Help with Menu for 5 Yo B-day Party

Hi C. -

If possible, I would skip lunch - maybe do it in the middle of the afternoon and just serve cake or cupcakes. It will be much easier for you, plus, so many kids have food allergies now, and kids this age are such picky eaters. They are probably more interested in the 'party' than eating anyways. Have a fun party!

Hi C.,

My suggestion, if you would like to have a lunch, is have it for your family, and then have the friends come a little later for cake, ice cream and fun.

Musical chairs is another fun game to play!

C.

Oh, I wouldn't do lunch. Four and five year olds are likely to be picky eaters, and you're just asking for more mess and more cleanup. Schedule the party for after lunch, and give them cake and ice cream.

Is there any way you could have the party at an indoor park? Or a park with a room inside the rec center? AT that age if they have a lot of room to run around and play they won't need a lot of planned activities.

If you really want to have it at your house, can you hire someone to entertain? A clown or juggler or magician, maybe?

You didn't say if you have decieded on a time or not... but if you don't want to serve lunch then have the party from 2-4 so that way you don't have to make lunch and have the cake at like 3 so the cake would be the snack. If you are going to serve lunch something simple as the kids aren't going to want to sit for too long. Hot dogs or sandwiches and chips would be just fine.

As far as activities... my kids still liked pin the tail on the donkey. a balloon pop with thier bottoms... fill a small bucket with 10 balloons for each kid and see who can pop them the fastest, we did the balloons in different sizes so some were easier and some were harder to pop. You can do a scavenger hunt in the house.

Remember the cake, ice cream and presents will take up atleast a half hour, if you have lunch in there it will take another 20 mins to half hour. Also with my kids after you open the presents the kids like to just play with what was just recieved. So the last half hour could be just free play.

Good luck and hope you and they have fun!

I have a 5 year old as well. Here are a few things she has had when at another's birthday party:

Macaroni and Cheese
Potbelly's sub sandwiches
Papa Murphy's pizzas (this is what we did one year)

You could also get English muffins, pizza sauce, cheese, and a variety of pizza toppings and have them create their own little pizzas.

C.,

Whether you serve lunch is up to you. If you do, sandwiches or hot dogs or pizza usually go well with fresh fruits and veggies and maybe some chips. You could have the kids help make lunch - put toppings on homemade pizza (or make mini pizzas with english muffins as crust.) Kids could also help make pigs in a blanket (roll hot dog in crescent dough triangle from a can.) I have also done spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. That went well.

At 5 year old birthday parties, they are just getting old enough to handle games without tears. I stick with the classics - hot potato, who's got the button, musical chairs, (if your birthday party has a movie theme like Star Wars, you can get the music soundtrack from your local library.) These games are free to prepare and kids love them. If you have the room, you can play duck, duck goose and change the names to fit your party theme. (Example: Mater, Mater, Lighting McQueen!")

Pinatas also go well at this age. I saw a mom prepackage treat bags with name labels and put them in the pinata. When it broke everyone had been instructed to get the bag with their name on it and help their friends find theirs; then they aren't killing each other to get the last Tootsie Roll.

One of my kids' favorite games is "Don't Eat Pete." You create a gameboard (piece of cardstock) with 9 or 16 squares and put a picture in each one. (Can go with your birthday theme.) Put a small treat (marshmallow, jelly bean, M&M) on each square. One child walks out of the room for a second and you point to one square so the rest of the kids can see. When child comes back, he takes the treats one by one until he picks the treat on the picture you pointed to..everyone yells "Don't Eat Pete!" and he has to stop taking treats. The last child who was "it" can be the one to pick the new "Pete" square. My kids LOVE this game. I did it at a Valentine's party for Kindergarten and second grade and it was a big hit there, too.

I have also read them stories at the end of a birthday party to get them settled down before their parents picked them up. Again, you can find books that go with your theme or just some birthday books from the local library.

Good luck,
S.

Hi! We just did this at my house! We planned a "Wall-E" party, but you could do it with any movie that your child likes. We served tacos for lunch - the kids loved it, and loved "building" their own lunch. There were a couple parents that stayed as well, and the tacos were an all around crowd pleaser. PS - I made all the taco meat the night before so I could just reheat it while I prepping the tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce.

We also built Wall-E robots out of marshmallows, frosting, gummy worms, candy corn, etc.. After the activity, we got out some glow sticks purchased at the local dollar store and let the kids play "movie theater" with the movie and glow sticks - they loved it!

Good Luck!

I planned an "Arty" for my daughter's birthday, and turned our dining room table into an art station. We had paints, glue, stickers, play doh, etc. You could alternate what they worked on so that they weren't overwhelmed with too many activities. As far as food goes, keep it simple. Pizza sounds good to me! Easy and nearly everyone likes it. Good luck!

I like to stick with finger foods: hot dogs (you could wrap them in dough and do pigs in a blanket for something a little different, chicken nuggets, string cheese, pretzels, cut up apples, etc.
For activities, stick with something simple: an easy craft, typical party games, free play, or just turn on some fun music and let them dance.

Love the "Arty" idea - how fun! Similar to the lines I was thinking along... I was thinking you could have stations with activities that the kids could do - little crafts, playdough, decorate a goodie bag, decorate a party hat, maybe even decorate an apron with fabric markers/puffy paints. I'd also avoid serving lunch and stick to cupcakes. You could have an activity where they decorate their own cupcakes - provide sprinkles, m&m's, marshmellows, etc... If the kids made aprons, they could wear them to decorate if they were dry by then. If you have a kid size table or card table this could help you to set up some activities. If you don't know all of the kids names - maybe make nametags or something (especially if parents aren't staying). Also, if parents leave, make sure you get some contact info (cell phone #, name), just in case.

Keep in mind that it's fine to have the kids just "play" for awhile, but at that age, they're going to get bored or into trouble if there isn't something structured for them to do. Also, they'll create great memories and your sone will have a blast if his friends get to make something or do something special at his birthday pary. How thoughtful of you to throw this for him!

If you want to do something arty, but don't want to have to do it yourself call Abrakadoodle (www.abrakadoodle.com). They do art parties for kids ages 2-12 and will even come to your home. They provide all of the set up, clean up, art supplies and two art teachers. You just have to supply the kids and someplace for the kids to do the art project.

I saw a neat lunch idea online once and i think it would work for bday party. Its creative and you dont have to really cook. They took a muffin man and in each hole they put different stuff. Like a couple would hold peanut butter and jelly sandwichs some carrots some fruit some crackers or cheese. you could just put that out with a variety of foods in them. then later you can just have the cake and ice cream. kids dont seem to eat big meals at that age so something smaller might be nice for them and for family you could just have some sandwich fixings and a pasta salad or something. Have fun!