Tag: planning

Superhero party

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Holy Superhero Party Batman!  POW! BANG! POP!  You don’t have to be a super parent to put this party together.  We have lots of super ideas to help you.  So jump in the nearest phone booth, pull on your mask and tie on your cape, because it’s Superhero time!!

Are you ready to transform your home into a family fun Bat Cave and your garden into a Superhero training ground?  Will you welcome guests with Spider webs and Incredibles decorations?  Superhero parties only come once in a lifetime and you want to make it one that your little capped crusader will remember forever.

Invitations.

Superhero party invitations can be masks, comic books, or even newspapers with villainous headlines. Make them super exciting with some hints on what to expect and include whether costume is being worn or will be provided. Be sure to give the start time, end time, date and location of the Superhero Party. 

Decorations.

Set the mood for your party with great decorations like Superhero posters, music, and character party supplies. Cover the party table in reds, blues and other Superhero colours accented with streamers, balloons and confetti.

Games.

The memories are even more special when guests get to take home the artwork that they’ve created themselves at the party. Superhero’s always love to decorate masks and capes. Follow-up with photos of each child with the main character.     

A Superhero party just isn’t the same without all the Superhero’s dressed in their capes and masks.

The cake

Whether you bake and decorate your own or buy one pre-made, a Superhero cake is always colourful and exciting. If baking is not your thing, individual cupcakes always go down well and you can stick some rice paper ‘superhero’ characters on your cupcakes for an added treat!

A little something different

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Children’s Birthday Parties can be a really fun and exciting time. Kids go wild at the thought of kid’s party entertainers being there and when the time comes to plan your own children’s party entertainment, you’ll probably find your child wants the same entertainer to come along to their party too. But parents often get to a point where they have seen so many kids party entertainers and wouldn’t mind a change. Loads of kids in the class have had the same type of children’s party entertainment or the same entertainer and it’s sometimes nice to spice things up a bit!

The problem is of course – what other options are out there? When you think children’s magicians or kids party entertainers, you often think of a silly man or woman in an outfit doing magic, games, dancing, balloons, etc. This is a classic formula for children’s birthday parties and it works very, very well indeed so you definitely shouldn’t necessarily overlook this. For years’ children’s birthday parties have consisted of this and kids still love it today. These are probably the most popular mix of activities for a children’s birthday party so if you haven’t tried that already then that’s probably a good bet to go for as the variety of the activities makes it a hugely fun and safe option.

But nowadays there is a lot of other choice available and if you’ve already seen lots of kid’s party entertainers doing this mix of children’s party activities already it might be nice to try something new.

Science Parties are becoming bigger and bigger at the moment. Think science is boring? Think again! Science parties are barrels of fun! They use really engaging science experiments and demonstrations that are absolutely visually stunning and get the kids involved and are a great way to give kids a brand new and exciting experience. Science Parties are becoming increasingly popular as a form of children’s party entertainment and they tend to be suitable for any age from about 4 all the way to teens. The kids get to see loads of amazing and visually stunning science demonstrations as well as trying out their own super cool science party experiments, where they learn just how much fun science can be! 

Bubble parties are another great idea for children’s birthday parties. Ever seen a kids get wrapped inside a giant bubble? Kids love it! Why not give it a try? 

Other great options are activity parties for kids, drama, clowns, discos, the fact is that when it comes to kid’s party entertainers or children’s party entertainment, the sky is the limit.

Of course you do have to think about budget. Often going bigger with kid’s parties will mean costing more. But then if you’re on a tighter budget, you needn’t be limited by choice. There are lots of themed parties that you could go for that can help inject fun and creativity into children’s birthday parties. Why not try a cool spy party or an around the world party where you play games that are linked to the theme? 

One other helpful tip is to not get too carried away with organising your little one’s special day. It is easily done with all the exciting choices out there. So do remember to talk through what your child wants and that what you are organising is what they’d like to have and not what you think they’d like to have or what you rather like the sound of. After all it is their day and they may still be happy with the original mix of activities that they have seen before.

Double up

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Admittedly, children’s party entertainers and children’s magicians can be quite pricy, and that’s only half the cost. With the credit crunch still looming, a great way to save money can be to have a joint children’s birthday party with another parent. That way you don’t lose out on the fun of having a children’s entertainer at half the cost. Aside from the cost benefits, you can also share the organisation and work load that goes with planning a children’s birthday party. That said, does sharing a children’s birthday party with another parent create a headache in itself?

Common problems can be found amongst parents trying to jointly organise kids birthday parties, like not being able to decide on what type of party to have. Children’s party entertainers alone can be a tricky thing to decide on. Do you have a themed children’s party or children’s magician, clown, etc.? Kids party entertainers can be one of the trickiest things to decide on when having to liaise with another parent. As your child might want something entirely different to what the other parent’s child wants.

Additionally, many parents can find that they have to compromise more than they bargained for, or workload is not shared out equally, and then after having spent a great deal of time and effort organising most of the children’s birthday party, the parent they’re sharing it with isn’t entirely happy with what has been arranged and in the end you’re left wondering if it would have been better to spend a bit extra and be left to organise your own children’s birthday party.

If you’re planning on sharing a children’s birthday party with another parent, it’s best to do it with someone who has the same ideas as you and who is in the same class as your child so the numbers of children don’t instantly double, otherwise your costs go up and you’re saving is far less.

When organising kid’s birthday parties together, the key thing is to have a clear idea of what you both want right from the start. Have a budget set and decide who is going to do what. Look at different types of children’s party entertainment packages that are on offer. 

You’ll also need to figure out who you’re inviting to the party, will it be at home or in a hall, who will organise the food, or if you’re sharing it who will do what. Once you’ve set a clear outline for what you’re going to have and who will do what, that should help prevent there being disagreements along the way.

It can be a great thing for kid’s birthday parties to be organised together. The initial liaising with another parent can definitely be worth the saving, as kid’s birthday parties are not always cheap. Kids party entertainers alone are usually a large part of the cost, so halving that cost can be very helpful. If the workload is shared equally that helps a great deal too. You might also find you can benefit from the expertise of another parent who has organised kid’s parties before. Just make sure you both know if you want similar things before you get too far down the planning stage.

Party Food

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An important part of any child’s birthday celebrations is the party food, and parents who are choosing to do the spread themselves will want to create a feast that is guaranteed to get eaten. Naturally, dishes you choose will be dependent on what kind of party your child is having but there are a few ways in which you can make sure that your party food goes down a treat.

Mix Staples with party food ‘Experiments’

It’s always fun to create your own fun dishes. You can get loads of ideas form the internet. No matter what you do it’s almost certain that some dishes will be more popular than others. You therefore should aim to create a spread that is a mix of good party food staples like cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, sandwiches, etc.…with ‘experimental’ plates like party themed cupcakes, food shaped as characters from a theme, etc.… Whilst planning the menu, make sure that you consider what leftovers you may have, and how you would use them too as there can be a lot of food left over.

With classic children’s party food such as crisps and biscuits, buying multipacks and refilling will mean that any leftovers you have are fresh and easily used in lunch boxes and for snacks. With more ‘experimental’ dishes, make sure that you and your family will be willing to eat them if left untouched.

Check for Allergies

When sending out the invites, it might be suitable to request any dietary information from parents that will help you create a spread that can be enjoyed by all. Parents of children with severe allergies or special dietary requirements may already know they need to contact families prior to attending birthday parties to avoid issues on the day, but some will assume that they will be catered for or forget to mention it.

By asking families to provide details of special diets, you can include (or not include) certain dishes that means no one at the party goes hungry.

Presentation isn’t necessarily everything

Do try not to add unnecessary stress or pressure on yourself. Most parents are on the quest to create the perfect children’s birthday celebration and therefore may think that presentation of their party food is essential. Of course it’s fun to make things look nice and show some thought. Although presentation and display of party food may be important to adults, do remember it’s not necessarily noticed by the children and it is a kid’s party after all.

If you have the natural creative flare and want to put on a great spread of fantastic looking kids party food, then why not!! But if it’s going to stress you out then do remember that with all the excitement that is created from entertainers, party games, and celebrating with friends, when it comes to picking from a selection of party food, children won’t be too fussed about any delicate arrangement, but more about taste and variety and you could have gone to all that trouble only to find it not being appreciated afterwards.

Of course if you’re making party food together with your children, before the party, then your kids will love this as it gets them involved in their party even more and it’s a great activity to do with your kids.

Kids party menu

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Are you about to have a party for your little one? Are you busy, frantically planning for all eventualities? It has probably not escaped your attention, but the party menu can be a vital and often time consuming component in any children’s Birthday party.

Have no fear; we are here to give some helpful advice! Whether you are looking for crowd-pleasing results or something a little healthier, we have something for you below:

First check for possible food allergies

Planning the food for any party can often be a challenge, as one has to always think about the dietary requirements of other kids. It’s quite possible that you will have some children with allergies or intolerances. Often the parents will have told you if this is the case but it is worth checking yourself to be sure. (maybe ask parents to mention this on your party invites)
If you do have certain allergies or dietary requirements to cater for then you may want to ensure the food for that child is on a separate plate so it makes life easier for them and also doesn’t run the risk of contamination of their food with things they can’t have e.g. for nut allergies.

Planning the party ‘menu’

Children are the most honest of guests. – If they don’t like something they won’t eat it. Some children won’t like ham, others won’t like tuna – so put on an even spread of sandwiches with a variety of fillings, so you aren’t left with some kids that don’t want to eat anything grand then go home hungry.

Trying to trick your own children into eating fruit and vegetables may be a constant battle at the best of times, but in a party scenario it could prove even harder. And it is a party after all so perhaps now isn’t the best time to worry too much about healthy eating.

That said, learning to hide the greens is still possible – have you thought about cooking a delicious vegetable cake, for example a carrot cake?

Our suggestion though would be to have a good mix of sandwiches, fruit and veg that can be eaten by hand.e.g. cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, cheese cubes, then a nice range of crisps and sweets. A simple range of food like this makes life easier and also reduces allergy issues.

Keeping the kids sweet!

There seems to be a law of balances involved at every stage of the menu planning process. On the one hand, too much sugar can turn your party into mayhem, whereas on the other, too little could make your food too boring.

Aiming at the middle is the way forward. Cake, crisps and jelly are the traditional vouch-safes; but you could also consider throwing in some chocolate-dipped fruit or fruit juice for good measure.

What to drink?

If presented with a choice, children will almost always opt for the sugariest option. Preparing drinks on a tray before-hand and distributing them as a matter of course can help deal with this issue. You could even try distributing glasses of milk, should the sugar intake be reaching dizzying levels. But to make life easier we’d suggest juice boxes as they’re nice and easy to put on the table, reduce spillages and are easy to throw away.

4 Party Themes

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The chances are that your child and their invited guests will already be pretty excited about the prospect of a party, but if you really want to get them looking forward to the day itself then adding a theme could do the trick. A themed birthday party gives the kids a chance to dress up whilst also giving you a great topic for which to base your decorations, food and entertainment around.
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!

When it comes to food you can also integrate your theme here too. Mini pizzas could become ‘Cinderella’s carriage wheels’ and fish fingers could become ‘pirate planks’ that lily-livered sailors have to walk.

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.

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 fooling around like their favourite clown. The circus is not just about the guy with the red nose 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.

At the circus, tomatoes can easily be renamed as ‘clown’s noses’ (you might even persuade a child to eat one when they would otherwise turn their nose away to a vegetable!) and similarly, cheese puffs can be transformed into ‘juggling balls’. To really add that finishing touch, why not turn your venue into a Big Top with some multi-coloured fabric.

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.

What to Include in a Party Bag

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Party bags are a great way to say thanks to the young guests that have attended your child’s birthday party, and leave them with a little something that gives them a memory of a great day. Making a party bag for each guest that are based around the themes and entertainment doesn’t have to be costly or filled to the brim with items but can just include a small selection of child-friendly items that leave guests saying a happy farewell once the celebrations are over. To help parents decide on what to include in their kids party bags, we’ve created a list of great items that children will love!

• Birthday Cake- With children having already filled themselves up with the party food you provided, once the candles have been blown out and Happy Birthday sung, the cake is best divided and placed in the party bags to be eaten later.

• Toys- Some small plastic party toys give children items that will keep them entertained once the birthday celebrations are over, and can even match the party’s theme. Remember that you don’t need to go over the top with contents, and should aim to have no more than 10 items in their party bags.

• Sweets- A small packet of sweets or chocolate are easy to add to a party bag. Leftover mini packs of sweets from the party food spread can be dropped into the bags as the food table is cleared, or parents can buy multipacks to be purposely used.

• Balloons- A birthday party isn’t complete without some balloons. Our entertainers can create some brilliant balloon animals for kids to take home on the day, but why not include some bright, colourful balloons for them to blow up once at home.

• Thank You Notes- A party bag is already a great way to say thank you to the children that attended your little one’s birthday but parents may also want to consider including hand written thank you notes in their party bags.

• Certificates – Kids love certificates and they don’t have to cost the earth. It’s not a toy but let’s face it, toys get played with for a few minutes whereas a certificate is something they can keep and remember for a long time. They don’t have to cost anything either.

Themed Parties

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Themed children’s parties are a fantastic way to celebrate a special occasion, especially if your little one is particularly obsessed with a certain character, film, or has a favourite hobby or interest. As children’s interests are usually as equally popular with their friends and classmates, hosting a themed party for kids is usually a great way to get guests enjoying themselves. We’ve come up with some suggestions for creating a themed party.

Invites and Fancy Dress

Asking guests to come in fancy dress is a great idea for a themed party. If your child wants to be the only one dressed as their favourite character, specifying this on the invites is a must! Do so in a polite way rather than appearing to demand that no one else dresses the same. A great way to do so would be to refer to your child as their character choice, like so: ‘Spiderman (Joe) would be delighted if you could join him for his superheroes party…’

Decorations

Decorations complete a themed party, so make extra effort here. Why not get the whole family involved and make your own decorations? It’s a great way to save money, and spend some quality time together, and may even make good use of your child’s excited pre-party energy!

Make banners and signs that include favourite characters and use a colour scheme that relates to your theme. Football fanatics will love it if their team colours form the basis of the party’s decoration, and those interested in all things aquatic will think that a room decorated in blues and greens with plenty of drawings of fish and sea creatures is wonderful.

Games

Rather than coming up with completely new games, organise common party games that children love, with a twist. Change the names of the games, or alter the rules slightly so that they incorporate the theme. For instance, if hosting a science party, play ‘pass the thermal reactor’ instead of ‘pass the parcel’ and have a science related prize.

You could even describe musical statues differently. Explain that there is no gravity when the music plays so you have to dance like astronaut, and that once it stops, the gravitational pull is so strong that no one can move!

Entertainment!

Entertainment can really be the cherry-on-top to a themed party, especially if the entertainer arrives in fancy dress or has some brilliant ways to amuse the guests! Have a look at our directory of children’s entertainers which will help you out a little so you can put your feet up and enjoy!!

Girls just want to have fun

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Invite your friends for an extra cool sleepover girls birthday party!

Crafts, Make-Up, DVDs, Midnight Feasts, Birthday Cake, Sleeping Bag Races – what more can a birthday girl ask for? The girls are coming round for a sleepover! Girls just love to make things with their friends. Get creative and make something really special like a funky t-shirt or some cool jewellery:

T-shirt painting is always a popular kids crafts activity and a great idea for a sleepover. Give them a blank white t-shirt and a bunch of fabric pens and paints, some sparkly bits and pieces to stick on and see what new fashion they can design. They can really let their imagination go wild with fabric painting.

Having a ‘girlie night in’ means only one thing- time to get your nails painted, create cool hairstyles, have fun putting on each other’s make-up and get all dressed up ready to show off your artistic expression ‘ designed by yourself’ new T-Shirt.

Roll out the cat walk, load the music, flick on the spot lights and have your very own
fashion show!! Catch it all on camera for some great memories.

Time for Dinner:

Why not make your own Pizza? The kids will really enjoy making the pizza dough (most supermarkets have an easy packet pizza base mix that takes 5 mins to mix up) and then add lots of great toppings e.g. tomato, ham, pepper, pineapple, pepperoni, olives and lots of cheese. Children love to eat their own homemade dinner.

Chocolate Fountain Dessert:

How about the kids cutting up lots of different fruits and dipping them in some scrummy melted chocolate!!

Get cosy:

Grab your sleeping bags and pillows, get comfy in your pj’s or onesies and settle down in front of the TV to watch a great movie for a little quiet time and don’t forget your popcorn!

Have a great party!

First Birthdays

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Let’s be honest, Baby’s first birthday is more for the family and friends and less for the guest of honour. However, when you look back on this milestone birthday celebration together, your little boy or girl will be able to relive the special day. Babies are a handful, but planning a party perfect for them doesn’t have to be. We’re here to help with first birthday party ideas!

Girls 1st Birthday Parties

They say girls are made of sugar, spice and everything nice so the best way to celebrate her first birthday is by throwing a bash sweet and frilly. Show everyone that’s she’s your little princess with pretty pastel colours, lace and flowers, and plenty of sparkles.

Boys 1st Birthday Parties

Your little guy is probably just starting to be mobile, so that means he’s getting his hands in everything. He’s probably got a favourite toy or favourite character and you can bring it to life for his 1st birthday bash. No matter what he’s into, from sports to playing outside, there’s no denying that your little one is bursting with energy. Capture his essence with vibrant colours, fun party games and don’t forget the cake.

Party Favours

No matter how young, or old, your guests are, everyone loves a goodie bag. But when you’re planning something as special as a first birthday party, it might be the last thing you think about. You can get crafty and DIY something special for your guests or you can purchase already put together kits. You can even go the extra mile and personalize them to make sure your bash is an event no one will forget.

Party Games & Crafts

We know the main event of any first birthday party is when you let the guest of honour get his or her hands on their very own cake. And maybe some of us are hoping that cake smashing was socially acceptable for all ages…However, don’t forget to keep your guests entertained for the rest of the time with some fun party activities. From DIY keepsakes or crafts to pass down to your baby as he or she gets older, to games that get your guests moving, the possibilities are endless.

The main thing is just celebrate that you’ve survived his or hers first birthday and crack open a bottle of champagne!!