7yr olds party idea - what do you think?

[reetnproper]

Ok, so very soon my 6 yr old turns 7 and she's having a party for 8 friends plus our 4 yr old, at our local organic farm shop. Together with the cost of her presents (daddy blew the budget - AGAIN ), it's going to cost around £150 in total which is 50% more than I budgeted for.

So, what I thought was that instead of party bags filled with cheap and cheerful bangles, pencils, sweets and chocolate (which in themselves can cost a small fortune), I'd do a 'grow your own Halloween pumpkin' competition. As well as a piece of cake, a small treat size chocolate bar, each little girl would be given 2 small plant pots, with enough compost to fill them, 2 pumpkin seeds and growing instructions. Then, in October, prizes would be awarded for the heaviest, the widest, the tallest, the smallest and the weirdest looking pumpkin, as well as a couple of other classes I haven't yet thought of.

I'm hoping the novelty of the idea will appeal and then they can have fun growing their own pumpkin, comparing notes as the year progresses and then carving their own home grown fruit for Halloween.

OH thinks I'm crackers (my 6yr old thinks it's a great idea as she gets to help judge ) but this has been an expensive month and I already have ALL the items needed anyway, so it wouldn't cost us anything extra. By October I will have been able to buy enough small prizes for each participant (they will all win one class) so it's not like I'm being a cheap skate, I'm just deferring the cost for the short-term.

So, come on, what do you think? Have I finally lost the plot?

Regards
Reet
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[Glutton4...]

It's well known on the Vine that I don't 'do' kids, but I think it's a great idea. They could also decorate their own pots, prior to planting their seeds. Have fun!

[Florence Fennel]

No you haven't lost the plot Reet, that's a brilliant idea, well done you!

[CaroltheCarrot]

I think thats a great idea as well.

[jackie j]

Thumbs up from me too. My OH always blows the budget so your not on your own, its his only child but it makes me feel guilty when I cant afford to spend or give much to my older boys. The boys dont mind but I do.

[Seahorse]

Sounds brilliant to me. I don't especially mind the plastic tat that my kids invariably bring home from parties but I (and I'm sure they) would be hugely impressed with something with so much potential for long term fun and interest!

[lainey lou]

Well I think it's a brilliant idea!
I hate party bags, it's usually a bag full of tat that just ends up in the bin.
Last year my daughter decided she wanted to give all her friends flowers instead so we chose each of them a potted primula to take home along with their cake. Every one approved!

[WillyNelson]

An excellent idea. My 3yo loved growing her own halloween pumpkin last year and is very excited by the prospect of 'Mister Plumpkin' going into the compost to make soil so we can grow a new Mr Plumkin for the following year. Kids love that sort of thing, you've just got to rely on the parents to remember to water the plants!

[chris]

Let me guess, Waybuloo, WillyNelson?

[chris]

[great idea by the way - can I come? ]

[pipscariad]

I'm another who thinks this is a great idea, go for it! I loathe the rubbish that sometimes comes home in party bags, such a waste of the earths resources and it is generally useless stuff. Several years ago I did a similar thing for my DD's party, and gave everyone sunflower seeds and had a competition to grow the tallest sunflower. Sadly I only had one photo back, but the boy in question had grown a huge sunflower so was a worthy winner! Pumpkins would be excellent.

[Mikey]

I would personally not have a problem with this, but I'm a keen gardener. Are any of her friends parents what you might refer to as non-gardeners. My DD has one or two like this, when I mentioned I had an allotment and made jam, you could have sworn I had grown two heads. I know if I did something similar here it would go down like a lead balloon, as a number of them wouldn't bother at all.

You also have to remember that pumpkins take up a lot of space, and the leaves can go very ugly if not well fed. They may not even make it too Halloween.

Sorry if this is too negative, but as keen gardeners we have a habit of thinking that everyone else is also.

[di]

I think it's a great idea,but kind of agree with Mikey,(just a tiny bit).
I'd perhaps go for a smallish pumpkin as opposed to the huge ones so they don't need as much space to grow them...some of the smaller ones can be trained up a wall or hedge if they have limited space.

Personally I think go for it...and I may actually share the idea for my boys party this Saturday,just consider which variety would best fit the job.

[di]

Just a second thought...maybe give them a choice between pumpkin or sunflower...you could still turn it into a competition,sunflowers take up less space and parents that might not appreciate having a pumpkin in the middle of the lawn would more likely have no objections to a sunflower.

[reetnproper]

Thanks everyone. Sunflowers could be an option - I'm sure I have a packet of unopened ones in my box. Luckily we're rural and ALL the kids coming have decent sized gardens and access to the school gardening club for extra advice.

Regards
Reet
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