If you have school-aged children with summer birthdays, you know how challenging it can be to plan parties. You have to work around vacations and try to track down everyone from your child’s class, which is always a challenge if you didn’t plan ahead to collect phone numbers or email addresses. And then there’s the Phoenix weather to contend with. What kind of party do you have when it’s 115ºF outside? Luckily for you, AZ Party Zone has some suggestions to make your children’s birthday party a screaming success.
Keep Them Busy
The good thing about young kids is that they don’t need a lot to keep them occupied. For some, you can provide some toys and an Xbox and you’re good. For others, a pool and noodles will keep everyone happy for hours. It all depends on your guests’ ages and your birthday child’s wishes. But no matter what your party will be, make sure the plan includes keeping everyone busy for a good chunk of it. Shoot for a short activity, followed by food, cake and ice cream, and then finished with a larger activity. Depending on the age of the children, children’s birthday parties should last from 90 minutes to three hours. Of course, as they get older, overnight slumber parties are another option, but movies, games, pizza, and popcorn will keep them hopping until the wee hours of the night.
Change It Up
Summer children’s birthday parties in Phoenix fall under two categories: inside or in the pool. When it’s hot and sunny, you can’t expect a typical outdoor party to be much fun for anyone unless water is involved, and indoor parties can leave your house looking as if a tornado came through. Why not change things up a bit? For instance, you could add a slip-n-slide to the yard into the pool or an inflatable water slide. How about a poolside movie on an outdoor movie screen? If inside works for you, consider some of your child’s favorite indoor places; you don’t have to go straight to Chuck E. Cheese’s! Phoenix has a bunch of wonderful museums and indoor venues that are happy to host your children’s birthday party.
Remember the Food
The standard party fare includes pizza, soda, cake, and ice cream. Sometimes, parties have a little extra for the parents as well, but what about allergies? These days, a number of children are allergic to nuts, dairy, and gluten, so be sensitive to their needs. If you really wanted to do something different, you could incorporate the food into the party. How about a sundae bar, cupcake-decorating setup, or a way to make their own individual pizzas? Fruits and veggies work really well for most food-sensitive guests, and there are usually gluten- and dairy-free alternatives at most restaurants. You can always ask your guests to notify you of any allergies when they RSVP.
Be Ready for Anything
As a parent, you know that sometimes, no matter how well you plan events, they don’t go quite as expected. Extra people show up you didn’t expect, someone turns up his nose at an event or food item, or a child has a meltdown. Things happen. You can be ready with extra goodie bags and things to do, and you can even ask your teenage babysitter or a family member to be available to help wrangle children who venture off. But don’t stress; kids will have fun most of the time, in spite of your efforts!
Do you need help getting activities together for your summer children’s birthday party? AZ Party Zone has you covered with rentals of tables, chairs, bounce houses, water slides, outdoor movie screens, and nearly anything else you can imagine. Give us a call at 602-277-2789 to speak to one of our party specialists today!