Kids Party Tips And Tricks

JMF Disco’s Kids Party Tips And Tricks

Here at JMF Disco Towers we love kids parties – from 4 years old and upwards. We can accommodate younger children’s parties but they usually require mums and dads or older brothers and sisters to help them out – even Pass The Parcel can be tricky for them sometimes! We are usually out every weekend at one or two children’s parties so here are some of our best kids party tips and tricks we would like to pass on to help your (and our) lives easier!

Choosing the right kids party venue

• Make sure your chosen venue has curtains especially if you are planning to have your kids party during daylight hours (often the cheapest option with us!). We come along with great disco lights that kids of all ages love – but to see them at their best you need a darkened room – certainly not pitch black but shady to see the lights with their best effect. Sunlight streaming through rooflights or high level windows onto the floor can be a particular problem.
• Church halls and village halls tend to offer the best value for money – when booking allow for an hour before for setting up and an hour afterwards for putting it all away and clearing up – 30 minutes is not really enough – this is particularly so if the car parking is not close or there are steps to negotiate. The other mums normally drop their kids off a bit early as well, as you are a great baby sitting service as they pop off to the shops!
• If you have the room why not have it at home? You will have everything to hand rather than having to load it all up in the car and transport it to a venue – although the decorations and flooring at village halls tend to be more robust than those in your front room – you know what a handful little Johnny can be!

Choosing the right length of party

• 2 hours is about right for primary school aged children, 2½ – 3 hours maybe if they are slow eaters or you have more than about 30 to cater for.
• Shorter parties finishing on a high are better than long drawn out ones that fade out because the kids are tired.

Choosing the right games

• Children love to play games – simples! The ‘system’ we use is to play a few songs, have a game, play a few songs, have a game etc. They love the games and it keeps them busy, rather than just standing / dancing to music. This is particularly so with younger children – 11 year olds and teens tend to like dance competitions, boys vs girls games rather than more traditional ‘games’ as such. Getting the right games for the right age group is important – 11 year olds are too ‘kewl’ for pass the parcel but most 5 year olds would not know the moves for a Cha Cha Slide competition. We provide a varied list of games and dance competitions for you to choose from when you book JMF Disco for your kids party.
• Kids love winning things – we recommend buying prizes for the winners of the games – these do not have to be expensive – a bag of sweets or plastic medal is all that is needed.
• Choose what we call ‘inclusive’ games particularly for younger children – sitting out after the first round of musical statues is not fun – so we have developed ways of making sure that younger children remain in the game.
• Bear in mind the number of children that you are inviting to the party when choosing your games – 60 children lining up for the limbo is not that exciting!
• Piñata can be popular at kids parties and can be purchased in some supermarkets – however you have to be able to hang it up at your venue some where. One way around this is to suspend it from a rope – a car tow rope is ideas – get two hunky dads to hold the end of the rope and this set up can be used practically anywhere. The rope holders can jiggle the rope about a bit to make it a bit harder for older ‘expert’ whackerers!

Bouncy castles

• Kids love bouncy castles – if your hall has a high ceiling these can be erected indoors – they are not just for outside play.

Party Bags

• Kids love party bags – it’s like getting their own little present on the day. Have a look in Aldi/Asda/Wilkinsons and similar stores they usually have a wide selection of goodies you can put in them – they also sometimes have special offers on books, sticker books, pencils sets, balloons etc.
• Bubbles, mini-slinkies, rubber bouncy balls, glow sticks, gliders, temporary tattoos  etc can often be found very cheaply on Ebay.
• Sweetie cones – you can make your own up with cone bags from Ebay or Amazon and sweets from your local cash and carry or wholesaler – or buy them already made. your corner shop might do you a deal when you buy a box of sweets. Make sure you put some of those chewy milk bottles in there because I love them!

Party food

• Don’t go mad with the quantity of party food for children’s parties – I have been to so many where loads is just thrown away – after we have had a big plateful for the journey home and dad has curled up sandwiches for lunch for the next 2 weeks!
• Many sandwiches are throw away they love finger food and snacks better – even the healthier options of fruit and carrot sticks go down well.
• Don’t make too much fresh food just in case it will get thrown away – take extra biscuits and sweets to open up if the food gets low – these last longer and can be taken back home to nibble on when watching Match of the Day later on!
• Maybe give your guests a limited selection menu on the party invites you send out where they can select their favourite sandwich, crisps or drink and make some ‘happy meal’ boxes.
• Character plates, cups and napkins can be expensive, and after-all they will only end up in the bin – so go for the cheaper plainer ones and add some colour with bright napkins and bowls.

Birthday cake

• Don’t forget the knife to cut it
• Don’t forget the candles and lighter/matches to light them
• Don’t forget to get someone ready to take pictures of this spotlight moment.

I hope you found these Kids Party Tips And Tricks helpful – check back soon for an update – these are being added to all the time – everyday is a school day for us as we aim to improve the Kids Party DJ Disco service and help that we offer.