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When you're planning a party for younger children, make sure you have enough adults available to assist the kids with activities. How many you need will vary with the age of the children, number of guests and specific activity.

For parties with pre-school age children, you can count on most of the parents sticking around for the party, so lining up help in advance isn't usually an issue. But once they move into grade school, many parents feel comfortable dropping off their child at parties. That's when you need to think about the activity and what kind of assistance the children will need.

A complicated craft project will need more help than a simple painting activity. An involved relay race will need more adult supervision than a simple game of water balloon catch. Finally, if you are bringing the party to an outside facility, make sure that it's specified in your contract how many staff members will be working with the children and leading activities. You don't want to be the only parent taking a group of 20 kindergartners through a round of miniature golf!

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