Parties for Children

by Andy Lake

With the arrival of our first born, Lucinda, Prisilla and I made plans to throw a birthday party for her once she reached childhood. However, we didn’t want a large event, only a few children over for cake and a romp on her new playground set. How could we do that and not spend hours calling each child individually or have half the neighborhood show up?

First I called the two children that I knew and invited them over-one had to feed his llamas, but the other agreed to come. Then I started by barbequing burgers and making plans to order the cake, we reasoned that between the cake and burgers about eight sims could be well fed. Then Lucinda called the only child she knew, who had a previous appointment and could not make it. By that time, Prisilla had arrived with the cake and a few children gathered round our door-maybe the smell of sugary icing floated throughout the neighborhood drawing them in. Prisilla invited them in, even those who we didn’t know. Lucinda blew out her candles and everyone spent a few moments quietly eating cake, while Prisilla and I cleaned up, Lucinda played with her birthday guests-three in all (if you’re counting that brings the party to a grand total of six sims), on her new playground set. Around 9:30 she wished them good night and headed to bed to get ready for school.

From our successfully small birthday party, every parent can gain a few tips. First-decide on a theme: Prisilla and I wanted Lucinda to have a simple birthday party: burgers and cake; some children may want a costume party, pool party or even special guests such as a pink monkey or a mime. Second: Decide on the number of sims: Children should always have plenty of children come and a few adults thrown in for good measure, but not too many or there will be chaos in the house; I suggest an even number of sims so that everyone has someone to talk to and don’t be afraid to dismiss sims that are being bad party guests. Keep the party small; remember birthday cakes serve eight sims and you don’t want your party guests to cry. Third: Make sure there is a fun activity for the children to do: Lucinda had the benefit of having a playground set, but a pool or volleyball net will do the trick. I try to avoid having TV unless a movie is part of the theme, since children can watch TV at home and most don’t want to do so at parties. Fourth: Have fun! Your child won’t remember how much you spent on the party-nor if the clown was boring, but they will remember if they had fun and if you had fun. Don’t worry about a few dishes left out over night-they’ll be there in the morning.