Recently a friend, who is an amazing mother of three, and her husband schooled me in how to throw an amazing kids birthday party.
She warned us before we attended that her family tended to go all out for birthdays and I began to feel worried. Really, when was the last time you truly enjoyed a kids party? Also, as a school teacher my idea of hell is spending another day surrounded by loads of kids hopped up on sugar and excitement. I started getting an eye twitch in the run up similar to my normal ‘November/December in a Kindergarten Class’ PTSD.
Turns out I was wrong. Really really wrong. This party was AH-MAZING for everyone who attended. So here are some tips I gleaned on how to throw a kids party that wont make all the adults want to put their fingers deep into their eye sockets and shoogle them around.
1. Pick an easy, flexible theme.
My friend’s daughter chose ‘Under the Sea’. Perfect. For the scrooges/insanely busy people who want minimal effort a surfer/beach bum ‘costume’ can be created from every day clothes. Little girls (or mums…or dads) can live out fantasies of being mermaids. First time and Pinteresting mums (like me) can get creative with a sewing kit. Everyone’s a winner.
2. Threaten people with dodgy headwear to ensure they don costumes.
3. Make ridiculously strong cocktails.
I was half-cut just smelling my first blue margarita. It was also served in a dry-ice, smoking beer tower. ‘Nuf said.
4. Create a themed playlist which has adult and kid favorites intertwined.
The kids are boogying to tracks from ‘The Little Mermaid’ and in the next breath the adults are belting out ‘SAIL!” or drunkenly singing along to ‘Yellow Submarine’.
5. Organize games for the kids.
When the littles started getting rambunctious the games began. Water themed hilarity ensued, leaving the parents peace and quiet with their cocktails and free entertainment in the form of small children.
6. Fantastically cute, themed food.
Further ensure the parents are able to fully appreciate their cocktails by making the snacks so cute the kids eat without being forced and no attention is subtracted from the margaritas.
7. Ready a themed video that the kids haven’t seen before.
My friends chose a documentary about the ocean. The quickly tiring littles got a short period to recharge. The adults got more cocktail time.
8. Be awesomely enthusiastic, tireless and creative hosts.
Really this party was such a hit because of T. and J. I’m not convince anyone would look quite as good in a saucy mermaid costume as either of them or be able to be on the go, constantly for such a long period without breaking their smiles or hitting the sauce as hard as all the other adults present.
T. and J. if you are reading this, lower your expectations for the first party of mine you attend. Seriously. Nope, lower than that. Still lower, keep going.
