backyard birthday party

[Anonymous]

do i need "entertainment" at a backyard birthday party (e.g. rental bouncehouse/bubble person/etc.) or can kids just play for a 4 year old party?

we have a swingset/playhouse/2 water tables/2 sand tables/ tball/ bubbles/stop rocket/ride on toys, will get crafts, make a pinata, etc. tons of scooters,bikes, etc. too.

i'm a former camp counselor (and child psychologist) so feel comfortable leading games like red light/green light, what time is it mr. fox... etc. i'd guess around 30+ kids plus parents so would prefer not an indoor play area with limited numbers

we did last 2 birthday parties at a local playground but it is first come first serve for the shelter and we got there 3 hours early last year (literally...) and set up everything and then some lady arrived 10 min before and yelled at me that she wanted to split the whole pavilion where i already spent hours setting things up with various activities and food- the paid pavilion are all further away and smaller so less good if it rains and figure i'd rather spend money on entertainment if needed?

[Anonymous]

If you were having 10 kids, I’d say what you have is enough. But for 30 I think you’ll need more. I’d get a bounce house.

[Anonymous]

30 + parents is a ton of people! You are going to be busy with food and chaos. I do not think you have time to lead games.

[Anonymous]

30 kids plus parents will be at least 60 people, maybe 90. That sounds absolutely miserable. Unless you have a guest house w/ a bathroom or something, lots will end up in your house, too. Do you really need that many invites? That sounds incredibly overwhelming for a just turning 4 year old. Why not just invite the 12 kids in his preschool class or whatever?

[Anonymous]

what if it rains or is 105 degrees out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:30 kids plus parents will be at least 60 people, maybe 90. That sounds absolutely miserable. Unless you have a guest house w/ a bathroom or something, lots will end up in your house, too. Do you really need that many invites? That sounds incredibly overwhelming for a just turning 4 year old. Why not just invite the 12 kids in his preschool class or whatever?

we had 67 last year including 31 kids and it didn't feel overwhelming. mostly because every preschooler has a sibling and 2 parents and we have lots of aunts/uncles/grandparents/cousins locally and my kid is obsessed with them and wouldn't want them to miss it (but they're older...) past 2 years i've led them in pinata and parachute game just fine. it'll be labor day weekend so probably some people out of town so maybe less this year. i assume people will use the bathroom inside but hang out outside unless it rains and then i'd want an entertainer...

[Anonymous]

OP this is doable. But you should hire a local teen or college student as an extra set of hands for games, so you can also play host.

[Anonymous]

I think it's fine if you have the space. I do like the bounce house idea because that occupies the kids (or a subset) without your direct engagement like games. You can probably see if a neighbor will lend you one.

I also think you need at least one other parent or a paid teen who will help out in managing the kids and flow of the party.

I agree people will be in your house for bathrooms etc so figure out how to avoid kids lingering and want to play and make messes with inside stuff.

These are the kind of parties we used to have growing up and it was all whole families like you're describing and it was fun. A lot of work for the hosting adults for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's fine if you have the space. I do like the bounce house idea because that occupies the kids (or a subset) without your direct engagement like games. You can probably see if a neighbor will lend you one.

I also think you need at least one other parent or a paid teen who will help out in managing the kids and flow of the party.

I agree people will be in your house for bathrooms etc so figure out how to avoid kids lingering and want to play and make messes with inside stuff.

These are the kind of parties we used to have growing up and it was all whole families like you're describing and it was fun. A lot of work for the hosting adults for sure.

thanks-- our parents will be helpful (and teen niblings can be recruited for help too).

we have little bounce house but they only fit like 2-3 kids at a time-- i'm not actually sure if our yard is big enough for a big one (also forgot we have a climbing dome, basketball hoop, chalk, etc)

yes that's what we did as a kid too.

[Anonymous]

With that many kids and parents, trying to organize an activity will be like hearding kittens. Just let them play, eat, have some music on and it'll be fine (and fun)

[Anonymous]

Too many people. Also watch out for ticks.

[Anonymous]

I think it sounds fine.
If you have the space though I would do a bounce house. Makes it feel more party like.

[Anonymous]

I think starting at age 4 you may think about something else like the bounce house (that’s why indoor playgrounds so popular for birthday parties, the kids are racing around using energy.) Think of kids in attendance, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think starting at age 4 you may think about something else like the bounce house (that’s why indoor playgrounds so popular for birthday parties, the kids are racing around using energy.) Think of kids in attendance, too.

What does think of kids in attendance mean?

I don't think our yard can fit the big rental bounce houses- we own the little kind but only a couple kids at a time but can easily go back to park parties which have been great success. Zero interest in indoor playgrounds for many reasons including wouldn't be able to include her cousins ( who she cares more about than friends) or neighbors and so germy. We've gone to multiple other backyard parties and kids seem to be always having fun but same for playground parties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think starting at age 4 you may think about something else like the bounce house (that’s why indoor playgrounds so popular for birthday parties, the kids are racing around using energy.) Think of kids in attendance, too.

What does think of kids in attendance mean?

I don't think our yard can fit the big rental bounce houses- we own the little kind but only a couple kids at a time but can easily go back to park parties which have been great success. Zero interest in indoor playgrounds for many reasons including wouldn't be able to include her cousins ( who she cares more about than friends) or neighbors and so germy. We've gone to multiple other backyard parties and kids seem to be always having fun but same for playground parties.

Are you sure you have sufficient space for the number of people you want to invite? If you don't have room for a bounce house I'm skeptical you'll have room for what could be 70-90 people (30+ kids and parents).