HELP my little girl wants the whole nursery class for her 4th birthday

LISSILEIGH

Hi all,

my little girls birthday is in july (i know im early) and she wants the whole of her nursery class to be there!!!

for the last few years she has had a bouncy castle in the garden with 10 ish kids. as the weather is always nice.

shes not very girly (but loves dancing) so does anyone have and party ideas? i can get a local hall for around £30, but i dont know what to do entertainment wise.

also im not made of money so had anyone got any ideas for party bag gifts etc, or where to get good deals on things.

i want to make it special for her, as her brother and sisters birthdays are within days of each other (which upset her last time as she wanted hers!!). also she has a heart problem, but has made great progress over the last 6 months.

thanks all

unhappybuuny79

In all honesty, i would teach your little darling a lesson in modderation, by selecting a few of her friends will both make it easier for you and also easier at the party as you wont have to rope other mums and dads into looking after the lovely little ones.

Im sure on the day she wont remember that she wanted everyone there.

Let her enjoy herself.

As for the food Aldi is great for little bits, and let your daughter help with the prep, it will make her feel part of the organising too (and will help her forget that she hasnt invited all of her class)

snails's_pace

op, if u do it this year you'll be setting yourself up for doing it every year, i've never done it..other parents at the school do but i simply can't afford it

Oldernotwiser

You seem to be going ahead with this just because she "wants" it. If you give her everything she wants you'll be on the road to spoiling her and bankruptcy for yourself. Think quality rather than quantity with party numbers and she'll have a much better time and you won't break the bank!

LISSILEIGH

thanks guys,

i hope im not making out that shes spoilt??? she isnt believe me,(i have two others to consider one 2 and one 6). they never get what they want as i was never brought up that way.

i just wanted to make this one special, as we moved to a new area and wanted her to feel more settled. and believe me it wont be happening every year!!!!. its bad enough having two of my childrens birthdays within two days of each other and a couple of days after their dads!!!

my kids will never be spoilt for one i cant afford it, and two i want them to grow up up feeling loved and understanding that life isnt easy and you have to work hard and be repsonsible for yourself.

i promise im not moaning, i just didnt want to be miss understood.

but if anyone has any ideas please let me know

thanks

Fen1

If she likes dancing are there any local classes you can afford? It would help her make friends and give her something she can enjoy. If she has mobility/stamina problems, a good teacher should help her with that.
As to the cost, might you be able to get funding if she has 'special needs'?


Take her along to a class to see if she enjoys it.
Also, giving her the either-or option will help her learn about prudence: a big party with 15 friends but no more dance lessons, or a small prty (5 friends) and more lessons.

Alternatively, have a look at local theatres and dance groups ( ask at tourist info centres as well). They might have childrens shows on during the summer, and some of these outdoor ones are free. A treat to see dancers rather than having a party at all. She might like to take 2 friends?

rainmac

Could you have a bouncy castle in the hall? Bouncy castles can be £££ but some aren't.

Does your daughter like craft activities? You could set up a couple of tables with different activities - colouring party themed pics (must be something on internet you could print off), gluing/ sticking tissue paper pieces to a pre-drawn pic???

If she likes dancing can you play some music and let the children boogie on down.

Pass the parcel always goes down well and prizes don't have to cost loads.

Catering - kiddies don't eat much so don't over cater. The cheapest/easiest way to do the food would be to pre-plate up each child's meal so you know exactly how much to buy, make etc. Making your own cake or cupcakes is often cheaper than buying one or having one made.

My DS1 turned 4 this year and we had a party in a local hall. We hired a bouncy castle, did the food ourselves, had other activities spread around the hall that we bought from home (so cost nothing): loads of toy cars & play mats; crayons & paper and our aquadraw mat and a couple of other things that I can't remember! It was great fun and all the children seemed to have a fab time. My son still talks about how much he enjoyed the party so I am really glad we did it. Quite a lot of work but it was appreciated.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

Lillibet_2

I'd be tempted to go with the local hall, as you just can't rely on the weather being good, and shove in a couple of inflatable ball pools (ask around to borrow these, other parents will have them!), a colouring table with cbeebies print offs, paper hats/crowns & cardboard photo frames (think Hawkins Bazzar sell these?), & a bubble machine (again ask around to borrow one). Maybe at the beginning get everyone together & take a group photo. Once the kids show signs of starting to get bored with these activites move onto more structured stuff : have a dancing competition, pass the parcel, musical statues etc with cheap prizes like pots of bubbles.
For food I'd just do juice & birthday cake, not a tea or anything (the trick is to time the party stratigically, maybe between 2-4pm!). Instead of party bags give balloons, the coloured party hats & a copy of the group photo in their coloured in photo frame. (You'll need to borrow/have one of those instant plug the camera in & print printers for this bit!)

HTH;)

Keeping_Motivated

Hi my DD had all her nursery class for her 4th birthday and she loved it and its nearly her fifth birthday and she is not expecting/or even asked to have one that big this year as she seems to have more one to one friends now so is mentioning specific friends and is happy to just have a few for tea. So I do not agree you are setting yourself up for the future.

Its a lovely age to have a big party like that as they do not expect too much entertaining they are happy with what ever they get whether that be music and dancing, playing a game or bouncing on a castle. So I say go for it.

We had a bouncy castle and did our own food and just blew up a load of balloons and they entertained themselves.

ilovecompanies

Keeping_Motivated wrote: »

Hi my DD had all her nursery class for her 4th birthday and she loved it and its nearly her fifth birthday and she is not expecting/or even asked to have one that big this year as she seems to have more one to one friends now so is mentioning specific friends and is happy to just have a few for tea. So I do not agree you are setting yourself up for the future.

Its a lovely age to have a big party like that as they do not expect too much entertaining they are happy with what ever they get whether that be music and dancing, playing a game or bouncing on a castle. So I say go for it.

We had a bouncy castle and did our own food and just blew up a load of balloons and they entertained themselves.

Well Said xx:T

Fourcandles_3

Well I think it's lovely that you are willing to do the work rather than an expensive £10 a head but everything done for you play centre party.

Here is what I would do;

When they arrive, either let them straight onto bouncy castle (some community centres hire them with the hall), or have tables and colouring set up for them to start.

Depending on the size of the hall, split them into groups and have a few tables with different activities such as colouring, bead threading, something messy like icing biscuits (use icing sugar the pens are expensive). You'll need an adult per table, ask parents most are happy to help. You could make it a game where when the whistle goes they have to move to another table. Once they have done each activitity you could stop for jam/choc sandwiches and cake or start the traditional pass the parcel type games.

Balloons are cheap and they will chase these around for hours, but it does get boisterous and LOUD. lol So maybe save these for the end...:rotfl: