Organising a birthday party. Help!!

[Tasha]

For the first time ever I am organising I guess a traditional party in a church hall. My older children have always chosen things like football at the local football centre where they organise everything or the cinema and pizza hut with friends and so on. My youngest is wanting a party in a church hall with a disco, so this time I need lots and lots of wonderful lists (can you tell I like lists? ).

Firstly it is her sixth birthday party so all of her friends will be 5-6.

Either a friend of my Dh or a friend of my brother will DJ. So that cuts that worry out. The DJ can get the children to play games like musical statues, any other ideas what to play? With the games I will need little prizes, what do you suggest? I thought maybe things like blowing bubbles?

A friend suggested craft blankets at the back of the hall for the children to retreat to if they are overwhelmed. Things like cupcake or biscuit decorating or design your own t-shirt, I think that is fab. Thoughts?

Food, what sort of food shall I do?

As for a goody bag, I was thinking of a sweet cone. Which is just a cellophane cone filled with sweets a pretty ribbon and tag. It cuts some of the cost and I find they are bags are usually filled with things that are never again any way. Do you think that is okay?

And breath, panicking all ready

 

[SarahP13]

I can't wait for my two to want parties like this!

Other game ideas:

Musical bumps/chairs
British bulldog
Apple bobbing
Pin the tail on the donkey/pin the tiara on the princess
Sleeping lions
Pass the parcel

Bubbles are good for presents. You can also get yoyo's, funky pencils, key rings.

Oh and the party bags sound fine to me!

Have fun!

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

This has bought back memories of mine and my brothers birthday parties in the old village hall.

Food:
Sandwiches
Sausage rolls
Cocktail sausages
Cheese and pineapple on sticks
Cheese and picked onion on sticks
Vegetable sticks
Cherry tomatoes
Pork pies
Scotch eggs
Fruit salad
Jelly and ice cream
Jaffa cakes/party rings
Birthday cake

Games:
Pass the parcel
Musical chairs
Balloon volleyball

Prizes:
Little bags of sweets
Any of the party bag gifts they have in supermarkets
Pound shop toys

 

[hel_5]

Food I would stick to very basic, we do pizza (plain cheese and tom) and possibly some chips (don't want too much choice! Also ask in the invites if any one has allergies), popcorn, crisps, sweets and cakes.

Most of Lucy's parties that she has been to have been similar, so craft - we did princess crowns and decorated biscuits, face painting, run around (in your case disco - get loads of balloons blown up on the dance floor), some food, then most end with a DVD as kids are too tired by that point!!!

Lucy has come home from parties having made an animal mask (v simple but v effective) a glitter snow globe, paintings - do the craft first though as it all needs time to dry!!! And make sure you put names on!!!

Games to play, I would do musical statues/bumps, pass the parcel (have a small sweetie on each layer), possibly getting into two lines and passing the balloon over your head/through your legs - try not to do too much where someone is 'out' cause they can get easily upset! (Or you need to include them in stopping the music etc...)

The bubble blower is always a big hit, but check the floor in the hall - if it's wooden/tiles it could get slippy with the bubbles.

I think those party bags are a great idea - saves everyone comparing and wanting a different colour pencil/ring/bubbles.

Good luck!!! xx

 

[Racheldigger]

For Rowan's birthday party, I made sure all the food was tiny, in order to avoid people wandering off with half-eaten items, dropping things and treading on them; also, I think children particularly love tiny things. We had ham sandwiches and egg sandwiches, with each round cut into 8 tiny triangles; miniature cocktail sausages; miniature cheese and onion rolls (little pastry efforts, that is, like party sausage rolls only with cheese and onion in; these came ready-made from the supermarket as part of a special offer with the cocktail sausages); cucumber and carrot sticks; cherry tomatoes still on the stems; tiny cheesy biscuits with a blob of Primula cheese spread from a tube blobbed on each; tiny sweet biscuits (you can get some amazing ones from Polish delicatessens); little chocolate roll cakes (also ready-made in a tub from the supermarket; like chocolate mini-rolls but a third the size), and the piece de resistance, individual fruit jellies in plastic shot glasses. You can get these from any large shop that sells either party or barbecue equipment - I paid £1 for a packet of 24 from Morrison's - and LO and I had great fun with a packet of jelly and a tin of fruit cocktail in juice. We spooned a little fruit into each glass, made up the jelly using the juice we'd drained off the fruit, and filled up the glasses; there wasn't enough jelly to fill them to the top, so when it had set I opened a tin of ready-made custard and spooned a little on top of each jelly, which used up the whole tin and nicely filled all the glasses. They went down tremendously, and no jelly or custard ended up anywhere but in people's mouths, unlike a hired-venue party Rowan went to where foolhardy parents were serving trifle from a big bowl into cardboard dishes, and there was half-eaten trifle EVERYWHERE. None of our guests spilled or abandoned a single morsel, and we got our deposit back on the venue!

 

[rosie272]

We were at a church hall party recently and there was:

Pin the tail on the donkey
Pass the parcel
Skittles
Pinata
Musical bumps
Musical chairs
Musical statues
Disco
There was a small bouncy castle inside as well.


Your party bags sound fab and food wise I would stay basic - pizza, hot dogs, sandwiches, crackers, bread sticks and dips, fruit, crisps, sweets etc.. ^^love the sound of those mini trifles as well

Have a great party