Company Christmas party - kids invited!

24 years ago

Hi all,

My company Christmas party is this coming Friday night.

I set the whole thing up mainly because I'm the new one on board (And the only female working with about 10 guys) and because I want to meet everyone's families, kids, spouses, etc.

Anyway everyone is really up and excited about it, but EVERYONE (the guys) are asking me, "what are the KIDS going to do during the two hours?"

!!!!

Any ideas?

The age range is between 2 years of age to up to 11 years of age. There will be about 20 adults and 10 kids. Mainly the age range is pre-schoolers and around that age. My 5 year old girl is bringing a bag full of Barbies and other fun toys (like puzzles) for the girls.

I am going to be playing Christmas music, have LOTS of finger foods, eggnog, brownies with little teddy grahams baked into them... etc... it is VERY kid oriented yet adult oriented, too. I just don't have a "Game plan" so to speak! I like going to parties where there IS no set plan, you just arrive and eat, drink, be merry, listen to music. But people seem worried about the kids getting bored.

The building that I work in is breathtaking... it is an old house with ornate fireplaces in every room (office), real wood floors, high ceilings, etc. I'm not worried about any messes because in truth, our cleaning crew is great and they'll be in the following day anyway.

I don't want to put anyone in charge of the small group of kids. I'm sure they will play on their own, or stick by their parents. The whole idea behind this party is for the adults to meet the other adults, and to introduce the kids/spouses to each other... not to babysit!

Are the toys going to be enough... or should I run out and get some games or something???

- darkeyedgirl

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

whazzup
24 years ago
My company had a kid friendly party once and had a clown there to entertain the kids. He made balloon animals and stuff like that. Also there was someone painting faces. But, this was for a much larger group of kids than you are talking about, and it was also in the summer near a pool. The problem is that it's hard to come up with something for the age spans you are having there. From two to eleven, they have very different interests. I think you might want to think about hiring someone to entertain the kids.
blueridgehi_yahoo_com
24 years ago
Just hosted my husband's company Christmas party (including children) on Sunday....we held the party at our home. I have teenagers and they were in charge of taking care of the little ones (we only had six little ones ranging in ages from 2-7). We rented age appropriate videos, but the "hit" was our outside firepit/patio - the kids roasted marshmellows (with a few parents' supervision). Anyway, my biggest suggestion would be to hire a few teenagers to watch and entertain the children....the younger children love the enteraction of the older kids, and the adults will be free to socialize. Some folks were skeptical of a Christmas party including children, but it was our best party ever - the children were delightful! Best of luck.
donna
Related Discussions
Something Happened on the Way to the Christmas Party
Q
Comments (10)
Hi Rob, Perhaps it was a labor contract or something that required them to service the planes with the snacks. I'll bet that none of the passengers wanted anything to eat at that time. That reminds me of another airline story. About a million years ago, we were a couple of working girls getting along on small salaries. My friend saw an ad for a cheap travel trip to Hawaii, seven days and six nights for a very low sum. We signed up, stayed at a lovely hotel, and had a great time. It was time to leave, and off we went to the airport. The airline had gone out of business with no notice at all! It wasn't TWA, but a fly-by-night (no wonder that term is used) organization. An airport employee contacted other airlines to get us to Los Angeles. United agreed to accommodate us, but there was only one space available. My friend insisted that I take it as my brother was to meet us in LA. She would come on the earliest flight available. I found the hotel where I had agreed to meet my brother, but soon got a phone message from him that a family emergency had come up and he wouldn't be able to meet me until the next afternoon. I sat out by the swimming pool, reading, not at all displeased to have time to spend in such a nice way. A young man came over and asked me if he could share the table with me as it had the only umbrella and the sun was so hot. We had an interesting conversation and he asked me to join him for dinner and dancing at the hotel that evening. The next morning he saw me in the lobby of the hotel. I guess that I must have looked distressed and he asked what the trouble was. I told him that I hadn't heard from my friend and was worried about her. She should have arrived by now. He asked me to come up to his room, and since he didn't seem to be an art connoisseur with etchings in his suitcase, I went with him. He got on the phone, called United Airlines and asked to speak to the president. I was shocked to hear him get right through. My new friend told him about a woman stranded in Hawaii and asked that passage be found for her on the next flight. It worked, she did arrive very soon after. My date from the night before had an executive sounding voice. He was a star of the Ice Capades and had just ended a tour in town; no wonder he was such a great dancer. I am sure not, but he was nice about it. But to compound matters, we still had to get back to our city and our tickets had been issued by the same slock-job outfit that had deserted us in Hawaii. Again the airport folks got us a ride on an available plane. This time it turned out that the air pressure wasn't working. We flew so low that we could see details of the Grand Canyon below us. I don't know why they didn't pull into an intermediate airport, but on we went. The problem was that some people were getting sick. The flight attendant was passing out sandwiches and asking those sane people what kind they wanted. It was very weird and we were so glad to get off that plane. Steve - I didn't give the name of the airline because they have since merged and I didn't want to put a black mark on their reputation. I had flown with them some years earlier to Europe and had a pleasant, uneventful trip at that time.
...See More
Invitation to a party - Halloween
Q
Comments (23)
Right here I am, black corset and pointy shoes on. I'd like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine; Lestat de Lioncourt, IÂd be a little careful with what you think while you are around him, his little Âdark giftÂ can be a somewhat annoying on occasion. I myself will be entering as Alice Cullen, who can not only see the future and has a thirst for blood, but who is alsoÂ an eternal teenager, I know I see you quiver in your boots and other such foot ware. IÂm so very sorry that I was not able to make an appearance earlier in the festivities but I was simply having someÂ fun with my dear sister, donÂt worry she is still in one piece (of sorts). The festivities all seem to be in place and I do hope you donÂt lose (any part of) yourselves to early on in this fine dark evening.
...See More
Christmas dinner invitation via Facebook???
Q
Comments (43)
Dances, here is the recipe from Serious Eats. Works great. Ingredients 1 standing rib roast (prime rib), 3-12 pounds (see note above) Kosher salt or Lawry's seasoning. Freshly ground black pepper Chopped fresh rosemary Procedures Preheat oven to lowest possible temperature setting, 150°F or greater (some ovens can't hold a temperature below 200°F). Season roast generously with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place roast, with fat cap up, on v-rack set in large roasting pan. Place in oven and cook until center of roast registers 120°F on an instant-read thermometer for medium-rare or 135°F for medium. In a 150°F oven, this will take around 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours. In a 200°F oven, this will take 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove roast from oven and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Place in a warm spot in the kitchen and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes, and up to an hour and a half. Meanwhile, preheat oven to highest possible temperature setting (500°F to 550°F) 10 minutes before guests are ready to be served, remove foil, and place roast back in hot oven and cook until well-browned and crisp on the exterior, 6-10 minutes. Remove from oven, carve, and serve immediately. You can trim the fat off either before roasting, but I do not recommend it. Trim it off after if it really bothers.
...See More
Scary occurance at Christmas party
Q
Comments (81)
We're all in agreement that the homeowner was responsible, but I believe some negligence was involved as well simply because the homeowner was too complacent with her dog. Granted maybe this was the first time something like this has happened but regardless of how often groups of people are in the home, every group is new (to the dog) and the homeowner failed to properly introduce and/or supervise (or from my point of view protect) the dog with this group of people. I'm not saying that the person that got bit was a bad person, but there was obviously something he did or (even about him) that the dog didn't like. If the homeowner had been watching the dog and how it was feeling with all the guests, maybe the bite could have been prevented. And I think that's where a lot of people go wrong. They believe that because a dog is social and has done well with one group of people, it will do equally well with all groups of people, which isn't the case. Whenever a dog feels threatened their body language will let their owner know there is a problem. My dog will usually refuse to go to a person and come stand by me instead, nervously licking her lips. I see that as my queue to either put her on a leash if we're say, in the garage or somewhere else in the house where she'll feel safer. I also tend to trust my dog's instincts, she is seldom ever afraid of a stranger so if she doesn't like someone, I know there is a reason why and I usually don't get too comfortable either another reason to just leash her but keep her close. Typically, when someone comes to our house, she will be on guard with her hair raised until she's introduced and told "it's ok". After that, she will happily go up to the person relaxed with her tail wagging to say hello. If she still acts hesitant, I trust there is a reason why and will say she's not feeling social for some reason. There have been times I've had to ask the stranger to leave her alone because they've refused to accept her rejection. It's all about watching your dog and responding accordingly to their needs.. Everyone is different so there is always the chance that the dog's reaction to a new stranger will be different too.
...See More
trekaren
24 years ago
When I have gone to parties like this, they set up a kids' room with a TV and a good christmas video or two to keep them busy. Also there were books and toys. The older kids enjoyed entertaining the younger kids.
msanta_erols_com
24 years ago
If you are having hired music then inform the MC to bring along their children's bag of tricks. Most DJs and Band Leaders that have done any parties involving children have a bunch of music related games etc that keep the children hopping and sometimes the adults along with them.
kim_B
24 years ago
How about an appearance from Santa complete with small gifts. Our office does this every year and it the highglight of the party.
Carlotta_Bull
24 years ago
Can you find a couple of teenagers to be on hand in case the kids need supervision?
marsteller_yahoo_com
24 years ago
Over the years we have had several company Christmas parties with the kids. They usually have santa and a small age appropriate gift. They sell the santa suits at walmart for around 30 dollars and one of the guys would do that. We also had a craft table set up and the kids would do Christmas crafts. You could also have coloring pages and crayons, play Christmas movies or have someone read stories to them. If you have room you could have a moonwalk jumpy thing but you will need an adult or older teenager to monitor that. As a mother I have enjoyed the get togethers much more when my kids were appropriately entertained and monitored. I would be leary about leaving them unattended in a room of 10 children even if I was in the same building. For the non Christmas parties they always hired a clown(who was wonderful) and rented the jumpy things. I actually was able to sit down, relax and eat a meal. It was very nice. Good Luck!!
darkeyedgirl
Original Author
24 years ago
I have faxed the local radio station for songs that I think would be festive. My CD player isn't working (figures). I am not going to hire a band or anything like that... it's only for 2 hours AND we have a strict budget!

There will only be one teenager here, he is 16 (BOY). Not interested and would be offended to have to watch kids. I have brainstormed a bit and decided on having a treasure hunt all over the office, with a prize for whoever finds the 3 items quickest!

One of my coworkers has a Santa suit and is going to dress up... that should be great fun.

I have red and green construction paper, I may set it out in the other dining room with some crayons/markers and have the kids color if they get bored.

We have no TV here, either, so a movie is out...

Thanks for all of your suggestions... thankfully this is going to be a short party and very laid back! From what I gather I'm the only one staying from start to finish and I have 2 of the 12 kids attending!

- darkeyedgirl

Company Christmas party - kids invited!

Comments (8)

whazzup

blueridgehi_yahoo_com

Related Discussions

trekaren

msanta_erols_com

kim_B

Carlotta_Bull

marsteller_yahoo_com

darkeyedgirl
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Company Christmas party - kids invited!

Comments (8)

whazzup

blueridgehi_yahoo_com

Related Discussions

trekaren

msanta_erols_com

kim_B

Carlotta_Bull

marsteller_yahoo_com

darkeyedgirlOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

darkeyedgirl
Original Author