Tag: activities

Keep it simple

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The growing competitive element of hosting a children’s birthday party that has recently emerged now means that many parents end up overspending and creating a party that is filled to the brim with far too many activities. 

Do remember that children love simplicity. Not to say the entertainment shouldn’t be good or varied. It should definitely be good and varied. It needs to be engaging, fun and imaginative too. But parents should avoid the temptation to overload their kid’s party with too many activities at the same time as this will end up being over stimulating and confusing. 

In the same way, parents that don’t plan enough activities or have any form of entertainment at all, can often find that their children are completely underwhelmed, bored or worse become very restless and start running around and be difficult for parents to control. If there is no structure to the entertainment planned this can happen a lot, which is something all parents want to avoid.

A perfect party has a few fun activities planned for different times, but parents should be prepared for their party ‘timetable’ to change slightly during the celebration so it can be adapted to suit the kid’s energy levels on the day and to accommodate any unforeseen events. 

Keep it simple and enjoy!!

A party for the 4th of July

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Join in the fun and celebrate the United States’ Declaration of Independence with all the fireworks, stars and stripes that go with it for your 4th of July party this year! All you need is an assortment of traditional patriotic foods such as apple pie, hamburgers and ice cream, and a firework-worthy location to create the most magical commemoration of American freedom you and your family have ever experienced. 

4th of July party besides the fireworks is fantastic food. You can start by pledging allegiance to your grill and making some of America’s favourite barbeque foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, steak and chicken. Try adding an Independence Day twist to some of your favourite classics by incorporating an American flag or the colours red, white, and blue in each dish. For example, you can buy some toothpicks with an American flag attached from a party store and stick them in each of your hamburgers.

Your 4th of July party success depends largely on the location of your family gathering, whether it is a cosy barbeque or fun picnic for the kids and all the family.

Since this sunny holiday takes place in the summer, it is wise to select a party location where you and your patriots can enjoy the beautiful weather and even a firework show after the sun sets. If you aren’t willing to host your 4th of July bash in your garden, try staking out a spot at the beach or the park where you can best enjoy the sunny weather. Although many cities do not allow fireworks to be set off to avoid accidental fires, there is always the option of driving the family over to a park where fireworks are not prohibited. And don’t forget to be safe and bring a bucket and some water to ensure that all the fireworks are properly extinguished.

A teenage beach party

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It’s tricky when the children reach their teens, you want them to have a teenager birthday party but they are not too keen on grownups being there.  If you live by a beach and your teenager’s birthday party is in the Summer, weather permitting too, it would be great fun to organise a beach party for your little grown up.  Here is an account of one such beach party which you will see he really enjoyed:

“For my 14th birthday, I had the most AMAZING party! I invited 14 people, 7 girls and 7 boys. Everyone met at my house on the morning of the party around 10:30am. At 11am, a limo came and picked us up and drove us to the nearest beach, which was about half an hour away. We blasted the music in the limo and took a load of pictures from our smart phones. We had a lot of fun. We arrived at the beach around 12:15. We rented a room for the day at the coolest little hotel opposite the beach. The hotel had a pool, lounger chairs, tables and a refrigerator in the room to keep drinks and stuff in.

When we got there, we had lunch. We got burgers and chips. We also had sweets, cookies and stuff to munch on. My mum and dad set up our spot where my mates could sit and chill on the beach. By our wind breakers we had plenty of towels, drinks, and sunscreen.

After we ate lunch and changed into our bathing suits in the room, some people from a surf team came and taught us how to surf! We had 6 boards and 3 instructors and everyone took turns. When they went surfing, we were playing in the ocean or tanning. After the surf pros left we all played in the sea some more and had a huge sand fight! After that Everyone got into teams of 2-4 people and we had a sand castle building contest. 

 We had just the most amazing day and it was so cool!! My mates talk about my birthday all the time and I am pretty chuffed that my Mum and Dad arranged all of this, they are the best parents EVER!!”

Teenage Party Ideas

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Ask any parent what the trickiest age for kids is and they’ll often reply ‘teenager’. Not quite grown-up, not quite children, throwing a party for your early teens or tweenagers, (as 10-12 year olds are sometimes known), can be tricky.

The important thing is to get the balance right between a children’s party and something a little more grown-up. Here are our tips to help you get it right.

Themes

Rock Star Party

A rock star themed party is a great way to bridge the gap between child and teenager. Ask the kids to come dressed as their favourite diva or guitar hero, or alternatively, a glam rock theme can be a big hit.

Essential Activities

Air guitar competitions and karaoke, of course.

Party Bags

Any self-respecting rock star has an impressive array of tattoos.

Spa Party

For many (not all) girls, it’s their tweenage or early teenage years when they first develop an interest in fashion and beauty. If this is something your child is interested in, a spa party could be the ideal theme.

Create a calm, clean and relaxing environment, with plenty of towels, seating, easy access to a bathroom and different ‘stations’ for activities. You could also play relaxing music and provide healthy snacks, such as fruit smoothies.

Essential Activities

Facemasks with cucumber slices for the eyes, foot spas, manicures and makeovers.

Party Bags

Fill your spa party pack with lots of girly pampering products, face masks, lip balm or bath bombes.

Cinema Party

What could be better than a party including all of your favourite films? Get all of the children invited to suggest an age-appropriate film, and then vote on the ones they want to watch. All you need to do is provide a comfy seating area and plenty of cinema-themed snacks, such as popcorn, hot dogs, nachos and mixed sweets.

Activities

Film watching! You could also play a movie trivia quiz and movie-themed Pictionary.

Pizza Party

The great thing about teenagers and tweens is that they’ve reached an age where they can do more complex activities – still under supervision, of course. Throwing a pizza party is great fun and it results in lots of yummy home-made snacks.

Get the guests to form teams and design their fantasy pizza, using any toppings they like. Once all the pizzas are cooked, get everyone to try each other’s – whichever team’s pizza is voted the most delicious, wins.

Activities

A pizza making competition! You could also put together a quiz on Italy – the homeland of the pizza, or try blindfold pizza tasting to see who can guess the toppings.

General Tips

– Give them some space – early teens and tweens are at an age where they’re going to want some privacy when they spend time with their friends. Make sure you’re nearby and available if there’s a problem, and pop in every now and again to make sure things are OK.

– Don’t treat them like children – OK, so they’re not grown-ups and still require a certain level of supervision, but suggesting children’s games such as musical statues probably isn’t going to go down well.

– Get an extra pair of eyes – monitoring a teen/tween party without making them feel babied is a balancing act. Make sure you have someone to help you – if you know a trustworthy older teen, they could be a great asset.

With the right theme and some tactful supervision, you can get the balance right at your teen/tween party.

Throw a festival party

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It’s officially festival season and people all over the country have been enjoying music, camping and spending time with friends. Despite the inevitable downpours of rain and quagmires of mud, thousands of us love every second of festivals like Reading and Glastonbury each year.

So, why should the kids miss out? Throwing a music festival themed children’s party this summer is sure to make you a hit with your child and their friends. Here are some great ideas.

Invitations

You can have lots of fun making your festival themed invitations.

Tickets

A great invitation idea is to base the design on festival tickets. Although this style is commonly used for weddings, it could be easily adapted for a children’s party – all you’ll need is some coloured card and clever usage of Word.

Flyers 

Alternatively, you could go for a flyer-style invitation – this is basically a mini poster advertising the date and time of your ‘festival’. A fun idea is to include a list of the activities you’ll be offering (e.g. bouncy castle, karaoke) under the heading ‘line-up’. 

Fancy Dress 

What music festival would be complete without some attending rock stars? Get all of the kids to dress up in their best rock attire. Alternatively, you can draw up a list of iconic musical decades, such as the 60s, 70s and 80s, and ask the kids to dress in the style of the era – provide them with pictures for inspiration.

Decorations

Creating a music festival in your garden isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Divide the space into signed areas such as ‘campsite’, ‘main stage’, ‘dance tent’, and ‘refreshments’. Borrow some friend’s tents to create the camping area and set up a barbecue in the refreshments area.

String flags and bunting around the garden and hang national flags from a number of countries in front of the ‘main stage’. 

Activities

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to festival themed activities.

Making Flower Crowns

Make sure you supervise this activity – ensuring each child works one-on-one with an adult is a good idea.

Making classic festival flower crowns is a lovely activity for older children, and will provide girls with a memento to take home with them. They are surprisingly easy to make – all you’ll need is floral wire, floral tape, fabric flowers and glue.