Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!
midaycare 10:35 AM 10-31-2016
Well, I just had my very last party. Ended about 90 minutes ago. I had one kid arrive an hour late, no biggie, his loss, and a dcm who dropped off at 7:30 and then came back at 9:00 to stay for the party. The kids were awful with her there!!! They wouldn't listen to a word I said. I kicked her out at 10:50.

I don't know what parents expect. It's a toddler party. We play really easy games and no one plays them the right way. The parties aren't really that fun. The kids just like seeing everyone together and tossing balloons around.

I'm just so over parties. Wishing I was bc today, who doesn't work on Oct 31st.
Reply
daycarediva 10:42 AM 10-31-2016
Our party starts in less than an hour. I can't prep because kids didn't fall asleep. They have already been off with just me here, and now nobody is napping. It should be REALLY interesting. THANK GOD it's only an hour. Never again, though!
Reply
Play Care 10:49 AM 10-31-2016
ugh, that sounds awful!
A few years ago I banned costumes because the boys would all be superheros and fight each other
It's been much better but still! I'd rather be closed.
Reply
daycare 11:09 AM 10-31-2016
Bummer to read all these party flops. Sorry you all didn't have a better experience. I love Halloween. Never experienced it as a child so for me this is super fun. We had ours Friday and despite the rain it went off with an issue.
Reply
Ariana 11:14 AM 10-31-2016
Our Halloween typicially consists of the kids coming in their costumes. Music and dancing and then cupcakes for dessert. Other than this it is a typical day!

Sorry the party was a bummer
Reply
Pepperth 11:17 AM 10-31-2016
I opened late today so I only have 2 kids: one didn't arrive until lunch. All we've accomplished so far today is eating jack-o-lantern pizza and wearing pj's. After my older son gets home from school, we're going to decorate Halloween cookies. Nothing too exciting here, but the kids are having fun.
Reply
Controlled Chaos 11:17 AM 10-31-2016
Sounds rough. When I worked at a center, the parties used to stress the life out of me. Now I tell the parents, "all day is a party at ABC daycare! We're just that fun No grown ups allowed! But I'll send you a picture!" Then we do one special treat, and maybe one activity in the morning (we painted pumpkins) and one in the afternoon (we will dance with streamers while waiting for parents). I get a few good pics. The kids have about the same amount of fun as a normal day lol
Reply
EntropyControlSpecialist 11:50 AM 10-31-2016
Originally Posted by midaycare:
Well, I just had my very last party. Ended about 90 minutes ago. I had one kid arrive an hour late, no biggie, his loss, and a dcm who dropped off at 7:30 and then came back at 9:00 to stay for the party. The kids were awful with her there!!! They wouldn't listen to a word I said. I kicked her out at 10:50.

I don't know what parents expect. It's a toddler party. We play really easy games and no one plays them the right way. The parties aren't really that fun. The kids just like seeing everyone together and tossing balloons around.

I'm just so over parties. Wishing I was bc today, who doesn't work on Oct 31st.
I once had a Mom INSIST she would come for a Valentine's Day party. All the children did was create Valentines and give them to each other. They were late, all the other children were done, her children sat the table alone to create theirs, and then the Mom instructed all of my children to sing various songs as she marched around (literally marching) singing them. They looked at her like she was crazy. I completely ignored her and they voluntarily left shortly after. But, I said no more parents ever again after that.

We will do a fall festival type of party later this week. When a parent says they want to come I tell them there is no party time because we scatter activities throughout the day so the children aren't overwhelmed. When one wants to come to their child's birthday celebration (all we do is sing happy birthday and eat the treat they brought) then I schedule it for 20 minutes before closing and they watch their child eat and then leave. Almost no one is here and it isn't chaotic.
Reply
Indoorvoice 11:56 AM 10-31-2016
In lieu of a party this year, we dressed up and went to the zoo on Friday. It was awesome! They came back, ate an amazing lunch, and slept like crazy. When they woke up we played outside until the end of the day. Parents couldn't take off work all morning to go to the zoo with is so I didn't have to worry about them. And I had tons of cute pictures to share. Today, my preschoolers had their party at school so that takes up most of our morning. We went to the end of their party and it was ridiculous chaos and it made me so glad I didn't put myself through that this year. Kids climbing on the tables, pooping their pants, and screaming. Ugh! We made pumpkin pancakes for lunch and will carve a pumpkin after nap and that will be that!
Reply
jenboo 12:24 PM 10-31-2016
Once again, the perk of being an under 2 daycare.... they have no idea halloween exists.
Reply
kendallina 12:50 PM 10-31-2016
Ugh...that's a bummer!

I do a pajama party on Halloween, no way do I want costumes here. Also, we call it a party, but it's basically just a few Halloween activities within our normal routine...monster mash dance and balloon toss for circle time, make pumpkin playdough for art time, eat ghosts on a stick for snack. Same old morning, I learned long ago that I (or the kids) don't do well when the routine is different.
Reply
daycare 01:10 PM 10-31-2016
Originally Posted by jenboo:
Once again, the perk of being an under 2 daycare.... they have no idea halloween exists.
lol..thats super funny.
Reply
Meeko 01:16 PM 10-31-2016
I sent home a flyer last week.

NO costumes.....super hero boys just kick the crap out of each other all day. Princess girls trip over their dresses all day.

Not potty friendly, not diapering friendly, Not nap friendly, not meal time friendly....

We painted faces this morning and danced to music and decorated treat bags and had a candy exchange.

Now they are sleeping soundly.

Here's hoping most of them go home early!
Reply
daycare 01:23 PM 10-31-2016
I used to get stressed out on halloween parties, but not so much any more.

I set up 10 discovery stations and the kids roam about. they are all halloween theme. I had a few games, but we don't lead the games, we let the kids play with them how they want. We even had a paint the parents photo booth and that was a huge hit.

It's super stress free and I just have to do what I always do, manage behavior.
Reply
LysesKids 03:00 PM 10-31-2016
Originally Posted by daycare:
lol..thats super funny.
I so totally get JENBOO... my kids are 18 months or younger; the craziest we get is a couple of kids come inHalloween colored clothes and they get a glow stick at pick up time... all but one little is being taken TOT tonight
Reply
Rockgirl 04:04 PM 10-31-2016
I keep it low-key, because I really don't want parents for the reasons mentioned. We had pizza for lunch, then during nap, I decorated my dining area, and we had cupcakes and a little candy. We played outside most of the afternoon because: cupcakes and candy.
Reply
midaycare 04:19 PM 10-31-2016
Originally Posted by daycare:
I used to get stressed out on halloween parties, but not so much any more.

I set up 10 discovery stations and the kids roam about. they are all halloween theme. I had a few games, but we don't lead the games, we let the kids play with them how they want. We even had a paint the parents photo booth and that was a huge hit.

It's super stress free and I just have to do what I always do, manage behavior.
I really love this idea
Reply
finsup 06:42 PM 10-31-2016
I guess I should be thankful my daycare parents had zero interest in coming to ours?! Lol. Im just glad its over. I love holidays and Halloween is fun but man I'm exhausted. And so tired of Halloween music. And the skeletons that keep multiplying thanks to my in laws. Yup bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Reply
Mom2Two 08:48 PM 10-31-2016
I had kids come in costumes but I had them take them off. The one piece Spiderman costume would make it hard for dcb to go to the bathroom, and he keeps having accidents anyway. Dcg in the Marie Antoinette dress made me nervous--I felt like she was going to get it messed up.

My daycare kids are mostly part-time anyway, so I don't really go to big trouble for holidays. They are rarely all here at the same time anyway.

We did have some pumpkins and candy, but that's all.
Reply
Josiegirl 02:54 AM 11-01-2016
I haven't done costumes in a couple of years and that's been a sanity saver for me. This year, I had dcps come about 3ish on Friday, set out a couple activities for the dcks, parents could join in or chat, then we ate dinner at 5, and they left at 6-7. Looking back, the whole thing was a lot easier to handle than putting on a Halloween party by myself.
And for Christmas, I'm basically doing the same thing, setting out a table of munchies(some healthy, some not) and punch. Having a book swap among dcks, and Santa will make an appearance. I'll have parents arrive around 3ish, they can leave when they want....
Now to conquer that obsessive over worrying anticipation I get beforehand.

I think having the parents here makes it a bit easier for me and more of a party for the kiddos. As long as THEY watch their kids.
Reply
Josiegirl 02:57 AM 11-01-2016
OP, my parties always went like that too and sometimes the parents would want to stop in to take pics. I hated that. It always seemed like a day of chaos until I looked at what constitutes a party in the children's eyes. For us, it was treats, music and dancing, a little bit of out of the ordinary craziness and balloons. So that's what I focused on.
Reply
bklsmum 05:06 AM 11-01-2016
Our "parties" are just the kids wearing their PJ's, a special movie, a couple treats and possibly a themed craft. Simple and easy and no extra stress!
Reply
midaycare 06:30 AM 11-01-2016
I'm going to adjust my parties so that they are not parties anymore. I only throw 2 a year, but they aren't appreciated and the kids only really want their goody bags. They don't care about the games. They make their own.
Reply
Snowmom 08:20 AM 11-01-2016
Originally Posted by Mom2Two:
I had kids come in costumes but I had them take them off. The one piece Spiderman costume would make it hard for dcb to go to the bathroom, and he keeps having accidents anyway. Dcg in the Marie Antoinette dress made me nervous--I felt like she was going to get it messed up.

My daycare kids are mostly part-time anyway, so I don't really go to big trouble for holidays. They are rarely all here at the same time anyway.

We did have some pumpkins and candy, but that's all.
Marie Antoinette for a child?
Wow.
Reply
284878 09:27 AM 11-01-2016
Originally Posted by jenboo:
Once again, the perk of being an under 2 daycare.... they have no idea halloween exists.
Me too

Originally Posted by LysesKids:
I so totally get JENBOO... my kids are 18 months or younger; the craziest we get is a couple of kids come inHalloween colored clothes and they get a glow stick at pick up time... all but one little is being taken TOT tonight
Glow sticks, smart.

Originally Posted by midaycare:
I'm going to adjust my parties so that they are not parties anymore. I only throw 2 a year, but they aren't appreciated and the kids only really want their goody bags. They don't care about the games. They make their own.
I think the key word is PARTY. Remove that word and it will change the way the parent treats it.
Reply
cassiesue 08:16 AM 11-02-2016
Sorry your party didn't go as well. I hate when parents want to come to parties. Seems to get the kids riled up.

I love Halloween. I like for my 5-year-old to participate in as many activities as possible. That means a lot of activities and field trips for my dcks. We had 3 last week. As far as costumes, since all 3 field trips were related to Halloween and were places the kids were kind of expected to come dressed accordingly, I asked parents to send the dcks' costumes and that I would just get them ready myself. On Friday the kids were allowed to wear their costumes all day. The only costumes type that was banned this year was clowns.
Reply
Blackcat31 08:20 AM 11-02-2016
Originally Posted by midaycare:

I'm just so over parties. Wishing I was bc today, who doesn't work on Oct 31st.
BEST decision ever!!!

I hate Halloween as it relates to expectations for daycare providers.
Reply
MrsSteinel'sHouse 11:09 AM 11-02-2016
I am kinda late to the party
I don't do "parties". We have done Halloween themed things for the past week. Monday I did let them play with spiders in orange kenetic sand.
I have not done costumes... ever.
One thing I do on occasion is a color day. So if you wanted to do something fun for Halloween next year what about making it Orange Day! They may wear something orange. Only play with orange clothes, color with orange crayons, cut orange paper, orange playdoh, orange food (cheddar cheese, tint some rice orange, squash, and oranges. It would change up the day. It is fun but more low keyed than costumes and Halloween. I was going to do that this year but well- life has happened over the past week and it just didn't.
Reply
MrsSteinel'sHouse 11:11 AM 11-02-2016
and TOT here in on Saturday night so I don't have the same issues. One dcg though has had candy for breakfast 2 days in a row on her way here and she has arrived after my breakfast time. She has eaten lunch well
Reply
Reply Up