Since my boys started school, I’ve always steered clear of any suggestion of them having their birthday parties at home. Two or even four boisterous boys I can deal with, but more than that and I’m afraid I’d be tearing my hair out! However, the economy being what it is and the need to watch expenses coupled with the fact that we had already indulged our eldest son by buying him an electric guitar (a birthday present and treat for passing his guitar exam), I was rather reluctant to shell out yet more wads of cash on an organised party down at the local laser centre. So I broached the idea of a party at home with just a few select friends playing old fashioned games and to my surprise he was really keen.

Not having a huge garden and knowing that I couldn’t rely on the weather, I had to come up with activities that would keep the guests occupied throughout the duration of the party. Although, I approached the whole event with some trepidation, I am happy to report that they, I and the house survived the experience, with only one minor upset when they thought it would be a good idea to have a game of rugby in the lounge, ah well boys will be boys. So having lived to tell the tale, I thought I’d impart my top tips for having a party at home:

Plan your invites - as they get older they don’t necessarily want the whole class to come (and neither do you!). Invite enough people to make the games fun but not so many it looks like your house has been trampled by elephants.

If you can, put up a gazebo next to the house.  It will just give you that extra space, even if it only acts as a porch for them to take off their shoes as they come in the house.

Keep certain rooms off limits and put some throws over expensive soft furnishings.  Try and make one room ‘the party room’ such as the lounge and make as much space as possible by pushing back sofas and taking out unnecessary furniture such as coffee tables.

Plan the time making sure you’ve enough games to last the party - boys especially can tend to become rowdy if left to their own devices.

Limit the party time to two hours - even if they are good, you’ll be on your knees by then, especially if your doing it by yourself

There are loads of good sites on the Internet with games and activities that will appeal to older and younger children alike (See below).  Choose a couple of games at the beginning that will get them to run off some steam and wind down at the end with a more sedate activity such as a quiz.  Here are some of the best ones:

• Treasure Hunt - Divide the children into teams of about 3 or 4 people per team.  Hide small bags of sweets with one sweet per team member around the house and, weather permitting, in the garden together with the clue for the next hunt.
• Wink Wink Murder - Sit the children down in a circle.  Choose one child to be the inspector and ask him to leave the room.  Pick one child to be the murderer.  Once the inspector has returned to the room, the murderer has to wink at the other children in the room with out being seen by the inspector.  If a child is ‘winked’ at, they have been murdered and should fall on the floor (in any dramatic fashion that they wish).  The aim of the game is for the inspector to discover the murderer before he runs out of victims!
• Quiz -  get pens and paper ready in advance and if you don’t have time to think up a quiz yourself, there are lots of websites from which to download questions.  Try these, for starters:
• http://www.paulsquiz.com/free_quiz_questions/other_trivia_quizzes/Childrens_Stuff_Quiz_1/
• http://www.freetrivia-and-pubquizquestions.com/quizzes/OurTrivia5.asp
• http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/for_children/index.html
• The Chocolate Game.  For this game, you will need hats, scarves, gloves, knife & fork, a tray and a dice.  Oh and most importantly, a large bar of chocolate.  The children need to sit in a circle and take it in turns to throw the dice.  On throwing a six they must put on the clothes and try and eat the chocolate, one square at a time by eating it with the knife and fork.  However, if  a child throws a six in the meantime they must for take off the hat and scarf and let them have a turn.  The aim of the game is to eat as much chocolate as you can!
• The Chocolate Game Version II. Place a mound of flour on to a tray with a malteser on the top.  Taking turns each child has to try and eat the malteser without using their hands.  Use a new malteser for each child!

It’s always a good idea to have a quieter activity to calm them down before they eat.  A ‘crafting’ session is ideal and doesn’t have to be too messy.  For younger children investing in either the Made By Me Original Card Kit (£12.99) or Stationery Kit (£9.99) are ideal as both come with all the materials needed to make gorgeous original cards or stationery without the need for glue or paint. (Each card works out at just £1.30 each and they can take them home).  Older boys might prefer something a bit more focused such as a ‘boat challenge’ in which they divide into teams and have to create a boat from recycled junk which can then be tested for sea worthiness in the sink or bath.

When it comes to the party tea, if you can’t eat outside a picnic rug on the kitchen floor can often be the easiest way to go, especially if you have more guests than chairs.  At the end of the meal, it can then just be picked up and shaken outside.

Investing in some colourful food boxes which you can fill in advance with a little bit of everything is the easiest way to feed a lot of hungry mouths in a hurry and will reduce the amount of washing up.

Try these websites for further information on children’s party games:

• http://www.partygameideas.com/kids-games/games-list.php
• http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A765920
• http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/partygames.htm