To RSVP or not RSVP

In the past five years of children's entertaining I have been asked many many questions. By far the most popular questions my clients ask me are about invitation etiquette. What to write, how to address the sibling issue and of course what the heck does RSVP mean anyway?

So here's my advice for all the things you may think of for writing out invitations for children's parties.



Personalised Invitations

 The invitation

The invitation can prove to be a minefield of individual ideas and perceptions of invitation etiquette, particularly when it comes to RSVP's (I will come back to that later!).


 
All invitations should have the following information:

  

Type of event and the name of birthday guest of honor: 
Date: 
Time: 
Venue: 
RSVP details: (Your name and telephone number).



For instance:

Jodie's 6th birthday party
on Sunday 6th February, 2011
From 3pm-5pm
at Chorley Village Hall
RSVP Angela 01625 838102

If you are holding the party in a public venue such as a park or play barn you might like to consider adding information about your location eg:

 

Venue: Alderley Edge Park, meet at the bandstand

 

RSVP

R.S.V.P is a french phrase, répondez s'il vous plaît. This means 'respond please'.

There are lots of variations available (just to confuse matters). Some people think that RSVP means 'respond if you please' or 'respond only if you can attend' when it actually means 'respond either way'.

RSVP regrets only

 

This means 'respond with regrets only please' eg 'I regret that I cannot attend your party'. This removes the need for people to get in touch as if you don't hear otherwise you can assume they will attend.

When you need to know the number of guests at your party

 

Occasionally you might need to let the venue know how many guests will be attending in advance so they can provide food etc so you may wish to add a date with your RSVP for example: RSVP by 3rd February, 2011

 

This also means that if you don't hear back from anyone after this date you can reliably assume they wont be able to attend.

 

The Sibling Issue

 

Some venues and entertainment providers will charge per child attending so a polite way of mentioning this might be to have wording on the invitation something like 'Jodie invites Claire to her 6th Birthday party' instead of 'no siblings please'.


Alternatively, if your party is in a soft play centre ask the centre if they have any special offers for siblings of children attending parties. Some offer a play and eat offer which includes admission and a kids meal at a reduced price. If they have a special offer and you are expecting lots of uninvited siblings you could add words to the effect of eg 'You are welcome to stay at The Play Barn during the party. They have a special siblings meal offer for £5.99 which includes admission'.

Allergies and dietary requirements

 

Parents of children with severe allergies, of very fussy eaters and those with religious observances will tell you when they RSVP if they have any concerns about the food served at the party so there is no need to ask about dietary requirements on invites.

After they have been handed out

 

Have a list of names ready to tick off the child's name as their parents RSVP. Also make sure you get a name and contact number for the parent just in case something happens and there is a change in venue with little notice. This list can also be used at the party to keep track of the guests as they arrive and call any parents who have RSVP but may be lost or their child has been sick at the last minute.

 

You may also want to follow this up with a text to the parents mobile phones if you have the numbers. Or try to be early to drop off or collect your child from school and ask outright if they got the invite and if they can attend. Some people are busy and may have been meaning to get around to RSVP and will probably be quite grateful of being asked!

Find out more about our party entertainment services for parties in Cheshire and Manchester at www.myfunkyparty.com.
For personalised invites, party wares toys and gifts visit us at www.funkypartysupplies.co.uk.

Thanks for reading, please comment if you have any further invitation questions.

Have a funky party :)

Booking a venue

When you decide to throw a party you could have the party at home or at a hired venue.

Your decision is probably based on 3 things:

1. How many children you are having at the party
2. What entertainment and activities you will be doing
3. How good your nerves are!

When I am out and about hosting parties I find that for most people having a small group of children around 10-12 kids having a party at home is perfectly fine. There are always parents who, like me, would book a venue even if they had 5 guests at the party!

Photo courtesy of www.stthomasmoorside.org.uk

There's lots of different types of venues available. There's the obvious community centres and church halls and then theres other places such as function rooms attached to a local pub, meeting rooms at hotels, leisure centres and health clubs. Some schools have their hall to hire too.

A church in my town has their main hall which is huge, 30 kids could easily get lost in the space but they have several smaller rooms which are much better for smaller parties of less than 15 children. So when you enquire about the larger rooms and find they are booked do ask if they have other rooms available.

What about other facilities?

Photo courtesy of www.braidhillshotel.co.uk

Most church halls and community centres are fairly similar with the option of hiring a small kitchen in addition to the hall. The contents of the kitchen are usually stocked with the same standard of items. Cups, plates, dishes, chopping board and knife amongst other things.

"One thing about church halls is that most have a policy of take your rubbish home so dont forget to pack some bin liners with you."

So do I book an entertainer before or after the venue?

Its always best to book an entertainer before your venue. Most venues are similar, they offer the same space, facilities, tables and chairs etc.

If you have in mind a specific entertainer for instance you may want a specific facepainter or clown to entertain at your childs party and therefore plan the venue around their diary.

It is quick and easy to find another hall but very difficult and time consuming to find another entertainer.

Decoration tips!

With church halls and hired venues you can really go to town with the decoration.

Theres no need to accomodate sofas, tv sets and tables etc you really do have a blank canvas.

Go crazy hang coloured fabric for a back ground and decorate with balloons. Hang ribbons of crepe paper from the ceiling. Bring props from home.

Heres a couple of our favourites:

Thanks to www.designismine.blogspot.com

thanks to www.picsdigger.com

Hope these tips help with organising your party. Please do let us know if its helped!

Function rooms and other venues are supplied with tables and chairs only.

Crowd control - The beginners guide to having a birthday party

This is our guest post created especially for Tup Tup Toys last week!

Many thanks to the lovely Angie from My Funky Party for this wonderful guest post on hosting a child's birthday party. Don't let the title deceive you - it's not just for beginners, there are some fantastic tips the rest of us can use too!

When faced with a bunch of giggly, squeaky, hyped up kids at a birthday party, the idea of getting them to do what you want (in order to play any games or fun stuff) can make you so worried you go running for the hills. But with careful planning and a few knowledgeable tricks (the kind teachers use in the classroom), the daunting task of entertaining children for and hour and a half can be turned into a breeze.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user jessica.diamond

First - Know Your Enemy

There's no point going all out with a "Giggles" theme party for a bunch of 9 year olds, or "Princess and Pirates" for 20 boys who are into Ben 10. The aim of a successful party theme is to choose something that is universal to all the children attending, not just the guest of honour.

Second - "Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail"

You may realize this but kids actually like routine and scheduling, even at a party. Take a piece of paper and list time slots of 10 mins, like this:

2.00pm
2.10pm
2.20pm
2.30pm
2.40pm
2.50pm
3.00pm
3.10pm
3.20pm
3.30pm
3.40pm
3.50pm
4.00pm

Allocate three main time slots for arrival, food time (which includes singing Happy Birthday) and opening presents. Food takes approx. 30 minutes for savories, cakes and biscuits. Put it about half way through.

Arrival - there's always one that's late. Actually, scrap that, lots of people are late and it usually takes about 10-15 minutes for all the guests to arrive. Try to plan an arrival activity. This could be colouring for youngsters with printables of their favourite characters. Older children can get crafty and make something to take home (this could be something that's popped into their party bag at the end).

Opening Presents - always a good way to while away the last 20 minutes of a party. You can schedule this to happen during the party, or have it on standby just incase your guests clear through your games faster than you thought possible.

Photo courtsey of Flickr user Mark & Marie Finnern

So, now your schedule should look something like this:

2.00pm Arrival activity (15 mins)
2.10-2.15 Arrival activity
2.20pm
2.30pm
2.40pm
2.50pm Lunch (30 mins)
3.00pm Lunch
3.10pm Lunch
3.20pm
3.30pm
3.40pm Present Opening
3.50pm Present Opening
4.00pm End
This leaves you with two blocks of 30-35 minutes.

Games


Depending on the number of children coming, allocate approximately 1 game per child. There are lots of ideas online and you can ask your family about more retro games you can play. Some ideas to get you started....

Pass the Parcel - put a small sweet in between each layer, or for a smaller party with less than 10 children, put in a piece of paper with an action suggestion, such as 'pretend to be a dog', 'hop on one leg', 'sing a nursery rhyme' etc. For larger groups, this game can go on forever and you won't be able to hold their interest, so try splitting the kids into 2 groups and have 1 parcel per group travelling around each circle at the same time.
The Chocolate Game - You will need, a large bag of chocolate buttons, a plate, a fork, a scarf, a pair of wooly gloves and a dice. Sit the kids around in a circle. Put the buttons on a plate, with the scarf, gloves and fork in the centre. Pass the dice around the circle. Each child takes turns to roll the dice, then they pass it to the next child. If they roll a 6, the dice keeps going around the circle, as before, except the child who rolled a 6 has until the next child rolls a 6, to put on the scarf and gloves, then eat as much of the chocolate as possible. Lots of fun!

 

For boy's parties, any relay races and sports day style competitive games will go down a storm. Passing an inflated balloon around a circle without using your hands is always a good way to while away the time.

Photo courtesy of Flikr user goldberg.

 So the last thing - What if they don't listen to you explaining what's going on? What if they just run around crazy? There are a few steps you can take to ensure your party runs smoothly.


Firstly, delegate all non entertaining stuff to other people, including supervising toilet trips and serving the food. Entertaining the kids isn't just about playing games. It's about making sure that despite running around like a nutcase entertaining the kids, you are also clock watching, and making certain that the momentum is kept running throughout.
Secondly, don't give the kids options. Tell them at the beginning of the party what the schedule is (make it fun, of course!) and stick to it. If a game is going down like a lead balloon, just skip to the next one. Don't make a big fuss, just move on and the kids will think it's just time for the next game.

Thirdly, have a few teacher's tricks up your sleeve. Here's my personal favourite! All children from reception to teens are familiar with the "put your hand up if you can hear me" routine. If you are trying to tell the kids the instructions of a game and some are a bit giddy, as can only be expected at a party, put your hand up and very loudly say "put you hand up if you can hear me". The children will all put their hands up, one after another, and magically should all become silent and await your instructions. It's magic and works again and again.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user micn2sugars


Lastly, be confident. have your plan, have other party tasks delegated to others and enjoy being the most popular kid at the party!
 
Hope you find something to help you at your next birthday party. Do let us know if you use any of our ideas and tips!
 
Good luck!
 
Yours colourfully, Angela x
 

Tup Tup Toys is a lovely online toy shop which has lots of unique toys for children with great customer service.
 
We love their range of baby toys and gift ideas. The lovely people at Tup Tup Toys can even wrap up your special birthday gift too! How useful is that?!
 
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