Parties outside the home
or
The not-for-the-faint-hearted section
Parties
In the Garden... ...are not a great idea
if you want to maintain control. Large open spaces are a delight
for children and you will inevitably have break-away groups of kids
who will prefer to play on the swing, climbing frame etc. making
it very difficult to stick to your carefully organized program.
Tea in the garden, weather permitting can be a good idea but again
be careful that you do not have children getting down prematurely
to go and play as this will inevitably lead to a mass exodus from
the table. Additionally the presence of insects can be a problem
as can the wind if it is too strong.
Parties In a Hall or
Function Room... ...are a great way to avoid any
mess at home but once again a large area can lead to lots of unscheduled
running around. One way of dealing with this is to cordon off an
area of the hall using chairs, tables etc and run all the activities
there while setting the tea tables up in the main area. Alternatively
look for a hall with a small side room or a central partition which
can be used to close off a suitable area.
Acoustics can be bad in some hallsamplifying and echoing the sound
making it difficult to communicate with the children. Halls are ideal
if you are having a professional to organize the party as they will
usually have amplification and be used to controlling groups of children
in a larger environment. One final note if you are having a
musical partyand using any
kind of electronic equipment, beware of the Decibel Meter. These
devices are used to prevent discos and bands from playing too loudly.
If the volume raises above the preset level the power to all of the
hall sockets is cut for a short while. At a children’s party
with the noise of excited kiddlywinks added to any music you may
be playing, it is easy to overstep this mark. The novelty of having
the power go off every few minutes soon wears thin. My advice would
be to avoid halls with these devices. Just ask the caretaker when
enquiring.
Rob Grigor. All Rights Reserved
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