My son will be 7 in July and I normally have a garden party, last year a clown with 20 children. I wanted to do something different this year and not invite so many children, just his really close friends, any suggestions as to what I could do for him?

When I was younger we used to like 'activity' parties. For instance, going to one of those indoor fun-houses (with slides, ball parks etc), and my brother had a couple of 5-a-side football parties. It also takes a lot of the hassle out of it as food etc is arranged by the venue

Bouncy castles are great, though expensive and there can be accidents...!

Also, how about doing a fairly traditional party (with the usual games etc) and having a theme? So everyone comes as a pirate for example, and the games and food are all centered around that theme