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Recently I read the post of a very frustrated Mom who had invited 12 party guests to her kid’s 6 year old party. What made it frustrating for her was she had organized many activities for the party, but when the kids actually arrived with so many guests and no “helpers” the kids did very little of the crafts and/or activities, and simply went to playing roughly together…to the point where this Mom felt the party and the kids were out of control.
This is a stressful situation indeed, and one that can happen pretty easily if you invite a large number of guests with little help. In this case, when the Mom saw the party packets full of 10-12 cups, plates, etc. she thought it would be OK to invite that many kids. I am not sure why we can’t buy smaller packs, but somehow the “stuff” companies like to go with those standard numbers of 8 or 10 or 12.
As a general rule of thumb, only invite as many kids as the age your child is turning. It may not seem like many kids, but it will definitely be enough to handle. Second, ask for helpers during the party. Either designate a few parents who are willing to pitch in or hire a babysitter to help out with management of the kids. These two guidelnes will hopefully increase the fun and decrease the stress!
In the end, this Mom reported that the kids said they had a great time and several of the Moms agreed as well. Often when we think a party is out of control, it is simply how we preceive the party, as we have the ideas and expecatations of how these things should go, but most people will enjoy the party and have fun no matter what is going on. So, remember to…remember that!
