My baby is turning 1 at the end of the month. I am planning a big backyard family party for 3 hours and wasn't too sure what kind of activities I should have so that the 3 - 6 year olds would be entertained. Do any of you moms have any affordable, low cost birthday party activity ideas? I appreciate the suggestions!
easter hunt type things work, chalk, pirate hunt (hide something and give clues to the kids),stickers, glue, crayons and paper, water balloon toss, make masks using paper plate or paper grocery bags.....
Musical chairs is pretty fun for kids at that age, because it's easy to understand. I suggest giving everyone a prize of some kind so you don't have tears.
When my kids were younger, I set up a table at their parties for guests to decorate their own favor bags. I bought white lunch bags, put out stickers and crayons (dollar store!) and other art supplies, and let them go to town.
Happy birthday to your little one!
String fruit loops onto a string to make a edible necklace.
Decorate cupcakes.
I give backyard birthday parties for all of my grandchildren (seven total) and have found that kids love today what we loved 40 years ago - pin the tail on the donkey; musical chairs; hot potato; face painting; simple crafts. If you can afford it, one of those blow-up bouncey things is also wonderful! Have fun!
-play tents and tunnels (like the PlayHut pop-up structures or the IKEA tunnels and tents) are great outdoor fun for toddlers and preschoolers and even kindergarteners.
-Bubbles, bouncy hopper balls (the big rubber balls with the handles that kids sit on and bounce), hula hoops, sidewalk chalk are also appealing to a wide variety of ages.
-Use large inverted plastic flowerpots or traffic cones to play "ring toss" with the hula hoops. if you have a tree you can tie a hula hoop to, have children try to toss a beach ball through the hoop.
-Fill a dishpan with tube macaronis and let kids string them.
-Come up with your own version of "pin the tail on the donkey" (our girls had a zoo animal theme last year and we made it "feed the fish to the penguin" - I drew a large penguin on a large piece of cardboard and each child had their name on a label with a fish picture on it)
-Face paint! a set costs less than $5 and it was a HUGE hit at my girls' b-day party, it's also one of the big draws at their school carnival
I have a 4 year old and an almost 2 year old, so we've had a few birthdays with a pack of 3+ year old boys running around. We've set out balloons, balls, bubbles and stomp rockets, and this is usually enough to entertain the 3-5 year olds. But if you want something more organized, pinatas are a hit with kids 2+. Target has some back yard toys like badminton and croquet that you could set up for the more coordinated kids...
