Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Try cupcake or cookie decorating...always good to eat after.
    
    If you planned on feeding them...make your own pizza.
    
    If you've got a theme, say clowns, have a clown face decorating session
    where every face is actually a mask to take home. 
    
    If you've got an open backyard, a kite tail contest and then fly the 
    kites.
    
    As for goodie bags...I've found different girls and boy bags were great
    	(boys get paper gliders, girls get toy jewelry, etc). You can even
    have the children decorate brown paper bags as the goodie bags (a real
    cost saver).
    
    I personally don't like prizes for games because the little ones don't
    stand much a a chance against the big ones and they do get discouraged.
    
    Keep the ideas coming Parents!!1
    
    Andrea
    

Also see discussions in V2, and (I think) V1.  

Clay

    I would like to borrow this note if possible to discuss a similar
    situation. 
    
    I have a 3rd birthday party also coming up for Katie.  I was planning
    to do a combined B-Q and party, some people would be there more for
    Katie's birthday (ie, extended relatives), some would be there just as 
    a summer b-q (friends).  Has anyone tryed doing this?  
    
    Her birthday really falls on a Monday, so we will be doing something
    special that night anyways.
    
    How would you feel, going to a BQ that also had a birthday party on the
    agenda?
    
    Thanks,  Karen
                                                         

Hi,

We had a clown at my daughter's 1st Birthday party, and it was really fun.
Not only were the Kids entertained, but the grown-ups felt like they
were kids.    The clown did magic, music and face painting, as it was 
suggested earlier.  We decided not to have the ballon animals since the
kids were young and there is always a chance of a baby chewing on a 
ballon.  The clown's act was about an hour long and if I remember 
correctly, it cost about $75.00.  That is a guess, since it has been
about 7 months since her party.   Something else... we live in NH and 
there is a local place called "FUN WORLD" or "FUN and GAMES" on 
Daniel Webster Highway.  It is a large indoor fun house with video games 
and stuff..  That is a little old for your kids,  but they do have a 
section for tots in which the can have parties and ride on mini-rides.
The also have an in-door pizza shop.  If this is not local to you, perhaps
there is something near your home.



Good luck.

Ramesh.

    re.3
    
    We're having my son's first birthday party in two weeks.  We are also
    going to have a bbq and, of course, Birthday Cake with a couple friends 
    and relatives.  We're hoping that good weather will keep the kids happy 
    - we have little pool and the outdoor toys (the kids that are coming are 3
    and 5.5).  We're not going overboard for this one.  There will be
    enough time in the next 15 years for chaotic birthdays!  We're going to 
    have the porch set up to eat on and the outdoor furniture too (in case
    it's too nice to be on the porch).  Coolers filled with soda and
    spirits and we'll let things take their course.  And, oh yeah, we'll be
    taping this event, so I'm sure people will be hamming it up for the
    camera!
    
    (BTW, my cousin had Ernie from Sesame Street come to say hi to the 
    kids, they we're a little nervous but real giggly about it.  Ernie cost
    $20.00 for 15 minutes)
    
    Nancy
    
         

    Karen (.3),
    
    I think the combo would be fine!  Based on my almost-3-year-old, she's
    too young to notice or care whether the whole day is hers or not.  So
    far, all our parties (through age 4 for her sister) have been family
    things, the kids have been cousins and there are plenty of them (and 4
    more on the way before Christmas).
    
    For this age, it's been fine to carve out part of the time for a cake
    and song and some presents.  The rest of the time has been what these
    cousins always do together: run and yell and play.  They just do it
    dressed up a little!
    
    The only reason that I'm looking for nifty ideas/favors/activities is
    that her sister (turning 5) is ready for some of that.  OK, OK, I
    confess!  I'm really doing it BECAUSE IT'S FUN FOR ME!!!!   There, 
    that feels better.
    
    Anyway, back to you, you may want to think about how to handle gifts. 
    If some of the people (extended relatives) are bringing gifts and
    others (friends) are not, I would suggest saving opening them for
    another time so the friends don't feel funny about not bringing
    anything, which you didn't want them to do.
    
    Jane
    

    We did the combination bit for our son's 4th b.day. Although we tried
    to make it clear this was to be low key, and more for convenience than
    for any other reason, and although we stressed with a capital "S", that
    there were to be no presents from non (close) relatives, *everyone*
    brought gifts. My son was in his glory, but I was embarrassed, not
    really wanting it that way. Be aware, that if everyone invited knows
    that its a combo thing, that they may feel they have to bring gifts, no
    matter what you say.
    BTW, my wife, who goes to more kids parties than I do, says adults seem
    to do this a lot. She's been to several parties for 1 or 2 yr. olds,
    where the parents heavily stressed no gifts. So....she took them at
    their word and didn't bring any....and she was the only who didn't! It
    was an uncomfortable situation.
    
    --dave--

    
    I don't have first-hand experience with it, but while we were at
    Chuckie Cheese's the other day with my niece & nephew, they were
    advertising a birthday-party special for $4.95 per person. The price
    included pizza, beverages, cake, hats, personal host/hostess, and 10
    game tokens per person (15 or so for the guest of honor). Sounded 
    like a pretty good 'bang-for-your-buck' to me. 
    
    There were two such parties going on while we were there, and everyone
    seemed to be having a great time.
    
    My only reservation would be how to deal with the kids when they run
    out of tokens. One option would be to let the parents know about the
    limited number of free tokens, and have them decide whether or not to
    provide money to their kids for extra games or rides. Another option
    would be to simply buy extra tokens myself, and give them out, on a
    regulated basis, as the kids ran out of their original allotment.
    	

    with respect to the gift issue, i really don't think it's that 
    big of deal.  young children usually don't know who did or did not
    bring gifts and are usually overwhelmed with a couple of gifts
    also, it is fairly easy to find gifts for young children for
    relatively little money (of course, my son's favorite toys are 
    empty milk cartons and laundry detergent bottles so it's easy 
    for me to say).    the $5 My Little Pony usually goes over better
    than the $25 Osh Kosh outfit anyway.
    
    cj/

    We've been to some parties at Chuckie Cheese where the birthday family
    saved a bunch of money with a do-it-yourself plan. 
    
    My sister-in-law brought a cake from the bakery and some plates and
    hats and stuff, then bought the pizza there.  It cost much less, with
    only a little more work.  If you let them do it, they do all the work
    and they provide balloons and plates and the big rat (yes rat) comes
    over and all.  The birthday girl and guests certainly didn't know the 
    difference, they were too busy bouncing off the walls, which is what
    you do there.  The place didn't care, they still made their money.

    
    JA's BIG "first" birthday is coming up Labor Day weekend and although
    Jim/I were going to keep it "low profile" and "family only"  (about 15
    of us - cold buffet) ... my sister (Ruthie) INSISTED that this is JA's 
    FIRST birthday and we MUST do it up RIGHT!
    
    So I said "fine, Ruthie ... SUGGESTIONS?!!"  (she has two teenagers).
    
    Well, my sister should have pursued Party Hostess as a career!  She's
    thought of EVERYTHING:
    
    .  Neice and Nephew are in charge of getting all the paper products
    	  and stuffing "goodie" bags (crayons, funpads, 
          nickels/dimes, balloons ...)
    .  Ruthie's getting a small ceramic doll for the cake top
    	  (momentum afterwards) and will get it to the baker
    .  Jim/I will set up the "yard games" and tables outdoors (or on the
          porch, if it rains) for ALL kids  (right!)
    .  cold buffet at 1 pm for "family only"  (everyone's bringing
          "something")
    .  cake & icecream  for non-family and kids at 3 pm
    .  I, too, want to do "no presents, please" ... but I've done that
          so many times before and no one ever listens, that I'll probably
          just "drop it" this time (Jim's folks were caught up in the
          embarrassment of this once -- they went along with us only to
          have my family show up with a trillion presents!  They felt so
          CRUDDY and was so apologetic ... Jim/I felt so badly!)  So it
          tends to only confuse matters.
    
    Sure glad I have a "Party Sister" to handle this stuff for me!  Since
    Jim/I have many of the dual-family-togethers, we're used to the crowds,
    chaos and confusion.  Both families help with bringing food, setup and
    cleanup ... which helps us a lot!  Not sure if we'll go "offsite" as JA
    gets older ... probably let her decide.
    
    Dottie
    
                                           

I would like to share the one that has been the biggest success for us over the
years. Our son (now 12) enjoyed it until he was about 10. Our daughter (now 7)
enjoyed it this year as much as any.

I can't recall when we started doing it, perhaps at birthday # 5. 
It's kind of a treasure hunt. You read them a clue for a place to look for the
next clue. Each additional clue is read and then the kids race to find the
next clue etc. then finally they find a bag of goodies (one for each, some candy
bags and little items like stickers, water pistols or coloring books (whatever
we can find for cheap at the local (SPAGS type) discount house.

The fun for us has always been in picking the places to hide the notes, and then
figuring out a rhyme to describe it. We usually start at the finish line and work
our way backwards. One time a cousin was visiting and he also got into figuring
out rhymes.

e.g.  (hidden inside the shower curtain)
	You pull me across when the water goes splash
	don't think too hard or you'll miss the big bash

hopefully you get the drift, I'm not being very creative this morning.

Most importantly you have to hide the stuff at kids eye level, and supervise 
their search to avoid certain rooms, and items that might break (crystal vases
etc.) Also watch out for power plays, encourage the little, slow ones and cheat
a little if they all run off in the wrong direction while the youngest just 
stands around looking helpless (don't just tell him/her where to look but offer
better clues).

When they are too young to read the clues they bring them to you to be read.
Number the clues so you can detect when they are out-of-order. Else, you may
find that they get to the treasure immediately.

Expect this to take about 15 minutes for 10 clues (hide one or two a little
more carefully).

    I like the treasure hunt!  The kids at our parties are cousins with a
    big range in age.  There are 2 9-year-olds who read and are used to
    taking over - how do you keep it fun for the littler ones?  I guess we
    could make rules that the little ones open the envelopes or something
    and I guess that just running along with the pack would be fun for them
    - that's pretty much what they do at these gatherings anyway!  
    
    Since I wrote the base note, Kathleen chose "animals" for her theme.  I
    went to Zylas (some similarity to Spags?) and found a pack of 10
    full-size jungle animal posters to $2.00.  Pretty good party favor for
    20 cents!  I'm also cutting out pics of animals from magazines and will
    have the kids make a collage (this crowd is into stuff like that) and
    then cover it (both sides) with clear contact paper for a
    use-here-and-take-home placemat.
    
    Decorating cupcakes (suggested here) sounds great to me and I found
    some animal-face cupcake pictures in a magazine, so we'll have
    materials for that (cookies for ears, etc) around.
    
    Keep those great ideas coming!  I'd love to hear animal-related ideas
    for this party, but the next one follows by only a few weeks, so I like
    hearing anything!
    
    Can you tell I'm having fun with this?
                    

    You might try recruiting the two nine-year-olds as your assistants
    in running some of the games. 
    
    --bonnie

    How about helping me think ahead since this job as I know it disapears
    as of Sept 10, and I'm off to parts unknown (Oh the love and
    versatility of a DECTAG!!)  AJ's fourth birthday is January 2.  It sooo
    close to the holidays, we usually hold it the following Sunday, and it
    seems we've had some kind of foul weather (including the blizzard he
    was born in) every year.
    
    Here's my set of questions, our age group will generally be almost 4 to
    10, plus the respective parents.  I usually do a luncheon buffet but
    have threatened since his first birthday to take the next b'day party
    to McDonalds.  Has anyone had a McD's party, what are the details? I
    was also considering either hiring a clown or magician, but am just a
    little unsure.  He seems rather intimidated by "live" animated
    characters. (that includes santa, the easter bunny and ALF!) and am not
    sure if it will be a waste of money.  Unfortunately in January I don't
    have the option of pushing the party outdoors.  Oh well guess I really
    do have motivation for finishing the cellar after all!!  Bottom line is
    I need some input for dealing with home vs. somewhere else party.
    
    Lyn
    
    P.S.  In a previous note, someone mentioned cakes.  In fact ALL the
    Shaws markets will give you a free cake, I'm not sure if it's just
    first birthday cakes only, but I do remember them allowing the kids to 
    decorate cakes for mother and/or father's day.  Of course you had to pay 
    for the 9" cake.
    
    

    Lyn,
    
    before offering some ideas, it would help to know a few more details
    (everybody's definition of "party" can differ..)
    
    How long would you expect the party to last ?  How many people (adults
    and children) would be coming ?  
    
    Diana

    Don't rule out pushing at least part of the party outside.  Kat's
    birthday is Dec. 29, and one of her most successful parties was
    one she shared with a friend who has a Dec. 26 birthday and a
    large back yard with a hill.  They had sledding and playing in the
    snow, then they came in and had pizza and hot chocolate and the
    present-opening.
    
    This particular party was all 11 and 12, but I would think any age
    of kids old enough to enjoy playing outside might get a kick out
    of a snow party. 
    
    --bonnie

re: .15

>    have threatened since his first birthday to take the next b'day party
>    to McDonalds.  Has anyone had a McD's party, what are the details? I

Worked very well for us, especially since we were putting on an addition and 
our house was chaos.  My memory is a bit hazy, but I think McDs supplies 
pretty much everything, including goodie bags and the cake, but check on that 
to be sure.  The cost is not much more than if you try to put on the party in 
your own house, particularly if you hire a clown or something.  They also 
provide someone to conduct the games, like "stack the Big Mac boxes".  Looked 
kinda dumb to me, but the kids enjoyed it.

Try to find a McD's that has a more or less private section in the dining 
room, and that has a playground, unless it's the middle of winter.  

Another excellent idea in the winter is to scout around and see if there is a 
gymnastics center near you that does birthday parties.  I think they ones at 
the gymnastics centers were the most fun of the out-house parties that we ever 
had.  If you'd like the names of a couple in the Greater Maynard area, send me 
VAXmail.

Clay

    Thanks for the reply.  
    
    First, I checked Shaw's last week, it's a free 7" cake; chocolate or
    gold for the child's first birthday, decorated at you choose.
    
    Second, the group moved last weekend, and I'm still here at least till
    week 1 of October.  (I make such great company for myself)
    
    As for the party, what I've done in the past is an early afternoon
    party for relatives and close friends.Last year it was over 2 dozen all
    together. (We wrote the invitations to the children and asked them to
    invite their parents instead of the other way around) With LOTS of eats 
    like meat and cheese platters, salads, meatballs rolls, beverages of
    beer,wine and soda, some kiddie videos, games and conversation till early 
    evening. I find myself running around like a crazy lady feeling too pooped 
    to enjoy my son and feeling guilty after for not spending more time with 
    my son and relatives we sometimes only see once a year, and feeling
    like we've spent all too much money on this party, especially
    considering how close it follows the holidays. (Now if he'd only
    arrived on his March 1 due date, but that's another story!! :-))
    
    Based on that info can anyone help???
    
    Lyn
    

    Thanks for all the great ideas for birthday parties!  I was able to use
    some and will use others in the future!
    
    Now that both parties are over, here are the big hits:
    
    Kathleen (Age 3, with guests from 2 - 9)
    	Theme: Animals
    	Food: Cupcakes, some decorated like animals (this came out great)
    	      and all the others decorate-yourself with lots of toppings
    	Activity: Animal Placemats - each kid got a large piece of white
    	      cardboard to decorate.  There were LOTS of animal pictures
    	      from magazines and stickers, plus crayons, stencils, etc.
    	      We covered the artwork with clear contact paper on both
    	      sides, extending beyond the cardboard so they'd be water-
    	      resistant for sponging off.
    	Favors:  Animal posters (beautiful prints of endangered animals 
    	      from Zylas [discount place in MK] 10 for $2!) and crepe-
    	      paper balls which they unrolled to find (in layers) animal
    	      rubber stamps, animal-shaped crayons, and gummi bears.
    
    Sally (Age 5, guests from 2 - 13)
    
    	Food: A cake decorated like a castle (this was easy and amazed the
    	      kids!) and make-em-yourself sundaes.
    	Activity/favor: Decorating denim baseball caps with fabric markers and
    	      gold "nailheads" 
    
    What I Would Do Differently Next Time: 
    	* Have materials on hand for all the ADULTS to participate in 
    	  the crafts!  More hats, etc.
    	* Try the Clue-to-clue Hunts described in earlier replies

    Dear moderator, I know this has been subjected before, but I would like
    some up to date ideas if possible, I don't want to miss any new games.
    
    
    Hi out there!!!
    
    I was wondering if anyone could give me a little help.
    
    My daughter will be turning 4 this December 1st.  and I am planning a
    party for this wonderful occasion.  What I was wondering, is if any of
    you out there in DECland could give me some ideas for fun, entertaining
    and attention keeping games or activities for them to play. 
    
    There will mostly be 4 & 5 year olds therewill also be a 2 year old, a 7 
    year old and a 12 year old (the 12 year old is going to be my helper
    for the fun activities and games).  We have not set a theme as of yet,
    and I am not sure that we will until we can find some ideas for
    activities.
    
    I have looked back into the past notes for some ideas and I have gotten
    some really good ones, but I don't want to limit myself to the past
    notes, I would like to hear everyones ideas.  
    
    So, please don't hesitate to reply!!!!!!!
    
    only 18 days left to come up with something!
    
    thanks in advance
    
    Julie 

    
    
    Julie,
    
    	When my children were little and actually all the way up to 
    	about the 7th grade, everyone of the kids Loved to play
    	Drop the cloths-pin in the bottle while kneeling on a chair, of
    	course you had to have a prize for the WINNER...  Also Pin-the-tail
    	on the Donkey was always fun to watch..as a parent
    	anyways..especially at that age..  And if you have a bunch of
    	little   kids age 4,5,6,  and a movie camera you play music and
    	have a prize for the best DANCER....Fun to capture on film and
        funny to watch....
    
    						Dave
    

    			Can you afford a clown that makes animals
    			out of balloons or how about a magician?
    			Check in the yellow pages under
    			"Entertainment", that should do it.
    			Another favorite children's game is 
    			"Musical chair".
    

    For my daughter's 4th birthday party, we played balloon games!
    
    The most hilarious to watch was placing a balloon between their
    knees and hopping to a finish line.  We played outside, but if
    your house is big enough or you have a natural race track, you
    could do it.  The kids loved the balloons and had a ball trying
    to figure out how to hop.
    
    We also had them try to keep the balloons in the air, roll them
    around the room with their noses, walk with the balloon held
    between two partners' chests, etc...
    
    Diana

    My daughter Caileigh will be four on Sunday and we are having a party
    for her friends at the Ground Round.  I am looking for ideas for party
    favors to put in the "goody bags" we bought.  I want something
    reasonably priced, but not those "junk toys" they sell at party places.
    All of the other children are currently four years old.
    
    Tracy
    

    
    Something that I get for each of my nieces and nephews (i have millions
    of them) for Christmas gifts might serve your purposes as well.
    
    I buy each of them a Christmas ornament (durable ones until they get
    older) and in permanent ink I write their name and the year on each
    one. I have been doing this for about 5 years now and they all look
    very forward to putting "their very own" ornaments on the tree. My hope
    is that when they eventually leave their homes, they will take their
    collections with them and will remember our friendship each Christmas.
    
    	You can get some fairly inexpensive (as well as expensive)
    ornaments all over right now. I like the ones with lots of primary
    colors and will wait until the kids get older before I upgrade to the
    more elaborate ones.
    
    				Wendy
    
    	

    re: .25
    
    Tracy,
    
    I put together goody bags for my son's first birthday where the
    guests ranged from 1 year-5 years.   I did custom bags since I couldn't
    find anything for that wide of age range.    With all four year olds, 
    you should have it somewhat easier.  Here's what I did for the older kids:
    
    I got packages of flourescent markers, specialty pencils, erasers,
    crayons, etc. and divided them up, bought each kid a small note pad 
    with some sort of character/design on it, and some sheets of stickers 
    - this works for both girls and boys - as opposed to buying little 
    jewelry trinkets and/or cars.     I also included one candy/cookie 
    item (teddy grahams, fruit roll-ups) per bag.   Theses things *seemed* 
    to go over pretty well.  
    
    One other things that might be cute is the mini my-little-ponies 
    (I think at least the girls in this age group like them??).  They're 
    sold in multi-packs and aren't too expensive on a per unit basis. 
    What about McDonald's gift certificates?
    
    I guess the key would be to look at the things that Caileigh likes
    that are small and inexpensive.
    
    Good luck and have fun!
    Carol
    

    I put the following stuff in the party bags at Marc's party.  The kids
    varied in age from 14 mos. to 3 1/2:
    
    small superball
    fat crayola crayons
    stickers (for the older kids)
    small sesame st. figure
    few animal crackers
    

    Little inexpensive non-junk gifts:
    		Stickers
    		New crayons / shape crayons
    		Sidewalk chalk
    		Soap crayons 
    		Stamps/pads - I got some animal stamps 6/$1. and I've
    			seen alphabet sets for 79 cents!
    		Stencils - ruler type
    		Magnifying glass or tiny box with magnifier lid
    
    Children's Musuems are good places to find things like this.  I've
    found most of these at Zylas or PK Zylas in NH.
    
    I'll be watching these replies -  should be good for stocking stuffers!
    
    Jane

    Thanks for all the great ideas.  Keep them coming!
    
    I love the ornament idea.  However, one of the children is not
    Christian and does not celebrate Christmas.  I could get her something
    different, but don't want her to feel left out.
    
    I should probably mention also that the following week we will be having
    another party for my other daughter, Paige, who is turning two.  At that
    (family/friend) party, there will be children ranging from 1 1/2 to 9.
    
    So, although the four-year-old's party is the more immediate problem,
    ideas for any age are welcome.  Hmmm, maybe I could give ornaments at
    the second party...   
    
    -Tracy 

    Re: my little pony --
    
    At age 4, most boys still like My Little Pony and haven't been
    "culture-ized" into thinking they're sissy yet.  That doesn't come
    until next year. 
    
    Almost all 4-year-olds adore anything that can be written with or
    on -- pencils, pens, crayons, notepads, erasers, stencils, rulers,
    stamps and stamp pads, etc. etc. etc.  
    
    re: Christmas and Christians
    
    As the mother of a mixed-religion family, I applaud your
    consideration and respect for the customs of the girl who isn't
    Christian . . . at this time of year it's hard to remember.  

    Thought I'd update you on what I gave as party favors.
    
    For the party of four-year-olds (of varied religious backgrounds), I
    gave each child a goody bag with a "magic pad," pencil, tootsie pop,
    sheet of stickers and seasonal pin from Hallmark.  With the stickers
    and pins, I was careful to choose winter (eg., teddy bear on skates), 
    not Christmas, themes.
    
    For the party of mixed-age children (1 1/2 to 9, all of whom do
    celebrate Christmas), we bought a box of large red ornaments.  My
    husband, an artist by avocation, painted on each one: a picture, the
    recipient child's name and 1990.  They were a big hit!
    
    Thanks for your help,
    
    -Tracy
    

    Rather than start a new note, I'm starting a new birthday party
    discussion in this string.  Michael's first birthday is January 19. 
    We're thinking of having a birthday party for him.  We have about 5
    friends with children of similar ages (1 to 1-1/2 years) who would be
    invited.
    
    First of all, Michael doesn't know a present from a hole in the
    ground.  We would request no gifts, since Christmas is just over and
    all.  We just wanted all the kids to get together and play for an
    afternoon.
    
    Now:  what on earth do we do with a bunch of 1-year olds?  Michael
    *loves* other kids, and is happy as a little clam when he has someone
    his own age to play with.  But... they're too young to really play
    games.  They're also too young to eat many refreshments, other than
    birthday cake.
    
    So assuming that invitations have gone out, crepe paper and decorations
    are hung, and a cake (probably a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake) has
    been bought, what do we do when all the little ones arrive????
    
    Steve

    Steve,
    
    In my experience, the first birthday party is for the parents, not
    the children.  So, I suggest not really planning anything for the 
    children other than the cake and gifts.   I suspect that even if you
    specify no gifts, some people will bring still bring them.  It is,
    after all, Michaels FIRST BIRTHDAY!    The only thing that I can
    think of for this age group is to do something with music....like
    a sing-along or one of those songs where you do something (Raffi's
    Mr. Sun or The Bus Song come to mind).   I know Jason is really into
    this stuff at 15+ months.
    
    As far as refreshments, we had a cookout for Jason's first and put
    things on the menu that the kids could eat (hot dogs, chicken, macaroni 
    and cheese, crackers and cheese, juice, etc.).   This worked out real
    well - just an informal gathering where the parents got together to
    eat, gab and chase kids around.
    
    Have fun!
    Carol
      
    
    P.S. I do have a suggestion of what NOT to do....don't bother hiring
    a clown!  I did and it was a big mistake.  At this age, babies usually
    don't take too kindly to this sort of thing.
    
      

    .34 is quite right.  at this age kids play next to eachother, not with
    eachother.  A variety of "things" to do/play with should keep them
    happy and only require minimum supervision from the parents.  I would
    also suggest - unless you have plenty of room/space - that it should
    not be too long as kids may get bored.  I was lucky, for Claire's first
    (May) we had an unusually gorgious (hot) sunny day and a girlfriend
    lent me her house and garden.  All in all a success.
    
    Have fun - we still laugh at the pictures; my daughter was still in a
    "walker thingy" and had the weirdest sun hat on you have every seen !

    Carol said almost everything I was going to say.  Definitely have some
    music for the kids to listen and "dance" to (Raffi would be our choice,
    or maybe Sharon, Lois and Bram).  If you don't yet have any cassettes of
    "little kid" music, get some - we've found it to be a very worthwhile
    investment.

    Also, if your Texas weather allows this, do a lot of the party outdoors.
    A couple of balls and some bubble-blowing can keep 1-year-olds amused
    for a long time.

    Have fun!  And Happy Birthday Michael!!

					cheryl

    Though I have no *useful* info to add to the suggestions you've gotten
    so far, I had to wish Michael a happy First... it'll be Alexandra's
    6th!  Up here in Massachusetts January 19 usually falls during the
    "January thaw", though it's never been warm enough to keep the whole
    party outdoors!
    
    I know you're going to have lots of "rug rats" and it sounds like a
    merry melee... hope you realize you won't be able to complete one
    single solitary sentence with one other adult during the whole time (it
    says so in the Manual).  Guidelines in the Manual's appendix suggest
    one guest for every year of age the honoree is (Alex turning 6 = six
    guests), and by now Alex and I both see the wisdom in this.  Hope you have/
    can rent a camcorder, though you'll probably be laughing so hard you
    won't be able to see through the viewfinder!
    
    Other notables sharing Michael's and Alex's big day are/were: Fritz
    Weaver, Dolly Parton, Jean Stapleton, Shelley Fabares, Stefan Edberg,
    E.A. Poe and Cezanne!
    
    Leslie

    I agree with everything that's been said.  DON'T try to schedule games
    or anything except the cake and ice cream, though you may want to have
    toys available.  DO have plenty of film available!!
    
    Tracy
    

    This is late, I know but I've always been a day late and.....well
    youknow! Anyway, when my two nieces turned a year, they birthdays were
    3 days apart.  My sister inlaw had one party at her house since both
    girls basically had the same family, made each child a miniature
    version of the Big "for everybody" cake.  We put a candle in each,
    presented each  birthday girl with her own cake and candle to blow out
    and then proceeded to watch them each go at their own cake, FINGERS
    FIRST!!  Kind of interesting contrast to see the quiet one not wanting
    to get her fingers messy, and the aggressive one dive in practically
    head first.  My point here is to give the one year old his/her own
    personal cake, instead of just a piece, it makes some cute memorable
    pictures!
    
    I also suggest getting some short, kiddy videos (like care bears) for
    background entertainment.
    
    Hope it was fun!!
    Lyn
    

    I just wanted to thank everyone for their input into this particular
    note.  My son just turned 5 and we had a birthday party for him on
    Saturday.  It was his first "real" party with invitations and friends.
    I took some of the suggestions from this note and the party was an
    incredible success (of course, 5 year olds don't really complain as
    long as there is cake and ice cream).  
    
    There were 5 guests (and my middle son, age 2 1/2).  I had them make
    their own placemats with clear contact paper and colorful pictures of
    animals.  Then I had them each decorate their own mini-pizzas (english
    muffins) with tiny meatball "eyes", pepperoni "mouths", spaghetti or
    mozzarella cheese "hair".  Then we ate them!
    
    Basically, it was an eating experience that took the entire party!
    
    A few times there was a lull and when that happened the kids would
    play with random toys they found or the presents they gave.  It was 
    wonderful much to my relief!!  I swear I took this much more seriously
    than my son.    
    
    Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful suggestions - they saved the day!
    
    
    -dorothy
                  

    Just had a desperate call from a friend of mine, she's having 8 of her
    son's school friends to the house next weekend for an eleventh birthday
    party.  They plan on sending out for pizzas, but she needs ideas for
    entertaining the guests for a two hour time span.
    
    Any suggestions would be appreciated.
    
    Lyn
    

    Better and cheaper than sending out .... have the boys MAKE the pizza!
    Or ... go bowling?  Miniature golf?  There's a bowling alley in Acton
    MA that will do the whole party (pizza and all) for a set rate per kid
    (I forget how much now).
    
    Good luck!

    Rent a movie. . .
    
    Or Video games (my son has one friend who rented video games and TV's
    so they had 2 kids per TV) . . .
    
    Go to a movie . . .
    
    If the weather is good get them outside for some activity . . .
    
    Take them to the local Y (or whereever) for swimming . . .
    
    Go for a hike . . .
    
    etc

    Has anyone had any experiences with The Elephants Trunk in Nashua?
    

I know that a good friend of mine sometimes plays the elephant :)

--bonnie

    If you're in the Worcester, MA area, the Crafty Peddlar (across from
    Lincoln Plaza, near Caldor's and Shaw's) has birthday parties!  A
    friend's daughter went to one and had a ball.  They made mop dolls and
    had a cake and drink.  I don't know how much the store charges, but it
    sounds like a great idea!
    
    
    Judi
    

    On June 22 my husband and I will be hosting a 7th birthday party for
    our son, Graeme.  There will be a total of six little people including
    Graeme.
    
    We have ideas for a number of outdoor games (we are hoping that the
    weather will cooperate), but any suggestions or pointers from anyone
    out there who has the benefit of prior experience in this challenge
    would be greatly appreciated.
    
    Actually, to be on the safe side, I don't suppose indoor games would go
    amiss, either.
    
    Thanks in advance,
    Susan

    I saw a lady at a party store buying stuff for her son's 6th birthday. 
    It was a Dick Tracey theme, which I thought was a great idea!  She said
    she was just getting yellow everything!  Also she was buying a yellow
    and purple pinada in the shape of an old fashion car! It was real cute! 
    Also the cake was going to have Dick Tracey figures on it.  
    You could probably make up some mystery game or something for the boys
    to solve too!

    We just had a 6th b.day party in May.  I wanted to keep everyone busy,
    so here's what we came up with;
    
    Pin the Tail on the Donkey
    
    Push the peanut with your nose (Take 1 peanut in shell, each, place on
    hard surface.  Without using your hands, you need to push the peanut to
    the finish line - what a riot!)
    
    Eat the donut off the string - Tie a powdered donut to the end of a
    string (1 for each participant), and hang the string from something (we
    ended up using a broom pole and having 2 folks hold either end). 
    Without using your hands, you need to eat the donut off of the string.
    This can take a while with little mouths, so you might want to use the
    mini donuts, but get some full-size ones for adults.  Have water on
    hand!  This is better than bobbing for apples, and no danger of
    drowning - but powdered sugar ends up everywhere.  Thread the donuts
    ahead of time.
    
    Water balloon toss.  Pair up, 1 water balloon per pair.  Toss it, take
    one step back, toss, step back etc.  The people who get the farthest
    apart with an intact balloon, win.
    
    This was good .... With the extra water balloons, have a push the water
    balloon with your nose race (same as the peanut, only *MUCH* wetter!). 
    To make it more interesting, REALLY fill the balloons so they pop easy. 
    The person who makes it farthest or to the finish line first, wins.
    SPLASH!
    
    Egg on a spoon race - I chickened out and hard-boiled them first.  If
    they are creative youngsters, they  can decorate the eggs first before
    the race w/ markers, crayons etc.  Put the eggs on a teaspoon
    (tablespoon for smaller kids), 1 spoon/egg each.  You can only hold the
    spoon handle, and can NOT touch the egg.  Whoever reaches the finish
    line first, wins.  If you drop the egg, stop where it landed, pick it
    up, put it on the spoon and keep going.
    
    Of course, then everyone wanted to push raw eggs with their noses, all
    over the deck, so you might not want things to get this nuts....
    
    We had *TONS* of fun, and all the adults were able to play the games
    too.  We just made minor adjustments to make it be a little more fair,
    like the adults had to go further, or had a bigger donut or weird
    shaped p.nut or whatever.  I will warn you though, that the water
    balloon stuff turned into a full-fledged water fight, and didn't end
    till the hose got sprayed INSIDE the house.  Might want to suggest the
    other kids bring dry clothes.  If you get prizes, we used gum/candy
    small bags of p.nuts/chips for the adults, could've done the same for
    the kids, but for them we went to Zyla's in Merr.
    
    Couple other thoughts are;
    
    Tug of war (got something messy for the 'ditch'?  Or an inflatable
    swimming pool?)
    
    3-legged race
    
    Bike-decorating contest (everyone brings their own bikes, you provide
    streamers and balloons, they go nuts and can have a little parade
    after).  
    
    Musical chairs.  We prefer musical mats.  Take some type of piece of
    cloth, put them on the ground, and make that be the 'chair'.  This
    helps prevent the kids from killing themselves on the chairs (and you
    having to drag chairs around!)  Placemats work well.  
    
    Limbo (the kids can REALLY beat the adults in this one!)
    
    Bobbing for apples (Is 7 old enough for this?)
    
    1-2-3 RedLight
    
    Red Rover.  Two teams, each team holds hands in a line (HOLD ON NOW!),
    about 15 feet apart, facing each other.
    One team says "Red Rover, Red Rover, send  'child-name'  right over!"
    Then the kid they called from the other team has to run as fast as they
    can, into the arms of the 1st team, and try to make any 2 kids let go
    of their hands (gawd, this sounds NUTS!).  It is HARD on their arms, so
    you might not want to let them play too long - we used to do this ALL
    the time as a kid.  Anyway, if the kid gets through the line, they get
    to go back to their original team.  If they don't get through, they
    join the other team.  At least, I think that's it .... 
    
    Button, button (hide a small object/prize, and the kids have to find it
    		- this one can go for hours!)
    
    And then the good old faithfuls;
    Hide-and-seek
    TAG
    Duck, Duck, Goose. 
    Leap Frog
    Kick Ball
    Simon Says
    Follow the leader
    Who-Am-I? (They think of a character, and everyone has to guess *OR*,
    you think of a character for them, they can ask yes/no questions, and
    have to figure out who they are)
    
    I'm thinking of something (and everyone else has to try to guess what
    it is - should be within plain sight)
    
    I'm going on a picnic ....  This uses the alphabet.  Everyone sits in a
    circle, and someone starts out, with the letter A.  I'm going on a
    picnic and I'm bringing an Apple.  The 2nd person, I'm going...and I'm
    bringing an Apple and Banana, etc *5th* person would get something
    like, I'm going and going to bring an Apple, a Banana, a Car that goes
    wicked, really fast!, Donatello, and an Eskimo ...or whatever!!  When
    Christopher was 5 he could do this almost perfectly through the whole
    alphabet.  
    
    Well, I guess that's more than a few.  I LOVE party games!!  I hope you
    have as much fun as we did!  Let me know if any of these require
    clarification.
    
    Patty

     For our son's seventh, we essentially had an expanded school recess. 
We went to a school playground that had a pavilion nearby.  The guests played
kickball for a while, some tee ball (baseball, but hit the ball off a tee
rather than pitching), some soccer, and other playground games.  We did the
cake, ice cream, and gifts in the pavilion -- it turned out great, especially
since we didn't have to use our house for anything.
     The weather turned out fine, but if it hadn't, we would have just done
it the next day.
     A couple of months ago, our son attended a skating party.  Two families 
that had birthdays relatively close to each other got together and rented a 
skating rink for an hour.  Even the kids who couldn't skate had fun.  And 
along the same line, my son attended a (winter) party in which they just 
rented the school gym, so the guests could play basketball.

     Clay

    I'm trying to plan a small birthday party for my son who will be 3 next
    month on the 18th.  He's obssessed with "Back to the Future" movies. 
    (Yes!  The orginal, II, and III.)  He acts out the parts, and as he
    watches (every single day) will run around the house gathering the
    necessary props to do a particular "scene".
    
    Has anyone seen anything in the way of paper plates, etc. that feature
    "Back to the Future"??  It sure would make his birthday party
    memorable!!!
    
    Dale

    For Tobias' 5th birthday party my wife Nancy came up with
    the idea of having the kids decorate their own party hats.
    This turned out to be really popular with the kids.
    
    Now we're not talking about paper hats here.  She managed to
    find some inexpensive baseball caps that had nothing on them.
    Then she bought some fabric paint, sparkles, glue, and glow-in-
    the-dark plastic bugs. The kids picked out the color hats they
    wanted and then decorated them using the other stuff.
    
    The kids had a blast decorating the hats.  Unfortunately Nancy's
    thought that the kids could wear them as party hats didn't work
    out because the glue and paint took too long to dry, and so they
    couldn't be worn until almost the end of the party.
    
    But they loved the hats.  Our neighbor told us her son wouldn't
    take his hat off for three days.  Another boy insists that he
    wants to do that at his birthday party this weekend.

    Just wanted to let y'all know that Graeme's 7th birthday party last
    Saturday went wonderfully, thanks to suggestions received.
    
    The biggest hit though was a wet sponge throw at Mike (hubby) who
    valiantly attempted to protect himself with a garbage can lid.  We
    stopped after the third bucket of water had been exhausted and Mike and
    the kids were suitably soaked.  
    
    Thanks so much everyone for your help and have a great summer.
    
    Cheers,
    Susan

Kathleen is turning 4 and would like a birthday cake with storybook 
characters on it. Specifically: Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf.

ANY clues at all as to where I can find some little figures like this?
I can picture a necco-wafer path across the cake with a few setups 
along the way, but I can imagine where I'm going to find the figures!

Any other ideas for a "storybook party"?  I'm thinking of making 
invitations that look like a book and making up some felt puppets to
decorate.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions.

Jane

    Jane,
    
    Do you live near the Fitchburg/Leominster area?  If so, you may want to
    try Mr. G's Party Center in the Twin City Mall.  They carry all sorts
    of figures and such for decorating cakes.
    
    Lori B.

    This is late, so I'm hoping for some quick ideas.
    
    My niece will be 7 tomorrow, her parents are doing their annual pool
    party for it.  What I need are gift suggestions.  We have historically
    bought for her something that will last, last year it was a Micky Mouse
    wrist watch and a stuffed something or other doll, both were
    appreciated.  For her second birthday we got a set of sheets since she
    had just graduated to a "big girl bed". I'm just listing a few examples
    and hoping for ideas.  I need to stop either on the way home or in the
    morning before the party.  Shopping anywhere in Worcester County will
    do.
    
    Thanks
    Lyn

    Why don't you buy her a new outfit for school.  My son's birthday is
    also tomorrow and when people asked me what to buy him, my answer was
    clothes.  I don't know about you but, I like gifts that are practicle.
    
    Lori B.

    Not every child may be "into" it, but I've found that by age 7,
    although the handwriting is large and sometimes almost indecipherable,
    writing in a diary is enjoyable.  But at that age, a journal (blank
    pages, no dates) is better--I'd try to avoid making rules about writing
    every day, because then it becomes a chore.  I'd definitely get one
    with a lock, though, even if it does have dated pages.
    
    It's hysterical looking back on mine (2nd grade = age 7, for me); I'd
    generally be able to fit only one sentence on a page, and it's a riot
    seeing what one event from each day merited notice in the official
    diary.
    
    Leslie

    We tried a Pizza Hut birthday party for our son.  Cost $45.
    We arrived at 6pm [scheduled weeks in advance, called that day to
    reconfirm].
    At 6:20, with eight little kids, we got a menu.  they also brought out
    the standard nicoliaum hats.  Each kid had a personal pan pizza and
    drink.  The last kid was feed at 7:20PM  I don't believe the kids
    stayed quit for 1:20!  then there was a small cake.
    that was it.  no balloons, no favors, no games, no nothing.
    I bit my tongue.
    ed
    

    re: .59
    
    what are nicoliaum hats?

    
    My daughter turns 3 on August 13th, and I was contemplating what
    to do for her birthday. Since she is getting bigger and there are
    more and more of us in our family, I wanted to do something small
    but festive. I've decided to have cake, and appetizer type things
    for 1:00 in the afternoon. anyone out there have suggestions on what
    i could have for food that would be different and not your basic
    boring salad, chips etc.. My other daughter turns 1 on Aug 31st so
    I will have to get planning that one too...  thanks in advance
    

    for -1, we do a buffet, but of course we're talking a January party
    here, I make things like meatballs and sausage in sauce, meat and
    cheese cold cut platters, tossed and potatoe salad, Boston baked beans.  
    I also do Ice cream cake, instead of a piece of cake and a blob of
    icecream on a plate (yuk gooey mess!!) The kids seem to like the ice
    cream cake better, personally I like Carvel best of all.
    
    My sister inlaw on the other hand had her daughter's birthday last
    week, she did a hot dog and hamburg cook out, she did the usual potatoe
    green and pasta salad, she made macaroni and cheese and beans, and a
    conventional cake with icecream.
    
    and of course the built in pool was a blessing since it was the end of
    July, with a huge yard to run around in! Hoping not to offend anyone her
    husband also got a keg of beer "for the grownups", which made for a
    great coping mechanism!
    
    Does this help at all?

    
    Does anyone have any good ideas of places to have a birthday party for
    a four year old and his friends in the Greater Maynard area?
    
    I know the Ground Round and McDonalds and Burger King do Kids parties,
    but is there anything like a Chuckee Cheese around?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Sue
    

    While I was at Tougas Farm (Northboro) on Saturday, there were several
    picnic tables "reserved".  Turned out they were for birthday parties.
    
    This particular farm has a small petting "zoo" and a hay mow for the
    kids to play in.  They also have a cider press and a bakery.  They use
    a hay wagon for taking the fruit pickers out to the orchards; I'm not
    sure if it's available for parties.
    
    Perhaps some of the farms in the Bolton/Stow area do the same thing.
    
    
    - Terry

    I would definitely cast *ALL* votes to the Acton Bowladrome (or
    whatever it's called).  They do parties, complete w/ pizza.  They have
    the inflatable tubes that go in the gutters for the kids, and the price
    was reasonable, including shoes, bowling, pizza, cake and ice cream - I
    think it was ~$4.00/kid.  It's candlepin bowling.  If adults want to
    bowl, they can't use the lanes with the gutter tubes.  Other than that,
    the people were **REAL** nice about it, and we *ALMOST* had a party
    there once.  The only reason we didn't is cuz we live in Nashua and it
    would've been too far for all his friends.  Good age for bowling too!
    
    Have fun!
    Patty

    Hi,
    	I am looking for a clown for November 1 at about 7:00 - 8:00 in the
    evening.   This is for my daughter's 3rd birthday party.   Please let
    me know the phone number of any clowns who might be free that day.
    						Thanks
    							/Ritu

   Hi,
   
   I can guess by sheer numbers that you are located in the northeast
   somewhere, but that's not guaranteed.  Even if you are, that's a
   lot of land to cover...   what town is this event going to be held?
   
   Thanks,
   
   - Tom
   

    This is going to be in Nashua NH.   I have about 15 kids ages 2 years
    to 6 years.   Birthday girl is 3 years old!
    						/Ritu

    Not to be a Kill Joy on this one, I'm sure your intentions are great. 
    But from a realistic viewpoint, we had backstage passes to the Ringling
    Brothers circus when our son was just about 3.  This boy who is
    normally outgoing, fears nothing, and goes to anyone simply couldn't
    hug my leg tight enough, and would have absolutely nothing to do with
    ANY of the clowns.
    
    During the "party" he was given a prize type ribbon, and I had to carry
    him up to the clown, he wouldn't take the prize, and about strangled
    me with the hold around my neck!  For what it's worth we had his
    Godparents' two girls, ages 5 and 7, who were a little intimidated too.
    
    How about rethinking it, say until the fourth or fifth birthday, unless
    you are sure you will, in fact, get a positive reception?
    
    Maybe you would consider a magician?  There used to be a man (hopefully
    still is) who worked in NRO office services who does magic, his name is
    Paul Baird, check ELF if that an interesting option.
    
    Lyn

    I have to agree with Lyn.  When Sam was three he attended his first
    birthday.  Everything was fine and I was even going to leave for a
    while until the hostess announced "Oh, he'll be fine!  They all will
    once the clown arrives."  Well this was the kiss of death for me, I 
    knew there was no way Sam would be okay once the clown showed up.  He
    was terrified of the clown, had been since he was 2 or so.  I spent
    most of the party off in a corner of the yard with Sam on my lap, we
    watched the clown from across the yard!
    

    My daughter is absolutely terrified of the big mouse at Chuck E.
    Cheese's. And she's almost 4 years old now!
    
    How about someone who would dress up like one of the disney characters? 
    My daughter loves them, but will not go anywhere near anything/anyone
    else.
    
                                               

    How about one of the Baloon delivery services bringing enough baloons
    so that each child could take one home, and have the deliverer to dress
    up as a favorite character.  We had ALF deliver baloons to my mother
    inlaw's birthday a couple years ago and both my nephew and son couldn't
    get enough of him (her?).
    
    Lyn

    
    My children are also afraid of the Characters at Chuck E Cheese.  The
    ages are 5, 2, and 8 monthes.  They bury there heads.
    
    				carol
    

    Hi Ritu-
    
    Dale and I had a clown for our daughter's *2nd* birthday party and she
    absolutely loved it (as did the other children at the party, ages one
    through 10). When I called to book him for the party, he said that
    sometimes little children are frightened by clowns, so he would
    probably tone down his makeup and costume somewhat (which he did) and
    limited his "act" to activities in which kids weren't required to sit
    or participate heavily (for example, making animal balloons and singing
    songs). We didn't have any problems, and Jamie loves clowns of all
    shapes and sizes to this day.
    
    Perhaps if you call around the Nashua area and explain that the kids
    are small, you can work out a situation similar to ours.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Nancy-

    I had not one, but two clowns at my daughter's first birthday party.
    I had been warned about kids being easily frightened by things like
    clowns. The clowns played simple games with the kids (about 12 kids) 
    like having the kids throw little prizes into their large pockets.  
    The kids then got to take prize from the pocket. Everything was 
    going along just fine until one little girl realized she might be 
    frightened by these big people in funny costumes.  She began to cry.
    Next thing we knew, we had 10 kids crying along with her.  To a 
    bystander, it must have been a pretty funny sight.  It took about 20
    minutes to calm everyone down and get the party back on track. 
    
    Jodi-
    

    For the greater Maynard area.....  the restaurant at the Stow Airport
    does birthday parties. It's called Jack's Hen House. My sister's
    daughter had a 4th birthday party there last year and it was a big
    success.

    Excuse me if this has been addressed before, but I'm not a regular
    reader of this conference, and a DIR/TITLE on various keywords didn't
    seem to reveal anything pertinent.
    
    Having a birthday party for my son (will be 10) and having several
    (about 6) of his friends over for a small party.  What kinds of games
    or activities could you suggest to keep boys of this age group amused
    for a few hours?
    
    Have thought of perhaps getting a pinata and doing that, but that would
    take about 5 minutes or less.  Also thought about getting some
    balloons, having the boys blow them up, then the first one who is able
    to sit on it and break it wins.  Another 5-10 minutes...
    
    Any suggestions, or perhaps pointers to where this may have already
    been discussed?
    
    Thanks
    Jon

For our most recent parties (daughter 11, son 8) we've done miniature golf, 
and the kids have enjoyed it.

If your son and his friends are athletically inclined, we've had success just 
getting together soccer balls, baseball bats, kickballs, footballs, and 
whatever, and turning them loose at a local park.  Cheaper than miniature 
golf, but, like miniature golf, dependent on the weather.

Other ideas, that I've seen used are roller skating, renting a local school 
gym, and letting them make their own pizza and birthday cake.

Clay

    Hmm, missed this topic first time around.  Read thru much of it, like
    many of the ideas.  Really like the miniature golf idea, but is there
    anywhere to do that in southern NH (Nashua) area?
    
    Jon

    Jon,
    
    Funworld (on DW Highway) has an indoor miniature golf.  They also 'do
    parties' so you can have pizza and cake there, as well there are many
    video machines, skee-ball and even a race track!  PLUS - it's indoors,
    so don't worry about the weather!!
    
    Have Fun!
    

    re .-1
    
    Uh, any other options for indoor golf besides Funworld?  Or to put it
    another way, ever think about trying to herd a half dozen 9-10 yr olds
    PAST all the video games to get to the golf course?  Very potentially,
    not a pretty picture...
    
    Jon

    There's an indoor mini-golf in Marlboro at the Creamery.  The Creamery
    is located just off of Rt. 20.
    
    Lori B.

    There's an outdoor mini-golf in Hudson, NH, on the Hudson Tyngsboro
    line on rte. 3A (It might actually be in Tyngs).
    
    

    The YMCA in Nashua offers pool/gym parties for kids, you supply
    the goodies.  This sounds like a lot of fun for older kids.  Perhaps
    other area Ys have similar offerings.
    
    				Steve

    In Londonderry, NH at the Crossroads (102 and Mammoth Rd.) there's an
    indoor slot car place.  I bet that would THRILL young boys.  I think
    you can rent the use of the slot cars as well as the track.
    
    In the same mall there's a very casual taco shop, Garcia's Tacos.
    
    Another idea - its not too late in the year for horseback riding.
    
    How about a roller rink or an ice skating rink?
    
    Laura

    My daughter won't turn 2 until January, but I've started to plan her 
    birthday celebration already.  
    
    I picked up a book, The Pennywhistle Party Planner, and got some useful 
    ideas.  Most of the parties are for older kids.  I really recommend the 
    book.  
    
    Marissa has a lot of stuffed bunnies and she loves to play with them
    so we've decided to use Bunnies as a theme.
    
    We'll have a bunny hunt (most of party will be in family room, we'll 
    hide her stuffed bunnies in the living room.)  I'd like suggestions for 
    lots of other active games for two year olds and their parents to play,
    and for a simple craft or two they can take home (could be a party favor.)
    
    	--a variant of ring around the rosie that involves bunnies (or
    	any other game where you have to fall down)?
    
    	--a bunny game to play in the snow if it's snowy, or otherwise outdoors
    	in cold weather (I'm going to ask the kids and parents to wear
    	play clothes)
    
    	--anyplace that i could get lots of inexpensive photos of bunnies 
    	(Bunny Magazine?) for them to glue stick onto something or other 
    	(elephants would be easier: I'd get some African travel brochures) 	
    
    	--are 2 year olds too young to use stamp pads--is that stuff
    	available in a non-toxic formula?
    
    	--should we ask our friends to bring their pet bunny (indoor, kind
    	of house broken) over to play or would the kids not care?
    
    	--what else would be fun to carry out this theme?  
    
    	--am I getting carried away beyond what a 2 year old will enjoy?
    	Since my birthday Marissa has been saying "Happy Happy" whenever
    	she sees a cake or a candle, and I maybe overreacting to that to
    	think she will really care about this birthday.
    
    There will probably be 5 kids maximum with moms and/or dads, all close 
    to 2 years old--whoever in her Saturday morning playgroup can make it.
    Plus, hopefully all 3 of her grandparents but no other relatives.
    
    Thanks in advance for your creative ideas!

    I dunno on this one....  my opinion is that at 2 the party is still
    more *for* the parents and older children than for the just turned
    2-year old.  Although she may have the concept that a party is fun,
    spending a lot of time, thought and money on one particular theme might
    end up being wasted.  
    
    My thought would be wait another year until she can fully appreciate
    your efforts.
    
    As for the live bunny, the daycare we use has a bunny, a hamster,
    several fishtanks, but all of these are in the rooms where the 3and
    above children are.  I'd be afraid the bunny might become hurt or
    terribly frightened by little tiny people.  What on earth would you do
    if the bunny ran off and hid somewhere you couldn't access.  Better to
    visit the bunny on his own turf.
    
    I have sworn since his second, noisy crowded January birthday that next
    year it's going to be at McDonalds, let them pick up the post party
    mess!  For now I've decided to just simply limit the number of people
    invited, and maybe just do cake and ice cream instead of a big buffet,
    as family tradition (My inlaws' side) seems to have dictated.
    
    Lyn

    I agree that 2 is still too young to do much for the b.day party. 
    Neither of mine seemed to care much about it, except when it came to
    blowing out the candles.  They didn't even care a whole lot about
    opening presents.
    
    Hide the bunny!!!  A bunch of 2 year olds will chase it around and
    scare the poor thing half to death!!  
    
    Keep in mind that a 2 year old usually prefers to play beside other
    kids as opposed to WITH other kids, so while it may be neat to sit down
    and do a craft project, party games don't tend to work well at this
    age.
    
    Do you have a strong person and a sled?  If there's snow, you could
    pull them around the yard on the sled....
    
    

    Birthday party ideas for the 4/5/6 age bracket.  I had a pancake
    breakfast with an orange drink made from milk, oj and orange sherbert.
    Decorated the pancakes with whip cream and their choice of strawberries
    or blueberries and they loved it.  I had an 8 year old who didn't like
    pancakes and wanted cereal. I gave him the cereal and he already had a
    pancake beside him so I just decorated it so he didn't feel left out
    and the next thing I know he says I make good pancakes and could he
    have another!  
    
    Then we played pin the tail on the donkey and after that hot potatoe.
    We played til everyone had "won" a prize and then opened gifts and
    let them do their own thing for 15 min or so and boom 1 1/2 hours
    had passed and it was time to go and we had the rest of the day for
    ourselves.  In fact we headed for our day at Canobie Lake Park!  It
    was wonderful.  I did 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.  Mother's thought it
    was great too.  The cake went home with them to have after lunch.
    
    

    Just wanted to report that the party went well.  The two major
    time-consumers which were well received were:
    
    * A variation on the old "pin the tail on the donkey", we took it up to
    the 90's and played "put the kid in the Lamborghini".  Same idea, but
    the kids draw a picture of "themselves" on a 2" square piece of
    construction paper, then while blind-folded, try to pin themselves into
    the driver's seat on a poster of the Lamborghini.
    
    * A scavenger hunt.  Took 14 items (ie, screwdriver, quarter, can
    opener, etc) and "hid" them in the front yard.  In "plain sight" if you
    knew where to look.  Divided the kids into two groups, gave each group
    a list of the items that were there, then the team that found the most
    items won.  (Each group found 7 items).  They felt that this was a lot
    of fun -- weather permitting, would do this one again in a minute.
    
    Thanks for all the suggestions.
    Jon

    AJ is finally 5 today! Now the spontaneous person that I try to be,
    is there any place between Marlboro and western Worcester area (north
    and south included) that we, as a family, can take him to that will
    make his actual birth-day special?  Chuckie Cheese has a nice idea, but
    I think the closest is in NH, too far for after work.
    
    Are there any restaurants that can make a kid feel special, cake is
    optional by the way. Anyone ever tried any of this at any of the fast
    food places like McD's or Friendly's etc.?  
    
    We will be having the family party at the house on the 12th, but we
    really want him to know that this is really his birthday.
    
    I sent cupcakes to school so he'll have a little party.  I guess I'm
    selfish, and want to celebrate too!
    
    Lyn
                                              

    Lyn,
    
    I don't think that McDonald's, etc. does birthday parties for one,
    particularly on such short notice.  
    
    We've always enjoyed eating at the Ground Round (especially Bob
    Bonin's on Rte 9 by Spags) for a meal that's fun for our son too!
    They have crayons for coloring on the placemats, a clown that brings 
    by balloons, etc, and a nice selection of things on their kids menus 
    (meals ~$2.49).  I am pretty sure that they would do cakes or an
    ice cream sundae and they might even sing as well..
    
    Happy Birthday AJ!
    
    Carol

    Lyn,
    
    We took Paige to that Ground Round (Rte. 9, Shrewsbury) on her birthday
    and told them it was her birthday.  The waitpersons sang Happy Birthday
    to her and brought a complimentary piece of ice cream roll to both kids
    with a candle on each.  I think you actually have a better chance in a 
    restaurant like that than in a Chuck E. Cheese or Playland (Worcester)
    of getting special attention for AJ outside of a "scheduled" party.
    
    Have a nice time!
    

    Quickly now.... what's a Playland (Worcester?)
    
    Isn't there a Chuck E. Cheese in RI somewhere close to the MA border?
    (Just for future reference at this point, acutally)
    
    Lyn
    
    .....more ideas please!

    
    Playland is probably the Children's Playland Museum out past
    Webster Square in Worcester.   I don't know the name of the road
    it's on but it's just past the plaza with the Ames, Weintraubs, etc.
    on the road that passes to the south of the plaza (I think Rte. 9 
    is on the north of the mall).  Children's Playland Museum is 
    on the right hand side as you head west on this road....lousy
    directions, sorry.
    
    This place has a "museum" similar to the Children's museum in Acton
    but done on a very low budget - a bunch of rooms set up each with
    a theme - a ball pit, a sponge pit, a castle, a McD's play restaurant,
    a play kitchen, etc - for which the admission is $2.00 (parents free).
    The majority of the place is an arcade with about 50/50 mix of  
    traditional arcade games and young childrens' rides.   Most of these
    games run on tokens...I think the kids' rides are 20-25 cents each.
    There is a small cafeteria counter that serves pizza, hotdogs, chips,
    softdrinks, juices, etc.
    
    My husband ocassionally takes Jason (2+) there on rainy days and they
    always have a good time but it isn't a real nice place....
    
    Carol

    I'd suggest a Pizza Hut - just because kids always seem to have a lot
    of fun there!  How about asking AJ?  OR, if there's a Ponderosa around,
    they have an Ice Cream 'buffet' where he could make his own Sundae - he
    might think that's neat!  
    
    OR .... consider buying the fixins for his favorite dinner, and getting
    stuff for dessert and let HIM put it together.  At that age, he'll
    probably love that.  
    
    I remember going out to dinner for my b.day, and I remember the neatest
    part being the candle in the cake, and getting a balloon, AND I got to
    invite one friend, whoever I wanted.
    
    Have Fun!

    
    
    RE:198.91  How about El Torito's in Framingham, they have about
    10 waiters and waitress sing Happy Birthday.  And they bring out
    a small cake,  they make a great deal of noise bringing out the cake
    
    
    Good luck, and Happy Birthday AJ!
    
    Lisa

    Well, where did you go, Lyn?
    
    -Tracy
    

    Thanks to EVERYONE!!  In this case, the Ground Round won.  It's nice
    and close to the preschool (right Tracey?)  Bingo the clown greeted us
    in the lobby, they wern't terribly busy that night.  We did however
    have to pay full kids' menu prices, the penny-a pound deal is Sunday to
    Wednesday.  But they were great, he ordered the mini-pizza, they kept
    refilling his *chocolate* milk, and even gave him a tiny dish of mixed
    veggies. (what can I say this kid is addicted to broccoli and carrots!)
    Bingo, the clown blew up a baloon at the table and after his dinner all
    the waitresses and Bingo too, brought a piece of ice cream chocolate
    roll with a candle in the middle.  
    
    To say the least he was thrilled!  He kept calling it his *real*
    birthday.  Not to confused with the family party we're having next
    weekend.
    
    Lyn

    
    
       Matthew will turn 3 in a couple of weeks and I need some ideas for
      his birthday party.  There will be children there ranging from 
      1 to 4 years old.  I'd like to be able to do some activities with
      the 3-4 year olds but it's so hard thinking of things to do indoors.
      We'll be having the party at the house.  Any ideas??
    
    

    For our kids up to that age, we just had a free-for-all in the play
    room!  Call them for cake and ice cream, present opening and more play
    with the new things.  I found it hard to regulate the play of so many
    little toddlers.  Believe me, they will all enjoy it!
    
    Don't go crazy - you'll need that energy when they are 4 and older!
    
    -sandy
    

    I've got no direct experience but have read recently that it is still
    too early to plan activities.  So I agree with .1.  For a 2 year old
    birthday party I got everybody their own colored slinky.  It was a
    great hit and made for minutes if not hours of fun and interaction. 

    
    
    My daughters "FIRST" birthday is in 4 weeks and I am planning a party.
    
    My question is what do you fill the party bags with?  There will be
    11 kids there ages 1 - 9.  I don't know what to fill the bags with.
    I don't want candy or anything with sugar in it.
    
    Thanks
    for any suggestions!
    
    

    Toothpaste.
    Toothbrushes.
    Toys.
    Crayons.
    Stickers.
    Sugarless gum.
    

re: .103

A little expensive, but WE feel good about it, and the parents probably will 
also: 

	age appropriate books

Clay    

    Just make sure you don't give the same things to the 9 year old that
    you do to the 1 year old.  You'll need to vary your assortment by the
    kids age and put the names on the bags.  A 9 year old can get a yo-yo,
    a 1 year old shouldn't (for example).
    
    Chris D.

    Not sure where you are located, but I shop for birthdays at Ziff
    Paperworld in Worcester.  One year I bought multicolored pencils, which
    would be good for most ages.  Last year I bought an assortment of
    blister packs of "trinkets", there were mini yoyo's, mini puzzles, the
    little plastic square puzzles where one square is empty and you need to
    put the numbers in order, some little plastic race cars.  There is a
    whole section of these things in the kid's papergoods section.  I can't
    be bothered with the goodie bags, I just put them in a big basket and
    had the kids pass the whole basket around until it was empty.
    
    Some places have tiny stuffed animals like the overgrown pom-poms with
    feet (weeples wern't they called once?), or the little pets with clips
    to clip onto visors and such.
    
    Lyn

    If there are going to be different ages at the party you will need
    different age appropriate items.  I have found the the younger the
    child, the more expensive the bag, just because the toddlers should not
    have the little trinkets that can be purchased inexpensively for the
    older kids.
    
    Following the Easter Basket idea mentioned earlier, our family is
    getting together this year (aunt's and grandmothers) to make one big
    basket for each child (instead of the 2 or 3 junk baskets they usually
    get each year).  Some items we have decided to put in the baskets would
    also make great birthday party bag ideas.
    
    - Paperama has tiny baskets which could hold one plastic egg. Get a silly
    putty egg and put it in the basket for each of the over age 3 crowd. Or
    an even less expensive alternative is "Colorful Creations" from
    Discovery Toys.  One package has 10 colors of clay for $6.00. Give each
    child two colors in the plastic egg and they'll be happy for less than
    $2.00 each.
    
    - For the toddler age, small squeeze toys a great.  They can use them
    as teethers, or toys. You can get them anywhere but I happen to have my
    Discovery Toys catalog in front of me, and they sell them as a set - 4
    animals for 9.98.
    
    - Tooth brushes and toothpaste. Kids also love the toothbrush holders
    with different animals or cartoon figures. These are great for travel
    too.
    
    -  How about same packages of playing cards - Old Maid, Animal Rummy,
    etc.