Fee (my two year old)’s party has now been and gone and I am happy to say that it was a great success! There were no tantrums (at least not from the toddlers) and everyone seemed to have a good time; parents, aunties and toddlers included.
We were lucky with the weather and were able to put up the bouncy castle outside in the back garden which left us with more space inside for the guests to mill around and enjoy themselves.
I can now say that I have planned, hosted and survived one toddler party (-give me that gold star sticker now). Would I do it again?…actually I think I would. The look on Fee’s face when she saw the bouncy castle and the amount of fun everyone had, made all the planning and having a messy house afterwards worth the while.
Having said that, there are a few things that I would do differently. Here are the 9 things I have learnt that will make my..ahem I mean Fee’s next party even better.
1. Be Prepared for Extra Guests
Make sure you have enough food and cake and party bags for any extra people that may turn up. We had about 6 extra guests that turned up on the day – people who initially said they couldn’t make it but then were able to come last minute. Luckily I had ‘rounded up’ on the guest list and so had enough snacks to go round. I also had prepared a couple of extra party bags just in case, which definitely came in useful!
2. Plan for all sorts of weather
Here in the UK, you never know what the weather is going to be like until you are experiencing it. So we had a ‘Plan A – Sunny, Dry and Awesome’ and a ‘Plan B – Cold and Wet’ party itinerary planned. This included ordering a bouncy castle that could be used both indoors and outdoors and making sure that any activities could be done both inside and outside depending on the weather.
Activity-wise we just went for good old balloons, bubbles and more balloons! Keeping it simple worked for us.
3. Put Away Anything you don’t want to get broken or ruined
Yes, we did have a messy house when everyone left, but nothing was damaged beyond repair or broken, which considering the number of under 6s running about was a great result.
You don’t want to spend the whole time worrying about whether your cream rug will get chocolate cake on it (It Will) or hoping that someone doesn’t knock over your grandma’s ceramic Urn (They will).
So put away any fragile items upstairs and made sure that anything left out is kid friendly/proof. That way you can relax (sort of) and have a good time.
4. Serve Food and Drink that can be easily cleaned up if spilled.
This kind of follows on from the point above. You have to be prepared from some spillages and mess at a kid’s party, but you can ensure some damage control by serving food/drink that can be relatively easily cleaned up if it is spilled/smeared/thrown..etc. in your home.
For example, I initially had blueberries on the snack list but then swapped these for white seedless grapes. I also served only white wine (for the big guests) and apple/orange juice and water for the kiddies. I avoided any juices / drinks with blackcurrant/berries..etc.
5. Provide bibs, wipes and kids cutlery
I had these out on the table with the food as it made it easier for the parents to grab a bib and wipe as needed and made the whole eating part of the party more stress-free for everyone.
I also served the kid’s drinks in paper cups with plastic lids and straws. The toddlers loved these and it meant that the parents didn’t have to go searching for their sippy cup every time their little one wanted a drink.
6. Let older Kids be ‘party helpers’
I actually ran out of time to decorate Fee’s Birthday cake before the guests arrive 😧.
But instead of stressing out I made it into an ‘activity’ for Fee’s two cousins aged 5 and 8 😎. They loved helping out decorating the cake with the candles and the Peppa Pig rice paper decorations I had ordered. It kept them entertained for over 25 minutes and meant that I could get on with the plethora of other toddler related things I needed to do. Here is a pic of the cake after decorating, it’s pretty awesome if you ask me!
7. Balloons and Bubbles are Awesome!
The biggest hits at the party were all the balloons and bubble wands we had put out. All the kids (from babies/toddlers to eight year olds) loved playing with them in the garden and indoors. They work well whatever the weather and are a cheap source of entertainment!
8. Keep Pets Somewhere Quiet
Toddlers at this age can be easily frightened by an over-excited dog, and likewise some pets feel insecure around lots of noisy toddlers and strangers.
While we all adore Bee our dog, she can get easily spooked, particularly by loud noises. We also know that some of the guests did not like dogs and so we kept Bee upstairs with her bed, water and toys so that we didn’t need to worry about her jumping up on anyone and she felt more secure being in the peace and quiet.
8. Relax and go with the flow
By being relatively prepared for the party, it meant that I could relax and enjoy the party too. Don’t worry too much about organising lots of party games or chasing around cleaning up after the toddlers too much. Some balloons, sandwiches, juice and chocolate cake is all it takes to keep toddlers and their parents entertained for the afternoon. Oh, and the odd glass of wine can help too.
So there are my 9 quick tips to hosting a stress-free toddler party. If you have any tips you’d like to share, please do!
If you haven’t read my previous toddler party post, you can check it out here.
