Category: Party Bags & Invitations

Party Games for Children 5+

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Musical Chairs or Cushions (5 upwards).

Set up chairs or cushions in 2 rows back to back. Put out one less chair/cushion than there are children. Start playing the music and ask the children to walk all around the chairs/cushions until the music stops. When the music stops, the children must each sit on a chair/cushion. The child without a chair/cushion is ‘out’. You might like to have a bowl of sweets to offer to each child that is ‘out’ so they don’t feel too humiliated – but don’t make it so tempting that everybody wants to be ‘out’! Then remove another chair/cushion. If there is ever a tie, don’t spend ages making a decision, just replay that round.

Animal Musical Chairs. 

The player left standing must pull the name of an animal, written on a piece of paper, out of a hat. Then, they must act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until there’s only one chair left.

Musical Statues (5 upwards)

Play some music, and watch the children dance and jump about. Without notice, turn off the music and the children need to freeze. If anybody moves, they are ‘out’. As with musical chairs, you might like to have a bowl of sweets to give to this child so they don’t feel too humiliated – but don’t make it so tempting that everybody wants to be ‘out’! Repeat until there is just one person left.

Hot Potato (5 upwards)

Sit the children in a circle and choose one to sit out wearing a blindfold. Begin by passing a potato around the circle, while the ‘blind’ child stands to one side. Everyone must accept the potato, and may not hold it longer than a second. At any point the ‘blind’ child can yell, ‘Hot Potato’, and whoever has the potato is out (Think about using that invaluable bowl of sweets again!) Continue to play until there is only one person left, and they are the winner. A really good variation is to follow the theme of your party. Use an appropriate item to pass around the circle instead of a potato.

Duck, Duck, Goose (5 upwards)

This classic children’s game is perfect for any party. Gather your guests to sit in a circle and let the birthday child begin as the ‘Goose’. They walk around the circle tapping each child on the head, saying ‘duck’ with each tap. When they are ready to choose the next person to be Goose, they say ‘goose’ when tapping that person on the head. That child gets up and chases the birthday child around the circle. If the new Goose does not tag the birthday child before they make it all the way around the circle and sit in the open spot, then the new Goose becomes ‘it’. If the new Goose tags the birthday child, then the birthday child remains ‘it’ for the next round and the game continues.

Decorate a Birthday Banner (5 upwards)

Unroll a roll of unwanted wallpaper and mount it plain side up on a wall within easy reach of your guests. At the top of the ‘banner’, write ‘Happy Birthday (your child’s name)’. You could lay the paper on the floor if you’re worried some of the artists may mistake your wall for their canvas!

Provide a variety of crayons and felt pens and let the children create their own masterpieces. Don’t forget to ask each artist to write their name and age beside their drawing. You can even encourage them to write a special message to the birthday child. After the party, fold it up and save it, or if you’d prefer, take a close-up picture so you can tuck it inside your photo album later.

Chinese Whispers (5 upwards)

Sit the children in a circle on the floor. Sit with them and begin by whispering a phrase into the ear of the person next to you. One by one, each person whispers the sentence (as they hear it) to the person next to them. It makes its way around the circle and when the last person receives the message they repeat it out loud – usually with very amusing consequences! By this time the children will have got the hang of it so you can extricate yourself from the circle and leave the children to take turns starting with their chosen sentence.

Fishing Game (5 upwards) – wonderful for a sea life themed party

You will need a helper for this activity. Tie a string across the room and hang a sheet over it so no-one can see what is on the other side. Use an old fishing pole, or make one using a stick and some string. Attach a clothes peg to the end of the fishing pole’s string. Let each guest take a turn ‘casting’ their line over the sheet. Get your helper to stand on the other side of the sheet and attach small fishy gifts to the clothes peg, giving the line a slight tug on the line when they’re attached. When the children reel in their lines, they’ll be delighted to see what they’ve caught!

Jelly Eating Contest (6 and upwards) (probably a better game for a smallish party!)

Make one bowl of jelly for each child (plus have a few extra on hand). Line the bowls along the ground. It’s a good idea to place a tablecloth or other protective covering on the ground for easy clean up. Each player places their hands on the ground beside their bowl and must keep them there throughout the game. When the command is given to start, all the contestants begin eating their jelly. The first one to clean their bowl completely, wins. Be sure to have a camera ready to capture the memorable moments! Great pictures to attach to your thank you letters after the party!

Freeze Tag (6 and upwards)

For this popular game, guests need to spread out in the party area (or better still, outside where there’s room to run). Let the birthday child be the first ‘tagger’. The ’tagger’ tries to tag all the other guests. If a player is tagged, he or she must freeze. Players who are not frozen can ‘melt’ frozen players by touching them. The first player to be frozen three times becomes the next ‘tagger’. You need to keep a close eye on who’s being ‘frozen’ – with large groups this isn’t so easy.

Edible Jewellery (6 and upwards – any younger and it takes forever!)

You will need at least 60cm of string for each guest, sweets and cereal with holes, and small bowls to put them in. Before the children’s party, fill the small bowls with the sweets and cereal and place them within easy reach of your guests at the party table. Give each child a length of string with the first sweet or piece of cereal tied on the end – otherwise anything the child threads on will fall off! Let them create a necklace, bracelet, anklet, etc. They’ll have lots of fun creating their own yummy, edible jewellery!

Children’s Party Etiquette

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Any parent knows that children’s parties can be stressful. From who to invite to chasing RSVPs, planning an event can feel like a minefield of social conundrums.

However, the important thing to remember is that you’re not alone – visit any of the major parenting forums and you’ll find plenty of posts detailing exactly the same concerns. And, as the saying goes, there’s ‘wisdom in crowds’, so what better place to look for advice?

Here are some of the most common concerns;

Should I invite the whole class?

This is a common concern – 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.

The consensus seems to be that 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.

When you consider that all of the children may bring parents or siblings, limiting the number of invites seems perfectly reasonably – as long as you’re not singling anyone out.

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.

An explanation for this could be the children’s party theme. For example, one parent notes that her son was happy to go to a ‘heroes party’ but not a ‘Frozen’ party. Having a unisex theme is a good way to make sure that all of the children feel comfortable attending. 

Another explanation could be age. Younger children 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.

How much should I spend?

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.

So, how do you ignore the pleas for all the latest bells and whistles, and make sure you don’t spend more than you can afford? As mentioned above, one of the easiest ways is to reduce the number of people you invite.

However, there are lots of other things you can do to cut down on costs. 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. 

What to do if parents don’t RSVP?

Is there anything more annoying than people who don’t RSVP? Unfortunately, not knowing who’s going to turn up seems to be a common problem

This can be particularly problematic when ordering party bags or food – how do you know how much you’ll need, if you don’t know who’s coming? And the problem is exacerbated if they then turn up with siblings in tow.

A good tactic is to include a politely worded caution in the invitation.  Something along the lines of ‘food and party bags will be ordered on XXX, so could you please RSVP by then to let me know either way’.

If there are still non-responders, it might be worth handing out reminders just before the date stipulated in the invitations.

How much should I put in the party bags?

Handing out party bags has become a staple of children’s parties, but knowing what to put in them is causing some parents a headache. Whilst you don’t want to look like you’ve gone completely over the top (largely due to the impact on your budget!), you don’t want to look like you’ve been too stingy either.

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 joy 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.

Parties on a budget

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Kids parties can be hugely expensive. With growing pressures to keep up with the Jone’s, kid’s parties can be a big stress if you’re on a budget. 

The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to give the kids a good time. In fact, we’d even say the kids will quite possibly have more fun if you don’t!

When it comes to parties, kids love simplicity! They don’t need loads of different things to have a good time. It’s amusing to see, that often the more lavish a party is, the less the children enjoy it. Quite simply because there are too many activities competing for the kids’ attention: a bouncy castle in one corner, entertainer in the other, then a face painter, a mascot thrown in for good measure and why not a popcorn machine? Sounds amazing but it’s too much!

Kids will become frantic and not be able to concentrate on very much for very long and it’s usually a big stress and panic to squeeze it all in to the 2 hrs.

But having less does not mean doing away with the fun. Far from it. 

The first thing is to decide what you want to do for your kid’s party. Give your child a few options and ask what they think they might like.

Themed children’s parties have loads of mileage and give you a lot of room for creativity at very low cost.

Costumes- You can have a lot of fun making your kids costume and it will cost you nothing. e.g. a pirate costume -get out the scissors and snip away at an old white shirt and tatty old pair of school shirts/ trousers, and a nice red scarf around the head.

Or what about fairy wings cut out from card board and covered in pink wrapping paper and sprinkled with a bit of glue and glitter. These give just a few ideas of how to make costumes from very little. 

Party Invites – if you are computer savvy and have a bit of creative flair you could do your own cool invites on the computer, of just do an Internet search for party invites and download free templates available. 

Make your own Cake – the sky is the limit when it comes to cake ideas.

Decorations – balloons are very cheap and usually all you need to create a super party atmosphere. Just have lots of them!!! You could also make your own colourful paper chains, or get some reasonably priced party decorations from any online party store.

Entertainment – every party needs some sort of entertainment. You could of course do the entertainment yourself but you’d need to be confident you could lead a group of kids through sufficiently fun activities for 2 hours. If you can’t then this is something you might want to budget for. if you are hiring a Children’s entertainer then this is likely to be where most of the cost of your party will go, but you needn’t spend a fortune – if you went for a week day after school, then entertainers are far more likely to give better deals as weekdays are not as busy as weekends. or a morning slot like 11 am – 1 pm. 

Food – parents can work tirelessly in the kitchen to create the most amazing party food but you’ll be surprised how little kids can eat at parties so do remember this before buying loads or going to loads of trouble. If you want to keep it cheap and simple, sandwiches and crisps and a few finger foods like sweets and small fruit like strawberries, grapes etc. is perfect. Finger food is always best. But if the creative guru in you can’t resist to try and dazzle and amaze, then you can be super creative and theme your food in so many different ways whilst still sticking to your budget. 

Party bags often go in the bin or get left lying around the minute kids get home if they’re just cheap toys, so you might want to settle for a piece of cake and a small but decent quality toy. Or maybe give kids a small pocket sized children’s story book. This has become increasingly popular and kids are far more likely to keep them. You can pick them up in shops for about 50p – £1 each.