Planning is the main ingredient to success. Children's parties can quickly become chaotic and disorganized. To decrease the chance of tears planning activities that are age appropriate and relatively short in duration are essential.
It is a good idea to have a theme for the day. Children these days are really into dinosaurs, Lion King, Pocahontas and super-heroes. A party that centers around the time of the year can lead to related activities. A fall party can have a Halloween theme or seasonal craft activities that use fallen leaves.
If you are inviting all the kids from your child's class it would be ok to send the invitations to school. But if it's a smaller group you may want to mail the invitations to the selected children's homes so not to hurt uninvited children's feelings.
The number of children to invite to a party seems to follow the rule of thumb based on the age of the child. One guest for every year your child is old. Maybe you can add one or two more, but use this as a guide.
Behavior is often an issue that must be considered. Parties can become emotional experiences for the birthday child as well as the other children. Excitement and over stimulation can quickly melt down to tears and frustrations. By anticipating the children's sensitivity you can remain in control of your feelings and not become upset yourself.
Where to have the party, weather permitting can often make a big difference in the success of the event. The more children, the more space you will need. Consider being outside if at all possible. Also, many local pizza, ice cream, even fast food restaurants offer pre-planned parties for a nominal fee. While more expensive, such organized events can save a parent a lot of work.
And if you are trying to decide how long the party should last the younger the child the shorter the party. You can always extend the time if things are going well and the kids are having just too much fun to stop.
Finally, for those attending the party, including the birthday child's siblings, consider an inexpensive, small gift for each child. This can be a party favor, perhaps not candy that your birthday child can distribute to the other children. Not only will the other kids feel included in the gift giving/receiving, but also the birthday boy or girl will have the opportunity to experience giving to others on their special day.
Well, I'm sure there are suggestions and ideas that were not mentioned here. If you have something to add to this list, I hope you will send it along. In the future I will do an update of this feature and include new ideas.
