HOW TO STRUCTURE A KID'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
The most successful birthday parties are those that are carefully planned, structured and orchestrated so that everyone is engaged and has fun throughout the entire party. A great party will usually have four elements. The four elements are the welcoming, the games, the refreshments, and the closing. There are sometimes slight alternatives to these 4 elements depending on party themes. For the most part, these four basic elements will give your party a great chance at being successful coupled with the right party supplies and party decorations.
1. The Birthday Party Welcoming
With the welcoming you will allow about 15-20 minutes at the beginning of the party. Have some birthday activities for the children to do while they wait. If you have taken my advice about hiring a party planner either you or they would be able to keep the children entertained while the rest of the guests arrive.
2. The Kids Party Games
The birthday games and activities portion of the party is ready to begin after everyone has arrive and is comfortable. Remember to keep it relevant with selected party themes. If you have chosen a party theme package from your local party planner like the High tea party for example, your hostess would set up the party area and during this part, the hostess would introduce the birthday games and the party would begin. Plan for this portion of the party to be about 45-60 minutes, in the case of a party planner event the birthday party can last up to 3 hours.
Since the games and activities are already themed and based on the age of the children you don’t have to worry about that, you can just watch as your child has an amazing time and be sure to get plenty of pictures.
If you did not enlist the help of a party planner you will want to ensure that your games and activities are age appropriate.
Here are some game tips for you to keep in mind for this portion of your party.
* Plan more birthday games than what you think you will need. Some games won’t take as long as you think especially with the younger age group so it is always a good idea to have multiple back up games available – trust us on this one!
* Don’t let any one game last too long or your party guests will get bored.
* If you are using team games, choose the teams in advance, this avoids any child having his or her feelings hurt.
3. The Kids Party Refreshments
Make sure that the activity that comes before the refreshments is a calm one, this way to children are wound down rather than up and they will be better able to sit quietly and enjoy their refreshments.
You are now on the refreshment element of your party. The refreshments can also be based on party themes for an additional fine touch. Think colour, flavour, fruit pieces (punch style).
This is the portion of the party where you may want to open presents (unless you wanted to wait until after your party), cut the cake, and have food or snacks. This portion of the party will last about 20 minutes. Try not to plan too much time for refreshments since some children will eat really quickly and some may not eat at all.
4. The Birthday Party Closing
Now you are in the home stretch with the closing. This means that the party is nearly over.
This is the part of the party where you will want to make sure that every child has their belongings and their gift or lolly bag.
Allow free play time until the parents come to pick up their children.
