Do you often dread the thought of hosting your child’s party? Do you often find trouble deciding what to have, what food to serve or even how many children should I invite? Well, I’ve just survived my daughter’s party and I’ll share with you some tips on how to host one, without the unnecessary stress attached to it.

Tip 1:
Number of guests
As a rule of thumb, I usually follow the child’s age. If he/she is turning four, then only four of her close friends are invited. To keep track on who her close friends are, just make note of who she often talks about when she comes back from kindergarten, playschool or creche. If you don’t want to “hurt” any of the other kids’ feelings, make sure you pass the invitation to their parent or carer. The best part about this is, as they get older, say when they turn 9 or 10, they would tend to just be in smaller cliques and the number of guests will still be small, say around 5 friends. Once they get to the tween or teenager stage, you would probably cut out on the party altogether and just take them out or have them over for a movie night or sleepover!

Tip 2:
Keep it simple
Seeing that you have a small number of guests, you have a few choices. Having it at home with a minimum number of 6 guests is not that difficult. If weather permits, have it outdoors in the backyard. Have some simple party games like pass the parcel, musical chairs or even musical statues. If the weather isn’t so good, then hold it indoors and have the same games.

For older children, girls especially have a simple craft party where the guests and your child make something they can take home. Include a small bag of coloured pencils for each child and this too can be their party gift to take home. Boys can have a craft party too, just make sure the thing they will be making are “boy friendly”. Try making masks and have them decorate and put them on after that!

If you do decide to have it at a place that caters for parties, make sure they allow small numbers. If not, it’s still easier and cheaper to have it at your own place.

Holding it at a park is another good option. Once again, if weather permits.

Tip 3:
Food to serve
This is something I learned through my years of hosting a party. To minimise the hassle of deciding what to serve, hold your party either in the morning and end just before lunch or have it in the afternoon, just after lunch. That way you only need to serve snacks. You don’t necessarily need to turn to unhealthy snacks. Sure, you can still have the chips and the lollies, but make it healthier by buying the healthier options like chips that are organic or have been baked and not fried. If you have the time, just make it yourself. Lollies, these you can make it “healthier” by buying natural ones. You can also make jelly cups which are pretty quick and easy and another idea is instead of making fairy bread by using fairy sprinkles, why not top the bread with chocolate sprinkles instead. Just be sure to check that guests who have allergies to certain foods. We want them to feel welcome too and it is our responsibility to make sure that the food we serve can be eaten without any worry. Drinks are the easiest bit, make sure you do have plain ol’ water to serve and some juice. That will keep the hyperactive level to a minimum and still keep the kids hydrated.

Tip 4:
Party favors
Don’t you hate it when your child comes home only to be carrying even more lollies than he/she could even eat in a day? Well, you don’t have to omit the lollies altogether, just make sure they are not the cheap, low quality ones. Since you have a small number of guests, you can afford to spalsh a bit more on good quality lollies and chocolate. Include in the lolly bag a toy or gift that can actually be used and not disintegrate within a day. Some ideas would be a bookmark, stationery, small wooden toys or even hair accessories for the girls. As I’ve mentioned before, having smaller numbers means having the means to buy better quality gifts.

Tip 5:
The clean up
That small number of guests sure lessens the amount of clean up you have to do. As long as you have told the guests that no one is allowed into the bedrooms, and you’ve carefully selected toys that they can play with and place them out for all to see before they arrive, all will be fine. Oh and make sure the bedroom doors are closed. Remember, use paper plates as they can be recycled and paper cups too. That also cuts the washing up you would have to do!

I hope these 5 tips will help you and your child have a great party ahead. It sure helped me survive my child’s party!