Party Links:	Parties: The best tip - Keep It Simple The easiest parties for children under 5 do not  include lunch. It's usually a waste of  money, and food. A few simple,  munchies seem to work best. Children are usually so excited to play & have cake that they are not interested in your best planned menus. Of course for the over 5 gang there's nothing like a sandwich tray or pizza. When planning snacks - make sure they're age appropriate. If younger siblings are attending, make sure you do not have "older children/teenage" snacks within their reach. For example- grapes, popcorn, peanuts, hard candies, etc. Make sure children give their attention to eating when eating . Eating and playing at the same time are not safe. Here's a sample time line of a 1:30 pm - 4:00pm party. Below the timeline is a sample party checklist and another one to printable checklist for your use. Hope you find it useful. Timeline 1:30 - 2:00 guests arrive / Have children make name tags or play games like throwing balls or bean bags into a bucket. 2:00 - 2:30 Eat lunch. 2:30 - 3:15 A combination of entertainment such as games, face-painting, an arts/craft project, or pinata 3:15 - 4:00 Cake, ice-cream open gifts, give goody bags After clean-up, our family has made a tradition of saving one or two helium filled balloons for each family member and releasing them into the sky with a personal wish. Below is a sample of a completed checklist. Here's a blank copy of the check list for you to print.
Birthday in a Box
Birthday Express
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