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So, you’ve had to invite the whole class to your 7-year olds birthday party! The RSVPs have come back in and you have 18 kids attending your party.
Now what?
Well, a 7 year old party could go for a solid two hours and so you have to have three bases covered whenever managing a large group of children at a party:
Their Time, Entertainment, and Organized Chaos.
When you set out to organize your party…look at the time allotted for the party and determine a fairly organized schedule. This way, from the time the children arrive until they depart, they will be busy with a full party schedule.
An entertainer who performs at this party should know how many children will be there and be able to amuse the large group for the allotted amount of time. If a clown you call up says their specialty is a small group of 5 to 8 children, pay attention. They most likely will not be able to keep your large group entertained. You will have chaos… as you wouldn’t have planned for this situation.
I like the idea of organized chaos…where you let the party-goers have some “down time.” If it is a summer party, you can have the kids run around and play outdoor games, like tag, etc, just so they can burn some energy. As an example, if you have had a magician entertain the kids for 45 minutes to an hour…sure, they have had fun and are happy…but afterwards they will need some time to burn off a bit of energy. Organize some active games that they can play for 5 to 10 minutes.
If you are the only one hosting the event, then this would be a good time to let the kids play freely outdoors or indoors in a small space, while you prepare for candles and cake. If you don’t have a series of active games they can play, with a large group of kids it can become chaotic quickly…have a “helper” on hand who can watch the group during this period of the party.
Managing a large party is easy if you keep these thoughts in mind. Ideally for 18 kids, let the party unfold like this:
1 pm: Children Arrive, welcomed, are asked to make their way to an arts/craft table for a simple project or to a series of games that have been set up and relates to the theme.
1:30 pm: Entertainer arrives and performs…or the bulk of wahtever theme you have chosen takes place over 45 mins to an hour.
2:15 pm: Entertainment over. Some freed up time. Organized games or a small craft, free play.
2:30 pm: Cake and Candles.
2:50 pm: Decide if child will open presents…if so, may want to lengthen time of party. With such a large group of children, I wouldn’t advise doing this though. Guests will become bored watching the birthday kid open their gifts.
3 pm: Guests depart. Provide them with goody bags, etc.
The time will go by fast!
