hi all,
i'd love some ideas of things i could set up for kids around ages 4-10 to keep them happy during a grown-up evening party. we will have food, music, dancing, and karaoke...so they'll be entertained by us, for sure :). but that may not be enough. it will be cold and i can't guarantee they'l be comfortable outside...and i don't know how many kids will be there at one time. besides maybe markers and some paper, what else can i make available to keep the kids occupied? i don't have much time or money, but all ideas are welcome!
thanks in advance for your help!
hi everyone, thanks for your ideas! like i said, i didn't have a lot of money or time, so the baby sitter idea was not an option. there was also no extra room to set up a movie. i brought a bunch of dress up clothes, paper, and markers, which at least made me feel more relaxed and prepared. none of it got used, however, since the kids (fewer than expected - several couldn't come because of colds, etc) just hung out with us, and did karaoke (so cute), and had a blast running between legs and under tables. it was over by 9 pm - it was not an "adult party," it was a birthday party that happened to be for a grownup, but all ages were welcome.
thanks again to all of the helpful suggestions so many of you consistently provide. it is so tempting to judge and get negative in what is an essentially anonymous forum...i am inspired by so many of you who take your time to genuinely try to help out other families to raise happy, healthy children. i am grateful for you! :)
We usually send the kids to the rec-room with some snacks, movies or video games and we don't hear from them for the rest of the evening. The younger ones are usually enthralled with the older ones.
Back in the day, if grownups had something to do and kids weren't part of it - they had this thing called baby sitters.
Each parent would hire one for the kids in their home - the parents would go out and come home later often to find the kids had been fed, entertained, bathed and were sleeping comfortably in their own beds.
The kids were at home and not bored at an adult event and whining for attention.
The parents had their adult time not being whined at and could enjoy adult conversations, a date night out, or even a cocktail party or romantic meal.
The system worked well!
It's too bad a lot of people have forgotten how to hire baby sitters.
That being said, movies and popcorn will be good.
Video games, too.
It's going to be tough finding something that will keep such an age range entertained.
What the 4 yr old s will like will bore the 10 yr old s and vice verse.
i hate to say this, but the ones I've been too they have movies and popcorn for the kids, and then maybe some board games/xbox games, or ping pong, nerf guns, mini sticks, or let them play them in the garage if too cold? Little ones would be entertained for a while with just toys or make up a batch of play dough (easy to do - you just need cream of tartar). If you want, you could just set up some crafts to do - really depends on the kids. My kids have been to ones where the mom set up do your own ornaments, but it required an adult to supervise. By the time they have a snack, they would likely want to dance too (freeze dance is fun for kids) and they will want a go at dancing ... I think that's more than enough for the kids I know. Hope that helps :) Have fun!
I agree with B about parents having sitters, but if the parents must bring their child(ren) why not consider hiring one to keep an eye on all the kids and keep them occupied at your place.
They can play games, color pictures, make crafts, etc., but at some point you may want someone keeping an eye on them that they aren't making a complete mess of your home. Not saying they are bad kids, but when you have a bunch together without much supervision they will get out of hand.
I'm really surprised at the sitter suggestions. It's not like you are going OUT to a nice place, you'll be at home!
We had plenty of fun adult focused parties over the years with kids in attendance. Honestly they will most likely entertain themselves. My kids and their friends and cousins never really needed me to set anything up, they just played, ate, watched movies, played video games, etc. It is nice to have some crayons/markers and paper or coloring books out though, just in case a kid wants to be alone or take a break.
Other than that don't worry about it and have fun :-)
I agree that hiring a couple of older middle school or high school kids to help out would be a great idea. They can be responsible for helping kids with snacks and things so that parents aren't always having to interrupt conversations to refill cups or plates. They can also be in charge of some movies or board games or an easy art project. Set it up in your family room and they can have their own snacks and games. If you have a gaming system see if you can rent or check out of the library some of the kids' dance party games. There are some Disney ones and I think we have a Kid Bop one.
One year, we had each adult(s) that was bringing a kid or kids to the party, bring an activity that would take 30 min to 1 hr and those adults were responsible for also doing the activity with the kids. We had 6 groups of adults (moms and dads), so basically we all took turns providing about 4.5 hrs of entertainment. That way, each set of parents had to partake in the entertaining of the kids, but no one parent felt they had to do it all. Plus, it spread out the cost of the activities between all parents. None of the parents were put off about missing 45 min of the party to provide a little entertainment to make sure the kids were having a good time, too. Like your situation, all the kids were old enough to be potty trained and not put stuff in their mouth, so it really was about entertaining rather than babysitting.
Ours was a situation where getting a sitter to watch all the kids was not possible, otherwise we would have explored that idea and split the cost between everyone.
Good luck!
Set out a bunch of paper for paper airplaines and make a 'runway' in the hallway or some other long place.You can meaure it out or not... offer lots of paper, stickers, markers, safety scissors... origami paper and simple directions (you can download some).....have a movie on somewhere with popcorn (big sheet on the floor to catch spilled popcorn).... dress-up box for the kids and let the kids take pictures of each other.
Set up their own room with snacks and a kids movie in addition to some markers and paper.
ETA: I also agree with others that unless you have a sitter to specifically entertain them, this will be a family party. The kids aren't going to watch you karaoke, they are going to want to do it too - and may even take it over. They will also join the dancing. If you are ok with that, then no sitter needed. But if you want this to actually be an adult party, then get the sitter and make the instructions clear to the kids and sitter.
Why kids at adult party. Can't everyone get a sitter? I guess you can put things out to entertain them. However, I do t think I would enjoy myself if my kid was there.
Can you hire a babysitter? It might be great to have someone dedicated to keeping an eye on the kids and getting some projects going. Any teen who has been a camp counselor would have great ideas. If you are doing anything with markers or glue, you definitely want someone in charge who's not also part of the adult party.
A lot of kids I see at parties/weddings like to do the limbo (you can use the music you are already playing), Twister (not so good for the 4 year olds unless you don't care what they do - but it's fun for the older ones - maybe you can borrow a game?), Bingo (small prizes or the winner get $1) with big kids helping little kids (you can print some cards off the internet and buy bingo markers or tokens at the dollar store), face painting (use Qtips or cheap brushes and have supervision), or get an old-fashioned party game book from the library. We did a ton of games from the 1950s and 1960s that the kids had never heard of, and they loved it.
Why are they going? If it's an adult party they need to have a baby sitter and have some fun at home. I wouldn't want to go to something like this when I was a kid.
PS, if kids are there it's NOT an adult party. It's a family party where each group is going to filter towards people their own age and do separate stuff. Not like everyone play a game or everyone watch a movie. The kids will do stuff and the adults will do stuff. But there are going to be kids that won't leave the adults alone and bug everyone. That's the whole reason I'd hire a babysitter and leave the kids at home.
will they be mingling with the adults? that could really change the energy of an adult party. i'm assuming there won't be anything inappropriate going on, but at an adult party one assumes that adult beverages and adult language will be flowing freely, and many guests may feel curtailed if there are little ones running around.
when my parents had adult parties (and they were a blast!) we'd all just get to hang out in their bedroom on the big bed, which was a treat, with snacks and movies.
why overthink it?
khairete
S.
I'd hire a sitter to watch the coming and going of the kids. It's probably just me but that would be the only way I could truly relax and focus on the adults. Have fun!
Have all the parents chip in for a sitter to watch and entertain the kids. Check out the library for DVDs and maybe games for the kids.
If you're brave you could have the kids decorate cookies or make popcorn balls. If the kids are well supervised it should be okay or you could end up with a sticky mess to clean up.
My parents used to throw holiday parties and I would serve the appetizers, even at a very young age. They would also let me perform magic tricks. It kept me engaged and involved and taught me some responsibility. Can you assign little jobs? It won't serve to fill all the time, but it could be part of a larger set of activities.
