Childrens b/day parties OS or not?

thriftmonster

I did one at home where each kid was given a HM gingerbread man and then I put bowls of icing and jelly tots, sprinkles etc on the table. They all got to decorate which took about half an hour and it became their going home pressie as well. I just put loads of newspaper under the table.

I think so many parties now are at playcentres, cinema, bowling etc that for primary school kids it can be quite a novelty to play traditional party games so oyu have the surprise factor on your side. And I've never had the house wrecked......yet!

Spendless

I've considered it at home or in a hall before, but I have 2 medium sized rooms rather than one large one, so limited space and my own son is very boisterous already without adding extra like minded little boys to it. Both my kids have March birthdays, sons early March so spilling out into the garden isn't an option.

I looked into the cost of the village hall but they want £12 an hour and don't do half hours so that would be £24 before I added on food and whilst that wouldn't have to cost a lot. I'd also have to add on cost of entertainer or bouncy castle. A friend who does bouncy castles charges £40 for the hire.

It's why I've stuck to pub play areas. sons birthday party is £5.99 a head and a minimum of 8 kids, (working out to £52), and includes birthday cake, invites and goody bag for each guest.

The main advantage I can see of a hall is you can invite more people for little or no extra cost.

Sarahsaver

£20 is what i usually spend for food ans stuff for pass the parcel/goody bags. To fill 2 hours is a doddle. Arrive at 4, play for a bit, watch the birthday girl/boy open presents. When they have all arrived play games, which can be adjusted to be age appropriate, then have tea at 5.
My usual menu (kids favourites no point giving them stuff they dont like!)
jam sandwiches (one friend of ds had a milk allergy)
one other sandwich like marmite or dairy free choc spread.
Jaffa cakes
breadsticks
hoummous
carrots cut into sticks
economy crisps
something posh like olives/smoked salmon (the economy salmon trimmings)
Cake. This year ds1 is having a chocolate fudge cake covered in smarties. I will provide a spare cake as OH doesnt like chocolate cake and if ds's friend with the allergy comes he cant eat chocolate cos of the milk allergy.
I also get bags or tubs of sweets from poundland, and often get the buns from there, because it saves time and they come with a free storage box!
Not entirely healthy but it is what kids want. I have lemonade and orange juice (again the economy stuff) but not cola because i never give my kids cola in the afternoon and many people dont like their kids having it anyway.
Plastic cups wrapped with tissue paper are posher looking and cheaper than party bags.

I heard that the average spend on a kids party is £200. IMHO that is shocking. Even if I could afford that I would not do it.

DS is 6 on Thursday:)

loopylass

i have had parties at home hiring a bouncy castle, food, games,sweets and party bags about £100

I hired the hall and a magician £180

i have took them to activity world £6 a head for 2 hours 20 children maximum but you need 4 adults to help look after the children we bought jugs of drinks while they were playing £2 each and i bought a cake in and we done our own party bags for 20 children about £140

now my son wants a swimming party so i will have to look into that one
but personally parties away from home are easier activity world was the easiest just served drinks and watched the children because you havnt got the mess afterwards but i enjoyed the ones at home if you amuse the children you shouldnt get any one playing up but we have got laminate flooring so i suppose thats easier than carpets to clean up squashed sausage rolls lol and as our parties were in the summer we hired a bouncy castle so the mess was mostly outside

FZwanab

I recently had ds 5th birthday party at home. He had 15 guests at it. I spent one week, baking and preparing things, mini pizzas, sausage rolls etc. I froze everything as I went along. I bought birthday banners, reusable plates and bowls, plastic party tablecloth from the pound shop, I have put these away for future parties. I made fairy cakes, the birthday cake - chocolate by annabel Karamel, it was too rich for them, a maderia or victoria sponge iced would have done, they just like to blow out candles, Chocolate Rice Krispie cakes went down a treat. I just used a roll of bags from the pound shop for the goodie bags and included things like coloured paper, crayons, lollipops, crisps etc. I bought most of the sweets and munchies in either lidl or the pound shop. Prizes for pass the parcel were little toys again from the pound shop. We played blind mans buff. We also hid a ticking timer and the kids had to find it before it went off. The two hours flew by. Also some of the time was just spent running about my sons room etc. Everyone had a great time and it wasn't expensive. It can be done. Hope this helps.

FunkyFairy

Its was my DD's party on Sunday.

I hired the local village hall and a man that did circus skills he also suppyed party bags. Did loads of food nothing was left.

The total of the party was £250 i know its alot but 33 children came and it is her last big one and i am working.

DS had a Winnie the Pooh themed party last year. I hired a hall and did the party myself.

We played
musical hunny pots instead of musical chairs. I cut hunny pots out of boxes and the children coloured them in.
Pass the parcel remembering to put a sweet in each layer
Musical Tiggers, just the same as musical statues.
The music man each child got to choose a item to play.

The cost of this party was £30.

If you need any help with ideas PM me and i will get my thinking cap on.

Pooky

I've always done parties at home. If the weather is warm enough then they're in the garden. Just make sure you're organised and you'll have no probs.

I made sure I had a pen handy and as parents dropped off their kids I asked for a mobile number in case of emergancy - well I delegated that job to DD1 last time - she liked the responsibility. Try and make sure there's a couple of other adults with you too - very handy for slicing cakes and filling cups.

Make sure you have some games planned, some music ready and some small prizes to hand out to the winners. The food doesn't have to be fancy and I've never bought "themed" party items....Buy plain paper plates and get them to decorate them (1st game of the day) bung a bit of kitchen paper on each plate before they load up their food (sandwiches coverd in felt pen are best avoided) I normally have one room cleared for the party and bung a couple of table cloths on the floor for them all to sit on to eat - once their done - just scoop up the clothes and worry about it when they've all gone. Drinks are only served in the kitchen or when they're sitting down to eat and only half fill the cup to save to much spillage.

I normally allow 2.5 hours - They arrive - decorate their plate - maybe make their own party hat too, then it's a bit of music and a dance, maybe a game of musical bumps....sit them all down to eat and then a few more games before they go - it's amazing how quick the time goes.

I always make sure that I explain which rooms are out of bounds at the beginning too.

DD's have always said they've loved their parties at home - they say that the food is horrible at the play centre type places and they spend so much time running around that they dont play with their friends.

Rebob

I had one at the local farm. It was about £4 per head. You got a tour of the farm where the guide aimed all the descriptions at the right level for the ages of the kids. After the tour they were all given their dinner and a drink and then ice cream.

Also had a disco party. I hired a dj and wife team that kept all the kids dancing etc and provided their own party prizes. The room was the local scout hut for £15 for as long as we wanted it and the dj was pricy at £50 but well worth it. I did my own food with mums help.

Rebob

You can always have a dvd party. Close the curtains, pu on the film and get someone to collect some happy meals from mcdonalds and then do the cake. This should come in at about £3 per person with a minimum of effort.

black-saturn

I've had a couple of parties at home. Once it was a warmish day so I managed to keep them all in the garden. I also had a local man in a bear suit come along which was about £10. I kept the food simple and most of the children seemed to enjoy themselves.

But now my youngest DD is almost 9 and they want discos rather than games. They get bored very easily and to top it all I dont have a garden anymore so I wont be able to have it outside either.

So this year I am planning on hiring a hall round the corner from here and a DJ but doing the food myself.