5 Unique Experiences to Make Your Kid’s Party Special*

Little Miss has now reached the age where she is starting to want a birthday party. She has her own friends, she gets invited to the odd party and the idea of being the centre of attention for the whole day appeals to her. I’m still on the fence. I’m not the social butterfly she is and I have that horrible ache in my stomach that no one would come like you read in those sad stories that pop up on Facebook. Of course it’s completely natural for her to no longer be content with a trip to Mcdonalds and a birthday cake in my parents kitchen, I don’t blame her at all but at the same time, if I was going to give her a birthday party, I would want it to be completely awesome.

I’ve attended a few kids parties and they all feel samey which of course resulted in me browsing Pinterest for some inspiration of seriously awesome kids party themes and ideas. For LM it would have to be Neverland theme in some way, I thought maybe fairies and pirates (Pixie Hollow and Hooks crew) and so far that’s where I’m at. But here are a few unique experiences to add to your kids party that I came up with;

Photo Booth
Unlike adults, very few children LB’s age are against having their photo taken so a photo booth would be awesome. Especially one that came with a box of props. If I went the Neverland theme route there could be hats like Hook’s, Peter’s and even John’s, Michael’s teddy bear, lost boy props such as animal ears and sling shots.. or even generic Disney props or masks that The Disney Store is offering in their party range. The kids would love dressing up and then they could have their photograph as a souvenir of the party. You can easily find something in your area by searching photo booth hire essex for example in Google or even Facebook.

Child Entertainer
The other week we went to a Family Fun Day and part of it they had a man with loads of animals. He was brilliant and told everyone all about each animal before the children got to hold them. LM was in her element! It got me thinking of having something like this to make her party unique. It would work with the Neverland theme (especially given all the Lost Boys are animals) and I’m sure we’ll have some animal talent fairies around.

It’s not just animal entertainers you can hire, there are so many Princess Parties out there where you can hire a character to come to your party, some even sing songs and play games not just meet the children. And then of course there are the age old magician entertainers, they still exist, we even have a couple that cover the small town we live in.

Fancy Dress
Of course any party I was going to throw Little Miss would be fancy dress. It’s a pretty straight forward and fairly popular at kids parties these days. For me I’d need to make sure there was a theme, my OCD couldn’t cope otherwise haha. As I mentioned above at the moment I’m all about the pirates and fairies, at least that way it leaves it fairly broad.

Ice Cream Van
When I used to work events at a past job I attended a few weddings that had an ice cream van turn up as either the dessert or straight after the wedding ceremony. The guests went crazy for it and that’s just the adults, imagine how a bunch of kids would feel if an ice cream van turned up at a birthday party? Unfortunately this is a bit of a no go for LM’s birthday given it’s in January and usually during some of the coldest weather of the year, but if you have a summer baby it may be worth looking into!

Bouncy Castle
Finally, another popular choice, a bouncy castle. I don’t think LM has been to a party where there hasn’t been a bouncy castle, they seem to be the go to for parties these days and while I do like the idea of not entertaining the kids for a few hours, if you invite a bunch of boys it’s going to be wild! Also I feel Little Miss likes a bouncy castle in theory but unless it’s the one with a slide attached she gets bored fast, not really something I’d want to happen at her own party!

Of course, a unique experience isn’t the only thing you need think about when it comes to a kids party, there is the mine field of who to invite, what food needs served (and do you need to cater to allergies), the cake and the all important party bags! I really want to do it but can you pull off an amazing party on a budget? Stay tuned!