Hi Mamas! I have a question about my soon-to-be 2 y/o's birthday party. We decided to have the party at our church's fall festival so the entertainment portion would be easy (e.g. carnival games, music, etc.). We were thinking of having the party on a Saturday from 3-5pm (not at a meal time) and just bringing cake for everyone to share. There will be food at the festival. Our friends have kids a variety of ages from babies to elementary aged. My question is about paying for the games/carnival food. The food and games are "paid for" with tickets so there is no exchange of money at the booths. The tickets are $0.50 each and carnival games are 1-2 tickets each. Food is approximately 4-6 tickets per item (e.g. hot dog, hamburger, etc.).
I was thinking of giving each family a certain number of tickets. Do you think I should give each family the same number of tickets or base the number of tickets on the number of kids they bring. Some of my friends have a lot of kids so that could add up if they bring them all. How many tickets do you think is a reasonable amount to give? I want the kids to have fun and be able to play some games, but I also don't want to break the bank... If you were a parent coming to the party what would you expect? Would you be upset that I didn't provide a meal? Would you expect the host to pay for all of the games your kids wanted to play? I have never planned a toddler birthday party before so I am not quite sure what is appropriate or expected.
Thank you for your help!
As a guest I would feel totally comfortable with just some tickets for my child that was the party guest, not all their siblings too. Game tickets are plenty, no reason to buy food at that time of day. Maybe you could find a way to state ticket provisions in the invite so they can prepare.
Whatever you decide to do, just figure out a way to tastefully explain it in the invitation. Like, "tickets for drinks and carnival games will be provided for Josh and Anna" (if you are inviting 2 kids). "Cake will be served. Tickets for dinner items will be available for purchase at the carnival." (although I agree, I'd provide drinks for all the kids - Kool-Aid or Juice is fine.)
Another alternative, you could say, "In lieu of party favors, we are prviding each child with X number of tickets to enjoy the carnival games" - then you are relieved of the chore of buying party favors!
For the games: I would purchase the same amount of tickets for each kid. At Chuck E Cheese, you usually spend around $7 a kid. this includes a set # of tokens, food, drink.
So in your case, I would say on the invites:
Cake, juice boxes and $5 of game tickets will be provided. Other food is available for purchase.
Just a thought, becuase it sounds pricy to include everyone and pay for all of them - either give 10 tickets flat per family, or send and invitation saying something like: "Join us for _____'s 2nd birthday party at the fall festival! We'll keep it casual providing cake and drinks for everyone. Hope you can join us." It just really depends on your budget. But keeping it at a flat amount of tickets means everyone is included, but no one is more "special."
First of all, this is a brilliant idea! So much fun with limitless options for a varied age group.
As others stated, I would provide a set number of tickets for the children invited. For example in a family of five if only the two youngest ones come to all your play groups, parties, etc I would only provide tickets for them and let mom/dad know (if a budget issue). If not, I would stick to enough tickets for roughly 3- 4 ride/games.
Have fun!
I would provide a certain number of tickets per child. I would provide enough tickets for the children to play games(I wouldn't consider food) for a set period. So, it all depends on how much you want to pay. If you can't spend a lot, I would shorten the party to 1 1/2 hours. You can give the kids tickets when they arrive and tell the they can play games from 3-3:30 and then cake and presents and a party game or 2 for the rest of the time. Of course, they are welcomed to stay, but the cost would then be on the parents.
If your party is not at a meal time (3-5p as stated) then the attendees should not expect a meal. Cake, ice cream and drinks is plenty of food to provide. However, I do believe that if the only activities will cost money, you should supply enough tickets for each child to play games for about 30 minutes. Each child should have the same amount of tickets. They should not be punished / rewarded because they have more or less sibblings than another attendee. If you went to Going Bonkers or Chuckie Cheese, there are free activities for the children and the children are usually given a few dollars worth of tokens to play the not free games. If some of the activities at the carnival are free, then I believe you can provide less tickets per child. However, I think it is a great idea to put the information on the invitation as a previous person suggested. That way there will be no surprises.
I would give each child the same amount of tickets. Don't worry about enough tickets for food because, like you said, it is not meal time. I would however make sure drinks are available, either give each person (including adults) tickets for a drink or provide your own. Hope this is helpful!
Most places where you pay for parties charge $10 per kid. Perhaps that could give you a cost idea? Might still be too much, but start with that amount and tweak it to what fits your budget?
I think maybe enough tickets for each kid (except the babies) to play about two or three games would be nice. As for food, you are providing cake and they can always leave and eat dinner if they want at 5. Maybe you can also bring some drinks as well, since they can use the tickets to play a game or get a hamburger instead of drink.
Maybe say, $5-$10 worth of tickets for each family... depending on family size? Just think about how much money you are saving by not getting lots of decorations, or hiring entertainment, and party favors and food if you would be having it at your house, and use that as the ticket amount. I guess, it really just depends on how many families you are inviting and how many kids they all have and what you can afford.
