Throwing a Kid's Party to Remember
Maggie & Rose, Kensington Club
Throwing a memorable kids party can seem challenging: I certainly remember approaching my daughter’s 2nd birthday, wanting to throw her a party and not really knowing where to begin. Numbers quickly escalated when I factored in siblings and mostly two parents/ per child. I realised I needed to cater for grown ups, as well as a healthy lunch for the kids. Age appropriate activities to keep the little ones occupied and happy, but nothing too overwhelming or rigid, so they couldn’t actually just have fun and play. The more I thought about it the more I realised there is definitely an art to throwing a children’s party, that everyone will enjoy.
As we approach Christmas, our diaries will be filling up with festivities and parties, I therefore wanted to ask the brilliant team at Maggie & Rose for their top tips and guidance on throwing a great kids party. I am a Maggie & Rose Ambassador and have thrown parties for my own children there. They are brilliant at creating a cosy and fun environment for intimate parties, which feel special and personal to the child they are celebrating. Here are their top tips on how to create happy and special milestone-kids parties. Everything from a check list to planning the perfect party, to their go-to party games and activities. If you are planning a kids party soon, or thinking about hosting a party, I hope this will prove essential reading.
Top 10 Tips for Hosting the Best Kids Party
Planning your Party, pick your date and location.
Choose a weekend date, so parents with older children won’t have an issue collecting bigger children from school. Weekend parties feel more relaxed, so everyone will be able to enjoy the party. Invite the guests at least a month ahead, to ensure everyone can make it, at busier times of year, think even further ahead.
Decide whether you would like to hire a party space, or host the party at your own home: there are positives to both. Then think about where friends live, so the commute won’t be an issue. And most importantly make the day as easy for yourself as possible, rope in family and friends, to help out.
Maggie & Rose “Splat” Party
2. Picking a Fun Theme
Then you move onto the fun part – deciding on the birthday party theme. Be super creative with this: make-believe and dressing up are always popular. Focus on what would appeal to your little one? Think Pirates, maybe Safari Adventures, or how about a dino-licious theme? Maybe they have favourite Film or Book, which could spark some ideas too.
One of our favourite themes (and a signature Maggie & Rose) is ‘Splat’, inspired by the artist Jackson Pollock. All you need is some canvas, as many different colour paint as you like, some paint brushes, and let the splatting begin! Let your little ones’ imagination run wild and maybe use some glitter to make the artwork extra special. Note: this activity is too much fun, so be prepared that it will indeed get a little bit messy. For ease of clean-up, we recommend using plastic sheeting or bubble-wrap over the floor and walls.
Often your child will remember the theme long after the party, so it is important to pick a theme they are excited about.
3. Inviting Friends and Family
Once you have chosen a date, time and theme for your party, you need to write a guest list. Consider nursery/ school friends, ensuring to include everyone (and not exclude) as much as is possible. Send out a super cute invitation to invite friends and family along, an email invitation is often easiest. You could make the invitation personalised by getting your little one to help make draw something for it, or use a fun photo of them in the design.
“I find email invitations easiest, especially as they offer a guest list tracker and an RSVP facility for numbers and dietary requirements.
https://www.paperlesspost.com/ have lovely designs and you can easily add photos to their invitation templates” ~ mimiloves
4. catering for kids and adults
Make sure you check the dietary requirements for all your guests – do they have any allergies or food preferences? Once you know the food requirements you can plan a menu. Nothing quite beats party food: but it is lovely to have a mix of fresh, fun and tasty food. You can also plan the coolest of table settings, built around your theme. For a kids party think about low level seating and tables, as well as age appropriate trays and cups for children, to eat and drink from.
Plan your menu ~
For children our absolute favourites are pizza with vegetable toppings, pasta with different sauces to choose from (as toppings), mini sandwiches, mini burgers, crudités and fruit platters down the tables, and so on…
For the grown-ups: prepare a menu of snacks, to keep them going all party long. Grazing boards with fruit, bagels or crudités are always popular and they can also help themselves
Dips and Crudités | Sweetcorn Skewers | Wraps and Mini Sandwiches | Mini Burgers/ Mini Veggie Burgers | Pasta and different Sauces | Cupcakes | Rainbow Fruit Skewers | Popcorn drizzled in Chocolate (5 years + popcorn can be a choking hazard)
For more ideas: https://www.mimisbowl.com/recipes
A Peggy Porschen Cake we ordered for my daughter’s 2nd birthday
5. the Birthday Cake
The best part of a birthday party is when the cake arrives with candles on top and everyone sings happy birthday. Whether you decide to make it yourself or pre-order it from a local bakery, it should be a special moment for all your guests and the birthday boy/ girl. Ask a photographer or family member to take a photo, to remember it by and make sure your closest family are ready for a quick photo.
If ordering a cake from a bakery, be sure to book in at least four weeks’ in advance. Provide any reference images and let them know the party theme, age and name of your little one, and number of guests (big and small) the cake needs to serve. Another fun idea for smaller children is mini cupcakes, these can be stacked on a fun cake stand and each child/ guest can then receive a cup cake each. It is worth also providing small paper boxes, so guests can take a slice of cake, or cup cake home with them. It is a small gesture and makes a great party favour.
Cake companies I have used and loved ~ mimiloves
6. Entertainment
Depending on the age of your little one and your budget, you may wish to provide the entertainment yourself. Think good, old fashioned party games like Pass The Parcel, Pin The Tail On The Donkey, Musical Statues. Combine with a crafty session – see Maggie & Rose tips (below), for more inspiration.
For older children, or if you are pushed for time, hire an entertainer. There are so many epic entertainers out there, from magicians to face painters, balloon artists, to costume-clad entertainers – all come with a ‘party set’ including games fun activities and songs.
Researching an entertainer thoroughly online
Ask to see any video footage of parties they have already hosted
Ask for a schedule of how they will use their entertainment “slot” at the event
Discuss any prizes needed for specific party games, so you are prepared
Check out any recommendations from other parents
7. fun games & activities
Bubble Disco
great for letting little one's dance and enjoy bubbles! Hire a bubble machine, some lights and get the music pumping. Then play games like who can pop the most bubbles using their elbow or nose!
Nursery Rhymes
a classic and great for getting everyone involved, kids and adults alike
Classic children’s party games
pass the parcel, pin the tail, musical statues.. be sure to have a small ‘prize’ for each child, for example a gold chocolate coin
Magic Show
find entertainers who know a touch of magic that’ll keep you guessing how each trick is done.
Make your own
let little ones decorate bands of card to make their own crown or pirate hat, the possibilities are endless: glitter and stickers are a Maggie & Rose must
Balloon keep up
a great activity to keep moving: don’t let the balloon hit the ground and add extra challenges to make it even more of a challenge
8. decorations
Before your guests arrive for your party, you’ll need to get creative with your party space; decorate the area to match your theme. From pirate treasure chests, to royal castles, and bunting with your little one's name. Classic paper throws, balloons and party hats are all popular and make the space look great. Balloons can often become the main attraction for little ones at a party: so tie them up high out of reach, at the end each child can take balloons home as a thank you gift
9. Party bags
A party bag is a lovely keepsake, or souvenir, from the party. Small, take-home activities such as colouring pages, stickers, or craft materials are always a hit with little ones and grown-ups alike. For bigger budgets, a children’s book (around the theme of the party) is a great gift to help all the guests remember the fun time they’ve had. Alternatively a balloon and a slice of the cake in a box make easy/ thoughtful take-aways.
10. Thank you cards
Just like the invites, once your party is over, it is lovely to send out a thank you card to all your guests. To make it more personal and memorable, print out a photo you took at the party (maybe a group photo) to include with the card.
this blog was written in conjunction with guest contributor
Maggie & Rose
a member’s club, for little ones, in the heart of the city
Maggie & Rose have hosted kids parties for little ones (and grown-ups) for over twelve years, since they were founded. Whether you’re a member or not, with all the planning, partying and post-shindig clean up sorted down to a tee – all you need to do is call up your pals, pack the cake and get ready to party!
Maggie & Rose is London’s first family members’ club, the idea was to provide a beautiful creative space for children in surroundings that appealed to grown-ups too – bye bye chilly church halls, hello inspirational home from home. Now with three London clubs, a village nursery and clubs overseas the doors are open, come and join the family.
Events at Maggie & Rose Kensington, Chiswick and Islington
Miriam, founder of Mimi’s Bowl in the Maggie & Rose, Kensington
I myself became a member of Maggie & Rose in 2015, shortly after my daughter was born, it offered a space where we could play, attend classes and meet other parents. I am so thankful for the times we have spent in their clubs, including several memorable birthday parties.
Earlier this year Maggie & Rose kindly offered me a role as Club Ambassador, over the years the relationship I have with the clubs has grown alongside Mimi’s Bowl. I am proud to be considered part of the Maggie & Rose family.
For the sake of transparency this is a collaborative blog post, written with the team at Maggie & Rose, it is not an AD, or paid content. However, in my role as an Ambassador I receive free membership ~ for 1 calendar year.