Pre-School Party Ideas

Preschool kids love a good party and they are easy to please, making party planning fun for their parents, too. They are happy to get together with their friends, play a few games, have a few snacks, and go home. What could be easier?

Make a Plan

Just because preschoolers are easy to please, that doesn't mean that you don't need to have a plan. You've got to find something for them to do or they will get bored rather quickly. And bored preschoolers will soon find something to entertain themselves - you certainly don't want that! A good place to start is to consider your child's interests. If your child loves to draw and paint, consider hosting an art party and allow all the kids to create a masterpiece to take home. If your child is athletic, simply organising an outdoor game may work. When choosing a messy activity, be sure to warn parents in advance so that they don't dress their children in their best clothes!

Home or Away?

Although hosting a party at home is favored by many parents, there are a number of other possible locations to consider, as well. Many restaurants offer special package prices for kids' parties and typically, they include the food as well as the entertainment. For you, that means no setting up and no cleaning up afterward, which can make the idea pretty tempting. Holding your child's party in the park is another possibility. On a nice day, you can have a picnic lunch followed by some activity without messing up your house at all. Another idea that is growing in popularity is to host a fun, but educational party for preschoolers. A number of museums now include children's parties in their list of services. Typically, they will provide a party room, food, take home prizes, and a professionally guided tour geared just for preschool aged kids. All you have to do is show up!

Adult to Kid Ratios

If you are inviting just a handful of kids, you can probably manage the party without extra help. If, however, you are one of those brave souls who choose to invite your child's entire preschool class, be sure to extend the invitation to their parents, as well. Small children can be easily distracted, so you don't want to have more kids that you can handle, especially if you are planning a party at a location other than your home.

Themes Work Well

For young kids, theme parties work very well. You can plan decorations, games, and prizes based on your child's favorite character from a television show, movie, or book. Party supply stores sell a nice variety of theme based decorations and most bakeries will custom decorate a cake or batch of cupcakes to match your chosen theme. If you'd like, you can mention the theme on the invitations and ask that the children come dressed in appropriate costumes.

Tips

• Keep the group size manageable.
• Preschoolers have a fairly limited attention span. Try to offer an ever changing array of activities to keep them interested.
• Don't make the party too long; two or three hours is plenty for this age.
• If anyone offers to help -- accept!

Have fun!