Party Ideas?

LOL! Thinkingoutloud seemed to cover it all pretty well! I hope the party goes really well and your daughter and her friends enjoy themselves x

that sounds like an idea or you can have a macdonalds birthday party, you rent the hall etc. you might also be able to rent the local ymca, or recreational hall, or even a church hall for the same purpose.

If you're taking them to a rink then there is no need for prizes. It is usual here to give each child a small party bag to take home. this usually contains a peice of birthday cake, a small packet of sweets and a balloon. A small present can be added if you have enough money but doesn't have to be.

If you're willing and able to pay the money to rent the rink, Tina, this is a good part of the celebration already done. You just have to frame this as a real skating party. People will understand that it's a theme party. You can make invitations on your computer that really play up the skating aspect (skates, snowflakes, figure skaters, etc). Check with the rink ahead of time to see what they will allow you to bring on your own and what they might require you to purchase on-site. At the bowling alley where I had a party for my daughter, the owner allows people to bring their own cake and even decorations if they wish but you are not permitted to bring items that are sold at their snack bar (i.e., no bringing your own soda, chips, hotdogs, etc.). He also allows people to order in pizzas. If the food HAS to be purchased on-site but you can bring a cake, then you might make it easier on yourself, cost-wise, by just purchasing hot chocolate and providing birthday cake. As for activities, I know that at bowling or jungle gym parties here, kids don't expect organized games because the party is already active. Games are more necessary when you're trying to avoid the kids sitting around getting bored or getting into things they shouldn't :) You could organize a couple of activities on the ice but I don't think you should feel pressured to do so. Try to see if they will play some popular music that the kids will know and, if there will be boys and girls attending, you could have a section of the rink blocked off for hockey (they always do this at free skating where I live). You might consider inviting parents to skate, too, if you're renting out the whole rink. They can help supervise their own child if it happens that the child is not a strong skater. Finally, instead of spending money on game prizes, you could just make sure to have a little goodie bag per child... keep to the skating theme and include packets of instant hot chocolate (you can buy a bulk box and divide them up), chapstick/lip balm/lip gloss, a pair of those one size fits all stretchy gloves ($1 or less per pair, even in dept stores) in a cute color or pattern, etc. Not sure if this is what you were looking for but it was fun thinking it through LOL Happy early birthday to your young lady... I hope the party is a whole lot of fun, whatever you choose! :D

My daughter is 8 and she has been to may parties at the skating rink. They always have cake and once in a while they will have pizza. The kids don't expect any games or prizes as the skating is the party. You can make some goodie bags if you want to, but it isn't necessary. If money is an object, you should think about having a sleepover party. My daughter had one when she turned 8. I limited the number of girls she could invite, we had pizza/ cake/ juice/, we had a pinata, and the girls watched movies and we played games~ no prizes. It wasn't very expensive to do either.

This idea sounds good enough for 8 years old kids. Skating is active and kids love to go wild at parties. To make it more interesting, you could make a theme party where kids have to wear a mask or wear something pink or yellow. Buy yellow straws, cups and balloons, make it funny and happy looking. When kids come together they don't need extras as more than food, fun and activities. You could make a lottery, wrap little gift in the wrapping paper, get a long string, and tie each of the small gift to the string. Get another adult who holds the string on one side, you hold it on other, kids have to skate under the string and pull off a gift. Some little fun which fills the time. I hope your daughter enjoys her birthday!

Rink sounds fun. but I think birthdays should be simple and few really close friends . we even invite the parents so they to can sort of look after the kids. Cost way to much to go after themes and things. we had a bunch at the house grilled hotdogs and had cake and ice cream and the kds played with what ever she got to play with all enjoyed and the grown ups got to visit too.!

I dont know if what we did as a kid would be of any interest there.. apart from usual cake cutting and singing happy birthday to u song and lots of foods we had musical chairs.. it was real big hit and the you can organize some stupid games as it looks to adults like spoon racing ... it is like say 25 meter race with a spoon in mouth of each contestent and each spoon has a potato.. the trick is u don't let the potato fall from spoon and if it does u start again from start line... first one to reach end wins..u can have 3 small prizes for that...another thing we had was three legged race where u make team of two kids tie one leg of one kid to second one in team and which team reach finish line wins so u can try a lot of kids games which are not only free but today's generation is not in touch with them so it would be like novelty to them.