19 Jun Operation Birthday: How to Host a Kid’s Party Without Losing Your Cool
Sonja Walker’s minute-by-minute planning means that her parties pass muster with all the troops.
Navigating the Birthday Party Minefield
Birthday parties can be a minefield for unsuspecting parents. Who should be invited and who shouldn’t be invited? How many kids is too many? How long should it last? Are kids too sophisticated for Pin the Tail On The Donkey these days?
Plan Like a Pro: Why Structure Matters
If you’re going to spend an afternoon wrangling a group of kids who are not your own, there are some things that just might make your child’s next birthday party a fun experience for everyone. I’m a teacher, and tend to run birthday parties with military precision – but I have to say that the planning we put in and our organisation on the day are what make our parties work.
For what it’s worth, here’s what we do at our house – a tried-and-tested birthday-party survival guide.
In the world of kids’ birthday parties, delegation is a great thing. We enlist the support of friends who will be there anyway, older cousins, and other family members, so that we are not running around madly, trying to do everything ourselves.
We assign one adult to run the games and another adult to work one game ahead, getting things set up so there’s a smooth transition between activities. This lessens the chance of things going off the rails.
Grandparents are also a great help when they are in charge of party food. While we’ve usually already got the menu organised, Grandma and Granddad come in handy when we need someone to get the treats heated and ready to serve. Grandparents sometimes don’t quite know what to do at little kids’ parties, so this strategy makes them feel useful and keeps them involved.
Other parents who insist on hanging around become our photographers, prize coordinators and so on.
Feeding the Frenzy
Kids get excited at birthday parties, so sitting down to eat sooner rather than later can settle them down a little. At our house, we set the decorated table with a party hat and a popper bottle of juice that is marked with each child’s name—that way, there are no arguments about where anyone sits. We also serve our party food in courses – with hot food first and ‘cold’ food second.
We serve favourites such as party pies, hot dogs or pizza slices on individual plates for each child, and when the children have eaten those, we serve a ‘cold’ selection, such as a small bag of chips, a cupcake, a sandwich, a chocolate crackle and three or four little treats per child. Having a plate of food for each child helps kids who have special dietary requirements or allergies and who often feel singled out or deprived at birthday parties. You’d also be amazed how much better it runs when kids are given something to eat rather than diving in for a free-for-all at the communal bowl of preservative-laden lollies!
Old-Fashioned Fun Still Wins
Even in this age of the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation, kids love games like Musical Chairs, Pin the Tail On The Donkey, Pass the Parcel, Musical Statues, and racing relays such as Pass the Orange Under the Chin.
We set up each game in a different part of the yard or house and move the children from one area to another. This allows us to have everything ready so that the kids aren’t left waiting, and avoids windows of opportunity for the creation of ‘kid chaos’. Ever the teacher, I even get them to line up to move from one spot to another, choosing a new leader each time. Strange as it may seem, it’s what kids are used to from school, and it helps to keep the activity and excitement at a manageable level.
Creative Calm-Down Time
Cutting and gluing activities are always good because they are not too messy and do not take long to dry. Again, this settles the children and gives them something to take home. The kids do not have to create masterpieces, but we usually find that a simple craft activity will keep even the most active children occupied for 10 to 15 minutes, as long as we provide help and supervision. We usually give the children cut-out animal shapes, and then allow them to colour or make a mosaic design with small pieces of coloured paper and sparkly stickers. Making simple masks is also usually a winner—we just photocopy the shape onto paper or cardboard, encourage the kids to colour it in and cut it out, add decorations such as feathers, glitter and a bit of elastic, and voila!
Winding Things Up Gracefully
If we’ve timed it right, mums and dads are arriving to collect their children just as the singing starts. Everyone says ‘happy birthday’ to the guest of honour, the lolly bags are distributed, and it’s clear to all that the party is over and it’s time to go home.
If Grandma, Granddad, cousins and friends have been doing their thing, most of the mess is under control by the time the last guest has departed, leaving us to share our child’s excitement over their presents, before having a cuppa and a good lie down!
