Keeping Track of Kids at Birthday Parties

Birthday parties can be hectic at best, but when you combine it with a busy venue, it can be very nerve wrecking as the party hosts to keep track of all the kids and be sure they are all in the right place.  In past years, we've always opted to use party locations where the kids aren't being mixed in with other parties.  Eventhough my boys are starting to get older, I still rarely drop-off the kids at a party and come back at the end, unless I know the parents well.  This is just because I know how hard it can be to keep track of so many kids running around who you may or may not know very well.

So a trick I've come up with when you are at a party place that mixes kids around, its to buy the glow in the dark bracelets (we used these for our recent laser tag birthday party) or some other piece that identifies t-them.  I've seen some parents use t-shirts (which can be pricier) to pins.  I loved using the glow in the dark bracelets for laser tag because it was like a party favor and identifying piece at the same time.  The kids also loved it because while playing laser tag, they were able to figure out it was one of their friends even in the dark.

The venue we had our party at made me nervous because of the large number of walk-ins they allow to play alongside the kids and that they don't monitor the doors to be sure kids can't head out the doors without a parent.  In this case, the solution was easy - the glow in the dark bracelets were purchased for 49 cents each at Michael's craft store.  I was able to keep my eye on the door and be sure none of the kids from our party were even near the door, eventhough I wasn't too familiar with all of my son's friends.

What tricks have you used in the past to easily identify the kids from your party?