Here are our top tips for planning your little ones party.
Much like any event choose your budget and stick to it!
Have a theme. This will make it easier to stick to your budget. Choose something your little one is interested in; pirates, mermaids, princesses, unicorns, Lego, Star Wars, space… the list is endless when it comes to interests but it will make your life so much easier to focus on one theme not just for budget but also for ideas with food, décor, activities etc
Pick your activity! Once you’ve chosen your theme then you can look into the various ideas of how to keep 20+ kids entertained for 2 hours. If you have picked a Lego theme then have a Lego table for the kids to make something, make a square cake resembling a Lego brick or print out (free!) colour your own Lego man from the internet. If your little one is obsessed with Unicorns get unicorn masks for them to colour in, make a colourful cake with a toy unicorn topper. Of course there are ways of entertaining the kids that can be a universal party method. Bouncy Castles, ball pools, soft play, stick on tattoos, a magician or a dj. Anything that will tire the little ones out will make any parent happy! Pass the parcel is always a popular one or musical games. Both of which can be themed into the gift you give the winner.
Food can also be themed around the party and not just in your cake toppers or styles. make sandwiches and cut them out into crown shapes for your prince or princess, choose a jelly colour and make little pots of it in paper cups. For little kids under 7 I always think that parents go over board on the food front. Hundreds of bowls with crisps, sausages, sausage rolls, 3 different types of sandwiches, sweets, popcorn, marshmallows, chocolate, hotdogs, jelly, ice cream, biscuits and of course a token plate of fruit or carrot sticks! Truthfully the kids don’t eat it all and it’s a huge waste of food. Pick a couple of things and stick to it!
Colours! Having your theme generally means that a certain colour or group of colours are key. If you are going for princess then pink and whites are a must or mermaid – head to the ocean and choose greens, turquoise and blues. If your little one loves a certain book, say The Gruffalo then read the book and see if it mentions any colours. ‘The purple prickles’ for example could be your colour of choice.
Party bags… The sheer thinking of this gives me the shivers! If you want to give a party bag then great. Fill your boots with the plastic toys, rubbers, pencils and other toys that you can get. But personally I feel things have moved on a little and everyone is becoming slightly more mindful in what they give. We’ve been to a few where parents give a couple of sweets or a chocolate (theme dependent) plus a book or one small thing for them to take away. Not only do you not have to buy a lot of…I’ll use the word tat here…but you don’t need to buy a bag to put it in. Saving you pennies! You can get really cheap yet tasteful books from many local high-street shops and they are always a big hit! Another option is if your party is around a theme or certain holiday then choose something related to that. An Easter Egg in March/April, maybe a frisbee in the Summer months or a magic wand if your party theme is wizards and witches?
Of course we don’t all have the capability or budget to have huge parties for the whole of your child’s class but the above can be matched when having a couple of friends round for dinner. Stick to your theme just on a smaller scale.
Happy party planning for your children in Cumbria!
