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Where to hold the children's birthday party?

The children's birthday is a great highlight for children. After all, they are the center of attention for a whole day with their parents and friends, receive presents and have a say in what is done and eaten. For some families, the question of whether the celebration takes place at home or away from home does not arise at all. For some, a party at home is out of the question for personal and spatial reasons, for others, a party that takes place away from home is out of the question for financial or organizational reasons. No matter which option you choose, the main thing is that the children have fun and enjoy a great day together - and that doesn't have to be particularly elaborate or expensive.

Celebrating a birthday at home

The be-all and end-all of a successful birthday party is preparation. Thanks to Pinterest & Co. it is easy to get inspired before the party. First of all, it should be considered whether the party should be under a certain motto. The advantage of a theme party is the common thread that runs through the schedule, the decoration, the food and the games. The invitation can already set the mood for the theme and also certain decorative elements lend themselves directly if there is a motto. If a treasure hunt is planned, a story can quickly be found that forms the origin for it.

The children's birthday party at home: Example of a sequence of events

Plan the rough course of the party in advance and lay out the necessary utensils so as not to break a sweat during the party. Involve older siblings in the planning, because on the one hand you can use a few helping hands well, on the other hand it is certainly fun for the children to participate and provide good ideas.

Most children's birthday parties take place in the afternoon, although on weekends it can also make sense to start in the morning and end the party in the early afternoon. Sleepover parties, on the other hand, usually start in the late afternoon or early evening hours.

After the guests have arrived, the gifts are usually unwrapped first. This can already be combined with a game that allows the children to settle down and, if necessary, get to know each other. The children sit in a circle and determine whose gift is to be unwrapped next by spinning the bottle. Then it's off to the set table for cake or cupcakes. However, anyone who has already organized a children's birthday party knows that the children are usually too excited and the time spent at the cake table is quite limited. In this respect, it is often not even necessary to serve up particularly large quantities of cake. A few muffins, a fruit plate and small snacks are often sufficient.

Whether the guests then disappear to play in the children's room or want something to do depends not least on their age. While 3-5 year old children like to play for themselves, the older ones would also like to be entertained or kept busy. The weather also plays a role: If the afternoon in the garden, on the playground or in the forest flies by in good weather, even without a program, bad weather in the cramped apartment can certainly lead to boredom. In this case, it is helpful to have a few games prepared.

Games at the children's birthday party

The following games, in addition to the popular treasure hunt (or scavenger hunt), are classics at children's birthday parties:

• Pot banging
• Blind cow
• Can throwing
• Stop dance
• Journey to Jerusalem
• Mummy wrapping
• Chocolate eating
• Sausage snatching
• Apple diving
• - and much more

It goes down especially well if the children can win small prizes or sweets during the games. However, care should be taken to ensure that each child has a turn and that the games do not degenerate into a hunt for prizes.

Crafting at the children's birthday party

To slow down the pace and calm a particularly heated mood, craft activities are very popular at children's birthday parties. These don't have to be particularly elaborate at all. In keeping with the theme of the party, small guest gifts can be created that the children can proudly take home and that will remind them of the day later on:

• Paint or glue picture frames, small canvases, cups, bowls, masks, treasure chests or boxes.
• An inexpensive upcycling idea: redecorate small jars into lanterns, for example, by painting them or sticking transparent paper on them.
• Make or glue crowns
• Paint bags or T-shirts
• Threading chains
• Bake and decorate cookies or create a gingerbread house
• Make your own pizza for the evening meal

With a treasure hunt or for the older ones a city, village or even photo rally, the children are often already busy for 1-2 hours, so there is not much time at all for many games or crafts before dinner is on the table and the children are picked up again or taken home.

Host gifts for the children: The Mitgebsel

For some they are hated, for others they are definitely a part of it: the bring-along bags for the children's birthday guests. Packed in a small bag, small gifts (e.g. hair clips, bumblebees, stickers, tattoos or sweets or similar) are given to the guests as a parting gift. Whether you follow this trend, you should decide for yourself. Even if you should avoid it, you don't need to have a bad conscience: the children's birthday party will certainly be remembered positively by the guests, even without any giveaways.