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  My youngest just turned 7, and he passed out 12 invitations at school, about 2 weeks ago.  Tomorrow is his party.  I got 3 phonecalls..two kids who will be attending and one who is not able to attend.    I have been psyching my son up, talking about how much fun we can have with a very small party, and I know he will be happy with the day.  But it sure is aggravating to be left hanging by the other people who did not respond!  I bought enough favors and food for 10 kids, just in case.      Ha, I'm not worried about the food... anything that is extra will be inhaled by my older boys.  It's just the planning, and the worry about my son's expectations.  I will be glad if my son gets more than the two confirmed guests tomorrow.  It's rude to leave people hanging!      Danny was adamant about having a pinata.  We've done pinatas before, and will continue to do them, but Damn..... don't pinatas stink?!  Maybe somewhere, sometime, there was a party where all the children were reserved and polite, and quietly knelt down to take their share of the goodies.  Maybe.  Usually there are problems:          *the psycho-agressive kid doing a full dive onto the pile to get a hog share          * the shy kid who just stands there and breaks the hearts of the onlooking adults          *two kids reaching for the same thing, and one of them gets it, and the other cries      Once, when I was a younger mom with lingering 'Pollyanna'-type beliefs, I packed a pinata with goodie bags, each with the same amount of treats, and told the kids that they could each get one bag.  They were still psyched to break the pinata (I don't think they believed me).  When the pinata broke, and the goodie bags thudded to the ground, they scrambled to collect the loot.  We adults broke into their fun: One bag each!        The kids looked at us like we were insane, and glumly passed the bags around til everything was even.  Man, what a fun-wrecking idea!

before, and will continue to do them, but Damn..... don't pinatas stink?!  Maybe somewhere, sometime, there was a party where all the children were reserved and polite, and quietly knelt down to take their share of the goodies.  Maybe.  Usually there are problems:         *the psycho-agressive kid doing a full dive onto the pile to get a hog share         * the shy kid who just stands there and breaks the hearts of the onlooking adults         *two kids reaching for the same thing, and one of them gets it, and the other cries     Once, when I was a younger mom with lingering 'Pollyanna'-type beliefs, I packed a pinata with goodie bags, each with the same amount of treats, and told the kids that they could each get one bag.  They were still psyched to break the pinata (I don't think they believed me).  When the pinata broke, and the goodie bags thudded to the ground, they scrambled to collect the loot.  We adults broke into their fun: One bag each!       The kids looked at us like we were insane, and glumly passed the bags around til everything was even.  Man, what a fun-wrecking idea! I have never seen problems with pinatas.  Usually, there is so much loot, even the shyest kids can get the tons of leftovers or out on the fringes (I.e, they get plenty of loot).  Basically, prevent the problems you list by stuffing your pinata.  The one bag per kid thing would be pretty disappointing to any kid.  Might as well just hand it out like you would any goodie bag.

be inhaled by my older boys.  It's just the planning, and the worry about my son's expectations.  I will be glad if my son gets more than the two confirmed guests tomorrow.  It's rude to leave people hanging!     Danny was adamant about having a pinata.  We've done pinatas before, and will continue to do them, but Damn..... don't pinatas stink?!  Maybe somewhere, sometime, there was a party where all the children were reserved and polite, and quietly knelt down to take their share of the goodies.  Maybe.  Usually there are problems:         *the psycho-agressive kid doing a full dive onto the pile to get a hog share         * the shy kid who just stands there and breaks the hearts of the onlooking adults         *two kids reaching for the same thing, and one of them gets it, and the other cries     Once, when I was a younger mom with lingering 'Pollyanna'-type beliefs, I packed a pinata with goodie bags, each with the same amount of treats, and told the kids that they could each get one bag.  They were still psyched to break the pinata (I don't think they believed me).  When the pinata broke, and the goodie bags thudded to the ground, they scrambled to collect the loot.  We adults broke into their fun: One bag each!       The kids looked at us like we were insane, and glumly passed the bags around til everything was even.  Man, what a fun-wrecking idea! But..but...Pinatas are *about* the scramble. Banty

     Danny was adamant about having a pinata.  We've done      pinatas before, and will continue to do them, but Damn..... don't pinatas stink?!    yup. we don't do pinatas anymore. i do treasure hunts or digs. make 'em work for the candy/trinkets lee