When you plan a party for children, keep in mind the following tips:

• Mail the party invitation 2 weeks in advance.
• Plan a safe, comfortable place for the party where the children can have fun, but will not hurt themselves or your home. If planning an outdoor party be sure to have a backup plan in case of bad weather.
• Limit the party time to two hours or less for children less than six years of age. Up to three hours is fine for older children.
• Prepare more activities than you plan to use in advance. Activities often take less time than planned and you may want to keep the children busy.
• Make sure that the children are properly supervised.
• Keep a first-aid kit handy, just in case.
• Don’t forget to take pictures!

Here are some innovative ideas for children’s parties:

Barbie and Ken wedding party: Download a Barbie and Ken picture and edit it by adding wedding paraphernalia to it, now just type out the invitation. Decorate the place with pink and blue streamers, balloons and decorations. Bake a ‘wedding cake’ for Barbie and Ken. Assign 4 kids the responsibility of being the mother and father of the bride and groom. Play the traditional piñata and musical chairs. Serve finger food. Toast with grape juice. Make wedding favors using Hershey’s hugs and kisses and dove promises.

Disney party: Stick pictures of various Disney characters of the front of the invitation cards. Decorate it with glitter and write the details using sketch pens. Decorate the place with lots of brightly colored balloons. The cake can be molded after your child’s favorite Disney character. Rent a few costumes and ask someone to mingle with the kids dressed up as a cartoon character. Serve food based on the character’s interest, such as cheese for Mickey Mouse, nuts and nibblers for chip n dale, and so on. Send kids home with a goody bag full of comics, candy and posters.

Party themes after popular movies such as Spiderman, Finding Nemo, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings: The invitation card can have the title of the theme decorated with glitter and crayons. The place can be decorated according to the feel of the movie: Goth for lord of the rings, Bright and colorful for Finding Nemo, Mysterious and magical for Harry Potter and so on. The cake can be molded as per the movie theme. Goody bags can contain movie stuff like poster, t-shirt, writing pads with movie title across it, hats, and so on.

Party themes after a letter of the alphabet: Pick a letter of the alphabet; let’s say you pick the letter ‘P’. Make sure that your party theme includes everything that begins with the letter P. The invitation card can be on a Pink Paper, written with Purple sketch-Pen. The children must come dressed in outfits that begin with P or wear color that begin with P. For example, wear Pinafore or Pants or Pale-blue t-shirt. Serve food and drinks such as Popcorn, Peanuts, Potato chips and Pineapple Punch. Play games like Pin-the-Donkey or Passing the Parcel. Bake a Pineapple cake. Pack a goody bag containing Pens, Pencils, Pencil-case, etc.

Copyright 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this article in whole or in part without written or verbal permission is strictly prohibited. For information about reprinting this article, contact the copyright owner: Vanessa Rasmussen, Ph.D, Starting a Day Care Center, http://www.startingadaycarecenter.com.