David Rosen, Gabe Rubin, Michael Harpaz and Andrew Roth find the "buried treasure."

ELLYCE FIELD

Special to The Jewish News

Children's birthday parties
don't have to end in an
ocean of melted ice cream
and screaming kids. Here
are some alternatives

hatever happened to the
old fashioned kid's birth-
day party? Six freshly
scrubbed kids sitting
around the kitchen table,
wearing party hats and eating
neopolitan ice cream and chocolate
cake. A few games — pin the tail- on
the donkey, hot potato and musical
chairs — some inexpensive gifts for
the birthday girl and a yo-yo for
each guest to take home.
It still exists, with just a little
more pizazz and ingenuity. Today's
tots are treated to magicians, pup-
peteers, horse rides, jugglers and
trained monkeys. Children one year
and up celebrate birthdays at roller
skating rinks, petting zoos and
bumper car alleys. Parties are color
and theme coordinated. They are
major events.
Here are some guidelines to
steer you safely through the mess of
chocolate crumbs, broken toys and
wrapping paper fragments in order
to plan the almost-perfect birthday
party.
First, a few ground rules. Make
your plans with your child's age in

mind. Most one- and two-year-olds
are rather blase about birthday par-
ties. Often they are too tired, dis-
oriented or upset to really have fun.
And most two-year-old guests have
not learned their party manners yet.
By age three, children are will-
ing and able to involve themselves
in party preparations. Sometimes too
fully — as parents who've momen-
tarily turned their backs on the
birthday cake will attest.
Keep your plans attuned to your
child's needs. If he is naturally gre-
garious, enjoys large crowds, tumult
and food fights, give him a birthday
extravaganza. Invite his entire class
and the kids on the block, including
all the trombeniks (troublemakers).
Enlist help. Don't let Dad get
away with just blowing up the bal-
loons, greeting the parents and
hanging up coats. He'll enjoy leading
games, handing out prizes and serv-
ing lunch, too. He might find he's a
natural nursery school teacher.
Invite older cousins, neighbors
and trusted babysitters to help. With
pre-schoolers, the more adult hands
available, the better the crowd con-
trol.
And plan ahead. Don't wait
until the day of the party to decide
where you'll find 32 folding chairs,