>>continued from page 1 Birthday toddlers
Throwing a birthday party for a toddler is a different kettle of fish altogether. They can comprehend what a birthday is and get involved in all the excitement, rather than becoming alarmed by it all as they did when they turned one. Therefore, be prepared for a disorganised and chaotic, but ultimately rewarding, time! Talk about your toddler's birthday with them a few weeks before the event. See if they would like to have a 'themed' party, based on a favourite toy, animal or cartoon character, for example. If they have a definite preference for a theme, you could do invitations that reflect this. For example, bear-shaped cards for a Winnie the Pooh party. Half of the fun will be getting your toddler to help make the invites, if you have the time, or at least choose them in the local stationers! As we said above, the best way to discover what theme would work best at your toddler's party is to ask them to give you one. Most toddlers have favourite toys or interests than can form a proper theme - transport (trains, planes and automobiles!), animals (cats, dogs, horses etc), cartoons (Teletubbies, Hoobs, Tweenies). Once you have this, you can plan decorations with this in mind (plastic plates, cups, wall hangings and balloons) and look for a fun birthday cake! Toddlers are so active they will love most activities and games. The only thing you have to worry about is tiring them out too quickly! If this sounds unlikely, remember that all the excitement and anticipation of a birthday party can be exhausting in itself to a toddler. The following games should be fun and not too wearing for both children and parents!: Bubbly fun: Buy several sets of bubble wands and bubble solution (unless you know the secret ratio of washing-up liquid to water!) to give to some of the parents attending the party. Get everyone to go outside and ask the parents to all blow bubbles together. This will create a river of bubbles which the children can them have fun chasing! Alternatively, have enough sets of wands and solution to give to each child and get them to have a little competition to see how many bubbles they can produce at once! Dressing up: Toddlers love anything new so some fun clothes or hats (don't risk those from your own wardrobe) should go down a treat. Again, think of the theme - little plastic swords or pirate hats should be fun for a pirate theme, or fake ears and a tail and paws can work for an animal-based party. Just remember to check that any costume extras you buy are suitable and safe for the age group. Teddy bears' picnic: Most children love teddies so why not ask each child to bring along their favourite one (with their name on it in case it gets left behind!). When all the children and bears arrive, set out a little children's tea set and sit them in a circle, with some cake and biscuits for food, and water for tea. Dancing: You could try getting things off to a swinging start by playing some classic children's music and getting the toddlers to dance around to it. Better still, see if they can sing along and do the actions to the songs! As with adult parties, this can be an excellent ice-breaker, and children won't have the inhibitions that their parents suffer from in order to get on the dance floor. Soft play: You might decide to forget hosting the party at your place (the cat never recovered from the last one) and hire out a village hall or a soft-play centre instead. Soft play activity centres are fantastic for kids' parties - not only can they let off loads of steam but they are in a perfectly safe environment too. Most places that offer this facility can also provide a room for refreshments afterwards, thereby saving your carpets! And you never know, while the kids are jumping on bouncy floors or rolling along mats, you might even manage a conversation with one of your friends. Excellent! Even now your child is older, don't drag things out too long. The best parties are kept short and sweet - three hours is the maximum time you should keep things going for. Too much excitement, otherwise, can lead to a very tired and upset child. Be prepared to change things at the last minute too, if your little one is finding it all a bit too much earlier on. Obviously you'll need the piece de resistance - a super-duper birthday cake. If you're either brave or blessed in the baking area, you could make one of your own a few weeks before the big event then freeze it to keep. If you're extremely talented, you could make it the night before, but this is generally a bad idea if your cooking skills aren't quite up to scratch and you value your kip. Otherwise, pop along to the supermarket or local cake shop and buy one of those splendid ones that are already made and decorated. The best foods at birthday parties are finger foods, so stick to what the children like and want. Raisins, salad sticks, fruit, flapjacks, cheese, crackers and biscuits go down a treat, but make sure they all leave room for a piece of the cake! Where to next?
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