How Long Should a Kids Party Last?

What is on this page

• The short answer, by age
• Why longer is usually worse
• A two hour party, minute by minute
• One and two year olds
• Three and four
• Five and six
• Seven to nine
• Ten to twelve
• Thirteen and up

1. The short answer, by age

If you only remember one number, make it two hours. It fits arrivals, games, food, cake and party bags without leaving the gaps where children get bored and start fighting.

2. Why longer is usually worse

Children run out of steam sooner than parents expect, and the last half hour of a long party tends to be the worst part of it. Go longer only when something is filling the time by itself: bowling, the cinema, a craft session, a sleepover. A hall and a bag of games will not stretch to three hours.

3. A two hour party, minute by minute

This is roughly where most home and hall parties end up. Write the times somewhere you can see them, because once it starts you will lose track.

If you are running late, cut the last games. Never cut the party bags. That is the bit children are still talking about in the car.

If you are short of games, there are ideas by age in kids party games.

4. One and two year olds

Build it around a nap and keep it short. At this age the party is mostly for the adults, which is fine and always has been.

Bubbles, some music, room to crawl about, a cake. Structured games are wasted on them.

5. Three and four

Keep every activity under about ten minutes. Attention goes quickly at this age, and a game that drags is much harder to rescue than one that finishes early, so a spare in your back pocket is more use than a long one.

6. Five and six

This is usually where the guest list jumps, because the whole class gets invited and you find yourself with twenty-eight children in a village hall.

Traditional games work properly now. Entertainers typically run forty-five minutes to an hour, which covers a good chunk of the party and a large chunk of the planning.

7. Seven to nine

They eat faster than younger children, so more of the time is actually available for doing things. Games with rules, teams and a winner land better than pass the parcel.

Keep each block short. This is the age that gets restless waiting for the next thing.

8. Ten to twelve

By now it usually stops looking like a party. Cinema, bowling, gaming, pizza and a film, crafts. You are mostly booking an activity and bringing cake, candles and party bags to it.

9. Thirteen and up

Depends entirely on what it is. A meal runs two hours; a sleepover runs until somebody falls asleep. Ask them, because at this age a party they did not choose is worse than no party at all.