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Birthday parties

672 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  boatbaby 
#1 ·
My boys are turning 8 this summer and would really like a birthday party. We've never had a big party before (usually it's just family), so I'm trying to come up with ideas. I have a few questions that I thought I'd throw out to see what other people do or like to see at birthday parties. We'd be inviting families to the party, so there would be a large variety of ages attending.

What time of day?

A meal or would snacks (healthy, of course) be ok?

What kind of things do kids do at birthday parties? I'm not the kind of mom to stand up in front of everyone and tell kids where to go and how to do things... would it be ok if we set up stations? The boys want a theme party(insects) so I was thinking about having two crafts, a sandbox for a "bug hunt", magnifying glasses and mounted insects to look at, and maybe we'll make some antennae for the kids to wear. Everything would be optional, of course, and we would let people know what there was to do. I was also thinking of hiring a girl from our home school group to help out.

As an adult attending a child's birthday party, is there anything that would make you more comfortable?

Oh, and how much notice do I need to give people for saving the date?

Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. TIA!
 
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#2 ·
I recently threw a birthday party for my 8yo. He wanted a rock music theme, so that's what we did. He invited 11 kids and 7 of them showed up. This made a total of 11 kids (7 guests and my 4 kids); this seemed like plenty!

We sent the invites out 2 weeks in advance and asked for RSVPs 3 days before the party. We didn't get a single response until 2 days before the party
DS's party was on a Saturday from 12-3pm. We fed the kids lunch right away after they arrived and had cake shortly before they left.

We didn't have too many activities planned beforehand. When the kids arrived I used colored hairspray to give them funky rock 'n roll hair. Before lunch, the kids explored the house and played with toys. After lunch was a free-for-all. DS took some of the kids on an adventure through our back woods while other kids hung out and played with toys. We also set up Rock Band (the video game) and let the kids take turns playing. At about 2pm we gathered the kids together again to open presents, sing Happy Birthday, and eat cake. We ended with a (homemade) pinata- luckily it didn't rain so we were able to do the pinata outside.

It was louder than I expected (louder than when we have 15 kids over for playgroup), and there was lots of potty talk. Most of the kids were really well behaved, but there were a couple who enjoyed burping and being just a little rude
All in all it was a good time though.
 
#3 ·
What time of day? 2-4 pm is my favorite time. Time for you to get things set up and not stressed, the middle of the afternoon so you don't have to feed kids a meal (which is a lot more work). No more than 2 hours though, or you'll all hit overload.

A meal or would snacks (healthy, of course) be ok? See above. Unless it's people your close with or the meal is part of the activities, I find snacks easier -- usually something simple like fruit, crackers and juice.

would it be ok if we set up stations? That's a great idea.

maybe we'll make some antennae for the kids to wear. Set up a craft table so the kids make their OWN antennae!

Oh, and how much notice do I need to give people for saving the date? 2-3 weeks. I try to give 3, but sometimes it's 2, and people are OK with that.

I find that parties work best if there is a designated "flow" to them. So a schedule of sorts - it can be pretty loose, but if there's a 'plan' then things work better. So, it could be:

2-2:30 guests arrive, have balloons, other party stuff available for play
2:30-3:15 stations - have you and/or your helpers rotate among the stations to help the kids out. Think realistically about how long things will take. Kids are pretty good at entertaining themselves, but there should be a variety of things to do.
3:15-3:40 round kids up, sing happy birthday, eat cake (do presents)
3:45 + "closing" activity

6-10 kids makes a nice sized party. Don't feel you have to invite everyone.

If it's a mixed age group, expect to spend a lot of time facilitating interactions with kids, or getting them involved in things.
 
#4 ·
Just a quick thought...
My DS has a summer birthday and we now always do dinnertime parties. It's just too hot during the day (for an outdoor party) to be comfortable for everyone since usually somebody is pregnant or has a baby sibling or what have you. And Our cake starts melting or the strawberries draw in every fly within 2 miles. You get the idea.

We do an outside free for all 5 or 5:30pm until the last kid drops kind of deal and offer beer and wine to the grown ups. Self serve food + cake and ice cream. It's nice when the grown ups can kick back a little while the kids run around and usually catching fireflies becomes an default activity.

Have fun!
 
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