Tag: parties

Traditional Game for kids

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The ‘National Day of Play’ is on Wednesday 7 August 2019 and occurs once a year to celebrate the importance of play in children’s lives.

We want to bring these games back into fashion and tell our children how much fun we had with these classics games that are perfect for any children’s birthday party.

1. Mud pies, mud gardens, mud everything
It’s amazing how many mums and dads used the word “mud” to refer to a game they played when they were younger – it certainly was a key component of our childhoods.
Being outside in the summer meant mud pies, ladybird homes and simply playing in the soil… and didn’t involve a single smartphone.

2. Cat’s Cradle
The piece of string that made a brilliant stocking filler and with which you could waste hours simply making the same patterns with a friend? Cat’s cradle is a game where two people pass the “cradle” made from string back and forth between their fingers to make shapes and catch each other out.

3. Dens
Making dens in the field, and anywhere else you could find suitable materials
Den making involves gathering absolutely everything you can from around your house, including blankets, duvets, pillows and cushions to make a hideout in the living room.

4. Making perfumes in jam jars
Making perfume in jam jars was all about going outside to find rose petals and simply mixing them with water, as well as adding a drop of two of washing up liquid to make the colour even nicer.

5. Marbles
When was the last time you saw a marble? The tiny glass balls provided us with hours of fun coming up with endless games using them. The classic game you play with these balls involves shooting 11 marbles into a circle and knocking other ones out of the ring.

6. What’s the time Mr Wolf?
You simply take small steps towards a “wolf” who is stood with his back to you, – the number of steps you take depends on the time he shouts out, before he would turn around and chase you. The screams you made when the wolf ran towards you was the best part of the game. As you frantically ran away so as not to be caught.

7. The floor is lava!
It sounds a lot more daring than it is. The idea is that you can’t walk on the carpet or you will melt (obviously).You get around this by getting as many sofa cushions, blankets and anything else you can find, to put on the floor and walk over it to get to the other side of the room. Simple. Easy. Fun.

8. Sardines or hide-and-seek
Hide-and-seek is great fun, especially when you don’t get found within the first five seconds. But another similar game that proved popular with our parenting community is sardines.

It’s like hide-and-seek but only one person hides and all the others must find them, hiding with them when they do. The hiding place obviously becomes hugely cramped (like sardines) and the last person to find the group is a loser.

Christmas children’s parties

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Christmas is by far one of the most magical experiences of childhood. From being too excited to sleep to peeking out of the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh, the memories of the holiday season become some of our most treasured.

If you have child that has a Birthday near Christmas, make it as exciting as can be, let all the other kids invited get all Christmassy excited!!!

Fancy Dress
When it comes to fancy dress, you’re spoilt for choice. Ask all of the kids to dress as something Christmassy – this can be anything from an Elf to a snowman or a reindeer. Provide them with a few ideas on the invitations to get them started.

Decorations
Aside from the essential Christmas tree, you can have lots of fun creating a festive wonderland in your home.

Santa’s Grotto
A great idea is to create a Santa’s grotto – choose a small room, which you don’t need to use and drape the walls and any furnishings with fabric in deep red and purple.
You can then decorate the room with fairy lights, Christmas lights and decorations to make it feel festive. Get one of the adults to dress as Santa Claus and send the children into the ‘grotto’ to collect their party bags and any other treats.

Crafts
There are lots of simple Christmas decorations that you can easily make with the kids and the whole family. Try making garlands from pine tree leaves, pine cones, tinsel and baubles. Other ideas include; painting the tips of pine cones white for a snow-effect, cutting snowflakes out of paper to string around the house.

Games
Gift Wrap Relay
Divide the children into two teams and provide each team with a gift-wrapped box – you should also prepare stations with pre-cut wrapping paper and cello tape. Each child has to run to a station, unwrap and then rewrap their box, before running back to their team and passing it on to the next person. The first team in which every child unwraps and rewraps the box, wins.

Mystery Stocking
Fill a stocking with a collection of ‘mystery’ party bag fillers, with a distinctive tactile feel. Each child has a chance to feel the fillers inside the stocking – if they can guess what they are without looking, they get to take them home.

Party games for toddlers

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Animals
This is game is fun for small kids who are naturally intrigued by animals and can’t cope with the intricacies of a more complicated game. Have a selection of animal masks or small wild animals– the same number as you have guests. Hold one up, one at a time. Ask all the children to imitate the animal. Continue, changing the animal just as soon as you feel the time is right! At the end of the game, give a mask or animal to each child. This could be a good ‘going’ home game if you’re brave enough not to hand our party bags!

Sleeping Lions
Surprisingly loved by a huge age range, this is a great ‘calming down’ game before handing your guests back to their parents. Ask the children to ‘sleep’ on the floor like a sleeping lion. The moment anybody moves they are ‘out’. In reality, you can ignore the odd twitch and your guests can stay ‘sleeping’ until somebody comes to collect them! You will look marvellously in control and the children will have calmed down into a contented and peaceful state.

Air Balloon
This is more of a time filler than a game with a winner and is enjoyed by everybody because it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are! It’s a good way to start a kids party whilst you are waiting for everybody to arrive. Before the party, insert a small, light-weight gift such as a Stretchy Smiley Men into the opening of a balloon before inflating it. Then, blow air into the balloon and repeat until you have a balloon for each guest. The children have to try keeping the balloon in the air for as long as they can just be using their head. Once given the go ahead they can enjoy bursting the balloon and retrieving their prize!

Pass the Parcel
Before the party wrap a gift into a layer of paper. Now wrap it in another layer and repeat until you have the same number of layers as you do guests. (If you have more than about 15 guests it’s more fun for your guests if you play the game with 2 parcels). Seat everyone in a circle and play some music for a short time. When the music stops, the person holding the parcel removes ONE layer of wrapping. (Have a bin bag ready so you can keep tidy from the start!) Repeat until the last layer of wrapping has been removed. The winner keeps the present.

Knowing your limits

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Any parent knows that children’s parties can be stressful. From who to invite to chasing RSVPs, Here are some of the most common concerns;

Should I invite boys and girls?
The gender divide is a frequent concern, with many parents noticing boys not turning up to their daughter’s parties and vice versa.

Younger kids tend to have friends of both genders, whilst older children will often have a group of friends who are the same gender as them. However, every child is different, so it’s important to discuss with them who they’d like to invite.

Should I invite the whole class?
How do you decide who to invite from your child’s class? Only invite a select few and you run the risk that someone’s feelings will be hurt, invite everyone and your budget can spiral out of control.

Only inviting half the class is fine, as long as you make sure you aren’t just leaving out a couple of children. It’s fairly common for parents not to invite the whole class, especially if their child isn’t close to all of its members.

How much should I spend?
Children’s parties can become expensive, so money is always a pressing concern. Once children reach school age, they’re likely to be invited to their classmate’s parties, which can pile the pressure on to compete.

Hiring out a village hall can be a good bet, as they will generally charge an all-in-one fee for a two to three-hour party, unlike other venues, which will often have additional charges for food etc.

If you’ve got the time, making supplies such as the cake and decorations yourself is a great budgeting trick.

How much should I put in the party bags?
The general consensus is that just a couple of quality items is more than enough, with many parents including a mixture of sweets and small toys, with one or two different items for boys and girls. The focus should be on quality not quantity, as these items will bring more fun for longer.

Throwing a party doesn’t have to be stressful. By following our guide to party etiquette, you can ensure that you sail smoothly through any potential pitfalls. And, if in doubt, talk to other parents – two heads are always better than one.

Don’t overthink a children’s party

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If you are organising a celebration for your child’s birthday here are some things you may want to avoid.

Inviting Too Many Guests
Whilst it’s often a good idea to invite everyone in your child’s class, to avoid anyone feeling like they have been left out, this will ultimately depend on the space you have available and the amount of other parents you have managed to rope into helping you out. If the party is going to be staged in a small room or you only have limited help available, it may be wise to restrict the number of little guests so that things are a bit more manageable on the day.

Trying to Do Everything Yourself
Although you will be proud of the party you have planned, there is a danger that doing everything yourself will make it a much more stressful process. This is especially true on the day. After you have put in all the effort prior to the occasion, why not take some time to relax during the actual event?

Eating too early
One of the most anticipated and important parts of any kid’s birthday party is the food, but if you offer this up too early then you could struggle to regain order. Instead, it is a good idea to build up to the food and have it near the end of the event. This way if anyone spills anything down them they haven’t got to sit through the rest of the party in dirty clothes, and you won’t have to try and get them settled again before they go home to their parents.

Ignoring The Wishes of Your Child
There is little point in wasting money on expensive decorations and gourmet food if all they would like is a few balloons and their favourite snacks. It’s always a good idea to ask them their preferences for the party – maybe give them 3 or 4 suggestions to choose from so it helps with the decision making process, and then you can guarantee they are going to love whatever you plan for them.

More importantly, it also means you’ve involved them in the process and it makes them feel much more like it’s their party. Try to avoid going to the other extreme though and allowing your child to have all the say.

The Perfect kids party venue

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There are many reasons why you wouldn’t want to host a children’s party in your own house. Either you don’t have enough room in your house for a whole classroom of children, or you don’t want your house to get damaged. Perhaps you don’t have the time to clean up after a party.

Getting your party organised in the right location is of great importance. Organising a children’s party that is too far from anywhere is not a good idea, as other parents have to consider the cost of transport. Other considerations for your setting may include disabled access, the size of the hall itself and the cost.

Where:
Consider church halls, or community centres that have their own kitchens so you can cater too. Decide how much space you will need. Do you want outside space too? Some of these party venues mentioned are quite reasonably priced.

How much?
If you would like to find out how much a centre costs, you should ask the centre first if they charge by the hour or by child. Some centres do charge per person and this can become very expensive if you are looking to host a large number of friends.

If you have found the best location for your children’s party, then why not look on our blogs for amazing ideas. We’ve plenty of knowledge and experience in giving inspiration to your little one’s party.

Birthday Party Themes

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Themed birthday parties give the kids a chance to dress up whilst also giving you a great topic for which to base your decorations, food and entertainment around.

Circus
Having a circus themed kids party can be a great way to give the children a chance to learn a few new skills whilst they are having fun. They could have a go at learning to juggle, or messing around like their favourite clown. The circus is not just about clowns with their red noses and big shoes though, and so the children have plenty of options when it comes to fancy dress. There’s the ring announcer, the gymnasts, the lion tamer and the strong man; to name just a few.

Wizards and Witches
This theme has always been a firm favourite, particularly at Halloween, but has grown in popularity since the rise of a certain boy wizard. Your little guests can dress as their favourite character from the film franchise or as a wizard or witch from their own imagination. The beauty with this theme is that it doesn’t take much to transform an ordinary child into a wizarding genius; just a hat and wand in most case

Pirates and Princesses;
This has to be one of the most popular children’s party themes and always goes down well with the little ones. It’s so easy to pull off as well and you can make it as minimal or as full on as you like. Pirates can either turn up fully decked out in attire or with a simple eye patch. The girls will also be really excited about being able to don their favourite dresses, adorn themselves with a tiara and greet their royal subjects!

Space
Space is a great theme for both boys and girls as it really allows the children to let their imagination run away with them. Will they come dressed as a strange alien from the planet Zog, or will they arrive in a spacesuit ready for their latest adventure into the unknown voids of the galaxy. You could even ask half of your guests to dress as aliens and the other half as astronauts and then use these teams within your entertainment.

Food could include various twists on party classics, such as ‘asteroids’ instead of meatballs and ‘moon rocks’ in place of chicken nuggets. The venue could also be decorated to look like a strange planet with stars, moons and spaceships on the ceiling.

Different Birthday Party ideas

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Looking for a children’s birthday party with a difference that won’t break the bank? Here’s our roundup of some amazing attractions and venues from across the UK that are sure to provide lots of lovely memories of their big day!

Farmer Palmers Farm Park, Poole, Dorset
£14.95 per family
This lovely farm offers so much fun for little (and big!) animal lovers alike. You’ll get to see live milking demos, pig races, have a go on a bouncy castle and more! Tickets include one child, two adults, food and drink, a tractor ride and full use of the park… which would normally retail at £35 each!

AMF Bowling, Various Locations
From £7.99 per child
What could beat a round of bowling for a fun, competitive and much loved classic kids birthday party? Fab food is all included in the price too!

Go Ape, Various Locations
From £17 per child
Swing, zip, balance and jump your way through the trees on the Tree Top Adventure courses, suspended high above the forest floor. Younger adventurers will love Tree Top Junior, a lower and easier version.

Adventure Wonderland, Christchurch, Dorset
Various Price Packages Available
With over 30 fab rides and attractions, Adventure Wonderland offers lots of fun for everyone! Battle it out on the Battle Boats (be prepared to get wet!), go on the Dragon’s Drop Megaslide or even go see some adorable animals in the Cuddle Corner Farm.

Mattel Play! Albert Dock, Liverpool
£15 per child
With over 13,000 square feet of themed exciting entertainment, including well known characters such as Thomas and Friends, Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder, kids will love exploring this amazing play centre! Yummy party food is included.

The Rainforest Cafe, Piccadilly Circus, London
£15.50 per child
Bringing together the fascinating sights and sounds of the jungle, this fab cafe is the perfect place for a wildlife mad partygoer! See the animals brought to life, experience thunderstorms and, of course, eat lots of super yummy food too!

Go Air Trampoline Park, Ty-glas Avenue, Cardiff
£16 per person
With 60 minutes of pure trampolining fun in their open space, 40 minutes in their dedicated special party room, socks, invites AND food (you’ll get either a choice of Papa John’s pizza or a delicious deli sandwich), Go Air is the place to take your active little ones looking to blow off some steam on their big day!

Funky Monkeys, Cityside, Belfast
From £8 per child
With jungle themed play rooms, an interactive kitchen area, car track with crazy coupe cars and more, Funky Monkeys will not disappoint and is sure to provide lots of fun on your little monkeys big day! There’s a range of party options available to suit all needs, so be sure to check out their website!

Waterworld, Newquay, Cornwall
From £17.99 per person
With a 6 lane 25m pool, tropical fun pool, 2 water flumes, cannons, tippers and a snake fountain, this is the perfect place to host your pool mad little ones party! Prices include unlimited pool use, small buffet package, free return for the birthday child, 50% off future visits for all guests and more!

Sea Life Centre, Great Yarmouth, Norwich
From £10.50 per child
Sea Life is fab for aquatic mad little ones! Price includes entrance to the centre, a dedicated VIP tour by one of the crew, hot meal, free local annual pass for the birthday child, free downloadable invites and more!

Superhero Parties

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Superhero Party Invitations

Send a “Top Secret” memo, telling them they have been selected to become a new superhero, and will need to report for training.

If you’re in a hurry, try online invitations.

Kids Birthday Party Decorations

Include decorations on your list for planning your kids party ideas. Decorations can really set the mood and make any a little more festive.

Anything to do with a superhero! Batman, Superman, The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Ironman and so on. Mix and match items from each of the great Superheroes.

Print images of well-known villains (find them online) and hang them up as “wanted” posters.

Obstacle Training Course – Some ideas for your obstacle course include:

Crawling through a secret tunnel or cave (use a play tunnel, large cardboard box, or table covered with a sheet, and hang streamers over the entrance and exit)

Paint some cereal boxes grey and set them up to jump over (leaping tall buildings in a single bound). If cereal boxes are too tall, choose something else appropriate in size.

Do a forward roll or other great move to show your agility

Walking on a “tightrope” – actually a line drawn in chalk or done in tape on the ground – to show balance.

Jumping through windows (a hula hoop held up)

At the end have a baby doll or stuffed toy that needs to be picked up and brought back to safety.

A Test of Speed – Divide players into teams for some relay races to show their speed!

Spiderman’s Web – Have pictures of villains posted in an area and give each guest a can of silly string so they cover villains with their “webs”.

Musical Superheros – Play a version of musical chairs, but instead of having chairs, have coloured sheets of paper on the floor. If a person isn’t able to land on a coloured sheet, then they are out that turn – let them control the music for that next round, before returning to the game.

Drench the Villain – Make some drawings of villains using waterproof markers. Have the kids throw water balloons at the villains and eventually the villain drawings will “run.”

Kryptonite Hunt – Before the party spray paint some large rocks in a fluorescent green colour. Just before the hunt have a helper hide the “kryptonite” rocks and announce a hunt for them. Give the players plastic bags to pick up the kryptonite and bring to you (so they don’t have to touch it with their hands, or else their superpowers might be destroyed!)

Superhero Children’s Party Favours a/k/a Superhero Training Graduation;

A superhero cape (presented at the end of training) and a mask
Comic books
Colouring books
Small action figures
Trading Cards

Fairy Parties

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Many ideas on this list come from what little girls love to do – play dressup, and use their imagination!

Fairy parties can also be about fairies in general, follow a garden theme, or be about a specific fairy, such as Tinkerbell or one of the Barbie Fairytopia fairies.

Here are some fun, general, kids party activities that you can do for any of these different type of fairy themes!

It is always a good idea to have something for your little guests to do when they get to the party, because there is about a 10 minute time span where people are arriving and you will want to have everyone occupied from the moment they get there. Have a helper, either another adult or an older child, help with these activities to free you up to answer the door.

As guests arrive for the party, give them a “fairy makeover”. Nail polish, body glitter, glitter hairspray. You can add a tulle skirt, crown and wings if you wish.

Earning their Fairy Wings
One option on the wings is to wait to pass out the wings till the end of your party.
If you do this, you can set up the games as “tasks” to complete so each child “earns” their fairy wings.

Centreing a party around “earning” something can give you a wealth of activities!

How about your fairies-in-training trying some of these activities?
Speed Test: Have a race or a relay race to see who can zip among the flowers the fastest.
Magical Hunt: Arrange a treasure hunt where everyone must find 3 beautiful coloured jewels.
Show of Bravery: How about winning a battle against a villian? It is always a good idea to be able to stand up for yourself and your fellow fairies

Because fairies love to live in gardens, you can incorporate some of the ideas from a garden party into your theme! One good idea would be to hit a flower or butterfly pinata.