Category : A Collection of Games for DOS and Windows
Archive   : PARTY.ZIP
Filename : SWONE.DOC

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CHAPTER ONE
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YOU WANT W-H-A-T KIND OF PARTY?


How old will your child be this upcoming birthday? Your
child's age and interests determine the type of party you plan.
There's a world of difference between a one year old who is simply
ga-ga over Winnie the Pooh and a four year old who remains remotely
attached to the "fuzzy little tubby all stuffed with fluff."

A theme related party gets everyone's creative juices flowing.
Just the mention of a beach or mermaid party brings to mind star
fish shaped invitations and name tags, blue and green cellophane
strips, hanging from the ceiling along with "floating" cut outs of
different sea creatures, blue lagoon punch, mermaid ice cream, on
and on . . . yes!

I'm all in favor of fantasy, but generally speaking, I'm
against going overboard on commercial theme parties. For me, it's
a consumer rip-off for them to hype their little turtle warriors or
cutsie dolls and then have their likeness plastered over all types
of decorations in inconvenient packages of 8, when the magic number
of kids for your party is 10. Then it's matching plates & cups
with matching table clothes, napkins, streamers, centerpieces,
invitations, stenciled balloons, hats, party favors, gift bags,
etc. Even the most successful yuppie would gawk at the bill for
all of that!

And let's face it. Who even notices it all? Okay, the other
parents are impressed to the hilt. But come on now . . . who is
the party for?


YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE ONE:

"WAAAH!" First birthdays are becoming more and more elaborate
these days. In Hawaii, the baby's first birthday is celebrated at
a humongous "baby luau" with tons of food and, more often than not,
a live band. ALL the parent's friends, family and co-workers are
invited and the partying goes on and on . . . all while the guest
of honor is zzzz-ing out in his little bed. First birthdays are
mostly for the adults.

"MINE!" The presence of moms and/or dads are usually
requested at parties for two and three year olds. At this
precocious age, toddlers are still pretty much in their own little
world and not yet interacting with other toddlers very
successfully.

"CAN I HELP?" Four and five year olds are just getting the
idea that it's "their" party and at six and seven, they're eager to
lend a hand in planning and preparing all the goodies.

"IT'S JUST A DUMB PARTY . . . GIRLS? NO WAY!" By eight and
nine kids begin to get a little self-conscious of all the attention
and silliness of a "baby's" birthday party. This is a good time to
try combining an outing with sharing cake and ice cream - the
emphasis focusing on the party itself, not party favors and
decorations.

"CAN I INVITE RACHEL AND STEPHANIE AND ..." Ten - the magic
number for enthusiasm! Critical little jabs take a back seat as
excitement reigns once again.

"AW, MOM! I WAS REALLY COUNTING ON A COMBO PIZZA & SLUMBER
PARTY! CAN YOU AND DAD STAY UPSTAIRS ALL NIGHT?" From here on
out, planning a party to suite both kids and parents becomes more
of a challenge as your youngsters cope with their newly emerging
maturity . . . all right, I'll say it ----- PUBERTY! There seems
to be an overwhelming swell of agreement that parents should be
seen and not heard.

* * *

When it comes to the number of children invited, I'm a firm
believer in the age or age plus one theory. This "house rule"
takes a lot of mental stress off both the parent and the child. "I
know you want to invite your whole class, sweetheart, but you know
the rule!" Your five year old knows ahead of time that he or she
may invite five or six friends to the party that year while your
twelve year old gets to invite twelve or thirteen friends! You'll
find that as soon as one party is over, they'll be figuring out who
to choose next year when they get to invite one more person!

Next, choose a convenient day for the party. For little ones,
the day of the party doesn't have to fall on their actual birthday.
For your own sanity when planning preschool parties, be mindful to
schedule them after naptimes. During the school year, weekends are
still the best time for elementary age parties. Although you could
schedule a party for after school, you may have a bunch of wired,
over-tired kids on your hands!

Generally, the younger the child, the shorter the party. A
party for a one year old should last no more than a half an hour to
an hour . . . while a twelve year old's party could last anywhere
from 3-4 hours to overnight.

WHAT TYPE OF PARTY?

Okay. You've taken your child's age and interests into
consideration and you're ready to plan a non-commercial theme party
(well, maybe just a little help from the neighborhood five 'n dime
store). There are dozens of tried and true theme ideas: dinosaur
parties, pirate parties, circus parties . . . they're all great.
They may be old hat to you, but they're spanking (pardon the pun)
new to your kids.

There are tons of new ideas, too. And there's entertainment.
Unless your child is very young and hasn't yet started the birthday
circuit, magicians and clowns can be overdone. How about . . .

Checking into a group rate at the local matinee?

Renting a moonwalk (air inflated bag kids jump on)?

How about a children's folk singer (a Raffi type)?

Or touring an ice cream or candy factory?

Ask clown entertainers if they can teach kids to juggle
in a group lesson (that's how I learned!)

Ask the local dog obedience instructor if he can put on
a trained animal act (the kids would love it!)

Teach kids to do their own face painting.

For older kids, rent a giant trampoline

Then there are children's museums and hands-on science fairs, zoos,
water parks . . . arrange a beauty session at your beauty parlor to
have all the girls hair done!

TURN ON YOUR IMAGINATION!

(Trust me, it's there. You just gotta know where the switch is!)


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WELL, OF COURSE THERE'S MORE! Just wait till you see all the
detailed theme ideas and recipes which abound in the Registered
Version of CREATIVE PARTIES FOR KIDS!


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