If you’re throwing a kids’ party at your house, you can be sure, it’s going to get wild. The afternoon starts off with a dozen timid children on their best behaviour who are initially willing to sit quietly in a circle. But that usually doesn’t last long: a half-hour later, they’ve shed their inhibitions and your home has been turned into an absolute zoo.

At such times, good preparation can help you stay calm in all the chaos and give them an unforgettable afternoon. I can’t offer a foolproof guide to avoiding mishaps, but I’m happy to give you a few tips for party decorations and games for kids that will make it a great birthday party!

1. Door poster

Hang a big welcome poster on your door so that the whole neighbourhood will know where the kids’ birthday party’s being held! No, not to keep the neighbours from calling the police, but to help the guests find the right doorbell to ring and to make them feel welcome.

2. Games for kids with gifts

Have a look at our blog post on party decorations in which we offer tips for hanging the gifts from trees or using them in a word game.

You can make a game of it that’s fun for kids, too. Scatter the presents in the garden or in the house and put a blindfold on the birthday boy or girl. They must then blindly hunt for the presents, helped by the instructions from the child who is the giver of the gift. Instructions could be, for example: warmer/hot/burning (for the right direction) – colder/freezing (for the wrong direction).

3. Placemats with a colouring picture

Colouring picture in photo by © www.doodle-art-alley.com

Set the table with placemats that are multifunctional: a colouring picture as decoration on the placemat will keep the wild bunch busy while you cook pancakes for them. What’s more, they’ll protect your table and you’ll have an easier clean-up.

Puzzles are another idea: the kids can see who’s the quickest to finish the puzzle, while they wait.

4. Products with a child’s drawing

Have the birthday girl or boy make a nice drawing ahead of time, but don’t let on what it’s going to be for. Scan the drawing, and as a surprise, have it printed on kids plates or frosted glasses, to decorate the table.

You can also use the drawing to print on candy boxes that your son or daughter hands out at school or as birthday party favours. But don’t forget to fill them with candy, of course, otherwise, there may be complaints. 🙂

5. Name tag stickers

Use name tag stickers to keep track of all the guests, to write down funny children’s jokes, or to divide the children into groups for games. Name tag stickers are always handy and will turn any kids’ party at your house into a professional event!

6. Musical package

If you’re planning to order name tag stickers, then go ahead and order duplicates. You can use the duplicates to make a musical package. Wrap a bag of candy in ten layers of newspaper. On each layer, write a little task, and add the name sticker. The kids sit in a circle and pass the package around while the music plays. When the music stops, the child who is holding the package at that moment gets to remove a layer of paper. He or she then has to do the task together with the child whose name tag sticker is revealed. And to make it extra hilarious, you can let the child who has won in the task control when the music stops on the next round.

7. Drinking glass

Mason jars are those popular drinking glasses with a handle and a cover that a straw fits through. The hipster world can’t get enough of this fad, but why shouldn’t you use them to keep your floor from getting covered in sticky lemonade spills? On each drinking glass, you can stick a kids label with the name (and possibly the photo) of whichever child it belongs to. That way, it’s easy for the kids to find their own drink and you don’t have to wash more glasses than necessary.

8. Kids champagne

A birthday calls for champagne! And to keep it legal: a kids’ party calls for kids champagne! You can make it something special for the birthday girl or boy by adding a personalised bottle tag. In the smartphoto range you’ll find lots of different children’s designs that will really make your kids’ party pop!