Childrens Birthday Party - questions & ideas (merged)

divadee

thanks penny. i will have a look at claires accesories today! forgot about them!!

little miss divade also came up with the idea of giving them a book each and i looked at the book people and with the offers i could get them a very nice book for £1 each when divided up. not sure about that idea as some kids hate reading!!!

ruthyjo

I'm off work with a sick child today. I've taken the opportunity to book birthday parties for all of my three children, feeling quite relieved that I've finally done it.

Birthday no 1, 19 November, DS2 will be 10. Have booked three bowling lanes - DS2, DS1 and eight friends can play across two of them and third lane is for DD and her little friend as they are 4 and so slow that no big boys will want to share with them. I need to take the kids to eat after this - at the moment I'm thinking perhaps Pizza Hut. I'm not big on chain restaurants - any better suggestions (not MacDonalds as we're veggie!)?

Birthday no 2, 2 dec, DS1 will be 11 on dec 5th. Booked a room at a local swimming pool (£12.50 to hire for an hour - bargain!). Will be paying for a swim for the guests followed by tea in the room. I'm thinking order a couple of platters of sandwiches from Sainsbury's and just buy crisps, cakes and fruit. Any other ideas?

Do you think boys these ages need party bags and if so containing what?

DD will be 5 in January and have hired the village hall and booked a kids DJ. She is the oldest in her reception class so want to invite all the children - don't want anyone to miss out on the first party of their school careers! I'll also have a lot of cousins, friends from outside school and other littlies from her childminder's. About sixty in total I reckon although so soon after xmas they might not all come. Anyone got any good catering suggestions for this? Last year she had around forty kids at her party. As it was just after christmas I got selection packs (75% off at Sainsbury's) instead of party bags. I'd love to do that again as the kids were pleased and it was sooo cheap and not much hassle. Last year I bought on them on the 2 jan. Anyone got any thought on when I should start checking the supermarkets for bargain xmas choc? Too soon and it's not reduced, too late and it is sold out.

gargoyle

I've just booked my daughter's party for 10th March. She will be 7 and we're going to do a Rock n Roll themed party for her. She missed out on the last couple because of hospital one year, and moving house another. So it's three years worth of party for her. Has anyone got any really good rock n roll ideas for games, party bags etc. I was thinking musical statues, dance competition, pass the parcel etc...

Crazychik

Please help

My DD will be 7 next week, and she is having a party for 2hrs in the local church hall

She is having a disco, but would like some suggestions please for party games, something more than the usual pass the parcel etc

It will me mix boys & girls

Many thanks in advance

P.S thanks again to those who responded ref the party box ideas.

ChocClare

How many kids? Races in teams are good, eg balloon race: each team stands in a line behind each other; first child passes balloon backwards over his/her head to child behind him/her; next child passes balloon backwards between his/her legs; next child over head etc. They continue over and under until it gets to the last child. When it reaches the last child s/he runs round to the front of the line and starts again. Thus the whole team progresses slowly across the room. My description does not begin to touch how hilarious this is. Last child especially will stand for about ten minutes holding the balloon above his/her head before suddenly realising there's no-one to pass it to. None of them can ever remember whether they're supposed to be going under or over. Etc. Laugh a minute. You can give prizes but it doesn't really matter who wins.

Rescue the teddy game. Again, two teams of several pairs of children. You will need a stack of small soft toys, eg beanie babies and some teatowels, plus two large cardboard boxes. Each pair of "paramedics" (children) hold a teatowel between them as a stretcher and put a toy on it. They then run to the other side of the room, carrying the sick toy on the stretcher. When they get to within about two or three feet of the cardboard box (chalk a line on the floor) they have to try and get their teddy to "hospital" (yep, the cardboard box). To do this they swing the teatowel, the toy shoots off and lands in the cardboard box (more often misses the box spectacularly). Whether they get the toy in or not, they run back to their team and the next pair then sets off. Kids love how bad they are at this and are especially pleased when the toy actually goes in.

I'm assuming you've already got all the "musical" ones - musical chairs, bumps, statues, islands etc. Playground games work well at parties, such as Hot Chocolate (you may call this something else, depending on the part of the country you come from - I mean the game where one child stands at the end of the hall with his/her back to others and they all try to creep up on him or her. S/he turns round suddenly every so often and anyone s/he catches moving has to go back to the beginning. Object of the game to touch the person and take over their role.), Duck Duck Goose, Cats and Mice etc. Ladders work well too - sit the kids on the floor opposite each other in two lines with their legs stretched out in front of them so that their feet touch the feet of their opposite number (and they therefore look like a long ladder). Make sure there's plenty of space between each pair. Number the pairs. Call out a number, eg 5, and both kids numbered five have to run down the middle (hopping over the legs of the other kids - hence the gap) run round the outside and back to their places. Again, if you note down which child of each pair wins each time and tot up the score then a team could theoretically win but it's not important really.

If you want a quieting down sort of game, then hedgehogs works really well. Get the kids to skip (!) round the room (you know what I mean) and when you say so or the music stops or whatever they have to curl themselves up in a ball on the floor with their hands over their head and their eyes tight shut. Cover up one of the children completely with a blanket; then tell the kids to open their eyes and guess who the hedgehog is. This is such a simple game and they really love it and all want to take a turn in being covered up.
As you can probably tell, I run a Rainbow guide unit - these games have all been tested on Rainbows and Brownies and their brothers(!) so they should be appropriate for your lot! If I think of some more, I'll add them - best of luck with the party.

Seaxwyn

Something I have found works quite well and isn't too manic - find a variety of pictures - old birthday and christmas cards, magazines etc. Cut each picture into three pieces (like a really simple jigsaw puzzle) and keep back one piece from each picture. Scatter the remaining pieces around the hall/house/garden/wherever. Then give each child a piece of a picture, they have to find the other two to complete theirs. When they've completed a picture give them a sweet and another bit to start again.

You'd be surprised how much they get into it. They will be begging for more! I've done this with ages 5 up to about 10 and it always goes down well.

lewt

what about getting one of them donkeys and letting them smash the hell out of it to get the sweets you'll have filled it up with i allways wanted one of them

Crazychik

Hi peeps

Some fantastic ideas - keep them coming Thanks

Loving the hedgehogs 1, not heard of that. You must have fun with these games at Rainbows etc, thanks chocclare

My DD went overboard and invited 39 kids - dont think they will all turn up, but its a big enough hall to accomadate them all. Just hope some parents are willing to stay and help - yikes!!! can see me curled up in a corner with a bottle of vodka and the kids running riot

Like the idea of the donkey, but knowing this lot, they will forget to hit the donkey and hit each other ! lol

The idea of cutting up card etc, is similar to another game I now, try and find cards with characters bodies on, cut the head part, body part and feet part into sections, seperate all head - body & feet into their own piles. Kids take 1 bit of card from each pile, and see the fun new character they've created.

Keep the ides coming - many thanks so far

sarahlouise210

I find a game that works well for that age group is musical hats. I bought (borrowed as well!) all sorts of hats..policeman, fireman, beret, woolly hat, crown etc etc. They pass the hats around like pass the parcel and when the music stops they put the hat on. Make some big cards with a picture of each hat on - when the music has stopped pick a card randomly (from behind you back is a good idea) and whoever is wearing the hat that matches the picture gets a prize. They love it!

PoshPaws_3

A riotous and hysterically funny, but under control, game for kids is "Flip the Kipper" - and it should work perfectly on a Church Hall floor.

Get the kids organised into equal numbered teams and set up some "lanes" down which they flip their kippers.

The kippers are big fish shapes cut out of newspaper. Make a few, because there's inevitably some casualties! lol

The kippers are not to be touched by human hand (except to put them back in their "lanes", as they inevitably wind up all over the place) but are to be flapped at with biggish pieces of cardboard. About A3 size usually works. Again, have a few flappers in standby, as they tend to get a bit beaten up after a few heats!

So, when the whistle goes, the first team member flips his kipper to the end of the course, then runs back with kipper and flapper and hands it to the next child, who flips the kipper to the end of the course ... and so on.

Alternatively, you can do heats, where two children compete against each other, the winner goes through to a "flap-off".

The great thing about this one is that the watchers get to jump up and down and yell for their team member or favourite, but the participants need to concentrate and be accurate. The kippers have a mind of their own.

I've played this with 7yr olds last month at my son's birthday party and it was a riotous success. I've also played it with adults at Kensington Palace, one Christmas .. where it was also a riotous success. You can't fail.