Summer is nearly here. Yay! Are you excited? We definitely are! And we’re keeping our fingers crossed that those pesky (but necessary) covid restrictions will be lifted so we can all finally let loose and have fun.
This year more than ever before, it’s important to celebrate. From birthdays to baby showers, gender reveals or just a ‘let’s get together party’, we all need a good knees-up to reunite with family and friends.
As children’s party planners, it’s been heart-breaking not being able to celebrate your kids’ special days. We’re so ready to blow up those balloons, fire up that face paint and pull on our favourite costumes to get back into party mode.
In the meantime, we’ve pulled on our summer party hats to give you the best ideas for a sunshine filled bonanza! Whatever the reason for your event, make it something your children will remember with the Mini Maniacs’ ultimate summer party tips.
Choose A Theme
Themed children’s parties aren’t always about dressing up in cute costumes (although who doesn’t love a good fancy dress party?). Instead, plan your child’s event around a theme to keep it focused and give you direction when planning. You can bring in simple elements of the chosen theme or go all out and dress-up in full character – the choice is yours!
Some of our favourite summer party themes are so easy to achieve. You won’t need to buy lots of decorations to make it feel magical – just get creative with the bits and bobs you already have at home.
Top on our list of summer ideas is a traditional Teddy Bear’s picnic which is great for younger children. Include lots of cuddly toys, create a pretty picnic set up with a basket and blanket and make some yummy snacks for your little ones. Hey presto! You’ve got a Teddy Bear’s picnic!
A Mad Hatter’s tea party always goes down a treat. Make it extra special by adding little ‘eat me’ notes to the food for that real Alice in Wonderland feel. You might not want to bring out your best china for a children’s party, but use some pretty teacups, a floral centrepiece and traditional tablecloth to recreate the infamous tea party scene in your back garden. Playing cards (preferably Hearts) on each plate setting add to the fun.
Another summer hit for kids is a tepee party. Starting from about £25 upwards, tepees are available from a range of retailers and are a great focal point for an outdoor children’s event. We love these super pretty tepees from Scandiborn. Add some balloons and low-level seating around your tent or tepee and you’ve created a gorgeous camping scene with great picture opportunities.
Summer bites
When hosting lots of children and adults on a warm summer’s day, make sure there are lots of cool drinks available. If you don’t have the fridge space, grab yourself an icebox and keep it well stocked so everyone stays hydrated.
As children’s party planners we love designing tables brimming with finger foods for the little ones to grab and go, and the same applies for a summer garden party. Simple sandwiches, yummy cupcakes, cold pasta salads and pre-cut pieces of fruit or vegetables are easy to prepare (or buy in) and are always well-received.
Children love lunchboxes, and party food boxes are a great idea for a summer event. They are also much easier to move around rather than lots of individual dishes. Just make sure you’ve checked all dietary requirements and allergies before getting your mini guests’ food box ready.
If your event is going to be attended by adults too, you might want to think about serving up a BBQ with salads, dips and breads as accompaniments. Alternately, if you don’t want to provide a full meal, think about setting up a Pimms cart or summer cocktail bar. As a good party host, you’ll want to think about all your guests – not just the little ones – and caffeine or alcohol is sure to earn you brownie points with other parents!
Another idea, suitable for kids and adults, is a grazing table. This is a selection of delicious savoury nibbles such as cheeses, dips, nuts, breads and much more. If you’re concerned about sharing foods in Covid times, individual grazing boxes are also an option. As kids’ party planners, we have organised healthy yet beautiful graze tables for our clients, and Three Kaur Graze is a great small business which specialises in adult and kid selections.
Get Selfie Ready
Sunshine brings out the best in all of us, so a summer party is a great opportunity to update your profile pic. At Mini Maniacs, we love a photo op and always create an allocated area for our guests to get that perfect shot.
Identify an area of your garden or outdoor setup that works for pics and make it pretty! We love a balloon arch as they are fun and impressive to look at and provide a great backdrop for that perfect Instagram picture. Flowers or fairy lights also make a great frame for a dedicated picture area.
Fun in the Sun
Depending on the age of your little guests, you’ll probably want to arrange some entertainment to keep them busy. Alongside all the usual party games, we are big fans of children’s entertainers for our events and can help you connect with some great performers. Treasure hunts are also a great summer garden activity and easy to organise.
Another good idea for an outdoor children’s party is an arts and crafts area. Let your little guests go wild with paints, glitter and all that fun stuff and as they’ll be playing outside, the mess will be kept to a minimum!
Summer parties are a lot of fun and a lovely way to soak up the sunshine whilst enjoying good company. So, get planning and enjoy this summer more than ever before!