2 yr old

shevfiesty

Hi all,

My son is going to be 2 April 4th and i want to give him his first 'proper' birthday_party_ party. I live in North London and the only place i can find to suit 1 and 2 yr olds is Topsy Turvy- Brent Cross. This place is really expensive and costs £14.95 PER CHILD:( , and £1.50 PER ADULT that attends. I want to invite 20 children.

I really wanted to have it here but the prices are ridiculous for 1hr and 45mins.
I am trying to find somewhere else cheaper (my place is not an option- way too small) and the only place i would think is 'McDonalds.'
STUPID QUESTION, but do you think he's too young for a McDonalds Party- is it appropiate for 2 yr olds?

Any advice or ideas would be much appricated. Thank you x

poppet

Why not hire a hall and hold the part there, doing the food and entertainment yourself - in the same way you would host a party at your own home, just in a hired hall.

Church halls, school halls, playschools, room at the back of a pub, im sure you would be able to find something.

poppet

Try this list of halls for hire in north london
http://www.familiesonline.co.uk/article/articleview/2889/1/79

sethsgran

I agree go for a diy at a hall. You could borrow bikes etc for them to play on and have a play session with musical instruments. For my grandsons, 3, a few weeks ago we collected the small plastic bottles from Asda smart price bottled water, about 85p for 6. Then I had stickers, glitter, shiny stuff etc. They all sat at a table with mums/dads/grandads helping from behind. Stickers were put on the bottles then sparkly stuff plus rice, pasta, beans etc. We then used permanent markers for adults to put their names on. After another activity we came back to them and I did a music session, wheels on the bus etc using the shakers ofcourse, they loved having these to take home. I also did storytime using a favourite story of my grandsons. I completely forgot that I had planned to read Going on a Bear Hunt. My plan was to take them round the hall doing the actions as they went on a bear hunt and I would read to them in different destinations around the building. We had from tiny to 5yr olds, about 20 children, and they loved it also parents had a great time and no one wanted to go home. We hired a bouncy castle for children under 12yrs and it cost us £50, well worth the money. In between all my activities they went back to the castle each time. Admittedly I am used to working with pre school age so that bit was easy but you will probably have friends who can take care of different activities. I also had a HUGE piece of fabric so we used it for the Parachute game with soft balls and balloons on top and children running under it as it went up in the air. Hope my essay helps you out. Don't go for an expensive organized party it is so much fun and cheaper looking at your childs likes and basing a party round what they like doing.

shevfiesty

Thank you for your suggestions. I think i will go for hiring somewhere and doing entertainment ourselves.

Sethsgran... your party sounded like so much fun.
I'll c what i can do for my lil'un x

sethsgran

What kind of things does he like doing, painting singing etc?? Also list those adults who will be there and look at their strengths then ask them to do certain areas. A friend of my daughters is a photographer and she was bringing 2 little ones with her. She was asked to get photographs of the party as we knew we would be too busy, she used my daughters camera so that we could then quickly go through them. One of the dads coming is good at shaping balloons so for a quiet time before food he sat on the floor with the children and shaped balloons, my grandson got the balloon party hat. Look for adults strengths and use them.
Let us know what your little one likes and we may have some party ideas for you.

jackomdj

We are doing a party at home for DD next Sat, she will be 2. Only 9 children so not too bad.

I have bought hats from a craft shop & we have peppa stickers to decorate. I am making some cup cakes & putting pink butter icing ontop, the LO's can decorate to make peppa faces (with a bit of help from parents). Pass the parcel. Then some dancing.

We went to a party in a room & the children loved one of the parachute (sp?) & spent ages playing (& came back to it).

Take some of your own toys if there is not much in the room - children love to vary their activities, even in a party situation.

HTH
Nicky

sethsgran

For the parachute game for tiny children you can get away with using a flat king size sheet rather than buying fabric to make one. Our children certainly didn't notice that the fabric was plain white. Just make sure you wash the sheet before LOL

rainmac

A hall sounds like a great idea. Lots of space to run around! I would suggest using food boxes or bags rather than doing a buffet to cut down on food wastage, children eat very little at parties.

Pass the parcel is a good game for 2 year olds, with a few parents around to help.

You could have a colouring corner for any children who want to do something quiet. There are loads of websites offering free colouring pages or you could take a roll of paper and stick long strips to the floor.

Poundland is a good shop for basic tableware and stationery items that you could use as party bag items.

Have lots of fun!

Nixxx

Try the below in north london as an alternative

http://www.clowntown.co.uk/

HeidiBoo_2

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