Brace yourselves for the return of the kids’ party

For the first time in two years, the kids were back in the nearest village hall last weekend, albeit in coats with all the doors and windows wide open, writes Kate Hughes

An enforced break from those high-pressure, high-waste get-togethers was brilliant (Getty/iStock)

Oh God. I had forgotten about children’s parties. Lockdown put paid to a fourth, fifth and sixth birthday party in our house. Which wasn’t a total loss.

There were no party bag politics, no throwaway themed theatrics, no plastic sequins, or microplastic glitter or balloons or plastic banners, tablecloths or cutlery, or plastic-covered paper plates full of individually plastic-wrapped snacks.

Or, for that matter, tribes of sweaty, hyper and slightly flammable small people in synthetic party clothes eventually crowded, if all goes to plan, around a naked flame or six.