Oooo...another Halloween party enthusiest! Enough to make me come out of lurkdom for awhile... Great theme! We have a themed Halloween party every year, themed costumes are required (I think it actually makes it easier for people, because they have an idea to start with). And no, our guests don't seem to have a problem with it, we just give helpful hints in our invitations, and we normally have next year's theme picked out ahead of time. This year we're doing a pirate theme...all of our guests were informed of that at last year's "Hollywood Academy of the Undead Awards" party. Our 2009 them is going to be a medieval theme - we get a little ahead of ourselves sometimes. ;-) Some great suggestions so far, and don't forget to start saving cardboard boxes to make pyramids with (a large one out on the lawn that you have to walk through to get to the front door would be very striking and mood-setting)! I guess it depends on what you prefer...my hubby likes "scary" better, so our decorations normally have some sort of gore factor to them. If you lean towards that, you need some clear jars for "canopic" (spelling?) jars...to hold the organs of the dead (in the pyramids). Otherwise opague jars labeled will work just as well. Heiroglyphs on the walls would be a nice touch, along with eyes watching from behind things (think glow in the dark paint). As for your costume, how about you going as a mummy! Tear up some old sheets, stain them with tea (and a little fake blood, if you like), and have your hubby wrap you up. Or "wrap" some old clothes to make them a "mummy suit", then just make yourself a head piece and booties to match. You could be one of Egypt's animal gods too...a bird, or a cat, something they worshipped. But don't let your size stop you from finding a great Isis costume or something - those flowing dresses make anyone look good, really. Sandals, a head piece and some jewelrey would finish it off. Food...I'd probably go with some organ molds & jello and/or cakes, but like I said, we do "gross". Our normal halloween fare is a "serve your own" chili bar, with all the fixings, lots of desserts (witches fingers, chocolate eyeball truffles, etc), and a full bar with a "signature" drink. Last year's was the martini (since we were all supposed to be TV or Movie stars or characters), this year we'll pick something to fit with our pirate theme (a rum-based drink). I normally have punch with dry ice in it to fog it up too. I'd do a search for "Egyptian Halloween" and see what pops up. Go through web sites and see what everyone has to offer for egyptian theme parties, and you'll be surprised at how many ideas you'll end up with (too many to pull off, no doubt). If you have a basement, perhaps you'd want to decorate that as if you were descending into a pyramid, with treasures and a large sarcophogus down there? We used fake torches to light our basement stairs for our goth party one year, so it was like descending into a vampire's lair... Just a few ideas - can't wait to see what you come up with! Fun theme! :-)

I'll second, third? Lisa and Sov. Six years old is too young to teach a charity lesson at birthday time IMO. Their birthdays are about silly fun with their friends. Lisa's statement in regards to gifts (optional but please be sure to bring yourself blah blah) is as far as I would go. As the mother of a small child who has too much, I use these experiences to teach the gift of giving. The joy of finding a special toy (and a matchbox might be all that is for some but it's still special to a six year old) is a lesson I don't get to give very often so I really take advantage of it (our son is 4 and not yet in school). At 8 or 9 plus it's a fun idea to discuss giving a party for charity, but only as an idea for the child...you know when they're ready for this or if they ever are :) I bitterly remember the birthday where my father taught me about charity. I opened all the gifts and then they were given to the "less fortunate" (I had no idea who those people were because we didn't learn that lesson). It was really more about control (now that I look back on it) verses a lesson in charity, but to a small child...do they really know the difference? I think we often forget the "joy of giving" and focus on the receiving too much :) So I get where you're coming from, but for a child of six...it's a party :) Let them enjoy it as a six year old should. Goody bags aren't a tradition in our area of the country. But I think the cookie and balloon sounds great. Great for table decor and enjoyable for the kids to take home. Or you could go with a matchbox given the theme of the party (those cheap ones). I don't mind cheap crap...it makes DS smile. The fact that he does not know the difference between a one dollar car and a twenty dollar one actually pleases me. And I don't mind the matchbox's anyhoo...at least they're metal :) My DS is afraid of birthday cake (or was until this year when he's braved the frosting) so I guess we're not overly birthday focused, but he has enjoyed the parties he's gone to as long as we avoid the cake. I don't remember getting any party bags...wait maybe one, but perhaps that is just our circle of friends. I don't think a lecture on how to throw a party is necessary :) Family, friends, it does not matter. Kids should have special birthdays be it with their school friends or family or both. Special does not have to mean much. We had our favorite couple over with their two kids for DS's 4th. Then we repeated a simple dinner with grandma the next week (we were moving to her state). He enjoyed both parties immensely and both were quite simple. DS would love to attend by the way....do you allow 4 year olds? I promise to limit the plastic LOL

I once knew a popular girl in high school (16) who also dated a 23 year old. Then one day she told us she was getting married and Friday was her last day of school(at 16)! We never saw her again. As we graduated and moved on with our lives, every once in a while I would wonder why she was in such a hurry to grow up and how she missed so, so much. Those years were so much fun, especially into the 20's... and I imagined her at 16 living the life of everyone else's mom...doing laundry, cleaning the house, etc. I don't not know if she had kids right away of not. I imagine they lived in some dumpy place because they were too young to have any money, and since she never graduated, I do not imagine that there were any great job offers coming her way. I also imagine at some point she looked back and was furious at her parents for letting her do this, and not stopping her. She had so much going for her, and settled for so little.

I'd suggest having it at home also. Once you get started on these toddler parties, you end up being invited to every one and you have to buy a present too. It gets expensive very quickly. Could you possibly temporarily remove furniture from maybe the living room, dining room or child's bedroom to make more room? I think an indoor camping theme might be fun (without the sleepover). You could make tents out of sheets and blankets and have the kids play in there. Any other theme you might have going, like bugs or Elmo could be worked into it too. You could have hot chocolate and other appropriate foods. Fake foliage and stuffed animals could be used to dress up the area. I'm suggesting this because someone gave my two boys a play tent for Christmas and they love it. They'll take toys in there sometimes and play instead of running around the house. Have fun with whatever you do.