How to be an Amazing Kid Party Host

When you’re hosting a birthday party or other of that and have a house full of children to entertain, try some of these fun suggestions.

Games. There are lots of party games you can organize to keep all the kids happy. But be careful here, some games can backfire. Some children are very competitive and are good sports when they lose, others will break down in tears. While I’m opposed to the everybody gets a trophy trend when it comes to sports, your party is not the place to teach sportsmanship and life lessons. You just want games that everyone will enjoy.

Avoid party games that are too physical. When you’re mixing older, bigger kids with younger children you don’t want to have any pushing and shoving. Games like musical chairs are fine when all the children are evenly matched but disastrous when big kids beat out the little ones.

If the children are all roughly the same age you have more flexibility. Very often you can just ask the kids want game they’d like to play and let one of them be the organizer. When you have a broad spectrum of ages will have a tougher time finding one game that they can all play at the same level.

Party games like hot potato and Simon says are perennial winners. And the old pin the tail on the donkey can be repurposed for lots of different occasions. Substitute a bunny rabbit for a donkey for Easter parties, and a red nose for Rudolph at Christmas time.

Scavenger hunts are always popular with children. Choose three or four teams to work together to find all the items on your scavenger list. You can always adapt an Easter egg hunt to fit your occasion. Hide toys or candy around a predefined area. You can make it competitive and have the kids try to find as many as possible or make it uncompetitive and everybody just finds one item.

Arts and crafts. Some coloring books, stickers, crayons and markers go a long way to keeping lots of and quiet. Avoid paint and glue with very young children. Get a roll of butcher paper and tape it to the wall’s around the party room. The kids love creating a mural like this, just make sure the very young children don’t go off the paper and mark up the walls.

Piñatas. As a professional magician who performs at dozens of birthday parties every month, I always cringe when I see the piñata appear. Sure, the kids are excited but a piñata can be dangerous unless there’s lots of supervision. I’ve seen some nasty accidents with piñatas when they’re used indoors or in very tight party spaces.

Party entertainment. If you’re going to host a large number of kids, you may want to consider hiring a professional children’s entertainer. A clown or balloon twister can add lots of color and fun. A costumed character makes quite an impact. A live magic show with lots of amazing tricks in a live bunny rabbit is sure to keep children of all ages happy.

Rides and Amusements.Outdoor events with dozens of children might require even more entertainment. Large inflatable rides like bouncy castles are popular at picnics and block parties. Make sure the party rental company you use is fully insured and has qualified, train employees on hand to keep the kids safe. Petting farms and pony rides offer children a fun way to spend the day, just be sure that there are no allergy problems before bringing live animals to the event.

Just let them play. Believe it or not, children are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves without your help. As long as you watch out for their safety there’s no reason why you can’t just let the kids come up with their own fun activities.

Author: Brian McGovern is a magician with over 30 years of experience at entertaining kids.

photo credit: sushi_zume via photopin cc