Guest Blog from - Nikki Gomez

www.boywondergifts.co.uk
Gifts, Partyware & Keepsakes, just for boys!
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The record for my youngest, now 12, beginning to plan a birthday party before the event was about 3 months! Her birthday is in June and we began discussing party ideas at Easter! I know, my fault!

Children’s parties can be stressful to plan and the stress doesn’t really begin to fade until your child begins to filter home feedback about your party! (Be honest!)

But planning your child’s birthday can be fun too!

Firstly, find out what kind of party they would like and what their expectations are. Say you will have a think and get back to them. When you get back to them, be clear from the start about what you can/can’t offer and afford.

Be prepared to negotiate if possible. Older children especially, will appreciate you meeting them half way.

If you are feeling pressured to match other friend’s parties, have some ideas up your sleeve that will make their party ‘special and unique’. A tried and tested technique by Moi! Hopefully, they will forget about comparing parties and be excited by new ideas. Some ideas to make your child’s party special & unique could include…

Having a party at ‘night time’. It doesn’t need to be very late to be exciting for younger children.

A themed party is a great way to personalise a party. It can be as simple as age or colour themed for younger children and it’s fun to plan. At 6, my daughter had a ‘Pink Party’. It was so much fun shopping for everything pink! For an age themed party, let’s say age 7, have 6 guests, making 7. (Keeping guest numbers down!) Create ‘7’ themed games to play with your child. Continue the ‘7’ theme by having 7 items in the party bags. Items can be inexpensive just as long as there are 7!

For older children, it depends on what they like and seeing if you can link this into their party, a favourite TV show/celebrity/ hobby… How about an ‘X Factor’ sleepover! You could borrow/hire a karoake machine or buy/rent a kaoraoke game for a console if you have one and set up your own auditions with judges. Then throw an ‘After Party’!

Once party plans are agreed, it’s helpful to have them written down so they are easy to stick to.

Hopefully, both of you can now have fun with the preparations!

Guest Blog - all the way from the States :) Gotta love Twitter!

I recently invested in email marketing software for my business so I could try and advise people on nutritious dieting on a wider scale. Trying to get adults to eat healthy is a challenge, but not nearly as much as trying to get children to eat healthy.

I recently had to plan for my three-year-old's birthday party, which presented some issues since I'm a licensed nutritionist. I was about to have nearly a dozen children descend upon my home expecting a sugar-filled birthday bash, but you don’t have to have a party filled with cupcakes, ice cream, and candy for it to be a successful one. By incorporating some healthy yet tasty snacks into the bash, you can throw a nutrition-minded party that your guests will enjoy.

For the party I decided to throw a few healthy snacks into some party bags for the kids. I came across a number of party favor ideas on this website, which features some great ideas of items to place in party bags. 

I gave each child a bag filled with some party favors and offered the following tasty treats to the kids as they entered the party.

Fruit juice

Soda should not have a place at a children's party as sodas are filled with sugar and offer little nutrition. Instead, I placed 100% pure fruit juice into the bags. These little fruit boxes contain essential vitamins and are still able to satisfy your sweet tooth, a perfect combination. 

Popcorn

Popcorn is a good alternative to the traditional potato bags that you'd typically place into party bags. We’re all suckers for chips, but let’s face it, they’re loaded on chemicals, salt, and fat. So cut the calories by offering a bag of lightly salted popcorn instead. Bags of popcorn are just as addictive, but much better for you from a nutrition standpoint.

Muffins

These are a great substitute to the customary cupcake. Adding in this baked goodie is perfect for those kids craving a sweet snack. Add frozen fruits (like blueberries or strawberries) to the batter as this will sweeten the muffins without adding refined sugar. Drizzle honey over the finished muffin instead of frosting as another way to ditch the sugar.

Dried fruits

Not only are packs of dried fruits a great healthy option, but they’re great for the party packs as you won’t have to worry about them going bad as you would with normal fruits.

As parents, we know that kids love junk food. That’s not going to change anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean you should have to give in to the pressure of serving junk food at a children's party. Yes, we want our kids to have a good time, but that’s no excuse to load up your guests on sugar. The party can still be one that the kids will enjoy as these healthy snacks are sure to satisfy them, and their parents will appreciate your efforts.

Nan Gibbons
Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, & Fitness Advisor

Twitter - @healthnut2011  Blog - www.eatbreatheblog.com