Welcome to a whole new social minefield!

We tried to keep the groups small with DD1 - her birthday's in June and in the ACT it's frequently near zero degrees and sleeting (!). Around this early primary age the smallish group format works well. They still enjoy unstructured play so things like a dressup/'fashion parade' or music/dance corner work well in between the structured activities/party games. I've always avoided the games where you get a prize - we just play the game and then at teh end do a treasure hunt or a pinata for their loot-fix. Simple craft works well around this age (eg painting/decorating a jewellery box or a letter for their bedroom door) - just be prepared for some of the kids to whip through it in three seconds flat and others to linger long beyond everyone else has finished. LOL Also, always have spares - someone will do a mistake or sometimes you get an impromptu ring-in (yeah it's rude but the poor kid shouldn't be excluded just because their parents have no social graces LOL).

We found that a large proportion of parents still stayed, but it gradually dwindles over the next few years, depending on the individual child's social confidence. I always get contact details for any parent that is leaving plus the name of the person who will be collecting them.