We hope below to give you advice so that when all around you are losing their heads you can be an oasis of calm!. Seriously though, giving a child’s party yourself is invariably exhausting but very rewarding. The plus points can be many and varied: the children always seem to respond well to it - it’s different – and can be more personal; the feedback is almost always very positive from both children and parents; you develop a relationship of trust with your child’s friends; it makes a refreshing change from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the local indoor children’s play area, bowling alley or leisure centre and it can be much cheaper.

So how to go about it, if you are new to it?