Ryan's Party- Flop or Fun?

Curious George..it was the theme of the day. I'm not sure the kids really fully appreciated the theme, but I had a lot of fun putting the party together. I created several games and activities based on George's adventures. I planned on taking full advantage of our unfinished floors in the addition by putting paper on the walls and letting the kids paint. So I had that all set up. I went about starting the activities trying to introduce the book as I went along. I knew I wouldn't be able to read all the stories to the kids, but I thought they might sit still for ONE! I started to read Curious George goes to School, but it was obvious no one was paying attention, so I paraphrased until I got to the point I wanted to make about mixing colors to make new colors. Then I was going to give each child red, yellow and blue on a paper plate to mix. That idea feel by the wayside when one of the kids took a brush and dipped it into the first paint I put on the first plate and walked across the room with it to the wall. ::sigh:: So I picked up all the plates and moved them close to the wall and then added the other two colors after the kids had already started painting on the walls. I never got the chance to introduce the second activity. I was going to tell them about George's surprise party where he found a box full of decorations and decorated the room for his own party. I had streamers and paint brushes for the kids to use in a box over by the wall that was to be decorated. We were going to do the streamers first before it got too messy with paint. Too late. We didn't end up using the streamers, but the kids did enjoy painting on the walls even if they didn't know why they were doing it. I guess the kids ended up being more like George than I thought. They found the box and decorated, just like him. Some were also too curious to wait for me to give them paint. They opened some they found behind me and some even thought it looked tasty. ::sigh:: We had two ice cream activities for Curious George goes to an Ice Cream Parlor. First we stuck the sprinkles on the ice cream George was holding on a poster. This game may be a little more advanced than I thought. I think some kids do not like the idea of not being able to see. It was all good though. I think everyone enjoyed it in the end and the other kids were too young to get upset about it not being fair. I declared everyone a winner, gave out stickers and tried to herd them all up to the ice cream table. I thought this would be a huge hit- Make your own sundae with all sorts of toppings- Who wouldn't love that?! Some kids did really like it, but some didn't even want ice cream! By the time that was done I had just about given up on organized games. I had another craft and a couple more activities, but the kids were having fun playing with toys in the living room and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. I changed gears and we sang happy birthday and opened presents. Then it was free play. Some kids decided to paint again and some decided to just play downstairs. It's funny because I went down with the kids and most of the other adults stayed upstairs. The adults were louder- by quite a bit. The kids actually managed to have some organized game action and painting fun. I felt a little bad for ditching all the adults, but I figured if they were being that loud they must be talking to each other and I needed to make sure the painting didn't get too out of hand;-)

Poor Ryan for a lot of this was coming up to me and saying things like, "It's so crowded. Can I go up stairs and play?" I kept reminding him that his friends were all here to see him and that as soon as they were gone he would be asking me to play with them. I think he kind of realized, but it was of little consolation to a child who likes quieter more focused play. I was right. As soon as all his friends were gone he was asking about them and why they couldn't stay to play. ::sigh:: It's really my fault that it got so out of hand. Usually I am a firm believer in the one guest per year of the birthday child's age. Last year I let Ryan invite 4 kids in case one couldn't come. Two couldn't come, so he ended up with only 2 guests and I felt bad about it. So this year I let him invite 8 kids since half couldn't come last year and if half couldn't come this year it would make a nice 4 guest party. Only two couldn't come...oops. I figured we were good up until the last day. I was even worried that we wouldn't have 4 guests. I got one last minute(and I mean the person was walking out the door to come to the party) RSVP and I didn't fully account for the affect toddler siblings would have on the space, so there was a lot going on. Don't get me wrong, I love siblings and parents, but when you have an average of 3 extra people per guest and you've set up for less guests than you ended up having it gets kind of crowded. At one point I thought I should just plan back to back play dates with 5 kids next year;-) I'm curious to see how other people handle things at this age. I'm thinking with almost every kid we know in pre-school it's going to be a normal thing for them to get dropped off places, so maybe I'll have just the kids next year? Do people still do that? I don't think I've seen a party like that with my kids yet. No wonder the home party is growing extinct, it's nearly impossible to do! The problem with that is I so much enjoy Ryan's friends' parents. I want to spend time with them too. Oh, the dilemmas. The bright side is that having too many friends is a much better problem to have than not having enough. I still have to figure out what I am going to do about next year and Zach's birthday. I'm not as worried about Lily yet because she will be 2. I can handle 2 guests plus accessories;-)
Maybe next year we will just have more of a free play atmosphere. I feel like such a bad party hostess if all the kids are about doing their own things though. I'm about to give up this whole home party idea(which I love) and join the masses by throwing a gymnastics or Chuck E Cheese party next time. It's not like I saved any money by doing it at home with all the decorations, food and supplies. I just love the idea of having friends over to the house where we can do the old fashioned party thing. I really enjoy planning the Ryan's parties too. I love to take a theme and run with it. The games, the activities, the fun I love it all. Sometimes I long for a simpler time with backyard picnics, good friends, simple games and simple fun.