Birthday party advice

MotherOf4

Sun, Jul 13 2008, 3:28 pm

I'm having a birthday party for my 7 year old son this Thursday and was wondering if anyone might have some suggestions or advice as to what to do. This is the first birthday party we will be having at home (until now he had gan parties) and I'm a little nervous about entertaining fifteen 1st grade boys boys. I know they like to play soccer and some game called Chayei Sorah ( I think it's like elimination) at school. Would those be good games for a party? I'm afraid of fights breaking out or kids getting hurt while I'm watching them. And what kind of food should I serve? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

cookielady

Sun, Jul 13 2008, 7:16 pm

First of all serve food that if it gets on the walls, tables, chairs, ceiling etc, you can clean it up. Give them theire own cupcake and put out frosting, toppings etc and let them decorate themselves. They wil prob end up frosted but they will have fun. If its hot make sure there are plenty of drinks esp if they are running around. Dont make the party too long, better to have the boys go home happy then have a bunch of boys start to get bored.

Thats what first pops into my head. Good luck, you brave woman!!

Barbara

Sun, Jul 13 2008, 9:38 pm

I take it this is a backyard party.

For first grade boys, have a soccer ball, a ball for dodgeball and kickball, maybe a football, and they're likely to entertain themselves. If you want something more organized, you could have a treasure hunt. Divide the boys into teams, and give each team clues. They follow the clues to a place where you've hidden ... maybe a small treat? There's also sprinkler play if its warm and if the parents can send appropriate attire. If you're crafty, you can buy a bunch of cheap tee shirts or cheap kippot and let the kids decorate them with fabric paint. I'd definitely suggest doing that outside; 5 years after doing it, we're still finding paint stains that we missed. I'd probably have something quiet like a board game as a back-up if there are any kids not into the sports.

Food. No one ever went wrong with pizza or with bagels and cream cheese. Make your own ice cream sundae is likely to be a big hit in the heat.

BeershevaBubby

Mon, Jul 14 2008, 12:37 am

Pin the tail on the donkey (or pin the nose on the clown)

Pass the parcel - wrap a present in 20 layers of newspaper with little prizes in between some of the layers. Have them sit in a circle and they pass the parcel as long as music is playing. When it stops, whoever is holding the parcel takes off one layer of paper.

Musical chairs

hila

Mon, Jul 14 2008, 1:07 am

Get a teenager !
They are usually amazing at kids parties.
The best parties my youngest one had was when his brother or sister (7 and 8 years older) organised teh games part. My older son also played guitar and sang with them.

They like organised games as Yesha said. Musical bumps (jump till the music stops, last one to sit is "out"), dunking for apples in water or flour , competitions who can make teh bnest hat out of newspaper.

Lots of little presents and make sure they all win something.

Be prepared for lots of noise. I always went to bed with a headache after every kiddy party. But they hada great time !
Enjoy !

Ingrid

Mon, Jul 14 2008, 1:26 am

At our last home birthday party we did the following games:

Havila Overet : You start with a "prize" in the middle (a toffee?) then wrap layers of newspaper. Each layer has a paper taped on with a question for the child who was holding the package when the music stopped. We usually do questions about the birthday child. We did about 15 layers. I usually control the music so that I can make sure that each child gets a turn.

Next, the Chocolate Game : You take a pareve bar of chocolate, plastic plate, plastic knife & fork and put it in the middle of the circle. Then a child rolls a die and if he gets a 6 then he gets dressed up in the big shirt, hat, sunglasses, whatever and as soon as he has the entire outfit on he can start to try to cut a piece of the chocolate and eat whatever he cuts...until the next child in the circle gets a 6.

Chapess et HaMatmon : This is the best game, but takes a little prep. 2 teams. You write out clues (best if you make an encryption and have them "break" the code to get the clue. Then you tape notes all over the house (better if you have a yard) that they then have to decode and move on to the next. Both teams end at the same location, where there is a prize.

Most important : if you're serving pizza, tell the kids ahead of time halavi.
And make sure EVERYONE gets a toffee or piece of chocolate or whatever you've been giving out as prizes.

Mazal tov!

MotherOf4

Mon, Jul 14 2008, 3:38 pm

Thanks for all the great party suggestions. I've been putting off this birthday party since April (though in my defense, I did have a baby in March) and my son finally got fed up with my avoidance of setting a date for the party so he decided it was going to be this Thursday at 5:30 and he went ahead and made party invitations for all his classmates. So in fear of my son thinking he doesn't need me anymore, I had to take control of the party planning.

Anyhow, I particularly like the cupcake decorating idea. The party games also sound good, I didn't know if boys like those kind of games (I don't know much about boys, but I'm learning).
Ingrid, What's the goal of the Chocolate Game? Whoever finishes the chocolate wins? The treasure hunt also sounds fun, though a lot of work. I don't suppose you still have those clues that you used...

Rutabaga

Mon, Jul 14 2008, 5:46 pm

I remember one party my parents made for my brother. They arranged for parents to drop their kids off at the local park. We met the kids and gave out cheap t-shirts in 2 different colors, which they got to keep. Whatever color the boy got signified the team he'd play on. I think they played soccer (maybe some other games as well). When they tired themsleves out, my mother served cake and soda. Then the parents came and picked the boys up. There was no mess to clean up in the house, and the party was relatively inexpensive to make. The boys all went home tired and happy and in need of baths.