Since kids aren’t usually as fussy as say adults who scrutinise every little bit of the organisation of the event you’re hosting, one would have thought that organising the catering for a kids’ party would be far less stressful. In principle it should be that much less stressful, but if you literally find yourself faced with getting everything organised for a kids’ party, a whole new world of stress comes into view.
It really doesn’t have to be all that stressful however, but there’s a method to all the madness if you’re to indeed do it stress-free. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say if you’re to do it with the least amount of stress possible, because there will definitely be some stress-inducing factors, long before the actual party kicks-off and during the event itself.
Children can make for some of the fussiest customers around and things can get out of hand very quickly if you don’t establish some form of authority. If you’re specifically organising something like a birthday party for your own child, establish your authority very early on, making them aware that although the special day planned is indeed all about them, it’s also a privilege which can be taken away at any time. Generally this isn’t all too much to worry about, but if you’ve recently watched some reality TV shows like “My Super Sweet Sixteen” and the likes, you’ll be fully aware of just how spoiled kids can act. “I said I wanted such-and-such celebrity singer to come and sing at my party” are perhaps some words you never want to hear, so outrageous ideas like that should be quelled as early as is possible.
With regards to the catering, organise that well in advance, particularly the logistical and technical aspects. If you’re going to be serving hot beverages for instance, perhaps if it’s a kid’s party whose birthday falls within the colder season, taking the initiative to organise things well in advance could have you serving the party peeps with something like customised Paper cups as opposed to running around at the last minute and being subjected to the “last-minute pricing to match.” Kids love these sorts of things and their appreciation of something like some customisation on the paper cups they’re served in goes a long way to effectively cover that hard-to-achieve “party” element — that one thing which makes them feel like they’ve actually been to a party or other event.
Make sure to sort out some suitable and adequate entertainment as well. Kids are indeed kids because of their generally short attention span, so make sure to keep them occupied all the time. This doesn’t mean entertainment events have to be lined up back-to-back, as you’ll soon learn through the kids spontaneously enjoying a game of something like hide-and-seek all by themselves.
Also, one main event should be okay by way of the entertainment, but just make sure it’s something which they don’t usually do when they otherwise just hang out together as a group of friends.
You also don’t have to go it all yourself — fast food (yuck, but okay just this once) restaurants are particularly adept at planning special services for child party gangs.