Hey moms,
I want to run my party plans by all you mamas and see if you think I have winner or need to fill it out more. The party is tomorrow from 1:30-3:30. We are doing a Toy Story/martial arts theme. The party is at my husband's martial arts school, here is the schedule: 1:30-1:50 toys/face painting/snacks
1:50-2:20 martial arts demo and m/a games for the kids
2:20-2:40 cake
2:40-3 presents
3-3:30- free play, dancing, stickers and of course more eating;)
So does that sound good? I am excited but a little nervous b/c the party is not at my house this year. At home, I know I can always pull something out of my hat, like the sprinkler in the yard etc. But I was thinking if at the end of it all I needed something I could run a few games of freeze dance or simon says etc. Alot of the kids there will be from ages 2-5 but a few older ones are coming as well. I will be playing music the whole time to keep things lively. The toys at the beginning will just be a selection of his better toys that are pretty indestructible, like balls, big trucks, soft blocks stuff I don't think anyone will be hurt by and that won't get torn up. Do you think toy time at the beginning is a good ice breaker along with the face painting? I kind of wanted to have something to get the kids involved in as parents are herding them in the door so the parents can grab a drink a chill for a minute and the kids can start to get comfy with one another. I did talk to my son and he said he wanted to share his toys with his friends at his party, he always does well sharing when kids come over. So does the toy thing seem good? Lastly, I have always done quite the food spread but this year, honestly with having a 5 month old and a 3 year old, I didn't want to do all that work. So I scheduled the party from 1:30-3:30 in hopes that people won't expect food. I have drinks out the wahzoo, capri sun for the kids, water, chips, pretzels, cookies and candy, and then of course cake. I was thinking people have time to eat before and the dinner after. If you were invited to a 1:30 party, would you expect food? I put on the invitation that I was serving cake, hoping to give folks the hint to eat before coming. Sound good? K, I think that is it. Thanks for any input!
WOW! You are a great party planner. The only thing I would change is the presents. These days, the big thing is to NOT open presents at the party. Have a great time!
Your plan sounds fine. We did a Tae Kwon Do party 2 yrs ago. The 2 hours flew by! The instructors set up an obstacle course for the kids to play threw after the stretching and demos.
I'd drop the face painting. You don't want them to get hot and sweat paint all over the mats.
One thing that helped at our party was that I gave name tags to all kids and parents (Ex.Becky - Mom of John). This helped the instructors know the kids. The kids thought it was great that the instructor knew their name!
A few minutes before the demo is over and the eating begins, set the drinks out. You'll need at least 2 drinks per kid, cuz they will be hot!
Don't know if you thought of this, or have the time, but maybe some washclothes or hand towels to pass around for the kids to wipe down with?
Have fun!
M.
WOW... okay, that is very finely tuned!
It is scheduled, has a time line and no dead-air areas.
Sounds fine... and really well planned.
But, the "opening presents" time-slot... will actually take longer than that.
Opening presents... actually take a long time, and you'd have to have a notepad with you and jot down each gift as he/she opens it etc.
So your option would be to OMIT the present opening part... and just do it at home in privacy. For myself, I/my kid in the past, have actually spent 1 HOUR just opening presents, at a party.
I would NOT worry... if the party is ad-lib. Its fine if the kids/parents are not totally embroiled in an activity. They will still have fun.
next, I assume this is not your son's/daughter's usual 'nap time'???? If it is, he/she will be tired/maybe fussy at this time.
Sounds like a great party!
Sounds fine to me. I would not expect food at a party for 3 yr olds beginning at 1:30. I would plan to feed my kids before arriving. Anyone who hasn't fed their 3 yr old lunch before 1:30 has a very odd schedule, lol.
Does your husband own the martial arts school? Or is he a student there and you have hired the place out for the party? The karate studios I am familiar with around our area, that do birthday parties, also "do" the entertainment/martial arts aspect of it. And they usually are pretty good with little kids and getting them up and moving... What kid doesn't like to run and kick at something? lol They also have balls for games like dodgeball (with a big beach ball type ball), and a stereo system for playing music for something like freeze dance.... so if you need extra "stuff" you have plenty of ideas for back-ups and probably all you need right there already.
Have fun!
I think it sounds great..
Um. It's a 3 year old birthday party. You'll be fine. Who cares. The only thing I can say is to try NOT to do capri sun. They are all sugar and no good. Honestly, I think you are putting way too much into it.
You did a great job.
The only things I will change is the face painting, as other mother post, since is a karate theme the kids will be sweating.
And if you want to open the presents at the party, I would have my kid opening the presents while the other kids are eating the cake so they don't get bored and to add more time because it does take a lot of time.
Also, since you are sharing the toys at the begining you think the kids would like to share the toys/stuff your son get as presents?
Time will go by fast. Everyone will have fun. I want to come! ha ha. Cake is good. Parents will be thankful. I love the facepainting idea but others had a good point about it getting on the mats, smearing. You can still do it at the end, or as a backup. The crayons are reasonably priced at the art store. Limbo, musical chairs, hot potato are good too along with freeze tag.
All sound good!! Just go to the flow from 1:30 to 3 oclock and let everybody included Parents have fun with social!! Some are running late and never be there on time due to naps issues. Serve them a cake at 3 without open presents. Have your child open the presents at home after the party. Have FUN!!!
Good luck sticking to the schedule. Trying to get all the kids on the same page at the same time is virtually impossible. I say just go with the flow and see what everyone is wanting. You are on the right track though by keeping the face painting and martial arts demo first. Then just feel the crowd and do the cake and presents when you can get everyone to sit for a moment.
wow this is very planned out! I personally don't like to open presents at the birthday party, we do that after the party. It probably would be difficult to open the presents so the kids could play with them because the items inside the boxes are packaged so intense, sometimes it takes me quite a while just to get a toy completely opened with all the twist ties, tape etc. Don't be to discouraged if the party doesn't stay on schedule, kids of these ages won't care anyway.
And I am sure parents won't expect food.
Have fun
