. voice of bitter experience

Team up with other friends and hold a "joint" party. They all have the same mates anyway, and it shares the cost and the burden of organising/running the party.

The most stress-free parties I did when mine were that age were the "soft-play" parties, where they could run around like maniacs for an hour (without causing any damage or getting bored), eat some party food (which you don't have to prepare or clear up), then run around some more. Just make sure you have jugs of water on hand to rehydrate sweaty children.

For a summer party, get a tub of pavement chalks and let the blighters guests draw all over the garden.
For an indoor alternative, a roll of liner paper and a big box of crayons should keep them amused for a good while.
Divide the children into arbitrary teams rather than having individual winners of games. Keep shuffling the teams so nobody loses everything.
Memorise a fairy story and get the guests to act it out. Goldilocks works well.
Charity shops often have "children's birthday party" books. Keep an eye out.

When they are little up to five lets say, just hire a bouncy castle and that's all you need. They will jump and jump for the entire two hours except when they need to eat tea.

When they are older, hire an entertainer and share the party with another child from the class, so that you don't have to spend a fortune. My daughter has just had a dance party with two other girlfriends and it was superb. Also don't waste time buying useless silly plastic presents for party bags just buy one thing like a fun soap or an Easter Egg or something.

Don't bother with carrots etc. for birthday tea. They don't eat them. And they don't eat nearly as much food as you prepare.

I always did a very easy treasure hunt, with the most totally obvious clues, but the running screaming round the house and garden bit was the main fun.

You can have one or two teams, but everyone wins 'treasure' at the end.

I used the spend ages making up rhyming clues. I found it quite relaxing.

Tip: don't hide a clue behind the shower curtain or they'll have it ripped down!

Do not waste money on disposable paper plates, cups, bowls, etc. Buy cheapy plastic ones in packs of 6 from Ikea kids' department. You'll need them next year, and the year after, and for siblings... They're so much more cost effective and more environmentally friendly if you don't use the dishwasher.

1 keep it simple
2 venue should be cheap with plenty of room for running around eg your garden, village hall, park, beach, local woods.
3 simple party games eg pass the parcel, musical statues, egg n spoon race, pin the tail/nose/horn on the donkey/dinosaur/unicorn/treasure hunt for out door parties etc.
4 cheap and cheerful prizes eg bubbles, colouring book, playdoh pot etc
5 plenty of balloons blown up for the children to play with
6 lots of party food. Again keep it simple, sandwiches, iced cakes, fruit, crisps, sausages and cheese always goes down well.
7 cut up and eat the cake at the party (it only ends up squashed in the party bag!)
8 keep party bags simple. No cheap tat-its a waste of money and it doesn't get played with! I do one toy (eg small car/crayons/hair clips/play doh/bubbles etc), some sweets such as mini bag of buttons or box of smarties, a gingerbread man(homemade or shop bought) decorated by my dc and a thank you note written by my dc (thanking them for coming and for their present).
9 I always do a token party bag for siblings of guests (usually a bag of buttons and gingerbread man).

And I always always always have the wine in the fridge and cash at the ready so that when its all over and the dc are in bed, I can sit down with a large glass of and order a take away!

For thank you notes, get your chld to write thank you on the back of a mask on the theme of the party...superheroes, animals, fairies.

Top tips from some of the parties I've attended!

1. Have name labels to stick on the children!
2. Decorate large paper party bags is a good sitting down activity
3. Go to the local toy library and see whether they have equipment you can borrow, e.g. ball pits
4. If there is a need to tidy up e.g. balls from ball pit, make it into a game 'now everyone find the red balls'.
5. Bring a puppet and entertain the children with it whilst they are eating tea. 6) Play sleeping lions just before the party lunch/tea and then as you pick children one by one who are moving, send them to wash hands/go and sit at the party table.
6. Real coffee on offer for staying grown-ups and a grandparent available to be solely in charge of making and serving it
7. Spare pair of pants etc. for any little accidents

1. Keep it simple
2. Forget party bags - give wrapped up book (?from book people) everyone likes to receive a wrapped up pressie!
3. Simple food - can't beat hot dogs in finger rolls and ketchup

Love the thank you note mask idea!

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Hiya Starlight - it doesn't deserve that much attention tbh

I know, but if we could just get her arguing in one place until MNHQ wake up........

Not going to work Starlight - you know what these bridge dwellers are like.

Oh - and (trip trap) post reported.