Party Time! I almost can’t believe I am saying this because the time has gone so quickly, but it is just under five weeks until Noah's fourth birthday.We are currently planning his party, and thought we might do things a bit differently this time around. In the past year we have been to several children's parties spanning one end of the organisation scale to another, so we've had a lot of food for thought. One of these parties was held at an indoor play centre where the birthday child’s parents paid a fee for each of his friends to play and for their meal (chicken nuggets, chips, juice and cake). Another friend had an enormous jumping castle, pony rides with decorated pink and purple saddles, a fairy who supervised games, pass the parcel, dancing and bubble blowing and an artist doing face painting. Then there was the low-key afternoon tea with a few kids, toys, some lollies and cake. After three years of backyard parties, we've decided go offsite to our local park which has lots of fun activities, but also lots of space for our guests. This way there is no chance of the pets getting spooked by all the kids and running away (we lost a cat for three days after one party). There is another upside - we won't have to look at Noah's heartbroken face when one of his toys is broken, as inevitably happens every time. It sounds horrible to say, but after a few occasions of dealing with the devastation of broken toys we had to start hiding Noah’s favourites, for fear of having them wrecked in the excitement of 20 or so kids all wanting a turn. Weighing all this up, we thought going to the park was a master plan! The kids can play for hours on the slides, flying fox, swings etc and parents can supervise and chat, with the option of sitting at the fixed tables or bringing a picnic rug for the occasion. We’ll be bringing some extra chairs for older relatives, but I think the kids will just want to drop in for a bite and then run off again to play so we won’t have to worry about too much extra furniture. The only problem I can see is someone else having the same idea. How would we negotiate around two kid’s parties at once? I guess we just have to get there early, take our chances and hope for the best (and that it doesn’t rain of course). What do you like doing for kid’s parties? ___________________________________ Johanna Baker-Dowdell is mum to two boys – Noah and Ethan – and combines looking after them with her work as a blogger, journalist, writer and public relations consultant. She owns and manages Strawberry Communications which started small in the third bedroom, but has grown into its own office space (in the converted garage). 2 CommentsFeedAdd Comment |
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Monday, 29 March 2010
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Yes we've decided one of us will need to be there early to ensure we get the best position in the park. Hopefully it's early enough!