Kids' party ideas

[Allegra]

I’m trying to plan my first attempt at a birthday party for a whole class. My two older kiddos have very close birthdays and we are planning a joint birthday party for them at a pavillion in the park for the last week of October. We are planning to encourage their classmates to wear costumes, but the party is going to be more “friendly fall” than “Halloween” as my son is going to be turning four and we don’t need people scaring the bejezus out of him at his friends. We are planning on inviting their classes so it could be anywhere between the two of them and their one local cousin or them plus 40 kindergarteners and preschoolers. So here are my questions for the more experienced.

First of all, when inviting guests, should we indicate on the invite that there are two birthday kids, or would that be confusing? Should we just sign the invites for each class from each kid separately?

Secondly, I’ve heard from other parents that some parents bring their kids to birthday parties expecting to drop them off. I’ve personally not witnessed this at any of the parties I’ve attended, but I’m not prepared to look after a lot of strange kids by myself. Is there a polite way to prevent this misconception on the invite?

And finally, the fun part! I’d like to have at least one craft and a few fun games. So far, I’ve thought of a pinata and decorating “spooky gingerbread houses” constructed from chocolate graham crackers. Any other good ideas? Water activities are probably not best, since it could be a little chilly.

 

[midori]

“Happy birthday to Fred and Timmy X! Join us on [date] from [start time to end time] at the park pavilion for a costume party as we celebrate Fred turning 4 and Timmy tuning 6! RSVP at [number]. We’ll be doing crafts and games, so parents are strongly encouraged to attend.”

It would be more confusing to not point out that it’s a double-party, because you know how it is when you show up to a place… and there’s three or four different parties happening simultaneously. So then you start looking for people you recognize. So saying ahead of time, “Yeah, it’s a double party, so even if you see a bunch of strangers, you’ll still be in the right place” is courteous. People might bring a token gift for the kid-they-don’t-know, but it’s not like you’re actively soliciting double-presents.

If you do a craft that requires dexterity, you’ll definitely want a large number of adults to assist. However, if you do something that’s age appropriate, the kids might be able to get along by themselves. At the library, we got a lot of our crafts from the Oriental Trading Co catalog.

4yo’s through kindergarten are young enough to have a great time at the park, but if you have, like, 40 kids, they might not be the easiest to organize. So you might think of chaotic games that you can play that don’t require a high degree of skill— freeze tag, colored eggs, red rover, etc— rather than something with more organization and structure.

 

[TheLittleLady]

If you want the parents there, invite the family not just the children.

"The Jones Family invites your family to a ‘Family Fall Festival’ where we will celebrate the return of crisp air as well as Joe and Timmy’s birthdays.

Decide now, do you want a bunch of gifts? If not, include on the invite (this is one point where I digress from Emily Post ) "In the spirit of sharing, the party will benefit the

Dog Rescue so please bring dog food
Food Pantry so please bring canned food
Parenting Center so please bring a baby item
Community Trunk or Treat so please bring individially wrapped candy

We are planning on inviting their classes so it could be anywhere between the two of them and their one local cousin or them plus 40 kindergarteners and preschoolers.

So, if you want the parents to stay, this means including other kids in the family, you could be looking at over 100 guests.

Are you feeding them? Cake and punch only? Hot dogs are super easy for a big bunch, you can just throw them in a couple of big crock pots or one of those electric roasting pans. Buns, chips and you have a meal!

Hot dogs freeze well, so, if you cook 200 dogs and only 30 people show up, you don’t have a ton of waste.

Games?

1 Pinata per 10 kids

If you are doing serious crafts, you will need volunteer adult helpers.

 

[Allegra]

I was thinking hot dogs, chili with toppings, apples with caramel, maybe a cooler full of sweet corn, if we can figure ouut a way to get it there, and cupcakes. I figured on two pinatas, one for each class. I have a friend that offered me some sacks for a sack race. I have two parachutes and we could get one of those giant balls and have the kids pass from one to the other. We have access to a track, so we could do some sort of relay race. I’ve considered bubble machines, water beads, and wrapping up candy and toys in a toilet paper “mummy ball” that gets passed from kid to kid. Other than the spooky ginegerbread house, I’ve also thought about painting pumpkins. OR making masks or hats. It’s hard to predict which activity would go the best, without knowing how many kids are going to RSVP.

 

[Viki63]

You are a brave woman! For my kiddo’s last party, we invited only the boys from his preschool class, and it was fine. Parents stayed. It’s a good idea to make it clear they are welcome and encouraged to stay.

We found that kids that age are not interested in doing crafts. (Of course they were all boys.) They wanted to play with toys and run around. (It was indoors, as end of November.) If in an outdoor park. it would be even harder to corral them for crafts or even complicated games.
Relay races sounds fun. sack races, freeze tag, and so on. Gingerbread houses would be fun with parent’s help.

I would keep the food really simple. we always have pizza. Hot dogs would work too, with chips, and cupcakes. If you start adding apples, corn, etc, you will have a ton of food left over. They get too excited hanging out with their friends to eat.
Good luck!