Kids Party Tips

On a recent survey that I undertook, one of the things that parents indicated they wanted help with the most when planning a kids party was entertainment. Following are some tips and recommendations:
 

• Try not to bombard the kids with too many options - if you have too many things going on at once they can get overwhelmed and/or distracted.
• If you are having the party in somewhere like a park, and hiring an entertainer, just keep in mind that distractions like playground equipment can make it difficult for them to engage all of the children at all times. 
• If you are going to use a face painter, have something else for the kids to do whilst they are waiting to get their face painters, e.g. a lot of the face painters we use also do balloon animals or provide bubble wands to keep the kids amused. 
• Babies and toddlers are generally too young for structured birthday games and are happy playing with whatever toys you have. 
• There's nothing wrong with having prizes for winners of games, as long as they all have fun playing.
• Something that the kids get to make and take home with them is a great way to entertain the kids and avoid any disappointment at not winning a prize. Also games where all the kids play at once are better options than ones where they have to wait their turn.
• Most 3 to 4 year olds are still just that little bit too young for structured party games but if you really want to incorporate some games, keep it simple and something where all the kids win something, like pass the parcel. Other good options for this age group are jumping castles, clowns, fairies & other kids party entertainers, or play centers (if you can stand the noise!). 
• Structured party games and craft activities are great for 4 to 8 year olds, or pony rides, face painters, jumping castles, clowns, fairies & other kids party entertainers. Venues such as amusement parks, roller skating rinks and lasertag centers are also convenient options.
• 9+ year olds may not admit that they still like party games so disco parties, makeover parties and slumber parties with minimal adult interaction are usually the most popular options for this age group!

All of our packages include games. The DIY Party Packages include five games and activities, with instructions, that are easy to run yourself anywhere.

Our Hosted Party Packages (currently available on the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane & Melbourne) include approx eight games and activities, with a host to run them for you, as well as tableware, decorations and loot bags in your chosen theme.

We also have the option of Hosted Games Package which include just the games/activities and host without the party supplies.

    

            

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Kids Party Food
Written in conjunction with Jan Murray, Private Child Health Consultant & Director Settle Petal

Preservatives and additives are proving far too dangerous for some children and the future health of everyone. Kid’s birthday parties are not so much about the food but rather the kids enjoying being with each other, parent involvement, music, games and laughter.

Try to keep your party food simple and healthy with minimal preservatives and sugar. If you want everything to still be colourful and fun, try the following tips: 

• Make fruit skewers with rockmelon, green grapes, strawberries & bananas (drizzle a bit of chocolate on it if you like!).
• Make some yummy dips like avocado or bean & cut up carrot and celery sticks for dipping.
• Have baskets of freshly popped popcorn instead of chips.
• For a hot food option make some mini pizzas.
• Make little mini rolls with fillings like chicken & cucumber or grated carrots & sultanas.
• Make the cake (or cupcakes) rather than buying from a store as then you know what is in it and substitute the sugar for pureed apple for sweetness. Ice the cake with a light philli cheese spread then if you want to add colour use frozen berries or non edible figures and candles. Alternatively, have it made to order from a specialist cake maker so you can request things like no food colouring or edible decorations if you want.
• Serve everything on coloured plates.
• Have water or smoothies to drink, not fizzy drinks, cordial or juice and serve it in coloured cups with coloured straws or fancy cups like goblets or themed souvenir cups they can take home with them.
• Instead of lolly bags use loot bags with party favours to match your theme or have an art/craft activity during the party which they get to take home with them as an alternative to a lolly bag.

It is important to set up good habits around food from the moment babies start to eat. Jan Murray’s book ‘taste it – easy baby and toddler recipes along with professional child health advice’ will give you the information and ideas that you need.

              

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Share your great birthday cake ideas and designs here or look for inspiration from other mums or where to source cake products. 

Personally, after the stress of making a Barnie Cake for my son's second birthday, I have decided that birthday cakes are best left to a talented relative or professional cake maker! 

Check out http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ for some incredible creations as well as not so credible creations!

We also have a selection of cakes available on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane.

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There are so many photo opportunities at a child's birthday party, but they are often missed. Here are some photo tips from Claudia Forward of Sunrise Creations to help you capture the day:

1. Be prepared - prior to the party create a list of must have photos, e.g. the birthday child, your setup before and after, i.e. the mess!, close up of the birthday cake, candid photos, group photos, kids on arrival (this can perhaps be done with a theme background near the present table or front door).
2. Who will take the photographs? Assign a photographer and let them know what you want photos of.
3. Eye level - bend down to the kids level, tops of heads are not that attractive!
4. Zoom - use your zoom and frame your subject.
5. Be quick - kids are fast and have a short attention span,
6. Be ready - half press your shutter down and wait, thus the camera is already focused.
7. Table shots - if sitting on a rectangle table, take the photo from the wide side, to ensure everyone is in focus and can be seen.
8. Background - keep it clutter free, move yourself rather than asking your subjects to move!

Sunrise Creations are based in Sydney and specialise in designer invitations, photo canvas prints and coffee table books.  Claudia is offering a 10% discount to all Ezy Kids Parties clients on online orders for cards or canvas prints (enter discount code ezykidsparties at checkout).   

If you are looking for a Sunshine Coast photographer to capture your precious party moments then click here for a special offer from Shells Bells  photography.

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Having a themed kids party is ideal for a number of reasons:

• They are great fun - kids can dress up, talk about the theme, their favourite characters, etc.
• The birthday child gets to be involved in the party planning as they can choose the theme
• Kids can relate to it - chances are if your child likes the theme then most of their friends do to
• It makes it easier to decide things like the type of invitations to get, decorations, tableware, type of cake, etc. as you just match them all
• Gives the mums of guests a hint as to what to buy the birthday child for a present

For great value themed kids party packages check out our Do It Yourself and Hosted Party Packages. 

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I feel compelled to ask people to please RSVP when your child is invited to another child's party. Imagine not having enough loot bags or worse still not having any children show up to your child's birthday party.

People understand that children get invited to lots of parties and it's just not practical or possible to attend every single one but it's polite to at least let them know if your child is or isn't coming.

You don't have to think of an elaborate excuse and with the technology we have available these days it takes little effort for you to send an sms or a quick email - a simple "thanks for the invite but Johnny can't make it, hope you have a great day", or "thanks for the invite - Johnny would love to come, see you then" will suffice.

Also, let people know if you are bringing any siblings so they can be accommodated as well.

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It doesn't seem so long ago when my son was mad on Barnie, Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine - so much so that it was easy to choose his 2nd birthday theme (Barnie) and his 3rd birthday theme (Thomas). But then he hit 4 and Thomas and his friends were apparantly not so cool anymore and things got a bit more specific (e.g. Speed Racer for 4th birthday)!

All kids have their individual likes and dislikes but following are some aged based suggestions for popular and easy themes to do for boys birthday parties:

1st birthday - let's face it most 1 year olds don't really have that much of a definitive personality and likes or dislikes yet so generic themes are usually the go, e.g. 1st birthday, blue, animals, winnie the pooh, etc.

2nd & 3rd birthdays - by 2 most kids have started showing an interest in favourite characters in books, kids tv shows, etc. e.g. Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Elmo/Sesame Street, The Wiggles, cars, trucks, animals, etc.

4th birthday - this is usually the age kids start to grasp the concept of birthday parties with fun themes including pirates, dinosaurs, cars, superheros, cowboys, etc.

5th birthday - this is probably the most popular age group for birthday parties and where you can get a lot more input from the birthday boy with theme suggestions including space or more specific superhero types such as Avengers, Ben 10, Spiderman, Batman, Transformers, etc.

6th - 8th birthdays - a bit more adventurous, e.g. lego, monster, rock star, Harry Potter, Knights, Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plus the favourite sports, super heroes, etc. still 

Our most popular boys party themes by years have been as follows:

• 2009 - Ben 10, Cars
• 2010 - Ben 10, Superheroes
• 2011 - Superhero
• 2012 - Spiderman, Batman, Avengers, Star Wars

For more party theme ideas go to our Kids Party Themes blog and for themed kids party supplies go to our Kids Party Themes which lists them by category. 

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Believe it or not, not all girls want fairy or princess theme parties! In fact it's a good thing I had a 1st birthday princess party for my daughter as I think that's the only girly one I will get to have for her..

All kids have their individual likes and dislikes but following are some aged based suggestions for popular and easy themes to do for girls birthday parties:

1st birthday - let's face it most 1 year olds don't really have that much of a definitive personality and likes or dislikes yet so generic themes are usually the go, e.g. 1st birthday girl,pink, animals, winnie the pooh, etc.

2nd & 3rd birthdays - by 2 most kids have started showing an interest in favourite characters in books, kids tv shows, etc. e.g. Dora, Elmo/Sesame Street, My Little Pony/horses, The Wiggles, animals, etc.

4th birthday - this is usually the age kids really start to get into birthday parties, fun themes include pirates (yes you can get girl pirate partywares), fairies, princess, Dora, My Little Pony/horses, etc.

5th birthday - similar to 4th birthday but generally a more specific, e.g. Hannah Montana, Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Bratz

6th - 8th birthdays - a bit more adventurous and generic, e.g. disco, beach and the dreaded slumber parties.... 

Our most popular girls themes for 2009 were Dora and disco and for 2010 Hannah Montana & Princess.

For more party theme ideas and themed kids party supplies go to our Kids Party Themes

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Sample party schedule
 

10.00	Children arrive & birthday child opens their presents (or put them all aside until after the party & remember to take note of who gave what if you want to send thank you notes)
10.15	Games or play
11.00	Break to eat & drink
11.15	More games or play
11.45	Birthday cake
12.00	Children receive loot bags on their way out

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Try to start organising your child's birthday party 4-5 weeks prior to the date of it to give you enough time to send out party invitations, order a birthday cake, order your DIY or Hosted party package and book any children's party entertainers. 

If you'd like a copy of our kids party planning checklist, just subscribe to our birthday reminder service and you'll receive the link to download this, as well as $10 off your next order and regular tips and updates.

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