Music is essential to get all parties going and kids’ parties are no exception! Music can make a huge difference to the feel of a party and is a great way to get everyone (parents included) in a party mood.

Music is a great way of adding a little atmosphere and excitement to a kid’s party. Music doesn’t have to be played constantly and if used sparingly (like when presents are being opened or during games like pass the parcel) can be great for getting kids into the party mood.

A sparing use of music will also help kids to make conversation. Not only will you be encouraging them to develop their social skills by interacting more with each other but also it can be good to leave kids chatting amongst themselves. The perfect diversion while you get the next bit of entertainment ready.

If you look in your local music shop or online, compilation CDs are available at good prices. Depending on what kind of party you want to throw different soundtracks are available. Collections of recent pop music releases go down well. Themed CDs are also available such as Christmas songs, party songs as well as karaoke DVDs and games.

Just having music playing will make a large difference to a party but with a little work you can easily make it into a fun game or activity.

• Musical Chairs is a fun game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. All you need to play is some music, a group of people and some chairs. With a group of kids and some parents to supervise musical chairs is easy to organise and great fun to play. For more information visit the Party Games page.
• Dancing Competitions are another great way to involve lots of people and have fun! Put on some up beat songs and let everyone do their thing! If the birthday boy or girl doesn’t want to part you could always ask them to help judge. You could award a small prize for the best dancer such as a small toy, some sweets or even a CD! Some children might not want to dance so you could always offer an alternative prize for the silliest dance to encourage everyone to take part.

Karaoke is a trend that seems to never go out of fashion! Karaoke is a great way for kids or groups of kids to take centre stage and have a good laugh in the progress. If you don’t have a karaoke machine don’t worry there are plenty of ways to sing along now. Dedicated karaoke DVDs are available and many music DVDs now feature karaoke songs as additional extras. Games for home entertainment consoles also allow you to take part such as Singstar for the Playstation 2 which is also available with microphone controllers that attach to the console.