Organising Birthday Parties!

I like to think that I’m pretty good at birthday party planning. This was our fourth year of having a birthday party for Miss NHM and I’ve learnt a few things along the journey…

We always have our parties in a local church because we have a small house and we get a really good rate on the room. Now that Miss NHM is older, we hire the biggest room available, just so the kids can run around like loons if they want too.

Party Entertainment

We always hire a bouncy castle. I highly recommend JV Bouncy Castle Hire.
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I also highly recommend the team from Routine Riots. I’ve worked with Kim and the girls at several NHM events and last year we had a character visit from Anna from Frozen visit our house on Miss NHM’s actual birthday.

It was absolutely amazing and “Anna” did an Awesome job. She stayed in character the whole time and had such an amazing voice. The children were mesmerised when she was telling the story. I had tears in my eyes it was so lovely! Routine Riots do all sorts of party packages so definitely worth checking out.

I also recommend Caroline at Neon Fairy Face Painting. I’ve worked with her before and she’s lovely and does brilliant face painting and balloon “things” (can’t remember the technical word, sorry Caroline!).

I also recommend Polly from Bopping Babies who runs party packages. Polly is a lovely, lovely lady and her Disco’s are absolutely brilliant.

We also always set up a “colouring table”. I saw at another party that they set up a “craft table” but apparently it took a couple of hours to clear up afterwards, so I don’t recommend this for children under the age of 10!

Party Set up

As part of the large room hire we have access to another smaller room and we serve the food in here. When serving food to children, it’s always best to try to limit the damage, so we don’t serve it near a carpet because that takes AGES to clean. Much better to keep it in a room where you can mop or sweep up any mess. Plus having it in a separate room means we can set up and clear up quickly whilst the main party is still going on in another room.

It also took me a few years to realise that it’s best to put chairs and tables out for the adults to sit at! For the first two years we forgot this and everyone ended up sitting on the floor. Oops! So now we put out a few tables out with chairs facing the bouncy castle so parents don’t have to sit with their backs to their children playing, and we put some “treats” out for the adults.

I believe that if the parents are happy (offer of tea, coffee and some treats and somewhere to sit!) then the children are happy. Happy parents are the key to a successful birthday party! Honest! :-D.

It’s really difficult to know what the protocol is for adults having food if you have a party over lunchtime. This can really rack up expense. We used to cater for children AND adults but it meant that loads of food was left over and it cost a fortune. So these days we cater for the children with a bit extra and the adults can finish off whatever is left.

Always take a large knife with you to cut the cake. We forgot this last year, oops!

Make sure there are jugs available for squash and/or water.

Double check if any children are allergic to any foods. I forgot to include this on the invite this year, so note to self for next year!

Party bags

Last year I delegated party bags to my Mum. Massive mistake. She bought the Lego pocket toys and at nearly £4 a pop, the bill for those alone was £70!!?!!?!! To her credit, she did pay for half, but they still cost me £35!

We always stick bubbles and balloons in the party bag. When Miss NHM was one we put organics bars in the party bags.

I’ve always tried to stay healthy but this year I decided that if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them. So I made up party cones of sweets for each bag. They were really simple. I ordered the bags from Amazon, only cost £2 for 50. Then we bought some bulk sweets from Costco and I bought a huge bag of mini marshmallows from Amazon, the small marshmallows for the bottom of the cone. I put 30 together and it took me less than an hour. So the party bags probably,cost about £25 all in. Less than £1 a child, which is very reasonable.

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I also make a concerted effort NOT to include anything that could be considered landfill. So no nasty plastic toys or stuff that’s going to break in 2 minutes. I try to keep the party bags simple. This year they will have some balloons, bubbles, sweet cones and birthday cake.

Party Food and Birthday cake

I’ve also gone one step further and delegated the food and birthday cake this year. Last year we bought a “Frozen” cake from Sainsburys which went down well.

This year one of my friends is making Miss NHM a cake. Hayley from Impish Delights did a fantastic job on the food and cake and it took an immense amount of pressure off me not having to worry about either!

Party Invites

Last year I totally cheated and created an event on Facebook and invited everyone to that, rather than do paper invites.

This year we have invited all of Miss NHM’s class mates to her party so we had to do paper invites. I would love to be the kind of Mum who spends hours lovingly crafting invites, but I know my limitations and I’m not that kind of Mum. So Card Factory did me proud :-D.

Make sure to include your details for RSVP and give a date when people need to let you know if they are coming because I’ve noticed that these days people are very, very non committal. I find this extremely rude, but apparently it’s a generational thing ;-).

I hadn’t anticipated that we would get messages asking if the siblings of Miss NHM’s classmates would be able to come too,as babysitters couldn’t be secured. We had about five extra children coming along, which I hadn’t originally accounted for. This is fine for us, but something to keep in mind if you have a tight budget.

Expect at least 20% of the people who accepted your invite not to turn up. Several will pull out on the morning and blame it on child sickness, dog sickness, etc. etc. It is what it is, so don’t over cater.

Things to remember

  • Rubbish bags
  • Balloons (and a pump or some willing volunteers)
  • Sellotape
  • Blue tack
  • Knife for cutting the cake
  • Napkins
  • Tea towels and towels (they are always rubbish at community halls)
  • Scissors
  • Savlon spray and plasters (there is always one “incident” and it’s nearly always our child! lol)

Double check with your venue to see whether you can use their plates, cups, cutlery, etc.

If you hire a bouncy castle, ensure that there is public liability and insurance cover, in case anything goes wrong.

Don’t judge me too harshly, but I have a spreadsheet for party planning that I update every year, with lessons learned.

Yes, I know several of you will mock me for this, but if you want a copy of the spreadsheet for reference, just drop me an email to NorthHantsMum@gmail.com.

What else would you suggest about organising a birthday party?

PS: Hilary, I absolutely PROMISE that I won’t be doing a “big” birthday party for Miss NHM again next year :-D.

Related Posts

20 places that will host a children’s birthday party

Another 6 places to host a children’s birthday party

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Fantastical Enchanted Faces by Neon Fairy Face Painting

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My name is  Caroline and my business name is Neon Fairy Face Painting.  I am a local working mummy to two young sons and have been a professional face and body artist for a number of years now.

Neon Fairy Face Painting provides face painting services for all ages, boys and girls from superheros  and traditional favourites to baby bump and bespoke individual painting covering all themes.

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My business means I have the pleasure of meeting  lots of wonderful families, children and local organisations in Basingstoke and the North Hants area in general.  I am so thrilled to be writing a guest post for NorthHantsMum and would like to share with you some of my more ‘enchanting’ work.

Quite simply I adore all things fairy, princess and magical! I regularly attend fairy events where I am able to paint fairies of ALL ages, big and small.

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Garden tea parties ,’under the sea’ events , childrens birthdays , festivals and even magical woodland clearings are all in my remit and my experience means I am able to paint , inside or outdoors in more challenging locations in the North Hants area and beyond if required.

I am able to paint a myriad of original designs to delight, sparkle and to theme.

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From princess parties to pretty mermaids, Disney princess inspired, flower fairy masks and the massively popular Frozen parties – every little girls dream is to sparkle like Queen Elsa!

Delicate feathers and diamontes abound and everything is finished with glittery fairy dust  (of course!), glitter glamour, bracelet and wrist painting accompany fantasy faces to match.

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Please see my website for this and the other services I provide including balloon twisting and glitter glamour   www.neonfairyfacepainting.co.uk

Love, Light and Fairy Dust!

Caroline x

Email: info@neonfairyfacepainting.co.uk

Website: www.neonfairyfacepainting.co.uk

Facebook: NeonFairyFacepainting

Twitter: neonfairyfaces

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Chris Kimber aka Ozzy Wizzpop

www.ozzywizzpop.com

How to do party games a lot better!

Children love nothing more than playing party games when it comes to birthday parties. Conventional wisdom would say to choose the games the children are familiar with and enjoy.

What if I told you that there’s an improved way to play these games, but with far more fun for the children? As a professional children’s entertainer, it’s my job to maximise enjoyment for all so here’s my party game secrets.

Most games involve elimination with the last child remaining the winner. This is a bad idea. First of all it leads to the possibility of those eliminated to run around chaotically causing havoc. Secondly the children get bored and upset when eliminated. Instead of eliminating children decide who was the best at the end of the game.

For example, with musical bumps you explain that you are looking for the fastest boy and the fastest girl. After a few minutes pick the winners, no one is left waiting at the sides and all remain participating. This also works well to pick children who haven’t yet won anything.

From experience children love musical statues. Here’s how I make it even better. Instead of freezing, they have to assume the pose of a popular character. Peppa Pig uses a fist for her snout, a finger for her tail, bends her knees and oinks like a pig (naturally). Even the boys enjoy this.

I choose the best boy pig and best girl pig. Other characters I get them to impersonate are Spider-Man, Batman, a plate of wobbly jelly and I get them to pull their funniest face.

By far my most popular game is guess the theme tune. It’s quite easy to set up. Most modern  phones have a dictaphone app. Record the theme tune from YouTube with this app, hook your phone up to a dock system and you have the makings of a fun game.

If you have an iPhone this is very simple and if you don’t own a docking system more than likely a friend will. I’m not sure how this works with android devices though I imagine it wouldn’t be tricky with their popularity.  Some stereos have an audio in socket so you just need to buy a cheap lead from Maplins and your good to go.

Happy party gaming!

Neon Fairy Face Painting

Caroline sent me a lovely message asking if she could do a Guest Post on NHM. I had spoken to her about doing one last year, when we were supposed to meet at the Baby and Children’s Market, but I couldn’t make it because my little one was sick. We still haven’t met, but at least we’ve got the Guest Post sorted! 😀

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Neon Fairy Face Painting

Caroline the owner and principle face painter of Neon Fairy Face Painting, a Basingstoke based business happily serving The Hampshire area and beyond!

A working mum to two young boys I am delighted to be sharing on North Hants Mum.

Let us enchant you with our magic!

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From fantastical animal and fairy designs to action heroes and aliens we simply LOVE transforming them into their wildest dreams!

Professional experienced and friendly face painters we are constantly updating our training, use only non toxic professional products and hold full insurance and enhanced CRB disclosures for peace of mind.

We offer a range of services and are available for private hire or happy to attend your festival, funday or corporate event, tailoring packages to your requirements:

  • Chidrens Party Face Painting
  • Glitter & Temp Tattoos
  • Princess/Pirate Sparkle Packages
  • UV Face and Body Painting
  • Weddings & Hen Nights
  • Bespoke, Themed & Corporate

We also have a colourfull online store with premium party boxes , downloadable party invites, bespoke tutus for princesses of all ages, Hen night accessories and more!

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www.neonfairyfacepainting.co.uk

Princess Sparkle Packages

Let us dazzle your little princesses with our original fairy and princess face designs, glitter in a myriad of colours, gems and diamontes, glitter and temporary tattoos, premium princess party boxes for guests, tiaras and princess colouring sheets. 1.5 hours or sparkly magic for up to 10 children.

These parties can be adapted to suit boys too for Pirates, dinosaurs or superheroes, face painting, glitter tattoos, party boxes and also fake wounds and gory painting for older boys too!

Baby Bump Painting

Mark your special journey with a bespoke gestational art or baby bump painting. Incorporating dates and designs of significance to you and your family we can create a  bump  painting just for you along with complementing smaller designs for siblings and other family members.

Some kind words from our customers:

Feb 2013 -Lynsi Winkworth wrote: “Thank you for the face painting at my daughter’s party yesterday. You did a brilliant job again! Thanks so much x”

March 2013 -Jane Williams wrote: “Thank you so much for coming to Evie’s Birthday party yesterday you were amazing and everyone was so impressed , the adults loved it as much as the little ones!! Hope to see you again at another part soon, will be recommending you to everyone!”

April 2013-Miranda Hughes wrote: “Thank you so so much Caroline the princesses were delighted and the face painting  was FABULOUS xx”

 Contact Caroline for a quote:

info@neonfairyfacepainting.co.uk

www.neonfairyfacepainting.co.uk

07926671015

Find us on Facebook too!

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Princess Parties (Pirates welcome too…!)

I met Sarah through NHM over a year ago and I’ve had several family photo shoots with her since. She takes fantastic photo’s that are very reasonably priced. The parties sound like great fun, and I love the idea of having photo’s to document the whole experience. If you would like more details about Sarah’s studio over at Viables, please see the related posts below.

Princess Parties (Pirates welcome too…!)

Princess Parties are aimed for little ones aged 3 – 7.  At the party, your child can dress up and be made up to feel like a fairytale princess or swashbuckling pirate.  Don’t worry if you don’t have party dresses – we can supply those too!

Hair and Nails will be done at the party.  The thing that makes this party unique is that the whole event has a professional photographer there to record every moment.  The mobile studio will be set up and once the princess or pirate has been made up, professional portraits will be taken. All your party guests will have a mounted photograph to take away with them and, within a few days, the party princess or pirate will be given a memory book and 10 x 8 image of the day

Prices can vary depending on your specific requirements – please contact me for further information!

Modelling Party

The Modelling party is a fun two hours.

Come and be treated like a model with five guests – party invites are included in the price and sent to you with the party booking information. You will be greeted with drinks (mocktails for under 18’s) and party nibbles.

The Shoot is held in a party atmosphere and, if the weather is nice, we go out in the local grounds and do some on-location shots. Bring along your favourite outfits and change as much as you like to work those Top Model poses!

Once the party is over and we have some amazing photographs, I will edit the photos (which is normally a ten-day turn-around) and place them on a CD. There will be a minimum of 5 photos per person, and a letter giving you permission to print will be supplied with each CD – meaning that the images can then be printed anywhere at your convenience.

Parties are normally held at the studio – but if another location is required, this can be discussed.

Please contact Sarah Dutton Photography for more information on the above two parties!

You can also find Sarah’s Facebook page HERE.

Routine Riots

Kim sent me a very sweet email asking if she could do a guest post for Routine Riots on NHM. I saw some of the photo’s from the Easter event that she hosted in Chineham Village Hall and it looked like a fabulous event. It’s such a great idea.

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Who are we?

Routine Riots provides magical children’s entertainment! We are based in North Hants but travel to all surrounding areas, to your chosen venue! Offering the very best in children’s entertainment and dance tuition, all our staff are very friendly, fully insured and highly skilled, with much experience in teaching, performing and entertaining kids and grown-ups!
For more information and all our fun stuff check out our website at: www.routineriots.co.uk

What we offer:

CHARACTER PARTIES -(3-8years) From swashbuckling pirates and mermaids to enchanting fairies and more, we love to entertain your little ones to make memories that last a lifetime. We provide 60 or 90 minute party packages where your children can dance, sing, enjoy an interactive story time, play with bubbles and props and join in with fun themed games and a pass the parcel. Age adaptable. All children get a certificate. Lots of fun characters to choose from for girls and boys!

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DANCE PARTIES – For tots (3-5years) we provide an exciting 60 or 90 minute party with lots of dancing and action songs, props, traditional party and dance games and a pass the parcel. Party includes a present for the birthday child and certificates for all the children. High energy fun – Let us know if you have a theme!

For older kids (6-16years) we provide a 90 min dance party. There are lots of themes to choose from, street dance to ballet, pop party to Michael Jackson, cheerleading and much more. Kid’s can learn a dance to their favourite song or within their chosen theme. They can take part in a choreography competition too and we provide lots of fun traditional and dance games, and dance activities throughout, including a pass the parcel. They can even show their groovy moves to their parents at the end. Includes present for birthday child and all children get a certificate.

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MAGIC SHOWS
We offer awesome magic shows for children aged 3-7years! 30-90 min packages to choose from. Fully interactive, we have lots of cool tricks, singing and silliness for everyone to join in! Fab for boys and girls. We offer funky fairies or friendly clowns to attend….and keep a look out for their cheeky pet monster Rascal! Parties can also include games and balloon twisting.

FACE PAINTING
We love face painting and glitter! Available for birthday parties, weddings, christenings, events and more we have lots of fun designs for kids and grown-up’s to choose from! We also offer glitter tattoos. A great addition to any event!

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BALLOON TWISTING
Invite Looney Balloony or one of our fun characters to come and balloon twist a variety of crazy balloon models for your next party! From hats to wands, swords to animals, we have lots to offer. We also provide pre twisted balloons for party favours and bunches of flower balloons for special occasions – we deliver too!

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GROWN – UP’S
We offer dance parties in many styles for hen do’s, girl’s nights out, birthday parties and corporate events. We also offer 1st wedding dance tuition for the bride and groom or the wedding party as well as private lessons for couples dance.

If you would like any further information on any of our services please contact KIM on 07553 866 366 OR kim@routineriots.co.uk today! Or check out our facebook page and lovely reviews from our customers.

Routine Riots
07553 866 366
www.routineriots.co.uk

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter,Google+,Facebook PageFacebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

Stretch n Grow

I met Kate when she came along to the NorthHantsMum Meet up last month. I can confirm that she’s lovely! I didn’t get to chat to her for as long as I would have liked but she’s very enthusiastic about Stretch n Grow and you can see that she loves children. These classes sound so much fun! See further down the post for the exclusive offer for NHM Readers.

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Why Movement Matters by

The Worlds Leading Fun Fitness & Health Programme for Children!

**Fun Classes, Birthday Parties & Holiday Clubs for Young Children are all available through Stretch-n-Grow.

In my job, it’s not hard to get out of bed in the morning. I can’t think of many jobs that involve spending the day wriggling around on the floor, jumping around the room and singing loudly with a bunch of energetic toddlers and preschoolers who just want to have FUN!

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And we do have fun, buckets of it, but one of the best bits of my job is that underneath the laughter and noise, there is a very serious purpose to what we do. The biggest kick comes from knowing that not only can our work help children to develop fine motor skills, but by educating them about their body, good nutrition and the importance of keeping active, we can encourage them to develop good habits that can impact on their longer term health. Essentially we can increase their chances of a healthier life.

So that’s why I have particularly enjoyed February, the month of love! At Stretch-n-Grow, the learning worksheet module for the month was children’s heart health. In the different settings we visit we speak to the children, (even as young as 1!) about their muscles, healthy eating and what their heart does. We also got their pulses racing with fun movements using active adventure stories & routines, exciting music, age appropriate props & even some obstacle courses & parachute fun. All this is always based around an imaginative theme!

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By teaching children in their formative years about the importance of healthy eating and taking the right amount of exercise, we are hoping to have some healthier hearts in years to come. 😀

So, I hope you were showered in flowers, chocolates and romantic gestures this Valentine’s Day, but let’s show some more love for our your children’s hearts by taking them for a walk up a hill, an adventure in the park, a jump in some puddles, OR even come along to a STRETCH-N-GROW class and let us help make their “Hearts Happy & Bodies Healthy”!

**NEW drop in STRETCH-N-GROW CLASS NOW RUNNING WEEKLY!

For families with children aged 18mths and above. (younger siblings welcome) Wednesdays in Term Time, 1.30 – 2.15pm, at Curves Studio in Brighton Hill (free parking at Asda.) This class has the option of a pay-as-you-go drop in price or offers are available for advance bookings, whichever suits you.

FREE TRIAL FOR NHM READERS! 😀

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Stretch-n-Grow classes are Fun Fun Fun! They are designed to help the development of your child in exciting & interactive ways. It’s all about fun & imagination…our disguise for hard work & strength building. We keep it fresh & exciting every month by creating new & challenging routines to themes our “Stars” will love! 🙂 Our curriculum is endorsed by fitness & child development experts around the world and links closely to the goverment EYFS framework. Each Stretch-n-Grow coach is a certified youth fitness specialist and has only one passion – to show our Stars an Ex-ER-citing time 🙂

**EASTER CLUBS WILL ALSO BE RUNNING IN THE EASTER HOLIDAYS!!

At Chineham Village Hall, for ages 3 -7yr olds.

Children are left with us for 2 hrs of Easter Stretch-n-Grow FUN!

 I look forward to Stretching-n-Growing with your children (& maybe even youJ)

Come and see why Children and Families Love Stretch-n-Grow!

Please contact me for more information on our Fun but Educational Programme, or why not Like us on Facebook:   ‘Stretch-n-Grow Basingstoke’ 

Kate, 07887 993207

Email: basingstoke@stretch-n-grow.co.uk. Website: www.stretch-n-grow.co.uk

NetMums: http://www.netmums.com/north-hants/local/view/preschool-classes/sports-and-action/stretch-n-grow-basingstoke

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Ideas for putting together a great Children’s Party

If you are planning to organise a birthday party for your little one, hopefully some of the following information will be useful because (in my naivety) I think that a lot of birthday parties that are hosted by places are just a big con, a huge expense, and aren’t very personal.

Birthday Cake: I have a couple of Likes on my NHM Facebook page of local businesses that make all sorts of cakes. From the photo’s, they all look fabulous and from what I can see are very reasonably priced.  As you know, I’m a huge fan of supporting local businesses so like to promote wherever I can. You can find most of these local Cake Companies HERE.

Party Bags: I remember the days when party bags didn’t exist (yes, I’m old!) and you received a piece of birthday cake wrapped up in napkin when you left a party. These days party bags have taken on a whole new dimension. I can totally see how it gets ridiculous if you are hosting a party for lots of children. I also worry about how much of it ends up in landfill, especially the cheap plastic presents that you can pick up for party bags. We went to a party recently where the bags had bath toys in, which I thought was a great idea. I love bubbles and balloons so don’t think you can go wrong with these in the bag. NetMum’s has some great ideas for party bags in the link below.

Party Games: when I was a child I remember that my Dad led all of the party games, possibly because his name was Simon so we always played “Simon says”, lol. If you are hosting at home getting Dad involved as the “Party Games Master” (if he’s available) as it’s a great way for him to feel that he’s a key part of the event. It also shares the load with you!

Thank you Cards: These have been the bain of my life since my little one was born! lol. However, I think it’s really, really important to thank people for any presents that your little one receives. People make a lot of effort for presents and it’s only polite to thank them for this effort. Even if you do start to curse the thank you cards after a while. I can’t WAIT for when my little one is old enough to write her own! lol.

Invites:  get them out early. It’s amazing how quickly families get booked up on the weekend. If you are hosting in the week it’s still advisable that you send invites early because people often have set routines for the evening’s or in the day.

Locations: Obviously, at home is always the cheapest, but not always the easiest! There are a lot of Community Centres in the area. Over 60 at last count. You can find them all listed HERE. If it’s summer time you could organise a “Birthday Picnic” at one of the local parks (click HERE for ideas on local parks) but this is dependent on the weather.

Food: Costco. Nuff said! :-D. Although apparently Morrisons do some great sandwich trays for only £5 each.

Presents: Local Mum Businesses

Party Entertainers

Bopping Parties: Kids Disco Parties – 1 to 10 year olds. Great tunes, games, disco props, bubbles and more

Sing Along & Smile

Monkey Music

Creation Station

Toddler Sense

Sense Theatre

Local Party Shops

Dazzle Party Shop

Party Workshop

Face painting

Neon Fairy Face Painting

Bouncy Castles

18 Places that will host a Children’s Birthday Party

I’ve only hosted one birthday party for my little one, so clearly I haven’t been exposed to how these experiences can “escalate”. So, as I’m still green behind the gills with regards to parties (Goody bags? Have I not spent enough already?!?!?!) I’ve put together a post with a list of places that will host a birthday party for your little one.

I will be publishing a post next week that will look at cheaper ways to host a children’s birthday party. So if you are looking for birthday party inspiration, check out next weeks posts.

If you are planning a children’s party any time soon…Good Luck! 😀

1. Lymington Sea Water Baths – Pool available to hire for children’s birthday parties. (probably better for a summer party 😉)

2. Little Nellies Diner (was Nelsons Diner) – on the way to Newbury. (They do AWESOME milkshakes!). Minimum £8.95 per child but they can tailor depending on your budget.

3. ActiveTots – Bramley. Minimum £8.50 per child.

4. Intech Science Centre – Winchester (How cool would it be to have a birthday party in a Planetarium!)

5. Play Days – Basingstoke

6. Fun House Basingstoke – Soft Play

7. Basingstoke Sports Centre  (Is it sad that I remember going to a birthday party was at the Sports Centre some 30 odd years ago. Wow. How ancient am I? It was a wicked party though! lol) 

8. Finkley Down Farm – Andover

9. Queen Mary’s College: Our swimming pool is available for hire, and for children’s parties, throughout the year.

10. Bowling Alley, Leisure Park

11. Pizza Hut Parties, Festival Place or the same Business Park as ToysRUs.

12. Pots2 Paint, Viables.

13. Beale Park, Pangbourne, Reading

14. Jakes Indoor Softplay and mini farm, Sandhurst.

15. Birdworld, Farnham

16. The Hawk Conservancy, Andover

17. Atmosphere Trampoline Park

17. Any suggestions as I ran out of ideas!!! (Check out the post below with a list of 6 ‘extra’ places to host a children’s birthday party)

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter,Facebook PageFacebook ProfileLinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there!