Tell Disney Party your top tips on how to create the best children’s parties - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

Is it party planning time? Is one of your DC’s birthdays coming up? Perhaps there is a baby shower on the horizon or maybe you’re throwing a tea party or simply hosting a BBQ? Whatever the event, Disney Party can help you create the perfect Disney themed celebration and want to know your top tips on how you create/plan the best parties.

Here’s what Disney have to say about Disney Party:
"Disney Party is the one-stop shop for all things needed to create the perfect party. The site provides free and easy scheduling tools and of course, the extensive party shop with everything from plates and napkins to banners and balloons. There are party game ideas, free invitations, a free party planning service and some delicious recipes which are great for little ones. Visit Disney Party and let us know what you think via Instagram using #DisneyParty"

Do you start planning months in advance or is improvisation key? Do you or don’t you open presents with the party guests? How do you go about choosing the right date? Party rings, finger sandwiches or cheese and pineapple sticks…what’s your go-to party food? Is it better to hire a venue or host it in your home? Do you have a schedule for the day or simply go with the flow?

Whatever your tips are to create the best party, Disney Party want to hear them. Share it on the thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw with a chance of winning a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

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I have 2 summer babies but have learnt that you can't rely on the weather. Book a venue and make sure that you enlist the help of a couple of reliable friends to help decorate it.

We are quite traditional and enjoy party games and a bit of a boogie. Food is quick and easy and I always make sure I ask if anyone has allergies before.

Pressies are opened with family.

an hour of playtime food them games keep food simple children love food that they can pick at x

Jelly and ice cream! Party bags to hand out to signal that the party's over ;)

We plan the kids parties about 6weeks in advance - we have a large garden and both D 7 and H4 had birthdays at home and in the garden this year:

1. pick a theme and build the party around it - D aged 7 loves Lego so we did a lego themed party - I scoured local charity shops and car booties for as many pieces of lego as possible to use in games for the day and to have play stations where they have time to sit and play and build

1. Schedule - we actually had a party schedule - it kept things moving

1. Games - we played pass the parcel and in between each layer was a different lego figure, we also played a game where each person had a bag of lego and a card and had 1 minute to build what was on the card and everyone else had to guess it, the final game was pin the lego piece on dinosaur ( I drew a giant dinosaur on the back of some lining paper and drew a lego square in the centre of it - we then cut out some lego shapes and each child wrote their name on their shape andd took it in turns to be blind folded and try to pin the shape to the centre :)

Food - we kept the food really simple - cheese pizza, ham sandwiches, fresh fruit and marshmallow skewers and vanilla and chocolate fairy cakes - we also had snack bags of crisps, sultanas and individually wrapped chocolate bars. We planned on 2 half sandwiches per child and 2 slices of pizza per child plus 2 fruit skewers and one cake - I didnt want to spend ages preparing the food and we really didnt want to be living off left over party food and th individually wrapped stuff we knew we could use for lunch boxes if it didnt go - we still ended up with about half a pizza and few sandwiches left but the fairy cakes and fruit skewers went (also had a bunch of the wrapped stuff too)

Cake - my sister made a really simple square lego cake using a tin we got on ebay and a basic sponge recipe. we just cvered it in red roll out icing and I put a happy birthday ribbon around it

Party bags - I ordered some mini colouring pencils packs from amazon and mini colouring books, some lego stickers and put in a lolly and mini pack of haribo sweets in each bag plus a slice of the birthday cake

D loved his party, it was realtively easy to organise and do and worked out at under £5 per child to attend which was fine.

start planning months in advance, choose the theme and buy things each month to help with costs, goody bag toys, paper plates, theme items. Food always plain and simple for us

Club in with another mum! It means that you can invite the whole class and throw a much better party!
We gave books away instead of party bags - the Mr Men / Little Miss books were a huge hit!
Don't over do it on the sarnies - they never get eaten!

We've tried parties at home and hiring venues. Both are great as long as you keep things simple. The kids are happy as long as there's lots of food, party bags, cakes and games.

The only time we did something a bit different was when DS3 was obsessed with fire engines and we hired him a converted disco fire engine, which drove him and his friends to the park and they got to fire the hoses. They all got their own helmets to keep as well. We manged to find fire engine invitations, plates etc and we made our own fire engine cake (we used about 4 bottles of red food colouring - I'm sure all the kids must have been hyper for days!!!!)

after having my daughter's party at home I would say that all parties from now on will be at a venue...the clean up before and after the party plus the stress of it all was way too much!

food - keep it simple, most kids are way too excited to be bothering to sit down eating loads, plus they're really not bothered about the massive variety you've gone to the effort of having - all they want are the crisps and biscuits after having one bite of something semi healthy!

i stressed myself out making sure we had the components to play lots of different games and i never got to enjoy/appreciate the party or even get to take a step back and see how much my child was enjoying it...a venue where they can simply run about/play chasing games/jump about on a bouncy castle is definitely the way forward for me from now on!

I have always found it less stressful to book a venue. My two love all the traditional games. Presents are always left to unwrap at home, so they can take their time and write down who gave them what so they can thank properly.

I hire a church hall and a bouncy castle and let the kids run about and enjoy themselves. We have a few basic games like musical statues, musical chairs and pass the parcel. I make a good selection of finger foods - cocktail sausages, crisps, sandwiches and some junk food. Then we cut the cake and hand the party bags out when they leave. Being out of the house has always been pretty stress free.
I haven't done a themed party though. I've bought plain plates and cups etc. from Poundland. A themed party does sound fun and might be an idea for future parties.

Talking and planing with your child :)

we hire out a local council hall, hire bouncy castle and face painters, buffet no need to limit numbers then!

We never open presents until guests have left - especially with younger children. I always try to have a theme going through the decorations, the party bags, and the food to some extent. Also, two things that are really helpful with food is to make sure that everything is small bite sized pieces, sandwiches included, and add labels to everything, as it helps parents out a lot when watching out for what their children are eating.

Plan well in advance. Have a theme and use Pinterest.
Be firm about number of guests, budget etc.
Include food and plenty of drink.
I'm afraid I'm a bit of a planner, and generally have a timetable of activities which then goes out of the window and the kids end up running around and ignoring all my well-planned activities!

I like to keep it simple, sometimes we have a theme but more often than not its just balloons and streamers like we had as children.

We play traditional party games, but not too many, I find the kids would rather run around together than be forced to sit through endless games.

Party bags are very simple, a few sweets and a piece of cake, no plastic tat.

I will be throwing a Disney themed party for my son in November - we will have bouncy castles and give out mouse ears for the kids to wear. We will be playing Disney music and also be playing games with a Disney twist - instead of musical statues it will be called frozen. I will also be doing a Disney themed buffet with hot diggety dogs, goofys grapes and Minnie's muffin.

Pick a theme, this helps so much with planning everything else.
Write lists - guests, food, games, party bags, music.
Be organised, send invites in advance, have time to chase RSVPS.
Remember it's something to enjoy, it doesn't have to be perfect to be good fun.

I prefer a party at a venue where my son and his guests will be looked after and entertained so I get to enjoy watching him have fun I think I would be stressing if I tried to host it myself! He had a go kart party this year so we had a Disney car theme throughout the invites, cake and party bags. He loved it!

This year my Descendants obsessed daughter wanted a Descendants party. I run a guide unit so I was lucky enough to have use of the hall. We pitched a gazebo indoors so they could watch Descendants on giant bean bags, we had stations set up with
Evie's beauty parlour (hair and nails)
Carlos's doggie design table where they drew their dream pooch
Jays hockey game

Mals spells class (making mocktails)
Ben's crown making table (paper crowns)

We had snacks with cakes decorated with the long live evil design, we had a grape soda fountain and we had sandwiches cut into hearts and apple shapes.

The girls all dressed in Descendants costumes or as belle and we had a fashion show at the end.

My daughter is 7 in February and is now obswsssd with uma from Descendants 2 so I can envisage a Descendants 2 party!
I have allready made her a uma wig from wool so that is one craft we can do!

Party bags are great to signal the end of party

plan ahead but not too far in advance as people don't rsvp until nearer the time.

I like to have an interactive theme where the kids can really get stuck into something and enjoy it - last time we did a cookery party - hard work for me in prepping and planning but really brilliant for the kids and they got to take home all the stuff they baked as part of their goody bags.

Don't fall for thinking parties have to be expensive outings and 'bought'... a 'cinema' party at home with homemade popcorn and hotdogs etc. can be a cheap, fun idea for a children's party, especially if you use a DVD projector, fairy lighting, seating etc. Show a double or triple bill of their favourites. Karaoke parties at home are fun too if you have a machine!

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I am already planning my baby 1st birthday party which will be May 25th 2018! I didn't have a baby shower and not been religious we also haven't planned a christening so instead we will have one big celebration for his first birthday!

Having a big family and a lot of friends I am looking into hiring a venue for the day, I personally love afternoon tea so I was thinking of doing that and my mum is making the cake for my son.

At a work party we had the most amazing magician so I would like to hire him to walk around the tables to do some tricks.