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

katiecoodle

I did a big party last year for my 4yr old dd and 1yr old ds. They'll be having joint parties every year I think - just 2 days apart (-hows that for moneysaving?!). We had a princess and pirate theme, so everyone came in fancy dress. I did my own cake, less than a tenner - a square with upside down ice cream cones for turrets and loads of smarties and jelly tots all over it, and a slab of white chocolate for the door. We got a hall for free (courtesy of my brother being the captain of the local rugby club). We had a small area set up for craft where kids painted little treasure chests - at the end when they were dry, they stuck jewels on them, we had another corner for tattoos, we did a treasure hunt and yes we had a bouncy castle. Over 40 kids all ages catered for. Kids don't eat a lot so I didn't bother with too much grub, they were totally distracted with the balloons which kept them busy for ages!
I'm themeing a teddy bears picnic (my ds is called Teddy) this year so thanks for the ideas!
my advice is to get a few other mums or mates on board: delegate certain tasks to them (one handing out party bags, one to hold the cake, one to man the videocamera etc). If she likes dancing, then kids this age can dance for HOURS if you have a disco?

LISSILEIGH

hi guys, well ive ordered 35 teddy t-shirts for £4.50!!! not bad. i also didnt know if i should buy all the children a teddy each instead of a party bag and a punch balloon?? what do you think? i thought i could put a tag on each of the teddies with a thank you message from her??

im also thinking about weather to do a fete party? have little stalls where they could win stuff or guess the name of the teddy and they win prize?

LillyJ

I did a party a few years ago for some people I babysit for. Their daughter was turning 5 and we had a silly disco party. We set up some speakers that came in the hall and plugged in our ipod to it to play some cheesy songs that have actions.
We then taught them the actions and did the dances. After about half an hour they got bored so the mum brought out some finger food. Then we turned the music back on and did musical statues and old fashioned games like that. The parents paid me £15 to be the person on the microphone and doing the dancing! It was great and it didn't matter how many kids were there the cost was the same.

When I was little my mum hired her friend's teenage daughter to do "make-overs" on us all when we were about 8 for my birthday. She curled all our hair and put make up on us. It was great fun.

jodie114

hiya, was just wondering where you got the teddy t shirts from at that price?
thanks
jodie

LISSILEIGH

got them off ebay, they are not very big, probablt fit a ty teddy

MummyHol

My birthday fell on the last day of school when i was 5 so my mum organised with the teacher to do a party in the class. A few balloons and an ice lolly each (did it after lunch, so we'd already all eaten), birthday cake and a few games like musical statues- I think we had party favours for the game winners! Obviously the class teacher was there to help out & the expense was minimal & my whole class was included.

Good luck xx

LISSILEIGH

thats not a bad idea, he problem is is shes at nursery and is only there for afew hours in the morning. the school is also fairly strict so i dont think they would aloow it

thanks xx

KatrinaW_2

Hi,

I had the same thing just 2 weeks ago. My son turned 4 & goes to 2 pre-schools & both classes came. A total of 52 kids! I know some of you think it is mad, but having spoken to the teachers at both schools he mixes well with all the kids & doesn't stick to just one or two friends. And after a talk with my hubby the outcome was . . . we are having a party, it is being held in a community hall anyway, so hell - the more the merrier.

Foodwise I did the usual sandwiches, fruit, crisps, biscuits, sausages etc - but non of it was full price (apart from the grapes) as like you I started planning for it a few weeks ahead & just brought all the 2 for 1's deals as & when they come up on offer & then just keep them stored somewhere.
For the cake I got it from Costco as someone else has already advised. Get the chocolate cake with the vanila icing - HEAVEN!!!

To keep them ammused I brought some garden games from Tescos (which we will use throughout the summer) a large inflatable snakes & ladders, foam hopstoch, a large paracute (they LOVED that), skipping ropes, hula hoops, bubble machine, space hoppers, footballs etc In total I think it was £30.00 & it all went down really well. You could even maybe ask your family or friends to buy them as birthday presents, so you don't have to fork out for them.

Gamewise parcel the parcel is a MUST, as is the best dancer competition. Also how about pin the tail game. My son loves Spongebob, so I brought a poster & made my own add on & they played pin the tie on Spongebob & now he has the poster up in his room.

I also ropped in his aunties to do face paints. A set was £10.00 from a craft shop & they give you loads of ideas or we even printed some designs off the internet. Again you could ask someone to get this as a pressie - my son is still asking me to make him into Spiderman most days.

Partybagwise, I got cheap bags from the £shops & again looked out for bargins. All got a mini bag of Pringles, a bag of sweets (both BOGOF's), a colouring pencil (10 for £1 from the £shop), a CBeebies colouring picture (off the internet). The girls got a pair of hairslides (again from a cheap shop, but looked nice quality) & the boys finger puppet & a parachute man, a slice of cake, a balloon & a party blower. All came in at £1.16. Ok there is a bit of shopping around, but you have the time & in the end it became quite fun.

Decorationwise - I honestly didn't spend much at all. I brought some balloons & pinned up print out from the internet & added a bit of glitter here & there, but honestly don't get too carried away as most halls only give you a limited time to set up & close down anyway, so you wont really have the time to get it ready.

I really hope the party goes well. I am sure yoru daughter will have a wonderful time & also you will get a chance to see them in their world for once. It is sooooooooo funny seeing them interact with each other.

Right I am going to stop rambling on now - have fun in whatever you decide to do. I hope it goes well & that your daughter has a fantastic time.

LISSILEIGH

well donbe you!!!! i am actually abit of a face painter myself, so i was considering this, ive also seen temp tattoos for around 6p each!!!.

i was going to go to the £shop and but them all a teddy each to take home?? and a puch balloon??? instead of bags??

what do you think??

Keeping_Motivated

I think that the teddy and punch bag is a lovely idea because to be honest the bags and bits of tat usually end up in the bin so its nice to do something different.

KM x