Kids Parties

OPH Good Housekeeping

As you know kids parties can cause headaches. Arguments about being bored are usually the biggest cause of the headaches. Below are some useful planning ideas and tips which might help you out in your planning efforts.

Keep up to date

If you are organizing a themed party for your children, perhaps based on the latest comic book hero or cartoon character, ask your children who they like at the moment, as kid’s tastes can change all the time.

The themed party

Once you have your finger on the pulse regarding which children’s films, cartoons or programmes are “in at the moment” you can set about basing the party on their favoured subject.

You can go all the way and have decorations, fancy dress outfits, and music based on the chosen theme, I knew a person who had a batman themed party and recreated the bat cave in their home. I’m not suggesting you go that far, but try and be as creative as you can.

Other party themes which are popular with kids are:

Treasure hunt Get into the swing of things by having costumes, jewellery, treasure maps, puzzles. This kind of party is great fun for children and can keep them occupied for hours. You can let your imagination go wild, basically, with this kind of party anything related to pirate stories or Treasure Island goes.

Magic parties This is always good fun at kids parties. Hire a magician for the afternoon, and hey presto the magic can begin. Kids are usually fascinated by magic and marvel at how the rabbit managed to fit inside the hat, or at the magician retrieving all those handkerchiefs out of his sleeve. You could even hire the magician so they give the children an insight into the tricks of the trade.

Fancy dress Why not have a fancy dress party, either get the children to come to the party in their own fancy dress outfits or just hire a whole lot of wigs, jewellery and funny clothing and props, and let the children have fun dressing up in different outfits.

We can all remember all those hours of fun we had dressing up. This type a party is timeless. Obviously caution will have to be taken, dependant on the ages of the children as the older ones may find this kind of party “uncool”.

You can be as imaginative as you like with this, it doesn’t just have to be fun for the kids, and you can enjoy yourselves too.

Ask first

Ask your kids whether they want a party before you plan one. Although many love parties, some of the older ones may not like the idea. There is nothing worse than a petulant teenager at a party, they’ll make everyone suffer.

Leave plenty of time

Make sure you plan the party a good 3 weeks in advance, as their will be a lot of organizing to do, for example writing the guest list; perhaps a venue; ordering supplies and decorations; menu planning; and choosing which games to play.

Take into account the ages of the children

Before planning the party an important consideration to take into account is the ages of the children as some parties will be more appropriate for some age groups than others.

Make a checklist

Before you do anything, sit down and make a check list of what you need for the party and in what quantity. This will help you keep track of what you have ordered or bought and what you still need to get. If you do this you won’t have any nasty surprises on the day, like forgetting the cake.

Budget

Once you have decided all the things you need for the party, perhaps you should think about drawing up a budget. This will help you keep control of your spending, as costs for kid’s parties can start to spiral out of control if not kept in check.

Have party favours

A nice touch at a party is to give the kids party favours when they arrive. They don’t have to be anything too expensive, just a nice memento for them to take away. If you are having a themed party, the favours can correspond with that theme, for example if you’re having a pirate party you can give the kids a bag of gold coins each.

More kids parties hints and tips are being added all the time, so don’t forget to click on and check them out.

Thanks for checking out our OPH Good Housekeeping kids parties page. Why not check out our barbecue pages if you are planning a barbecue?

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