What's the Best Way to Survive a Sleepover Birthday Party with Kids?

[naekelsey]

My son's 6th bday is this wednesday and we are having his party on Sat, July 14, & I am having LOTS of trouble figuring out what to do...

What we usually do is invite kids from the neighborhood over. (we live in a Military Housing Community and the kids to adult ratio is 4 to 1!!! I always feel guilty when I don't invite these kids or these kids so I wind up inviting ALL the kids!! And the one's I don't invite or forgot, just show up) So we usually have about 40 kids at our house eatting hot dogs, bobbing for apples, cutting cake and etc. It is a mad house but the kids have fun. Plus it really isn't alot of money to do this. (but the stress factor is way up there!!)

I was looking for something for the kids to do like dig for dinosaur fossils, do science experiments or etc. My son is ALL BOY so needs something to keep him active..We live in San Diego and any suggestions would be helpful....(I have looked at the Zoo, Sea World, Wild Animal Park and Legoland and just don't think the money is worth the little bit of time you get there)

Thanks.....

 

[Joelen]

A great resource is Oriental Trading Company. They have quite a few kits of play things for kids at a very reasonable price. However I'm not sure if you would get them in time since your party is this weekend. Its worth a check though...

 

[littlebeans]

Hmmm...Do you guys have an equestrian center there on post? We have one here and for about 20 kids plus parents, pizza, bounce castle, cake & drinks, plus the horses, it didn't even cost us $200. It was a blast and I will surely be doing it again! Something to look into....??? HTH!

 

[jdavis]

Have you checked out the family fun website, they have LOTS of ideas for kids, I used to subscribe to the magazine, but haven't had any time to read anything at all lately so I didn't renew. But I really loved it. Here's the link..... http://familyfun.go.com/

 

[naekelsey]

Checked into the equestrian center's, there are a few in town. Starting price is around $300 for 8. This sounds like fun but will have to wait until next year. Now to ck on family fun..

 

[DebbieSAChef]

CraftsIt sounds like you need some really neat crafts to keep everyone busy. Usually at craft stores (Hobby Lobby is my favorite) you can find lots of things for them to do to keep them busy. You could even break them up into girl crafts and boy crafts. You are like me, I try to invite everyone!! And I enjoy having all the children in my home where I can make up games, do crafts and serve dessert. Pizza is cheap, I know we always order Little Caesar's large pizza for $5.55, and it feeds a crowd. Snacks are usually punch, water, popcorn and candy treat bags.

Everyone could make birthday cards for the guest of honor using stickers, construction paper, foam pieces and markers or crayons.

Everyone could also decorate their own cupcakes or make their own banana splits, or sundaes, if you're brave enough for the mess!!!!!

Here's a recipe for rock candy:

2 c granulated sugar
Heavy cord
1 c water

The book says to put one cup of water into a small saucepan, pour 2 cups of granulated sugar into the water, heat the water and sugar on the stove over a medium heat, continue stirring until the sugar melts, keep adding sugar and stirring until it melts, stop adding sugar when you see that it will no longer dissolve in the water (that is until you see sugar lying on the bottom of the saucepan). Remove the pot from the stove, let the liquid cool until it is just warm. Pour the liquid into a clean glass jar. Tie one end of a piece of heavy cord around the middle of a pencil. Place the pencil over the top of the glass jar letting the cord fall into the liquid. Crystals will begin to form in a few hours. The next day, remove the cord from the jar, pour the sugar liquid back into the saucepan, reheat and cool it just as you did before. Pour the liquid back into the jar and reinsert the cord with the crystals into it. More crystals will form. If you repeat this procedure every day the crystal candy will grow bigger and bigger. When it has reached a size that pleases you, snip off any excess string and enjoy.

Make a volcano eruption or blow up a balloon using a plastic bottle and vinegar with baking soda.

Hope it goes well.
Debbie

 

[missydivine]

You could have an area with sand and plastic dinosaurs use little paint brushes and have them dig for dinosaurs. I don't know if you could find plastic bones that would be fun. You could have the kids make dinosaur paper bag puppets. I've found some great coloring pages online.

A piñata would be fun.

 

[missydivine]

Let us know how it goes, my DD turns 6 this year and any thought are great!

 

[naekelsey]

Thanks guys...We are still throwing out ideas, nothing like being a procrastinator!!!! As soon as "I" figure out what we are doing I will pass it on. Keep throwing out the good ideas!!! I will even post pics, I am a Picture Holic!!

 

[TwinGirlsMom]

I second Family Fun!
I am always checking their site for fun ideas including ideas for birthday parties!

 

[jdavis]

Thanks guys...We are still throwing out ideas, nothing like being a procrastinator!!!! As soon as "I" figure out what we are doing I will pass it on. Keep throwing out the good ideas!!! I will even post pics, I am a Picture Holic!!

Join the procrastinator club, I was so busy that the boys didn't even get a kids birthday party this year, by the time I got around to having time to deal with it I just said forget it, we have ideas for next year though. Heck when I was a kid I never got a birthday party with my friends, just family and the couple of friends that were practically family as much as we were together, lol, so I don't feel too bad, but then again I do when we usually throw them a party for their friends.

 

[DebbieSAChef]

SleepoverMy two oldest are ten (Michael) and nine (Nicole), their birthdays are September 6th and 5th so we have them together each year. We bought a house last year in June and now have the opportunity to do sleepovers. We do a sleepover with movies, snacks and crafts and then the next day is the actual party with a pinata, cake, pizza, popcorn, and bouncer. It's a lot of fun and a lot of work but I enjoy doing it once a year. This year we won't have so many kids like last year.

Debbie