First "Friend" Birthday Party for a 5 Year Old

For my oldest's first "friend" birthday, I did favor bags. But I also was concerned about sending home a bunch of candy - so I got the girls little rings and little cheap toys to stuff in there. I think I also bought a bag of Smarties candies and put like 2 in each bag. But it was mostly little party favors that I got at Party City - they're pretty reasonable, I think.

Also, I understand that some parents will drop their kids off - I was never that mom. You can say that it's not a drop off party on the invitation. But there will probably be some parents who look at this as free babysitting.

Don't make a hectic schedule - if you want to, plan 1 game. But we let the kids play, ate cake and opened presents then as the kids were leaving gave everyone a favor bag. This will give you a little opportunity to at least have a few minutes here and there to start getting to know the other moms.

Making paper rockets is cool.. You don't want to have so much going on that you spend the entire afternoon or day with all of these kids in your house, you will be exhausted :) If you have a dollar store in your area go to the dollar store and look for space themed stuff. They should have rockets or airplanes or something to that effect. So that will work in your grab bag. Also have them make the rockets and that will be another thing they can take with them. What I would do is have them all come in and do the rockets, then have your son open his presents, then do cake and then the kids can play and the parents feel like they can leave with their kids as they need to.

I have found the key to kid parties is to be flexible and not stress out about it too much. I have a few fun games in my party arsenal that I use and look up others on the internet if I need them. Our parties are always very low key and the kids seem to have a blast. I would recommend not inviting the moms to socialize because it will be too hard to run the party with that distraction, but it may be nice to have one or two come help out. Some of the games that have worked well for my kids are:

1. Treasure hunt - this can be very simple but kids (particularly 5 year olds) love treasure hunts. I have kept it as simple as writing a bunch of simple clues on post-it notes and putting them in the appropriate places.

2. The balloon game - each kid has a balloon ties around their ankle and they try to pop the other kids' balloons without having theirs popped. The last one with a balloon is the winner.

3. Marshmallow game - tie a large marshmallow to the end of a 2 foot piece of thread or dental floss. Pair up the kids. One kid holds the string with the marshmallow while his partner is on his hands and knees and tries to eat it (no hands). After they are done the partners switch places.

4. Kids love prizes - I always go to the dollar store and pick up a few fun toys for the kids. Whoever wins a game gets a prize. I always make sure every kid gets a prize before they go home.

Remember that these kids are pretty young and they will be thrilled with about anything that keeps them busy and laughing. Think about the stuff you liked to do at parties when you were a kid. Most likely that is exactly what they will like too. Also, I think your craft idea is fabulous. I think the kids will love it.

I do a craft of some sort and that is usually the party favor. I'm with you. I don't like all the candy. You can get creative. One year we did an outdoor party, where the main attraction was the sandbox, so everyone got a pail and shovel filled with sunglasses, water guns, etc. Most of the stuff I got at Wal-Mart really cheap. It was fun and easy. You could do stickers with a space theme as one of your treats. You only need one sheet per kid, not a whole pack. The craft serves a whole lot of purposes, takes time, gives a favor, saves money by serving several purposes, is usually entertaining for longer than I plan. It's up to you if you want the parents to stay or not. I usually mention it in the invitation what my plan is. You probably should do a token favor of some sort as a thank you for coming. That's what I like about a craft. Your vests or rockets are a great idea! I usually have a teen help so I have more time to socialize if the parents are staying. Have fun! Whatever you do, the kids are all going to be excited to go to the party.

You already have great ideas... how about reading a book about a space adventure? Make friendly alien maskes as a craft. (Paper plates, yarn, consrtuction paper and glue).

This age I would ask the parents to stay (especially since you are new to the area). You won't have much time to visit but extra hands are great. You can set up a play date for visiting later.

Favor bags...I have done them and hate them. They cost too much and is one more thing to do. As for getting them... my kids fight when one goes to a party, gets one and the others don't. I would not even set the precedence with his first friends party. They will get to keep your craft and the new friend they make.

My suggestion is instead of a goody bag, buy gift that goes along with the theme. Just figure what you would spend on the candy and spend that on something they can actually use. One year we bought a polly pocket for each of the girls.

We do lots of birthday parties with 4 kids they happen alot!! For a space theme you could do things like pin the boosters on the rocket (rather than pin the tail) let them build rockets with paper towel tubes and foamies (or construction paper for wings etc) and then do a rocket launch to see who's rocket flies further. You could have each friend bring a small stuffed animal to "launch" into space (use a large blanket put the toys on it and shake till all the toys have been launched)

I would do goody bags because at this age they like to come home with a "gift" too but instead of candy load it with a space themed pencil and small note pad or make your own small coloring book and a few crayons (you can get boxes of like 3-5 crayons at the party store) maybe put in a few of the glow in the dark stars and planets, if you can find them some small plastic spaceships and astronauts would be fun too

Good luck and have fun!

for this age i would do favor bags because some kids still have a difficult time emotionally with giving gifts and not receiving any. yes they need to learn how to do it, but i think parties go smoother when all the little kids get to take home something, no matter how small. and if you do games with prizes, make sure you play until everyone wins a prize. the favor bags don't have to be full of candy. fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, and crackers work fine too. if you go to a place like Partyland or Zurcher's, they have a variety of little things for 10-25 cents each that are fun for this age. i've seen things in favor bags like swirly straws, stickers, toy cameras (one of my favorites), plastic animals, pencils, tiny notebooks, rings, etc. it shouldn't be hard to find things to fit your theme. you could even do paper favor bags and have the kids decorate their own for one of the activities.
and no, i usually don't have time to socialize with the other parents, but for crowd control you should decide if you want parents to stay, and make that clear in the invitation. for my boys' last party (5 & 3), my parents and husband were there, so i told all the moms they didn't have to stay. the single mom and the mom with a newborn baby were especially grateful to have an hour or two to themselves. if i had been the only adult in my family at the party, i probably would have asked one of the moms ahead of time to help me.
i hope your party turns out great!

At five most moms feel okay with dropping off it is at a private residence. Go to Orientaltrading.com or BirthdayExpress.

Oriental Trading has great craft ideas and gift bag ideas.
Kids love the bags, you don't have to go all out, but get like fruit snacks, small container of playdough, a little space toy or astronaut to go along with your theme. You can find a lot of cool things even at the dollor store. Kids grow out of this promise, right now it is his first party with friends so he will appreciate the effort.

I personally keep parties away from home so I do have more time to socialize and visit and not stress about the mess, hee hee. Make sure you have help, your hubby a relative or friend to help keep kids busy. Get online for space craft ideas. At five if there are a few boys you do need to keep them occupied so they don't go nuts. A few fun games, like even a scavenger hunt or something with picutures on cards if they aren't reading and to find a "treasure" in space or something.

Good luck

My sister has an 8 y/o and for the bags she just bought some colored 'brown' lunch sacks at the dollar store, and a 3 or 4 things from the dollar store, You know the things that have like 8 toys in them? His bday was pirates, so she got eye patches, funny teeth, a mini yoyo, and I think a pencil and eraser. and then put like 4 pieces of candy in it. It was small but the boys were still excited. Stickers are always fun too, or fake tatoos.

As for activities....Hmmm. An easy art project is nice...and is good for the whole 'take home' aspect. You could play 'space tag' and have it be freeze tag but to unfreeze you have to yell something from space, like meteor or star or galaxy or something. I don't know how big your house is...so that might not work. Maybe do a version of musical chairs but 'space' themed....like musical planets? And put internet printouts of planets on the floor?

As for the parents, maybe just put on the invite that parents are invited to stay. At 5 a lot might not be comfortable leaving their child there, and they might want to get to know you too! Even if its just for safety purposes ;) Good luck!

First I wanted to remind you that you don't "have" to do anything you don't want to (like favor bags). It will be a bunch for 5-year-olds who will have fun just playing. Add a little cake and they will be estatic!

This age of kids doesn't have to be entertained all the time. Don't feel like you have to have every second structured. Everyone, even you, will have more fun if there is some free time to just play. Think of it as a glorified play date with cake and have fun.

As a mom of a 5-year-old, I am horrified at the idea of dumping my kid off at someone's house with a whole bunch of young kids. I hope the moms will feel similar, so don't hesitate to invite them to stay as well. If you do want to meet and visit with the moms, have some time when the kids are playing with toys and occupied, and let the moms just sit and relax and visit.

One idea for treat bags is to put them inside the pianata that way each child just gets one bag with the loot in it. I also agree to do the presents last but still keep an eye on the kids as they are opened. My son received an item that he already had which I would have returned and exchanged but one of the guests opened it when I wasn't looking.

If you are looking for game ideas google space parties you will get a ton of ideas to pick and choose from. They will have games and craft ideas. I like familyfun.com they seem to have some good ideas. A fun game would be pin the planet or star on the galaxy or pin the astranaut on the moon. Whatever you can draw up quickly, musical planets would also be fun. Take traditional games and change it to match the theme.

Also I agree that 1 1/2 to 2 hours is plenty of time and I also like the idea of 5 kids if your son is 5, but then again if there are 6 or 7 kids in his church class you don't want to leave someone out.

In our neighborhood parents usually don't stay, but if you wanted parents to stay I would specify it on the invitation. Or ask 1 or 2 moms in advance to stay and help with activities and crafts. It is definetly nice to have help to control the crowd.

Good Luck and just remember to go with the flow.

First of all keep it short and sweet, one or two games, cake, presents and out the door. Kids at this age get overwhelmed easily. You could make some paper planet cut-outs and play musical planets a couple of times. You could also play "pin the rings on Saturn".
Instead of a gift bag you could find some fun space themed kids music on-line, listen to it at the party and send each child home with a cd of their own.
good luck
J. Clinger

My kids turn 6 while they are in Kindergarten, so I've decided to wait to do their first friend party when they are 6. Plus, I do every other year, which I like the ages that follow 6 with that -- 8,10, 12, 14, Sweet 16. Look online for fun ideas, and that way you have another year to plan it.

This is one of my areas of expertise in my opinion...lol...

For birthday parties, I let them invite as many "friends" as they are old + family so it still works out to be about 15 people, if they are 5, otherwise it gets very overwhelming and the older they get the more they can tolerate.
When making the invitations, I always welcome sidekicks, aka, parents. and keep the party to 2 hours, anything more than that and the the happy birthday boy or girl becomes the whiny, tantrum, meltdown boy or girl.
Keep it simple, one game, one craft, but again a simple craft, maybe even a glitter star or planet, have pre-traced stars or planets for them to cut out and put glue and glitter on. Anything more than that and they get distracted and lose interest.
Loot bags, I agree with you, but it is nice to go home with something, so instead of something that will rot your teeth and need to be thrown out, maybe those glow in the dark stars and planets and go your walls, a few sticker and a pencil. Something useful but then they are also not leaving empty handed.

Then do cake cutting and finish with present opening, hand out loot bags on their way out the door.

I say finish with present opening because, the kids will all want to play with and open the toys, and it gets very chaotic at that point so, if its saved for last at least the kids are being picked up and there are fewer and fewer of them to deal with. Sounds harsh but you will understand after hosting a few of these.(I have 4 sons :) )

I love the idea of pinata's but I hate them at parties unless the kids are well behaved. I have had them be a complete nightmare. I had one little boy get hurt pretty bad from another one trying so hard to get a toy that he wanted that he pushed him into a chair (and I cleared the area) and the last time I did one my 3 year old got knocked down and stepped on by a 6 year old because he wanted the whistle and it was the last one, ridiculous. I won't have them at parties anymore.

Disposable dishes are the way to go, and be careful with balloons and kids that age. They pose more hazzards than you would think... (again I have 4 sons... its amazing the things I've seen??!!;) )

Good luck, and have fun!

S.

A pinyata (poor spelling). Give the kids little goodie bag to gather their candy.

There was a lot of good ideas but i know my house is too small to host a party for my son and all his little buddies. We are (his bday is first wk in Feb - he'll be 6) going to a nearby Bowling alley. It's actually really inexpensive... basically the cost of a couple lanes. The kids sometimes have too small of feet to wear the bowling shoes so they can go in their socks. The kids normally roll the ball anyway no threat of carrying them around and little toes.
He LOVES the bowling parties (2nd yr in a row) all the kids are happy and adults can easily stay and join the games. Either have an adult lane and a kid lane or mix them up - kids sem to like the mixed bowling... we get in to the cheering eachother on. They usually allow you to bring your cake and things too... Good Luck!