Party Questions

[geminigirl]

Some of the questions that follow are largely oriented towards parents, but I'd be interested in feedback from party-goers in general about things. And I'd really appreciate if people would link this in other places-the more feedback the better.

With the new house, we're likely to plan a housewarming. And most of the parties we attend are family events, not adults only. I'd like to continue that trend, as someone who would like to have children one day, and because I know it means that some of our friends are far more likely to attend when they can bring their kids along.

Some parents are better than others at watching their children or making sure that there's an adult responsible for their children, at making sure their children are entertained and not getting into things that might not be safe, and that someone who doesn't have children might not have remembered to put away or thought to put away. (And the fact that one couple we know is not the most attentive to their two and a half year old when we're at parties is a big part of the reason that this is on my mind, after watching what that child got into at someone's house last weekend.)

So, what I was thinking about is setting up a sort of kid-space at our house during the party. Pull out the card table (which has a very nice vinyl top so it's easy to clean) with kid friendly toys and activities. I'd put it in a space that allowed parents to both watch their children, and enjoy the rest of the party. I might include things like paper and crayons, play dough, lego/duplo, and I'm not sure what else. Maybe also, set up a space to put movies on for the kids. Most of the kids are probably between two and a half and about six, with a few older ones, in the elementary school range who require less supervision. The one high schooler I know tends to not be at parties with his Mom and Dad.


Onto the questions:

If you're a parent, how would you feel if someone set up kid-space at a party? Would you feel good and try to take advantage of it, or would you feel like you were being relegated to the kids table?

If you're not a parent, how would you feel about kid-space at parties that are family-friendly?

Do you have any suggestions as to what might have kid-appeal and be reasonably safe for children ages 2 and a half to about 9. I'm thinking lego/duplo, some non-messy-ish art supplies, some balls and stuff to play with outdoors, maybe checking to see what Oriental Trading has to offer.

Depending on the timing, I'm thinking this might also be halloween themed, and I might also set up pumpkin carving/decorating, as well. (We used to throw a party for this when I was a kid, and it was a blast, so I'd like to revive this tradition.)

Any thoughts? Please share far and wide. The more feedback on this the better.

Comments

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

Problem 1: The age range is too big to find stuff that will be interesting to the whole spectrum.

Problem 2: A 2.5 year old will NOT stay seated at a table engaged in playing unless the game is knock things off the table. Or they will stay for about 30 seconds.

I'd suggest for pumpkin decoration markers or watercolor paints and small pumpkins for the kids.

Let the adults do the carving seperately on plastic sheets.

Little ones are much happier with blocks and such on the floor but with things like puzzles and playdough on tables. I can give you a recipie for homemade playdough so you don't have to worry about the kids eating it. All ages will love playdough :)

That's about all the ideas I have for now.

[geminigirl]

I have no illusions about staying there the whole time. It's more a "there's something to do" space for the children. I always hated being dragged to parties where there was nothing to do as a child, and I'm hoping to avoid some of that.


And the carving will be an adult activity, probably outdoors in the backyard. Easier to deal with the mess that way. The decorating, that's a different story. We used to have tempra paint, glitter, glue, yarn, cotton balls, and that sort of thing. I'll probably have a wide range of stuff available, since a good number of our friends are artists who like to go all out with stuff.

I'd love your play dough recipe. Perhaps your proportions are more humidity friendly than mine which seems to come out too sticky down here.

[redhawknflight.livejournal.com]

Glitter+kids=MESS....you will be vaccuming it up for years to come.

[geminigirl]

That's what the backyard is for. I'm in Florida, so the weather in late October is actually quite pleasant outdoors-at that point, it's actually become comfortable to spend time outdoors.

[redhawknflight.livejournal.com]

Outdoors, nowhere near as bad.

[geminigirl]

Yep. That was the plan. I think between some vinyl or plastic coverings on the tables, and being outdoors, we can minimize the glitter mess.

[rdhdsnippet.livejournal.com]

Even outdoors, you'll have glitter everywhere for YEARS. Honest. Reconsider the glitter. :)

[aelf.livejournal.com]

Or, put down a shower curtain or vinyl table cloth and have kids do their crafts on that. We've (mostly :) ) confined errant craft materials -- including glitter -- with measures like that.

[fj.livejournal.com]

Glitter lizards.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

I like the idea. I'm not a parent. Kid-space at parties is a great idea, both for the safety of the children and the sanity of child-free couples. LOL. Not everybody wants a snot-face bratty kid wailing or licking their hands. (I speak not from experience but rather that sentence is a quote from my sister who self-admittedly does not like children)

Other things for 2-9 years old: crayons, coloring paper, trucks/cars, dolls, and building blocks are the best!

[redhawknflight.livejournal.com]

My opinion is that the idea of a kidspace is fabulous! Id make two little suggestions to add though....hire a local pre-teen/early teen to supervise the room for the nite...that way the parents have a break, or see if you can work out a co-op type schedule for your child having friends. I think it's awesome that you are trying to include everyone! Good Luck

[geminigirl]

If I've met anyone that I trust to do that, I like the idea of hiring a local kid to help out. It's a good way to make a few dollars, and to give parents a break. Thanks for the suggestion.

[melebeth]

I like the idea because I could go play with kids all night and avoid adult chatter. HEAVEN!

[geminigirl]

Wanna come down for the housewarming? There are three cats who will love you very much.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

I would absolutely adore you. More than I do already, of course :)

I'd concentrate mostly on the 2-6 age range - they require more supervision, and older kids are more likely to come with their own entertainment (of course, I say that as the parent of a 3 year old). 2 separate areas might make sense, since stuff that's appropriate for the older kids might be too messy/dangerous for the little ones.

Can you have one of the friends with a young kid come over and help you childproof? I know I can look around a room and immediately see a large percentage of the possible problems, much moreso than before Leif reached the getting into everything stage.

My only worry with the plan would be that, if there is a specific child space, inattentive parents will take it as permission to be even more inattentive than they otherwise would. I like the idea of hiring someone. If any of the kids of the parents attending the party are in the preteen range, that might be a good option - since they'll have supervision and help, you don't have to worry about them causing any serious problems, and it would be a good experience for a kid who would like to babysit eventually.

[geminigirl]

I'll probably have one of the moms come over and help me walk through and double check for child-proof-ness. I can usually manage okay, but I'm also thinking I'll restrict the cats to the bedroom so that they're not stressed by all the people.

I'm hoping to arrange things so that the parents can be social and attentive concurrenly. I think it depends on how we actually layout the space for a party.

I'm glad you think it's a good idea.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

I've been to too many parties, both pre and post kid, where I ended up being the default child supervision. A layout that simultaneously helps kids entertain themselves and encourages adults to keep an eye on their own kids sounds wonderful.

[puzzld1.livejournal.com]

Kid-space-good idea!
Glitter-bad idea!

Crayola makes this fabulous line of mess-free markers and paint that the colors only show up on special paper-not cheap but fun and safe

You might also say "While children are welcome, we have none of our own. We have tried our best to make the space as child-safe as possible, but please help us in keeping your kiddos safe"

Juice boxes instead of open-cups may save your furnitue. Also think clear liquids instead of colored

http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/ for some ideas

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

They make cheap disposable/reusable (cheap enough to throw away, sturdy enough to reuse) sippy cups which work really well. If you plan on doing this with any regularity, they'd probably be great.

[aelf.livejournal.com]

Videos can be good, as can video games. At our last Halloween party, one of the 5 yr olds and his 3 yr old brother spent most of their time in the basement playing the xbox. They were absolutely horrified we didn't have a tv on the main level of the house. :)

Good outdoor activities include bubbles, sidewalk chalk, balls, frisbee. IMO, it's a good idea to keep the kids outside as much as possible, and it gets them more tired so when they do come inside, coloring books, playdough, and maybe a video will be more likely to hold their interest.

Don't hesitate to let a child & his parents know when something's gone wrong. This is not say you should punish the child, but "Johnny, we don't jump on the couch at my house. Let's go find your mom and dad and see if they can't help you find something to do." "Johnny was jumping on our couch and I let him know we don't do that in this house. Could you please help him find something he'd like to do?" Is totally acceptable and shouldn't trip any "how DARE you say something about my kid!" parental triggers. :)

I think you're quite considerate, and very brave!

[geminigirl]

I didn't think of bubbles. That's a good one.

The only problem with video games is that the grown ups in this crowd tend to compete for them. I think it's a downside of hanging around with people who write games-they often play them (and critique them when they do) at social gatherings. Last weekend it was some horrendous zombie game.

[aelf.livejournal.com]

Oh, ok, yeah, I can see the adults wanting to compete for the video games. And potentially even the movie that's being shown. (I can see my husband grabbing some video just to show a "small segment" of something he found funny, right in the middle of a critical part of Finding Nemo. *grin*)

[geminigirl]

The one advantage we have is that we haven't bought a 360 yet, so there may be less interest/competition for the game stuff. We're waiting for the price drop, and the inside word is that the PS/3 isn't going to be worth the price.

[cmariewt.livejournal.com]

I have no children, I am not a huge fan of them, and will hopefully not be having any in the next 100 years or so. I love the quesitons you posed here, as they take into consideration both sides and situations. I think having a designated "kid" space at a party is a fantastic idea for many reasons.

1. Kids will be excited about this area, and therefore a LOT less likely to be in the adult's space and getting into things, bored, etc.

2. The parents can relax knowing that their children have something to occupy them, and won't be doing the things mentioned above.

3. The less kid friendly people, much like myself, will surely appreciate it. The kids are occupied AKA not in my face.

All of these things combined make you an amazing hostess and I wish I lived closer to attend such a great party. Good luck with it. I hope things turn out well.