Nowadays, the poor sod on stereo duty has to ensure every child opens up one wrapping, gets that one requisite present by gender, and passes the parcel. Everyone is a winner but the last person wins big. Where's the game in that? Remove the element of chance, and no one seems to hold on the parcel for that little longer, chucking it along when they couldn't bear it any more. Do you remember how comical that looked? But boy that was fun.
Yeah, children's birthday parties have changed a heap, haven't they?
Three years ago, my son wanted a Kung Fu Panda birthday party .. meaning my son wanted me to host a martial arts themed birthday celebration tapping into my martial arts school and having myself lead the expected program of games, demonstrations, training, and celebrations.
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| The poor sod before the pain hits. |
Here's where I get to have a good whinge - I've held it in bloody three years and if the parents who attended it are reading this now, it's fair game. On the day of the party we get not one, but 6 parents asking to bring siblings (and other freeloading friends) along for the ride. So the party is now no longer under 30 children, but is closer to 40 kids! What the ... ?
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| Sensei Says ... secure yourself to something if someone is trying to drag you away. Yeah, put your parents to good use, why don't you? |
To make it even more exciting, the parents - who've never really seen a martial arts themed party before, decide to stay and watch. But they don't just sit there, they've set their own party up amongst themselves and they're going for it! Just think about it ... now spread throughout the enclosed hall are 36 of their feral children, and then on the other side vying for that stereophonic effect are their parents prattling away. It's a free-for-all!
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| Colin's demo - breaking tiles with a knife hand is a piece of cake. |
Things actually go quite well - I'm just about able to get everyone interested and no one is getting majorly hurt. The 'training' we've set up with strike shields goes smoothly, and the games like the chopstick and gummy bear races were quite fun. What I felt was good from my perspective as an instructor was the 'Sensei Says' segment which allowed me to work on skills like what children should do in a fire, or if they themselves are on fire, or if someone is trying to abduct them. That was an idea taken directly from the net and I'd definitely use it if I launch a children's program. The other great idea, which I'll definitely recommend is the board breaking segement where we got the kids to break thin balsa wood sheets. The kids absolutely loved that! What a thrill!
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| My cutey breaking her first board. |
Where things take a nasty and very sinister turn is during a game which required my two students to get dressed up in wigs and play a game we called 'Protecting the Princess'. The
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| The start of gang related violence. See the Princess (in the pink wig.) Run. For. His. Life! |
The entire birthday party was a gruelling 2.5 hour session, and by the time it ended I couldn't hardly bring the beer to my lips. My voice was hoarse. I was spent. And I was wasted.
Stuff of nightmares!
Bio: Colin is a 5th Degree Black Belt with 28 years of experience. He leads Traditional Taekwondo school Joong Do Kwan in Perth, Western Australia.--
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You had me chuckling out loud! So funny, although I'm sure not funny at the time :) I totally agree about Pass the Parcel - my kids are the biggest sooks if they miss out...but I'm sure that's because they've been conditioned to not miss out. This party game favourite should never have been messed with. But getting back to your recount - just love it! Hope everyone who was there reads it lol
ReplyDeleteOh, I've already *almost* got into trouble with one or two posts from ages ago. The problem was that those posts aimed at a smaller group, maybe say one or two specific kids. So yeah, you could probably guess who I was talking about. This one? Hahaahaah ... there's safety in numbers. Or will it create a lynch mob out to get me? :-) Who knows. But yeah, I thought it was funny too. At the end of the day, holding on to that cold bottle, with a nuclear reaction between my ears ... barely being able to chuckle at my misfortune. Great hearing from you, Cathy. Colin
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about pass the parcel. It's not quite the same these days!
ReplyDeleteKung Fu party sounds like great fun, even if it was a lot of work. I hope the beer helped your recovery.