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How to Host a Traditional Kids Party

Kids Having FunLet's face it the traditional children's birthday party, like we used to have as kids, is hard work for the parents.  There's food to make, balloons to blow up and, worst of all, a bunch of hyper-active children intent on wrecking your house.

You probably want to plan for a party of about two hours; in my experience it breaks down into about 20 minutes of running screaming while people arrive, an hour of games, 20 minutes of eating and 20 minutes more games/handing out party bags.

Check out our Kids Party Games page for party game ideas.

You're also going to want to pick a kids party theme, obviously this is one area the party boy or girl will have a strong opinion. Luckily there are hundreds to choose from, from the classics of Elmo, Barney to newer ones like Lego Ninjago.

As for the kids tea I'd suggest not deviating from the time-honoured selection of junk food:

Top Tip!A neat idea, suggested by a reader, is to make individual, named, lunch boxes.  On your invitation r.s.v.p. ask for the choice of sandwich/juice and then just make-up exactly what's needed rather than having to guess.

What you'll need

For serving the party food and decorating you can get themed sets.  You'll probably want:

Room decorations:

Other party essentials:

Party Themes

For every child the most important things about their party are: how many of their friends they can invite, and, what theme it is.

The answer to the first question depends on your pain threshold and tolerance for noise!

As to the theme we've put together a kids party theme chooser to help you find that perfect party theme.