Probably the most challenging parties in the world to do effectively are those we do for our children. This is due to the age of the guests involved and the stress level capacity of the adult hosting the party. Children can be hard on living rooms and parents, and if you are planning a gala for your child you might want to consider some other locations. (You might also want to consider having someone else be in charge, but for right now, this is the situation at hand.)
Some good locations for kids’ parties may lie near your home but not in it. You want to minimize transportation hassles as much as possible. How about the children’s museum, for example? There’s also the skating rink to consider, the local zoo, amusement park, miniature golf course or bowling alley. You can also involve the children in some of the party preparations too, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Consider some of the following “safe” tasks the kids can help you do:
1. Let children design their own invitations with drawings, glitter and stickers. (They can leave out the traditional RSVP.)
2. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so unless the whole class is invited to the party send the invitations out in the mail.
3. Remember to keep the party short. It saves wear and tear on both the hostess and the children and most kids can’t tolerate more than an hour or two anyway (adults hosts as well).
If you opt to keep the party at home, keep things as simple as possible. You don’t need magicians, ponies and circus clowns to amuse small children. Balloons, a cake and many colors are very attractive to small children and should suffice. (Of course you will need a few children, but I thought you knew that.)
Get down and have some fun. You might as well. You may be the adult in charge but you were a kid once too.
Happy Party!
Related Reading:
http://forums.families.com/easy-party-ideas,t36833