How to Throw a Great Kids Party Outdoors
>> Jan 19, 2012
If you are planning a kids party a great way to avoid a mess in your home is to have it outdoors. Kids love running about outside and it will save your breakables once they start getting hyperactive on all that extra sugar. It is best if you have a shaded area where you can set up the food and table, verandas are always good for outdoor entertaining, or if you don't have a covered outdoor area you could install a retractable awning, which are great because they can be folded away when you are not using the space or during winter when you want more sunlight to get into your home.
Theme
Themed parties are fun for children, particularly for younger kids who love dressing up. Girls love dressing up as princesses, fairies and characters from fairy tales, whereas boys like super heroes, sports themes and cowboys. Children around the age of ten like Harry Potter parties but once they hit their early teens they probably won't dress up.
Furniture
If you don't have enough chairs and tables for everyone you can hire furniture. Otherwise you could plan the sort of party where you don't have a sit down menu. Barbecues are good because it is easy to eat a sausage in bread or a steak sandwich without having to sit up at the table. If you have enough furniture you might want to create separate areas in your back garden where kids can sit and talk, have an area where they can play and have the food away from where it might end up with a ball kicked into a salad bowl.
Food
Party pies and sausage rolls are easy for a kids party but they are a bit boring. You don't have to cook a gourmet meal but try thinking outside the square a little. Serve dinner rolls with cocktail Frankfurters, like mini hot dogs. Have a Mexican theme and serve nachos, tacos, enchiladas and a big bowl of fruit punch. If your child is having a themed party then supply food to match. Make up your own recipe for Butter beer for a Harry Potter party and fairy bread goes down a treat with little girls done up as fairies. Don't go overboard with the food. Often children get too excited at parties and don't tend to eat that much and you end up throwing half of it away, or the parents stand around and eat it.
Games
Having an outdoor party is great when it comes to games. If you have a pool and your party is being held in summer then you don't have to try too hard to keep kids entertained. Otherwise you can have competitions like sack races, three legged races, set up an obstacle course and have a race or get one of the parents to volunteer and let the kids try and hit them with shaving cream pies. You also have the space outdoors to hire entertainment, such as a clown, a baby animal farm, a snake handler or have a jumping castle.
Theme
Themed parties are fun for children, particularly for younger kids who love dressing up. Girls love dressing up as princesses, fairies and characters from fairy tales, whereas boys like super heroes, sports themes and cowboys. Children around the age of ten like Harry Potter parties but once they hit their early teens they probably won't dress up.
Furniture
If you don't have enough chairs and tables for everyone you can hire furniture. Otherwise you could plan the sort of party where you don't have a sit down menu. Barbecues are good because it is easy to eat a sausage in bread or a steak sandwich without having to sit up at the table. If you have enough furniture you might want to create separate areas in your back garden where kids can sit and talk, have an area where they can play and have the food away from where it might end up with a ball kicked into a salad bowl.
Food
Party pies and sausage rolls are easy for a kids party but they are a bit boring. You don't have to cook a gourmet meal but try thinking outside the square a little. Serve dinner rolls with cocktail Frankfurters, like mini hot dogs. Have a Mexican theme and serve nachos, tacos, enchiladas and a big bowl of fruit punch. If your child is having a themed party then supply food to match. Make up your own recipe for Butter beer for a Harry Potter party and fairy bread goes down a treat with little girls done up as fairies. Don't go overboard with the food. Often children get too excited at parties and don't tend to eat that much and you end up throwing half of it away, or the parents stand around and eat it.
Games
Having an outdoor party is great when it comes to games. If you have a pool and your party is being held in summer then you don't have to try too hard to keep kids entertained. Otherwise you can have competitions like sack races, three legged races, set up an obstacle course and have a race or get one of the parents to volunteer and let the kids try and hit them with shaving cream pies. You also have the space outdoors to hire entertainment, such as a clown, a baby animal farm, a snake handler or have a jumping castle.
