So, after four years I feel like I finally have this birthday party thing down. Well, sort of.We had Owen's party about 2 weeks ago (I've been incredibly lazy about blogging) and aside from a few mishaps I think we got it just about right. Here's what we've learned:
1. Plan it early. Some kids this age still nap, so anything that starts after noontime doesn't work. Other kids this age - like Owen - no longer nap but need some quiet time by 2 p.m., making a noontime party a bad call. So we planned ours from 11a.m-2 p.m., giving the youngest guests time for a morning nap and the preschoolers plenty of time to rest in the afternoon.
2. Have a plan, but nothing too complicated. We wondered about games and activities, but in the end decided to pray for a nice day and turn it into a "bike party." Owen's big gift was a Thomas bike with training wheels, so we had all fo the other 4-year-olds bring their bikes so they could ride together. It was a good idea in theory, but in reality they probably rode them together for about 5 minutes before running back to the sandbox.
3. Don't invite too many people, and leave out anyone without kids (except for grandparents). For Owen's first birthday party we invited every friend we had, and most of them came. It was fun and social, mainly because we didn't have to spend much time entertaining a 1-year-old. At the time he could barely walk, didn't really talk, and napped through half of his party. At this age the party is truly about the kids. We had kid food, sat outside around the sandbox and slide, and entertained them. Hopefully our friends without kids weren't insulted that we didn't invite them - and to be honest, they're probably grateful. I can't imagine the party would have been much fun for them.
Oh, and one more tip: People really don't come to kids' birthday parties to eat. We forgot that and ordered 8 pizzas for 20 people. My mother made dozens of cookies and brownies and an enormous cake. We wound up with 3 unopened boxes of pizza and way more baked good than we could handle.
But that's OK - our neighbors and Owen's classmates were happy to take care of the leftovers.
Happy birthday Owen! (I still can't believe I have a 4-year-old)
42 comments:
Thank you for this... i've been surfing the web all night and your info on your son's 4th birthday party was JUST what I was looking for :) My daugher turns four on 11/19 and we're having a Hello Kitty party in our backyard (from 11 - 2:00!!!) and keeping it simple with not too much food.
Thanks again - very helpful!!
Jodi from California
THanks for these insights. I live in a small apt in Paris but wish I had a big backyard to have a similar party.. thanks though, very helpful!
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