Hosting: Kid's Summer Party

I just hosted part one of my son’s 12th birthday! It's his golden birthday (turning 12 on July 12th) so we decided to go with, what else, a golden theme! In addition to that, I’ve noted some things that make hosting a kid’s summer party as easy and fun as possible.

Kid’s Summer Party Menu

Food: Kids love kid food, so keep it simple. Since it’s summertime and we’ve been having nice weather I went with BBQ. Burgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken (my son’s favorite) were at the center of the menu. It can’t get easier than that. Be sure to have all the accompaniments (pepperoncinis, pickles, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, red onions, etc), and quality buns. I prefer Martin’s Potato Buns. In addition to taking care of the kids, be sure to account for all of your guests. I consider myself lucky because my kid’s friends have great parents who I’ve made friends with so we decided to have a “bring the whole family” party. Knowing that adults would be present I added pasta salad, potato salad, and green salad along with vegetarian patties and plant based sausages to accommodate everyone. We added a ton of chips in every flavor (BBQ, Salt and Vinegar, Classic) for the kids. For dessert we ordered a New York classic, Carvel Ice Cream cakes.

Pro Tip: Prior to the party, set out all your serving dishes on the buffet table. Stick post its to each dish to make platting easy.

Beverages: We had fun with this. We filled the drink dispenser with lemon and strawberries (my son loves strawberries) and water. We also set out drink buckets filled with sodas and Capri suns. We also filled an ice bucket with my son’s favorite popsicles and put dishes of gummy bears and Swedish fish, and bottles of grenadine out. The kids loved making “summer drinkies” with all the fun options. (photos below)

Kid’s Summer Party Entertainment

For a pool party this part is pretty easy to satisfy. Just plan a bit in advance and you’ll have everything you need to keep the kids entertained and happy. Since we were hosting a pool party, we already had the pool and a hot tub too (my son and his friends love that hot tub). But we took it up a notch by having some fun pool floats. Here are a few links to some of our family’s favorites:

Pro Tip: Consider your guests needs in advance. We had a pool party so I set out swim towels at each seat at the outdoor table (photo below). By taking that step in advance it kept me free throughout the evening and guests self-sufficient.

If you’re hosting a BBQ or something outdoors but don’t have a pool, you could prep some water balloons, water guns, a water slide. Depending on the age group that you’re hosting, have something around that keeps the kids easily entertained.

Next, music! Set the vibe with the kids favorite music. Especially for pre-teens/teens this is very important. Having an outdoor speaker system is a total bonus but there are great waterproof portable bluetooth speaker options that you can set up around the outdoor area. This is a great item to invest in for parties or just hanging out.

Find something that speaks to your kid’s personality. My son Jack loves dancing and blasting music with his friends so we got a large set of glow sticks that they had a great time building into crowns and glasses and body jewelry and dancing with. Other fun ideas could be personalized temporary tattoos, or Magical Flames.