PARTY GUIDE
BRING BACK HOME PARTIES Party Like It’s 1979 by Andrea Vance Think back - WAY back to your early childhood days of elementary school and neighbourhood playtime in the Lower Mainland. Before the advent of scheduled playdates and overscheduled weekends, things were simple. It wasn’t too long ago that the idea of hosting a birthday party in a venue other than your home was uncommon. Then the restaurant parties became popular, when McDonald’s play areas, Chuck E. Cheese, and the local ice cream shop became the party spots of preference. Then the trend moved to have kids’ birthday parties anywhere BUT home. Somewhere along the way it became mandatory to invite every student in your child’s class, and the thought of having them all in your house, making more noise and messes than you thought possible was too much to handle. Today, birthday parties hosted outside of the home have become the norm. The dilemmas of whether or not you should invite the whole class, if parents should come, and whether there should be a gift opening, are all high on the list of decisions, and today, it often feels like it’s more about who’s doing the coolest thing than it is about celebrating the birthday person. Retro fashion is hip again, and we’re thinking the return of retro should apply to birthday parties too. What if we threw it back, and partied like it’s 1979 again? What would it look like?
The games Pin the tail on the donkey was a childhood classic. Kids may roll their eyes at first, but watch them light up when they pin that tail closest to the donkey’s a##! The memory game was another hit. Remember the one kid who could always remember every item on that tray? Musical chairs was the perfect ice breaker. Update this game with the latest pop or rap song, and keep the kids dancing. Pass the
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parcel is another go-to game. A mystery prize is wrapped in layer after layer of newspaper, and the last one to uncover the prize, wins!
teams. Upgrade the game by allowing kids to use phones or iPads to take photos of them doing interesting things instead of just collecting items.
Blind man’s bluff was a personal favourite, where you blindfold one child, and spin them three times. They then try to catch one of the other kids, and when they do, they must guess who it is while staying blindfolded.
The setting
The telephone game is a great way to engage everyone at the party. Write out some phrases on pieces of paper, and let the birthday child start by whispering it into the ear of the person to their side. They whisper to the next, and on it goes. The last one says the phrase out loud based on what they think they heard. No prizes necessary, just lots of laughs.
Put up streamers, but skip the balloons for the sake of the environment. Get the kids involved in the décor. Colour match the napkins and tablecloth, and keep it simple. Kids care more about the fun to be had than the decorations!
You can’t lose with a good old fashioned scavenger hunt. Make a list of items for the kids to gather, and even divide them into
Pick a theme, even if it is just a colour theme, and then pick a few things to dress up the room.
The food The cake is key. Let the kids bake the cake,
