things that I've learned about kids' birthday parties

[houseelf]

We just threw ds's fifth birthday party. (5!) I haven't been doing this long, but I thought it might be fun to share ideas about what works and what doesn't work for kiddy parties.

-The first birthday party we threw was in our smallish home. I had kids running around getting into drawers and the like. I prepared for this event for two days and the house was destoyed in 45 minutes. Since this time we have rented out an indoor playland every year and have spent the same amount of money with 100% less stress. (Slacker mom par excellence, no?)

-In the future I will include the following advisory "Please feel free to drop your child and any siblings off... if they are four an older" on the invitation. Last night we had a three year old sibling of an invitee who needed assistance going potty and eating so it made it difficult for DH and I to keep an eye on the whole group.

-We always ask "no gifts please" just because we want ds to be focused on his enjoying his friends, social ettiquette, and to take some of the pressure off the day. Most people tend to bring a small gift anyway.

-I finally realized that it doesn't matter if the cake, napkins, and plates coordinate. We had a veggie tales cake, Rescue hero invitations, and batman plates. I also didn't spend money on the unnecessaries like a table cloth or balloons. The kids devored the cake and went happily on their way.

What other tips do you all have?

Kelly

[DCJenn]

When you drop off a group of 8th grade girls at the movie theater, they WILL go see the R-Rated movie. (That would be American Gigolo instead of The Electric Horseman)

Jenn

Just buy the cake. You will need to be well rested for the party, and staying up til 2 am making sure piglet is perfect or spongebob's dots are in the right place doesn't matter.

Do not bother with food for the kids. If other parents are there, go for some special things like mini crab cakes and really good cheese. The kids just want the cake and ice cream anyway.

Do not give prizes for games in the preschool set. they do not understand and will cry. If you do goodie bags, make sure everything is IDENTICAL.

Do not plan on having an outdoor event. No matter what the forcast, it will rain or be too hot.

If you can con a friend or relative into helping, grab them. They can then take the pics or handle thekids while you take pics.

Buy 2 or 3 disposable cameras and let the kids take pictures. It is surprising what they focus on and we have gotten some stunning shots of eyes, the sofa cushions, and feet that would fetch a nice sum of someone famous had done them.

Bring a couple containers of baby wipes.

If you are serving ice cream, scoop it the day before and put each scoop in a cupcake liner and put back in the freezer on a cookie sheet.

Playparks or some arrangement where you pay someone else to set-up and clean-up are really nice! I agree completely. Chuck E. Cheese, however, is scary. We went there for the first time yesterday for a party. Whew.

Parents will be forever grateful if you have few or no candies in the gift bag. No need for more sugar once kids are all hopped up on cake ice cream and juice.

Playgrounds are a great away from home place for a party. (In milder months). Scope them out ahead of time to see how busy they get but it's a good bet for a fun place to play, picnic tables, and easier clean-up (squirrels like cake!).

I love the idea of disposable cameras. I think the perspective of photos taken by DD are rather interesting.

[SueC]

We pretty much always have adult beverages for the grown-ups (even if the party is at 2pm ). 30 kids running around one floor of our 1500sq ft. house can be a bit much for anybody to take completely sober!

Don't put a lot of useless crap in the goodie bags. A couple of platic reptiles or dinasours and some candy will suffice.

Simple parties can be fun--for our 5 year old's party this year, I provided a craft activity and the kids played pin the tail on the donkey and had a great time!

Keep an eye on time and keep the party going at a nice clip. I went to a birthday party for a little girl last year which lasted probably 4 hours!!! I didn't think the darn thing was ever going to be over!

[Vanquisher]

There's no need to invite the whole class or neighborhood. Just a few friends makes the party go off smoothly and takes the stress level down a hundred notches.

For a 10-year old girl party ideas:

A movie party - show a movie (we did this for me 7 year old, and it was so easy and relaxing)
A cooking party - a girlfriend of mine did this and it was a huge hit
A spa/salon party - pedicures, homemade face masks, the girls can take turns, and makeup doesn't need to be involved, you can do clear polish.

http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/

This site is a wealth of info. Hope it isn't considered spam. Lots of moms have posted their party ideas and what they did to make their parties successful. A really useful tool.