Tips for hosting a child's birthday party at home
A lot of parties were put on hold or postponed over the past two years - but 2022 will be the year we see them return. Picture: Stock
OUR eldest is turning ten in a couple of weeks - oh, who am I kidding... it’s in 10 days, four hours, and I’m sure if I asked her she could tell me almost to the second when exactly it is.
She is absolutely obsessed with her birthday! We have to ban her from talking about it from Christmas time until the start of February, otherwise I don’t think any other topic would be discussed in the house.
That said, we do love birthdays in this house so maybe I can’t blame the child for being excited. It goes without saying that after the last two years, it is an immense pleasure to be able to get excited about a party without having that dread hang over you that it could be cancelled.
Usually, we hold the parties in our house, the ten-year-old has other ideas this year so I think this is one of the first birthday celebrations that we won’t be holding at home.
While hosting a party for a scatter of small kids is a bit daunting at the best of times, it is also so much fun. I know I have so many memories of going to birthday parties in other people’s houses when I was young, and I hope the girls will remember their parties at home with the same fondness.
We have learned a few tricks over the years in terms of hosting parties and I know friends of mine have found these tips useful, so I shall share them here for those of you that will be hosting parties at home this year.
The biggest revelation over the years was that a three hour party is definitely an hour too long. A two hour party is long enough, especially for children under the age of eight, any longer and they tend to scatter to the four corners of the house, and when I am minding lots of other people’s children, I like to be able to keep an eye on them all easily enough.
We didn’t have any games prepared, although somehow we managed to pull it off, but it has been embedded in our memories ever since and now we won’t budge a minute over two hours for a self-hosted party.
They usually do drag on a little past the two hours by the time you do the cake, but the parents are there at that stage so it’s easier to manage when you aren’t the sole source of responsibility.
The best tip we have discovered over the years is to have lots colouring pages and pencils out on the kitchen table at the start of the party.
This always works well for us, especially with the younger children who might be shy, it means there is a less chaotic start to the party, which is always a plus.
We have a few tried and tested games up our sleeves that are always a hit, pass the parcel is a great one if they are a bit hyper and need a few minutes calming down, and it does pass a good few minutes. Be sure to wrap a layer for each child at the party, I have been known to get distracted and lose count, which is not ideal.
The other game we love, which my husband used to play growing up, is to hang donuts on a string off the washing line and the kids have to eat them with their hands behind their backs, so funny - and they all love having sticky mouths afterwards.
We always aim to have the food ready to eat about an hour after the kids arrive. By the time they settle in, do some colouring and play some games, they are just about ready for food.
Just before they are ready to leave, we do the cake, we might give them a few treats then too, a wise move to give them the sugar at the last minute before you send them on their way and let their parents deal with the come down!
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