[hadams]

IMO, if you are doing it at home, keep it small. Five little boys is heck on a house. 10 – 15 children in one house is going to be pure chaos. If you are going to do it at your house, get help. Ask some friends or relatives to come over to help keep an eye on the kids. If parents stay, you are split between entertaining the parents and occupying the kids. Make sure you have someone assigned to hosting the parent set if you are asking them to stay.



In some ways, it is easier if the parents leave. That way, you know you are in charge of setting the expectation of the behavior of the children. It’s ok to tell Suzy to put the vase down. If Suzy’s mother is there, it is sometimes awkward….do you wait for her to notice? Do you ask her to notice? Or do you just tell Suzy what to do?



I went to a 5 year birthday party of a girl in June. Maybe a dozen kids. Felt like 100. The mom had set up a couple of kiddie pools, water balloons, sprinklers, etc. Keeping the water balloons filled was a full time job. Wet kids and grass clippings in the house. Sprinkler moved too close to an open window. The mom just kept saying “Never Again”



The parties that the kids seem to have the most fun at are the ones held at places that allow the group to stay together but still burn off energy. We have a Keva sports center that does great birthday parties. The kids play a bunch of games with a coordinator, and then they have cake and punch.



We also have gymnasiums that open up for parties. Same sort of thing…an hour or so of kids playing their hearts out, and then a little room for cake.



One creative mother invited ten kids on a safari at a local zoo. She gave each kid a safari hat and a disposable camera. They walked through the zoo together, and had a count off whenever they went from one animal cage to another. Zebra 1 going to Penguins! Zebra 2 going to Penguins! The kids had a blast, and all stuck together.



Best of luck to you!