**HELP** My Daughter's Birthday Party is Tomorrow

[The Great Deceiver]

She's five, and this is the first time we've ever had a party. We're both a little nervous, want it to go right, don't want to mess anything up.

Any seasoned parents with tons of expertise in this area offer any adivce, counsel, medication, etc?

Thanks. :thumbsup:

[wideopen]

1. No advice but,

My daughter turns 6 tommorow, I have 14 little girls and 2 boy coming to the house on tuesday. Let me know what you learn.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Make sure the other parents know what time its over

Have it all planned out, but be ready to change things at the last moment. Have a first aid kit and emergency numbers on hand. Have extra 'games' ready if need be. Songs and finger plays are good, as well as a treat hunt (hunt for small toy prizes, rather than candy-they'll be stoked enough as it is). Have some story and craft ideas as well. I liked having the kids help make peanut butter play dough, which they shaped, fashioned, and ate. Or to be cool, they chose their frozen fruit to be blended together.

Not a parent but I did teach preschool for five years.

[Frances]

4. I think this suggestion is very good

"I liked having the kids help make peanut butter play dough which they shaped, fashioned, and ate"--except some kids are allergic to peanuts. Better check that out.

I remember one party where I gave each child a cookie. Then I put out small bowls of frosting (from a can) and different kinds of sprinkles. Each child decorated his/her own cookie and then ate it.

[seemunkee]

3. Keep it short and keep them busy

Games, open presents, play long enough to break the first toy, ice cream and cake and then out the door.
If the weather is good squirt guns and a sprinkler will be a big hit.

[The Great Deceiver]

5. ooo

I like it. squirt guns should be fun. i realized up to this point that I've only thought of food and not so much about the game part of it...yikes.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. Plan the entire schedule

Don't leave gaps where they are to entertain themselves.

If you didn't give a start and end time on the invitations, be sure to next year.

Games that fit the theme of the party are nice, but at five they won't care that much. It's always nice to make sure each child leaves with something if you plan on offering prizes.

Safety is paramount. Use your common sense and better judgment here. When you have a pack of little ones in your home things can happen.

At five any type of hands on activity is good. Decorating the cookie like suggested above is a great idea. We did that one year with cupcakes and the kids had a blast. Be sure and provide aprons or something to cover the kids with so they don't get their clothes too messy.

Most important of all, have fun. :)

[Ariana Celeste]

7. "It's always nice to make sure each child leaves with something"

The first kid's birthday party I went to, when I was 5- his mother did this, and all of the kids were happy to have something to bring home!
She had little gift bags with little candies and cheap (but fun!) toys, like mini-cards (The one I got was carebears) which I played go fish with, all the time with my mom for weeks afterwards.
And the little prizes were not much different from what was in the gift bags, so no child felt like they were left out! So, I have to agree, it's a great idea.

[Ariana Celeste]

8. Be prepared-

like someone else said, make sure you have a first aid kit readily available just in case. Talk to the other parents and find out if the kids are allergic to anything, and I would make sure to regularly count heads.
If you decide to make any little gift bags, make sure to make a few extra in case one of the children lose theirs, or get it wet, or whatever may happen.

Good luck, and have lots of fun! Try not to worry so much about getting everything right- just make sure the kids are kept busy and nobody is left out. I'm sure you'll do a great job! And if anything does happen, you'll be better prepared next time!

:party:

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Be sure you have enough adults handy and activities to do and

have a bunch of back-up games in case the kids whip through the other activities you have planned? (Oldies but goodies are great: Mother-may-I, simon says, duck duck goose, freeze tag, volleyball with a balloon, relay races like carrying a peanut in a spoon, sitting on a ballon and trying to pop it). Just be aware of how wild the kids are.. obviously if they are off the wall pick quieter games so as to prevent kids getting hurt.

Also, I treat it like school. When the kids come in I tell them the ground rules for behavior. I also rely on the old "when the lights go off everyone freeze and no talking" to get them quiet when I need their attention.

[The Great Deceiver]

10. It was a success!!

T'was a beautifully day, which is really half the battle. We were down at Crissy Filed in SF. We were a little intimidated at first because there were several other birthday parties, with clowns, and all sorts of crazy stuff. But everyone showed up and we went down on the beach, while my wife and I traded off on grill-duty.

The kids played in the tent and down in the sand on the beach. They definitely didn't want parents ruining their good time, so we mostly drank beer and ate, ourselves.

We went over to the big tree where the pinata was, and had a blast beating it to little bits and reaping the benefits. Then (as if that wasn't enough sugar) we went and ate cake and sang. We had a tent there, because the sun was scorching, so the kids played around in the tent thee rest of the time and played more in the water.

It was a real blast. Thanks for all your suggestions!!