Here is a short excerpt from my party planning guide. This gives you some good guidelines based on my experiences at birthday parties.
• Preschool or kindergarten age children, Saturday morning is recommended as it takes advantage of their high energy levels and gives you the rest of the weekend to recover. Anywhere from 2 to 2 1/2 hours is ideal for kids this age.
• Six to eight-year-olds, weekends are popular. If you can fit an after-school party into your child's extracurricular activities, it should allow plenty of time for celebrating, but not eat into the evening hours, or the even busier weekend. Avoid early evening parties, especially on weeknights. Depending on what activities you have planned, two to three hours should be plenty of time.
• Nine to eleven-year-olds, Saturday and Sunday afternoons work best, while Friday is the top sleepover night. If you or your guests are regular churchgoers, avoid Saturday slumber parties. Sunday parties need to be held at noon or later to reduce conflicts with church activities.
When planning a party, check the proposed date and time with "key" friends before committing to the party time (before preparing the invitations or making any reservations). It's better to select another date than to have your child be disappointed because his best friend can't attend.
When selecting a party time, another thing to consider is what level of refreshments you want to provide. If you have a party anytime between 11 am-1 pm or 4-6 pm, you should provide a meal. Outside these times you can provide snacks. Plan the birthday celebration with your child's friends for the weekend closest to your child's birthday, unless there is some big conflict.
I find that 2 1/2 to 3 hours is ideal for a party length. Not too rushed, with some free time at the end, but
not so long that we run out of things to do or the guests become unruly. Have Fun!
Chris
MagicmanEntertainment.webs.com
