Kids Party Hub

What is on this page

• If you have not decided anything yet
• How long it should run
• Home, hall or venue
• What to sort and when
• The checklist
• Games, food and party bags
• What you actually need

1. If you have not decided anything yet

Six things settle everything else, and until they exist there is not much point buying anything. The date. The time of day. Where. Roughly how many children. A rough budget. A theme, or just a colour. The countdown puts a deadline on each one.

Time of day is worth thinking about hardest, because it quietly sets your food budget. An 11am start tends to mean parents turn up expecting lunch. Two in the afternoon means squash, a few snacks and cake.

If a theme is where you would rather start, birthday themes by age is the quickest way in.

2. How long it should run

Two hours suits most primary school children. Ninety minutes is plenty for toddlers, and older ones can go longer if there is an actual activity filling the time.

The party length guide breaks it down by age and shows how a two hour party is normally shaped.

3. Home, hall or venue

Home is cheapest and suits smaller parties. A hall buys you room to run about. A venue hands the whole thing to somebody else and charges accordingly.

Mostly it comes down to how many children are coming and how much organising you fancy doing. The comparison goes through all three, including the questions worth asking a hall before you pay a deposit.

Holding it at home? Indoor party ideas covers the front-room version and garden party ideas the outdoor one. There is a rainy day back-up plan too, which is the sort of thing to read in advance.

4. What to sort and when

Working backwards from the date is the whole trick, and the countdown does it for you, stage by stage, down to the morning itself.

5. The checklist

If you would rather work through one list from top to bottom, use the party checklist. Guest list through to the tidy-up, and it works the same wherever you are holding it.

If you want more detail on any of it, the complete planning guide goes deeper.

6. Games, food and party bags

These three are where most of the day actually goes.

• Kids party games, with what works at which age
• Party food ideas, and how much food and drink per guest, which is the one people get wrong
• Party bag filling ideas

7. What you actually need

Children notice the cake table, the balloons and the party bags, in roughly that order. Most of the room they will not look at once.

A banner, matching tableware and something going on behind the cake will cover a normal party. Add a garland or a backdrop if you want photographs, and skip it if you do not.

For quantities, how much tableware do I need does the sums for you. If the budget is tight, decorating on a budget is worth ten minutes, and coordinating a party table covers making it look deliberate.