Birthday Party Ideas for Children Ages 2-12
Need a few birthday tips and ideas for the next birthday party
in your household? Here's a variety of suggestions that we think
will help you make your child's birthday party fun, special and
easy for you.
Birthday Party Tips for the Young and the Young at Heart
Your child's birthday party should be a fun and memorable
experience for your child and for his or her guests. Here's how
you can pull it off:
* Let your child choose the theme of her birthday party and be
actively involved in the planning stages of the event. Have her
write the invitations if she is able.
* Have your child greet each guest at the door. This will help
her guests feel welcome and will help her learn how to be a
great hostess.
* Have a birthday party table or counter space available for the
presents. Ideally this place should be a place where all of the
guests can sit comfortably and see your child open the presents.
* If you order a pizza or another 'hot food item' leave it in
the oven before the guests are ready to eat.
* Avoid games, which leave some of the guests with nothing to
do. A birthday party can be a nightmare if one of the guests is
unhappy. If your child insists on playing a game from this
genre, provide additional activities which the guests can do
while they are waiting for the game to end.
* If you plan on making a birthday party craft with the guests,
make sure you create a prototype, for the guests to see and for
you to gauge the difficulty level of the craft before the
birthday party begins.
* When opening gifts make sure that your child acknowledges who
has given her each gift and that she thanks every guest.
* A party favor or a goody bag is a nice way to end birthday
parties. Your child can say goodbye to each guest with these
items.
* Book special events in advance. (i.e. Children's museums,
Pizza Parlors, Arcades, Fun Houses, Tumble Bus Birthday Parties,
etc.
Birthday Party Games and Activities for Children Ages
2-12 Birthday party themes, games and activities are perhaps
the most memorable parts of your child's special day. Here are
some ideas that will make your child remember her birthday party
for a long time to come:
1) For the scientific child, help her to set up a series of fun
science experiments that all of the guests can participate in.
For a treat, serve the guests green sherbet with cream soda or
ginger ale.
2) For the 'fashionista' in your life, divide the guests into
two teams and have them race to put on designated outfits and
accessories. Once they put the clothes on they must quickly walk
or run down a run-way and pose for a picture. (You might need
other parents or family members to help with this one). This is
a birthday party she will never forget!
3) For older children, play '1-100'. This game requires 2 dice,
one piece of paper and a pencil or a pen for each guest. Have
each guest write his or her name on the piece of paper leaving
space to write 1-100 below the name. Then, the birthday girl
gets to choose someone to go first. The chosen individual will
role the dice and if he or she does not get doubles then he or
she will pass the dice to the next player. If however, the first
player does get doubles then he or she will begin to write 1, 2,
3, 4,.......etc. under until another player roles doubles. The
dice will continue around the table and when the dice returns to
the first player and he or she gets doubles again then that
player would begin where he or she left off. Whoever gets to 100
first, wins!
Birthday Party Gifts and Surprises Birthday gifts and
surprises don't have to include Barbies and Gameboys. They can
also include the following:
* Ballet Classes
* Gymnastics
Classes
* Sports Equipment
* A Mini-Trip
* A Trip to a Space Museum with Mom or Dad
* Breakfast in Bed
* A New Book on Tape
* Language Lessons
* Puzzles
* A Book of Science Projects + Materials
* A Trip to their favorite Restaurant
* A Recipe Book for Kids, etc.
Remember parents, what your children want the most is time with
YOU! Give your kids the gift of time.