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a child's party can be fun, providing you plan it well
and don't leave things until the last minute. However,
for some busy parents, the date approaches with an unforeseen
speed and before you know it you've got to spring into
action and rustle something together.
This
page has been designed to help you consider the various
aspects of organising your child's party. We have also
put some useful links down the left hand side to help
make life even easier.
Remember:
This is your community website. If you have any good
ideas for party games, themes, food, etc. We would love
to hear from you. (email info@thewestdraytondirectory.co.uk)
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When?
The first thing to decide is when. Obviously, this will
very much depend on the date of your child's birthday,
but certain things may affect your timing and planning
around day of the week and time of day. Think about
the age of the children who will be invited. Will they
be at school during the day? Will the party be during
the school holidays? If it is, make sure you get invitations
out before they break up and try to get responses back
beforehand too. If the party is going to take a fair
amount of organising, are you going to have time during
the week or would it be less stressful to have it at
the weekend?
Where?
The choice is yours!
Indoors or Outdoors?
For younger children the preference is usually to have
the party at home-just remember, this will place restrictions
on how many you can reasonably invite (and don't forget
that parents take up space too); it's often more difficult
to wind the party up by a certain time as parents and
children often malinger beyond the planned finish time;
you will almost certainly have a fair amount of mess
to clear up afterwards and, dare I say it, damage too
if children have managed to hive off into various rooms
with food, the dreaded felt tip pens, etc. However,
on the upside, there aren't the usual costs associated
with hiring a venue, nor the shipping about of food,
decorations, etc and of course, you can flake out afterwards
and clear up at your leisure.
On
the other hand, if this all sounds rather unappealing
or the children are older, you might want to consider
at least hiring a hall or outdoor venue instead. Most
halls are fairly inexpensive to hire. Do check on how
many the hall will allow, who's responsible for the
clearing up and if there are any restrictions on things
such as playing music or having disco lights, etc.
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Another
option is to go the ready made party route. There
are a number of venues offering party packages
with different themes and services. Many include
invitations, party bags and entertainment.
Who?
Who are you going to invite? Will it be a good
mix of both boys and girls? Will the ages be pretty
much the same or very mixed? How many will there
be? Answering these questions will not only influence
the type of party you go for, but will almost
certainly help you decide where you're going to
have it.
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Checklist of other things to consider
Invitations-Don't
forget to buy or make them and get them out in plenty
of time. It's often worth chasing up for responses,
particularly when you add up the cost of catering, party
bags, prizes, etc. Also, you don't want the worry of
"will anyone turn up to my child's party?"
Make a point of highlighting the party start time and
duration - there's always someone who gets it wrong.
You want them there on the dot.
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Will
the party have a theme? This could be as
simple as providing matching tableware and decorations,
right through to children dressing up and providing
themed games and activities.
Food-Will
you provide the food? Or will the hall, venue or an
outside caterer be doing it for you?
Entertainment-You've
got to keep them amused! This might mean bringing in
a professional entertainer (good ones get booked up
well in advance, so definitely do not leave this until
the last minute); organising plenty of varied party
games, hiring a disco. This probably won't be something
to worry about if you have chosen a venue offering a
party package or theme.
Games-Some
things you DON'T want to do at kids parties:
" Games which involve long periods of sitting around
" Games where some children are put "out"
after a minute, and have to spend the rest of the time
sitting around, getting bored, and watching other kids
enjoy themselves.
" Too many games with no gaps in between
Follow these three simple rules, and you'll find it
much easier to deal with the "but I don't wanna
play" brigade at children's birthday parties. Speaking
of which, there may come a time where you have to put
your foot down and insist that everyone joins in: they'll
thank you for it in the end. Try, however, to be sensitive
to the needs of the children at the party. If someone
really doesn't want to play for some reason, don't force
them.
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Keeping
the kids all in one group really will make your
job a lot easier. To do this effectively you need
to take a few phrases out of your vocabulary for
the duration of the party. Forget about saying
"who would like to play?" or "shall
we?" Get into the habit of being a bit more
direct, with phrases like "right kids; gather
round, we are going to..." Take control -
you are the boss!
The
type of games you choose doesn't matter too much
as long as you don't break the rules mentioned
at the beginning of this section. The old classics
such as musical chairs, pass the parcel etc still
go down well, but be as inventive as you like.
Whatever you do, though, don't make the prize
something edible, or when it's time to eat, they
won't have an appetite. Food prizes will also
distract the child when you're trying to play
theme games, and make them less interested in
the goodie-bag you give them when they leave.
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Prizes-If
you're going to play a number of games, it's usually expected
that there will be prizes given out to the winners. Try
to ensure that every child wins something, even if it
means having joint winners. If you've got a variety of
ages or mix of boys and girls, bear this in mind when
choosing prizes. Most children just like being acknowledged
as being a winner, so making up some winner's medals or
badges can often serve just as well as spending a fortune
on different bits and pieces.
Themes
& Decorations-It might be a good
idea to have a theme, even if it's only "Pink or
Blue". The choices are endless: from Barbie to
Batman, Fairies and Pirates. Once you've decided on
the theme, try to ensure that the decorations, balloons,
party bags, cake, etc all fit the theme. If you're going
to do the decorations yourself, schedule in time for
this, particularly balloon blowing and remember if you're
hiring a hall, you will need to book it for that extended
time beforehand. Another option is to have someone come
in and decorate the hall or venue while you get on with
other things.
Party
Bags-In my experience, there is definately
an expectation for these to be given out at the end
of the party. I have seen them contain all sorts of
things from pencils and erasers, sweets, bouncy balls
and of course the obligatory piece of cake.
Don't
Forget the Cake & Candles (and something to light
them with)!!!
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