How To Deal with Planning a Kids Party
I am an children’s entertainer for one of my many jobs. Being an actress, unless you are Benedict Cumberbatch, you need a few.
I am a balloon artist, to be honest, it wasn’t the dream playing with latex. However, it has turned into a lucrative business and I really enjoy it.
Short hours, loads of fun, great money, what’s not to love? ……….Working with kids?
Nope, I’m great with them, I think not currently having my own helps.
When you’re childless, and like kids, you deliver a different kind of energy. I mean I HAVE energy. I don’t mean to brag but I get 8 hours sleep.
I find the incessant questions kids ask funny rather than annoying. I find little Tommy zooming around the room and crazy dancing hilarious. Sophie’s frog facts brilliant and Benedict proving he can do the 2x table up to infinity enlightening.
I regularly turn up to meet a manic parent that I try and calm down before the party starts.
As I work at so many kids parties I feel I have gathered some great tips that I know work. So I’m going to share them with you to help you out a little.
Remember they are children. As long as there’s snacks they’ll be great. They don’t really care if it’s a 5 star hotel, a church hall or granny’s garden.
- Bring snacks. Lots of them. Easy bite size snacks, nothing messy like houmous. Bring back cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, cut up fruit and veg. Anything food that you can just pick up if dropped. If you can’t cope with bringing food order pizza or book catering. There’s probably a local parent who’d love the business.
2. Bring drinks in containers. Encourage bringing own water bottles, but if you buy drinks, buy drinks in cartons or cans. Pouring drinks into party cups goes everywhere and most of the time is spent cleaning up squash that has been knocked over. Life is too short for that.
Cawston Press are sugar free natual juices
Dashi water is natually flavoured sparkling water
3. If you can, book an entertainer. Cancel having takeaways or even Christmas but get an entertainer. Don’t be thinking you can run the party yourself. Get a reputable entertainer with a full DBS to give you a breather and tire the children out. Don’t be running those party games yourself. Pass the parcel can easily turn into a fully blown war if you stop the music when 2 children have their hands on the parcel.
4. If there’s a bouncy castle. Don’t get the food and drink out before the kids have gone on it. It never ends well.
5. If it’s fancy dress go full out. No cobbling together the night before. Take fancy dress seriously.
6. Serve alcohol, or bring your coffee machine if you don’t drink. This is how you make friends and gain respect from other parents. Prosecco was invented for parents attending kids parties.
7. If you don’t want a mound of plastic pointless toys that you’ll regift, make it a £5 party. Welcome anyone invited to bring £5 instead of a gift, with no obligation. That way you child actually gets something they want. Obviously write down the names of anyone who doesn’t do this and shun them at the tea table at the school nativity.
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8. Make a spotify playlist and bring a decent blue tooth speaker. In amongst ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ and ‘Let It Go’ insert some Metallica and Oasis. It’s never to early to educate the kids about music. The other parents will love you for it.
9. Book a venue, especially one where someone else cleans it after. Check you can get into the venue at least 30 minutes before the party starts. This is mainly to down your can of gin and tonic, but to work out and decorate the space and get your music on to get the party started.
10. Check if any decorations you have bought need assembling. They can take ages and if you get to the venue and are quickly trying to decorate this could end in disaster and stress. Keep decorations in a specific box and buy ones that aren’t age specific and reusable so you can use again and again including wipe clean tablecloths. Everyone loves a bit of bunting.
11. Bring with you headache tablets, scissors, safety pins, a change of clothes for your child, tape and wet wipes.
12. Stipulate whether parents should or should not leave during the party and if they can bring siblings. Check the venues capacity.
13. If you’re going to use party bags, try and make them plastic free and an experience. Personalised seeds to sew, baking kits, or origami kits are all lovely gifts Putting your own party bag together with your kids could be part of a lovely party buildup. Same with making your own decorations. You can also buy fully pre-made eco-friendly party bags.
14. Don’t give kids lollipops. They lick them, take them out of their mouths, leave them somewhere and put them back in their mouth. Nasty.
15. Bring a bubble machine and disco lights. Buy well and buy once or borrow. Kids love these and are very amused by them and all you need to do is plug it in. They chase the lights and the bubbles and tire themselves out. This means you can eat your weekend Indian takeaway and chablis in peace.
16. If you’re not planning to book an entertainer buy yourself a parachute and run parachute games. Children love it. Failing that play the ‘Floor is Lava’ for 2 hours.
17. If you’re not getting a balloon artist, buy yourself some modelling balloons and a pump and learn to make a swords on You Tube. Buy Qualatex balloons, not cheap Poundland ones. Children LOVE them and you can also get away with whacking kids and adults with balloons under the pretence of ‘fun’.
18. Learn those party song dance moves and add them to the Spotify playlist. Live your ‘Strictly come Dancing’ dreams, don those sequins and show those kids how it’s done. Saturday Night, Candy, Reach for the stars and Stop by the Spice Girls are good ones to get started with.
19. Cake. No need to spend loads of money on it. Colin or Cuthbert the caterpillar will do. Save your cash. The cake at kids parties gets devoured in seconds, that £120 you just spent on a Paw Patrol cake will soon be a pile crumbs.
20. If you’re having candles place them on a separate cupcake for the birthday child. I know they are your child but spitting all over the cake when blowing out candles is vile and not covid friendly.
21. Buy yourself an epic outfit for your childs party. Take a look at Woowoo Boutique for jumpsuits and dresses and Shoop Doop for shirts and matching kids clothes.
22. Put on a song and make it a challenge to get a photo of the birthday child with each of their mates whilst the song is on. Make it a challenge and get the kids involved in it. You’ll get a bunch of photos in a short amount of time, so you can put your phone down and enjoy the party.
23. Take all the photos and video of the party and transfer any video to a hard drive so if anything happens to your phone or computer you have these moments stored. I’d recommend a La Cie, I’ve bought cheap and regretted it. When it comes to storing memories don’t skimp.
24. Enjoy the moment, kids really do grow up so fast and change so quickly. Pintrest, You Tube, local facebook groups and your parent friends are all a huge help and source of local party knowledge. Make the planning and creativity fun and playful and not a burden. If it feels like that get some help with the planning and activation.
25. I also work at adult parties. All these tips are relevant for them too. Except alcohol is an essential not an option.
The main thing is to just have fun. If you’re having fun and bright and breezy, so will everyone else. You are the sun this party is orbiting around.
- Some of the external links in this blog are affiliate links but only when relevant and companies I buy from myself.
