Anonymous wrote:OP here. My friend (not DMV area) used to say her son loved the simple no frills park parties that one of his friends parents threw every single year and those were the ones he most looked forward to (even more than the venue parties). But the family used to organize games for the boys and keep them entertained the whole 2 hours and even after that the kids didn't want to leave - this was from age 6 to 13.

I'm wary since our DMV area expects more from parties (whether the kids expect it or not, the parents do).

Who cares what the parents want, it's the kids that matter!

Wow, DCUMers are unforgiving! We've been to three 6th birthday parties in the past few months and all the kids appeared to be having a good time. All of them had craft tables set up that the kids ignored - they played on the playground for about an hour, then had lunch and cake. Some of them left after that, most of them stayed and played for longer.

Just make sure you have it at a playground that has climbing structures/ bigger slides meant for older kids. The ones we went to this summer were at Cherry Hill Park in Falls Church, Bluemont Park and Hayes Park in Arlington.

We did this at 6 and again at 9 for my September bday DD. Both were the best parties. At 6, we hired a face painter and had a piñata, but the rest of the time the kids just played (we did bring many of our outdoor toys like balls, frisbees etc). At 9, we filled a huge bucket with water and got the foam sprayers that five below sells. Kids had an absolute blast (we did warn the parents beforehand that they would be getting wet).

bubbles are always good and they are on clearance everywhere right now

team games: get 2 different sets of colored bandanas. Pass them out when the party begins. Kids can tie them on their wrist or ankle or wear them on their heads.

kickball- it's easier if an adult is the designated pitcher at this age
team obstacle relay- each team has to complete the course while holding a balloon- get 2 different colors that coordinate with the bandanas
capture the flag- instead of a flag, pull the bottoms of 2 different colored balloons through the bottom of plastic cups
team balloon toss- cover 2 large boxes in wrapping paper. Each team lines up and one by one has to bat a balloon into the box

We had my son’s 6th birthday party at a park, but we had a magician to spice it up. And it rained on us—but until then it was good!

OP here. My friend (not DMV area) used to say her son loved the simple no frills park parties that one of his friends parents threw every single year and those were the ones he most looked forward to (even more than the venue parties). But the family used to organize games for the boys and keep them entertained the whole 2 hours and even after that the kids didn't want to leave - this was from age 6 to 13.

I'm wary since our DMV area expects more from parties (whether the kids expect it or not, the parents do).

I've only been to one successful park party. The rest either got rained out the day of, or the previous day's rain made the grass too muddy to enjoy. For that reason, I'd avoid it. There's also the issue of bathrooms that someone else mentioned. Please go in and clean them thoroughly beforehand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be honest I think this is hard to pull off at 6. At 3 or 4 you can get away with playground, cupcakes, and a few crafts. 6 is hard and I think a lot of kids would think it was babyish.

What about calling some characters in costume (Spiderman for boys or some Princess for girls) and get them to lead the party? Would it still be babyish for that age?

This is even worse. Don’t do it.

Anonymous wrote:“Anonymous wrote:
We had a party at the playground when my child was in Kindergarten. He wanted to invite 30 kids and 29 of them came. We had no games and the kids had a blast!”

I think a lot of kids and families were being very polite. That sounds like an awful party.

I think I can tell if kids are having fun or not. They were running around and laughing and loved having a big play date. They didn’t want to leave. Sorry if your kids cannot entertain themselves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a party at the playground when my child was in Kindergarten. He wanted to invite 30 kids and 29 of them came. We had no games and the kids had a blast!

So you had 29 kids just playing on the playground equipment the whole time, and it worked out? Was it an amazing playground?

No, it was a pretty basic playground, with a small gazebo and tiny grassy field. I did bring some chalk for kids who needed some down time.

My second grader was invited there last year for a small party and again, the kids had a lot of fun.

“Anonymous wrote:
We had a party at the playground when my child was in Kindergarten. He wanted to invite 30 kids and 29 of them came. We had no games and the kids had a blast!”

I think a lot of kids and families were being very polite. That sounds like an awful party.

Anonymous wrote:I would be totally fine sending my 7yo to a party at a park. As long as it has a pavilion and tables and a playground suitable for the ages of your kid they should be fine. Example, Cabin John Park or Wheaton regional could be cool, your neighborhood tot lot would not.

You could do a pinata and maybe have a craft if you wanted to, but you don't need to.

I don't know any kids in that age range that don't enjoy a playground with friends. Not sure what kinds of kids the other posters have.......

+1. My second grader loves playing on the playground.

Anonymous wrote:We had a party at the playground when my child was in Kindergarten. He wanted to invite 30 kids and 29 of them came. We had no games and the kids had a blast!

So you had 29 kids just playing on the playground equipment the whole time, and it worked out? Was it an amazing playground?

Anonymous wrote:Make sure to pick a park that has a bathroom or port a potties. We went to one in upper NW DC and there was no bathroom option. The host said to go behind a tree! That is pretty thoughtless. Yes, it is a cheap party option but when people have to stay for 2 hours, you need a bathroom and also shade - there was no shade at this park either.

Was this really at a park?

We love park parties. We had one for my son's 6th birthday and the kids had a blast. The older kids and the dads got a baseball game going and the moms and younger siblings hung out on the playground. It was great fun. My kids are 8 and 9 now and still love parks and playgrounds. In fact, we have one to go to today for a friend of their younger sibling and it is drizzling outside. I asked them if they wanted to go still and they said an enthusiastic yes. And added so what if it is raining.

With that said, I'm not sure other kids and parents are as enthusiastic about rainy day park parties- and that is a risk you take with choosing that venue.