Seekinh Ideas for My Daughters Fifth B-day Party

My daughter is 6.... but at that age, my girl liked making things.

How about, going to your local garden store and picking up some cheap generic (unglazed) terracotta/pottery flower pots... have the kids paint it... and then they can fill it with dirt and some kind of flower seed.... sunflowers, Zinnias, Marigolds, beans are easy to grow. Or a radish seed. Something fun.

Or, go to www.orientaltrading.com and they have TONS of cheap party things for any age, games too, and craft stuff, and goody bags etc.

Also, they can paint each other's faces, with tempura paint.
And then do a group photo of themselves as a memento.

Or, get a huge poster board, and have written on it "Sally's 5th Birthday" (or something like that), and then have all the kids put their hand-prints on it with their name, and then it will be a nice souvenir for your daughter and she can even hang it in her room.

And, kids always like treasure hunts... just get a bunch of cheap girly "jewelry" or something, hide it around your yard, and let them find it. Giving them each a brown paper bag that they can write their own names on.

Good luck,
Susan

Little girls love both dress-up and tea parties. How about going to your local re-sale (like goodwill) and stocking up on cheap overly fancy do-dads and clothing. Let the girls play dress-up and then serve them "tea" with sandwiches and cakes. You can find hats, wigs, jewelry, evening gowns etc. for only a few bucks each. Additionally, you will have a great "dress-up trunk" for other play days. I did this once for 6 little girls and I think I spent $30. combined with old disco outfits of mine and 80's jewelry I found in my closet - the kids had a blast!

What is her favorite thing? My son is 2 and will be 3 in July, and his favorites change ALL the time, but if you can narrow it down to one thing, I would go with that.

I love Susan's ideas for making things and love Oriental Trading Company. I've share some of my fav links for party planning...GOOD LUCK!

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/KidsBirthdayParties.htm
http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/
http://familyfun.go.com/parties/birthday/tool/partyplanne...

I had a tea party for my daughter that year. She loved playing dress up, so everyone brought over their dress up clothes, we painted nails, they put on a fashion show. I served finger foods. I had carrots and dip, goldfish crackers, peanut butter/jelly sandwiches (I cut them with a biscuit cutter and it sealed the edges), and served punch/juice in disposable teacups (I wrote their names on each of them). I also made really cute ice cream sandwiches that were in the shape of a teapot (cookie cutter). I also made invitations that were made from tracing the cookie cutter. The thank you cards were a picture of the kids dressed up during our fashion show. It was fun and inexpensive! Hope this helps.

Why not do it at the park. The kids can play on the swings and you an do relay races, duck duck goose etc. All you really need to serve is cake, drinks and a small snack item.

If you haven't already, check out the website for Family Fun magazine. It usually has a lot ideas for parties, games, arts & craft activities that shouldn't break the
bank. Also, I've found that www.ivillage.com is a great source of information as well for parenting and entertainment ideas.

we used to do a craft project at the girls' parties. Plaster hand prints, making necklaces/bracelets with beads & elastic string, or use colored macaroni in different shapes, sand candles etc. We'd also always take a group picture and send a copy along with the thank-you notes, and some people still have them (my girls are 17 & 19 now). Face painting, scavenger hunts (the search-list can be done using pictures for those who can't read). Hope this gives you some starter ideas! Have fun! 5 is such a fun age.

I think the park is a great place to let the kids play and run around. I found alot of items at the 99 cent store and at another store called The Dollar Tree. They have alot of items for kids birthday partys. Cheap and very cute items.

Instead of buying a cake, bake cupcakes and let the kids frost them and add sprinkles or candy on top.

My daughter loved having a tea party in the park. We spread a blanket & served sandwiches cut into wedges and apple slices with pink lemonade. Ask each girl to bring a favorite doll or stuffed animal, and have the girls make necklaces or bracelets for themselves and their toys. Cereal like Froot Loops makes great (and yummy) jewelry. For a game, we bought silk flowers at the dollar store and took the flowers off the stems and had the girls toss the flowers into a basket. Keep prizes really simple - baggies of fish crackers or Oreos should be fine; or, dollar store toys. (The one near our house often has fairy wings - we bought some of those.)

At the dollar store, you can get pipe cleaners and curling ribbon. Twist or braid the pipe cleaners into circles(you'll need to twist them end to end first so they'll be long enough to go around their heads.) Cut lenghts of ribbon and let the girls tie them onto the circles as streamers that will go down their backs, and you'll have little crowns for them to wear and take home.

A fun game with no losers is a variation of musical chairs. Use pillows or towels instead of chairs, and when you take one away, the girls have to crowd onto the ones that are left. Eventually, you'll only have one pillow or towel left, and a pile of giggling girls on it.

Don't stress! The kids will have fun whatever you do!