Next, decide whether you want to invite as many children as you can, or spend more per head.
If that sounds easy, be warned - it can be a minefield of hurt feelings. Be careful not to exclude children who might reasonably expect an invitation. With primary class sizes running at 30 or more, it can be difficult to invite an entire class - you may have to hope that your child has a well defined circle of friends. Don't forget that you might want to invite some children from outside school - from afterschool club, or Brownies, or gym class or whatever.

Make sure you can rope people in to help - not just on the day, but with preparations and cleaning up, too.

Decide whether or not to have a theme - or split the difference, and have a non-themed fancy dress party. Obviously, the time of year may influence your choices. Good themes include Into Space, Hallowe'en, The Night Before Christmas, The Magician's Castle, The Wizard of Oz, At the Zoo, Racing Cars etc.

Choose something with plenty of scope for dressing up and room decorations. You and your helpers might consider dressing up, too.

Room decorations can be as simple or as complicated as you like. For instance, for a space theme, you could fix large sheets of black paper to the walls (use blu-tak or some other non-permanent method), then cut out the shapes of rockets, stars and planets, comets and so on and stick them to the paper. The only limit, really, is your imagination.

Try to keep one room child-free, so the adults can take it in turns to sneak off somewhere quiet. Great for fraying nerves!

Food

Try to provide something nutritious to begin with. If you're concerned that children will go only for the sweet gooey stuff, put out the more substantial food first.

This is another area where you can have a lot of fun matching food to the theme of the party. It needn't be too difficult - it's amazing what you can do with a set of pastry cutters and a few bottles of food dye. You could also make themed labels for the food (these aren't fairy cakes, they're Plutonian chocolate bombs...) You'll find lots of interesting recipes in our new cooking section. Many of these are Hallowe'en themed, but it shouldn't be too difficult to adapt them.

Don't forget to dress the table appropriately - it could be great fun for each child to have a 'rocket ship control panel' place mat, along with a 'starship Identification Card place marker', for instance.

On a practical note, you might want to use paper plates, cups, and table cloths - or compromise, and use wipeable plastic cloths. This definitely isn't a time for the best linen and fine china!

Try to clean up as you go - even just dumping rubbish into bin bags, and scraping dishes and putting them into soak will help no end.

Fun and Games

Make sure you have some small treats to give away as prizes. Lots of games need music, so make sure you buy a suitable cd or tape - or choose tracks from different cds and put them all on one tape.

Some games you can play outdoors with large groups of children are listed in our Games In The Park section, but here are reminders of some old favourites, and some new games too.

Pass the Parcel

Give the old favourite a new twist by putting sweets between some of the layers of paper; use a pretty sheet of paper every so often so that people think they've found the middle when they haven't.

Musical Bumps

Easier to arrange than musical chairs. When the music stops, everyone sits on the floor. Last child sitting is Out.

Statues

Everyone skips around or dances. When the music stops, they freeze. Anyone spotted moving is Out.

Balloon Racer

The children divide into teams and line up. Give each team a balloon. The first person has to hold the balloon under her chin and pass it to the next person without using her hands. If the balloon bursts, the team can have a new one, but it starts at the front again. The first team to get the balloon all the way down the line wins.

Balloon Relay

The teams line up. The first person passes the balloon through her legs to the next person, and so on. When the last person gets the balloon, she races to the front with it and hands it to the next person. Then she sits down. The first team to get everyone sitting down wins.

Rice Racing

Best played on a hard floor. Each child has a straw and a grain of uncooked rice. They hold the straw in their mouth and use it to push the rice along. The first person to the finish line wins.

Pinata

This is an old Spanish/American Christmas tradition, but you can adapt it for use any time. You'll need a large box (not too sturdy, or you'll be there all night). Cover it with pretty paper and fill it with sweets and confetti. Attach a string and tie it to the branch of a tree, or the frame of an open door. Children take turns to be blindfolded and whack the pinata with a stick. Be warned - when it breaks and the sweets fall out, there's generally a free for all.

Pin The Tail On The Donkey

Don't be boring! Adapt the picture to match your theme.

Scavenger Hunt

Make a list of things for children to find. These should be a mixture of easy and hard to find. Be sure to set limits as to where children can and can't go, and be certain they know what they are. First person (or team) to get back with all the objects wins a prize.

Hunt the Space Monster

Like hunt the thimble, but adapted to fit your theme.

Treasure Hunt

Prepare well in advance. Write clues that lead to each other and hide them around the house and garden. The final clue either leads to a prize, or you (and then you give out a prize). Team the children up so that everyone is with a good reader.

Sleepy Lions

Of course! The best way to calm them all down at the end of the day. But do match it to your theme if you can. Everyone lies down on the floor and stays as still as possible. The first sleepy lion to twitch is Out and has to come and help you watch the others.

Time to Go Home

Make sure your child says goodbye to each friend as they leave. It's nice to give each one a small goody bag on the way out - but try not to let it get out of hand. A few sweets, perhaps a small toy or a comic is quite enough.

Cleaning Up

You might be tempted to leave the mess. Don't be. You'll only regret it in the morning. Make sure you've got plenty of strong bin bags and simply sweep all the rubbish into them - this is where those paper cups and plates come into their own.

And then... relax! You've done it!