If you have 3 children, live in London and spend the average amount each year on each child’s birthday party you will have spent over £10,000 by the time your youngest is 16. That’s quite a lot of money! (Ok, its only one Beckham birthday party…) Statistics also indicate that by the time your child is 16 they will have accumulated over £11,000 worth of toys.

Kid’s parties have become a competitive force and it can all get a bit crazy. You don’t have to spend a fortune, you don’t have to follow the herd but you and your children can have lots of fun.

Children’s parties for 0-3 year olds

Admit it; your one year old hasn’t got a clue that it’s his birthday – you want the celebration and a photo for the album, not him.

Until children are about 4, games are almost impossible and a tea party can turn into feeding time at the zoo.

You’ve probably made some “baby” friends through your ante natal class so why not just have a very small gathering on a Sunday afternoon. Keep it short, make a cake, open a bottle of wine, dress up your baby and voila! If you are feeling worthy you could say “no presents” but instead collect some donations towards a children’s charity.

Your 2 and 3 year olds can become frenzied at the thought of presents and your darling child can become an avaricious monster in a split second ripping open presents one after one. If granny or a god parent has bought something special, make sure they have an opportunity to give this to your child away from everyone else. Keep any party for this age group very short and again, invite the parents. Cake, wine or tea and perhaps a game of pass the parcel is probably enough. If you are able to hold the party outdoors, have a few garden toys and the children will amuse themselves.

If you word the invitation carefully, your guests will know what to expect.
Please come and celebrate George’s first birthday ….
Please come and help Florence blow out her 2 candles….

Children’s parties for 3-6 year olds

This is probably the ultimate birthday party age. Little girls like to wear party dresses, children expect balloons and games. It can also be the age when you feel obliged to invite the whole class! You don’t have to. Children love the idea of inviting lots of kids in order to get lots of presents….its usually as shallow as that. If you invite fewer you will still all have a good time and the present quality normally increases.

At this age, kids often have an idea of a theme for the cake at least and yes, it’s usually something rather tacky. Girls of this age love to play the traditional games but can get quite competitive. Boys can become very boisterous and silly so plenty of structure is useful. Enlist at least one other adult to help you. Keep the party to a maximum of 2 hours. Be sure to have a party tea – nothing exotic as most food will have one bite taken out of it before the child moves on the next thing.

Children’s parties for 6-10 year olds

This is the age when it can all get very competitive and very expensive. Kids seem to want the same party as their friend so you have a year of everyone going to the local leisure centre for a bowling party or everyone inviting the same entertainer.

Try and involve your child in the decisions but make them understand that if the party is to be at your house, it’s unreasonable to invite 40 kids (unless you have a very large house…)

Consider sharing a party with another family if the kid’s birthdays are at a similar time especially if they would be inviting the same children. The only etiquette problem here is when a guest doesn’t know one of the hosts; do you or don’t you buy the other child a gift?
Again, you could word the invitation carefully and make an agreement with the other parent.
Tom invites you to his 6th birthday party. Tom is sharing this party with his friend Sam.

Some party do’s and don’ts

• Don’t spend what you can’t afford


• Don’t hold the party too far from home.


• Don’t have too long a party


• Don’t spend a fortune on food – you’ll cry at the waste


• Don’t invite too big an age range


• Don’t invite children your child doesn’t know


• Don’t invite the whole class except one – it’s cruel.


• Do make sure that you are organised enough not to get stressed during the party – not fair on your child!


• Do make sure you have enough games or activities to fill the time.


• Don’t make your child have a party if he doesn’t want one – plan a special outing instead.

Birthday Party Statistics!

• The average birthday party now costs £182 (excluding presents and venue hire)


• 40% of parties have footballer or princess themes


• In Britain we spend £1.25 billion annually on birthday parties


• Over 1.5 million children under 12 in the UK have not had a birthday party in the last three years.


• London parents spend more than any other region, forking out an average of £221 per party.


• Parents in Northern Ireland throw the biggest bashes, with one in five throwing their doors open to over 25 kids, whilst the average across the country is 12


• Bouncy castles are still top of the list when it comes to hiring in entertainment with 42% of parents reporting having hired one in the last three years.

Statistics taken from recent credit card company research into party spending.

Top Tips

The best party game ever is one I first played as a child and I have used it at every one of my children’s parties.

The Shopping Game
Set up your shop – this is a great job for an older sibling or cousin. You need a table with dishes of various sweeties and lollies, each sweetie costs a certain number of pasta pieces so make some labels. Scatter dried pasta in a “hidden but visible” way in the sitting room or garden. Give each child a bag with their name written on it. When everyone is ready, the kids run off to find pasta pieces and then they go to the shop to buy their sweets. Some kids will scoff everything straight away but a surprising number like to fill their bag and take them home. A ready made party bag! This game can last 20 minutes and if you make it the last game you can always give a bag to siblings arriving to collect their brothers and sisters. Everyone is happy and you appear to be a generous host!

Birthday heirlooms

Children are creatures of habit and do like continuity. When I was a child we had a red plastic revolving cake stand which peeped out the “Happy Birthday” tune. Quite naff, but we all loved it and expected it every year.

At Urchin we’ve created a few of our own “bring it out each year” products such as The Happy Birthday Tablecloth and The Happy Birthday Banner. We also designed the melamine ware with parties in mind. Bright and jolly and you won’t end up with a bin bag full of paper plates.

We’d love to hear about your most successful parties. Email us at help@urchin.co.uk

Urchin customer Fiona Kinsman emailed in with this advice:

Hi,
I have 2 boys aged 7 & 8, and my top tips for birthdays are:

1. Don't allow them to invite more than 8 guests (making 10 in total, counting the sibling)
2. Do at least something outside so they can burn off energy
3. Traditional games still go down well - 3 legged race, treasure hunt etc
4. Cake should look good but doesn't have to taste too good! I use bought sponge, cut it into the right shape and then ice it with coloured ready made icing. See attached photo of castle cake. Thing that gets eaten the most at EVERY party - fruit kebabs (depending on season, bit of apple, grape, strawberry, kiwi, pineapple, whatever, on a wooden stick).

5. Try not to get too stressed and enjoy it!

Fiona