Party Time

Did you know that one of the most exhausting tasks is to help supervise a dozen or so energetic 6 year old kids at a party? Such events have to be organised minutely to overcome conflict, fear and shyness, possible boredom arising from being on the outside, and to avoid damage to property. And so it was at Max's sixth birthday party on Sunday.

Just before it started, he showed us some of his gifts with great pride and those included a radio-controlled armoured car. One of the pictures shows Max perched on top of two cars after Uncle Greg chased him around a nearby drive-way at the controls of the vehicle. Max and Greg ... and I had the time of our lives controlling the vehicle and chasing down the others.

After the guests arrived we ran a tight series of party games to keep them occupied: pass the parcel, pin the tail on a tiger (not donkey), smashing a papier mache elephant full of lollies, and a treasure hunt in a nearby park. In between these events there was a barbecue lunch with fairy bread and that sort of thing. Finally we provided pirate cakes and fresh fruit.

By the time it was over after two hours we were mostly exhausted and there was a considerable mess to clear up. But a good time was had by all ... perhaps except for one kid who was nipped by an alarmed dog and one or two others who tripped and fell or missed out on treasure. Oh well, it was worth the effort!

AS