Tips to Throw a Party that Both Kids and Adults Will Enjoy

When your guest list includes kids and their moms and/or dads, advance planning is critical! If you don’t have a strategy to engage the two age-groups, your party can either get chaotic or turn into a snooze-fest. Here are some tips to throw a party that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Keep the kids occupied, lift the burden off adults 

Most of the time, adults are looking to relax and enjoy some conversation and company. For busy parents accompanying their kids, a party is a chance to de-stress and catch up on news and happenings. For that to happen, the kids must be looked after and in their own comfort zone.

• Designate separate areas for      kids and adults. The  kids’ area can be monitored by a volunteering adult or teen (your brother-in-law or teenage      daughter). The adults can enjoy peace of mind, put their feet up and have      some fun of their own.
• Set the adult’s area away from      the kids’ commotion, with comfortable chairs, music and drinks. For kids,      the options are many and varied, as discussed below.

Get food-specific 

Delicious, age-appropriate food adds to the overall party experience. Some of these delectable bites do a good job of keeping tummies in all sizes full and happy!

You cannot go wrong with finger food. Fruit kabobs, stuffed celery, finger sandwiches and mini hot dogs for the kids. Sausage rolls, mini quiches, creamed spinach phyllo cups and crostinis for adults. Or perhaps mix them up a bit? Fruit juice or soft drinks for kids, and beer and sangria for adults is a fail-safe beverage strategy. Conduct a Facebook poll amongst your guest list to pick two or three finger foods at your party that both kids and adults will love.

If you’re thinking buffet, check this out to narrow your choices down. BBQ on your mind? You can either opt for catered BBQ or club it with a potluck so that no one adult is always sweating away at the grill.

 Games and crafts An easy way to plan a party that both kids and adults will enjoy is to organize age-neutral games. This is an alternative to the aforementioned dedicated entertainment areas, where kids are occupied with computer games, face painting, jumpy castle or clowns and fairies for hire, while adults have board games and conversations. Here are some interactive, joint adult-kid fun party activity ideas:                           

Scavenger hunt or treasure hunt      where guests (adult-kid pairs) have to walk or drive around to get clues      to the treasure. You can have the food ready when the hunt is over and      everyone is ravenous!

• Conduct craft or baking      contests. Pair one adult and one child in a team. Provide teams with pizza      dough, sauce and a choice of toppings; their task is to make their own      personalized pizzas. You can also provide stencils, sponges and fabric      paints, or t-shirts for painting, artwork, cartoon drawing or collage      competitions.
• React      and Act is an engaging game where you make a list of different events to react      to (discovering a snake under your bed, spotting your favourite celebrity      on the street or eating a particularly fiery dish) and drop them into a      hat. Guests pull events out of the hat and enact them out while others      have to guess the scene.
• In a      game called Partners in Pen, you add household objects in a bag. One guest      takes one object out and describes it to another who doesn’t see it and      who must illustrate the description using a pen/sketch pen and paper. The      rest of the guests must correctly describe the object.

Have you planned a party that both kids and adults enjoyed? Share your tips and feedback below.