3 Year Old Party

A great game for all ages is "pass the parcel". You wrap a small price in gift wrap, then you cover with a layer of newspaper and then another. In between these layers of newspapers you add little prizes along the way - so that the parcel is big. Then, you sit all the children in a circle and play music. They need to pass the parcel around and then when the music stops, whoever has the parcel takes off one sheet of paper and so on and so on.

Plus, a friend of mine put little numbers in balloons and kids had to pop the balloons and collect their numbers for a lucky draw.

How about some parachute play time? If you don't have a parachute, you can get one fairly inexpensively (check eBay or craigslist), a 12 foot one is big enough for the amount of kids you are having. You can use it for years and years and not just at birthday parties. There are tons of games you can play with them, but when I brought mine out for my daughter's 4th birthday party, the kids loved "riding" on it the best - the kids sit in the middle and the adults pull them around while singing some song like the ABC song (don't lift them off the ground!), or just make big and little waves, shake it side to side, or have them get underneath and lift it up over their heads and back down a few times. Kids of all ages loves this. Just do a search for "parachute games" and you'll find lots more ideas.

Hi! For my 3 year olds party we did hands on stuff. You can get fruit loops and yarn and have them make their own edible necklace. It takes time, it's fun and they can eat it. Another edible idea is to decorate their own cookies (themed to the birthday)...again, takes time, fun and they eat it. The favorite game I love to play...still...is PASS THE PACKAGE. Take a prize and wrap it about 10 times in 10 completely different wrapping papers. It's like hot potato. Play music and when the music stops, that child unwraps one wrapper...when they get down to the prize, that child wins. Another thing I do that is not game related, is that I have the thank you cards ready to go and as presents are opened, complete a quick thank you card for that guest...attach those to the gift bags. As your child gets older, they can quickly do these during a game after presents. Thank you cards are important :)

Hi D.,
Last year I had a party with multiple ages also. I ended up buying little 4x6 wooden frames from Michaels,painting them whatever color,then I bought those little foam sticky designs,glitter glue pens,etc.,then let them decorate as they please,they seemed to love it. Also,if you have a digital camera and printer,you could take a pic and print while they are there.GoodLuck....J.

Hi D.,
I think cupcakes is a great idea. I would recomend you to organize ahead, for example:
- set a special table with a plastic tablecloth where every kid has an specific place.
- Have an overall or canva for each kid and wipes near.
- If you are planing for them to help with the battering, I suggest to have some cupcakes prepared ahead because they are already cooled, (use the batter latter).
- provide little plates with m&ms, chocolate chips, gummy bears and candy chips, etc. inthe middle of the table (dont forget the spoons to poor them)
- for the frosty, have one small amount in front of each kid.,or follow the leader" doing silly things , and changeing leaders and that would take you though the b-day!!
Have a great party!!

We had the same concern with my two year old's birthday party, she had guests of all ages. I set up a station with markers, stickers, ribbon and some colored party hats that had no design on them. That way they could personalize their party hats. There was a stapler and tape for parents to assist the younger kids. We had a waterballoon toss with the parents teamed up with their child. That was fun to get on tape!! The cupcake idea sounds great too. I had a box that I decorated and wrote prize box. I let all the kids pick something out of it before they left. It was kind of a mystery until the end, what was in the box. (Crayons, puzzles, yo yo's, stickers, etc.) Hope you have a great time.
www.MrTeaTravel.com

Decorating cupcakes or cookies is always a bit hit! You can alos have a playdo table. All ages love playdo. I still do! Bingo is alos great for all ages. You can make your own bingo charts and cards by putting cartoon characters (maybe her favorite) and have each person take a turn drawing the card. It's interactive for all. Making your own foam picture frame. Go to "Oriental Trading Company" website. They have all kinds of craft packages you can buy and very inexpensive. It's always a big hit at my parties. I hope this helps!

Good Morning D.,

My name is Sylvia and I am a new mommy here, my little Angelica should be here in June *smile* I love hcildrens' B-day parties and there are a few crafts they can do that may not be to messy *smile*

They can make Bookmarks, Mail boxes, they can paint their hands and make door hangers. If you don't mind the mess and time, they can make small pinatas.

Good games are Musical Chairs, Fill-up a big bowl with candy or propcorn and hide toy eggs inside with little prizes in them. Or hide the eggs around your yard and watch as the kids find them (with goodies inside).

Does your daughter have a special disney character she likes, You can contact a birthday company to request a live to come by and sing Happy B-day with her and make balloons.

At my nieces first birthday her mom got her Elmo and the kids went crazy! They loved him, he showed-up and played and sang Happy B-day!

Hope this helps
for the kits check out
www.orientaltrading.com

God Bless

Snow globes are fun...just get a jar with a lid (new or baby food jar). Glue a figure to the bottom (epoxy) and let them fill it up with glitter and other "confetti" stuff. Pour in the water and a few drops of baby oil. Close the lid and seal it with white electrical tape around the top. If you have the confetti stuff in "pre-portioned" mini-cups, it would help the littles ones a lot. It makes it easier for them to do it on their own and you don't feel chaotic. Is there a theme for the party?

Last year we had a party and there were kids from 1-10. I put a low table, kids height, in the backyard and covered it with a yellow plastic table cloth. I put out contruction paper, stickers, markers, glitter-glue pens and water soluable paints along with some little terracotta flower pots with little flowers in them. Everyone decorated the pots or the littlest ones just enjoyed doodling on the construction paper and putting stickers down. I also put out a bucket of colored chalks and they drew on the patio and driveway. The older kids ended up playing hopscotch. Everyone had a great time and went home with a little flower in pot. Good luck!

Since they're a bit older, they may get a kick out of being "party assistants," helping you out! As for craft ideas...sounds like your party is near Valentine's Day...you could have some holiday colored paper, doilies, ribbon, markers, for them to make Valentines! In the same theme, you could have beads/string available to make friendship bracelets, and you can find all kinds of stuff to do with fun foam. Have fun and good luck...Keep it simple, and definitely do the cupcake idea...kids love that. :)C. A.

Try visiting the orientaltrading.com website. It has tons of crafts for kids of all abilities and ages...plus it's affordable.

you'll need: shaving cream, ziplock baggies, food coloring and tape; they love making new color combinations and squishing the color around to blend. Use tape so they won't be so tempted to open the baggie. BIG FUN

I teach kids how to paint on canvas. Go to Michaels, buy some acrylic paint, some paint brushes, and each kid a canvas. Have them paint picture. You can go to Google and find an image you like and they will have a blast. J. or you can hire me to teach them how to paint at your party. J.

You can go to orientaltrading.com or call the 800 number for their catalog. They have crafts in bulk for all ages. You could get it all there and they are CHEAP! You may also try Michaels Crafts stores. I have a 10 and 5 year old and know you need a range of things to do. Good luck.
L.

You have quite an age range there, so I would suggest having plenty of toys and open-ended play available for the 1.5-3 year olds. I had a sticker-type craft (we made placemats at my 3 year olds tea party birthday) and the older kids spent quite a lot of time on it, while the younger ones scribbled a bit with markers and took off to play with the dollhouse in the playroom. You can have them decorate hats or something that matches your "theme" (if you have one). Kids will usually make their own fun, just give them something to play with.

Aloha D.-

Your party sound like it will be fun, but challenging with the disparty in ages. The cupcake idea will be something they can all probably do to some extent. You might want to consider pouring the batter into ice cream cones for baking so the little ones have a handle to hold onto while icing, sprinkling etc. I did that when my son was about five and they had a great time. It was less messy too, no paper to peel off and throw on the floor!

Since it is close to Valentines day, you could cut out large hearts and have them decorated for Mom & Dad, friends or the birthday girl. You would need bits of lace (paper or real), non-toxic paste, maybe some glitter (on a shower curtain), stick on letters or designs, etc. I was going to say little buttons, but with 1 1/2 years old, they wouldn't work unless you kept their space a little separate. Whatever you decide to do will be fun.

Have a good time, keep it simple and it will be less stressful.

C.

I once had a plain cake & as the kids arrived they could decorate the cake a little & when we sang Happy Birthday, we used that cake, but it was a little over decorated & we chose to eat a 2nd cake I had ready to go, as another craft I let each child decorate there own paper party favor bag, but be sure to double them up. One party the kids made noodle necklaces to wear. Just make sure everything is as easy as possible so you can enjoy your child. I liked using the ice cream in the cups, it saved a lot of time. Enjoy

I recently had a group of small children of various ages to my house. First recommendation, keep the time lines rather tight. party starts at --o'clock and ends at --o'clock. We baked and decorated. The whole idea of even making a box cake, or cupcakes in your case, was fun, all the bowls, spoons, poured ingredients, were fascinating, as was watching the time as we cleaned up. While the baking happened we used pillsbury doughboy crescent rolls and turned them into cinnamon rolls, by unrolling them and adding sugar and cinnamon. Don't worry, every thing tasted so bad that they hardly ate it, and we were able to enjoy the yummy treats i had purchased for the purpose of eating.

I don't recall the exact recipe but making ice cream in individual plastic baggies is great fun at all ages.I have done this activity with kids as young as 2 and it's easy and fun!! You place the ingredients in a small plastic baggie zip closed then in a large zip lock baggie you place rock salt and ice,put small baggie inside,then zip closed the large baggie and let the kids jump and shake until they have ice cream. (i'm not sure of the exact measurments for the ice cream but I know it was half and half with sugar and vanilla)Maybe you can get the recipie on line?

Hi. When I was in a similar situation with children of vastly different ages, we had a "do the stuff you aren't supposed to do" event. We wore hats and had a parade through the house, banging on pots and pans. We walked on the furniture and bounced (supervised) on the beds. The big bed was the favorite. We blew horns and bubbles in the house. We ended by throwing paper confetti in all of the rooms. It only lasted about 20 minutes, but every child had a great time--so did I. It really bridged the age gap. My daughter is 22 now, but it is still one of my favorite birthday parties!

After having 5 children and lots of birthday parties, I would think with that age range, crafting would be a little difficult for the really young ones. But at X-mas time I always let the Grandkids decorate cupcakes as a family activity. They all love it, from the oldest(11) right down to the youngest(3). It's sooo...... much fun to watch all the different styles too. LOL
Hope this helps a little.

I would stick to the soft spongy forms that you can buy in kits at Michaels in the craft section. They usually have a peal off back because they are stickers.

I wouldn't worry about games. Older kids sometimes get their feelings hurt if they don't win (in the age bracket you mentioned). Plus, it really is about the three year old.

I think parents try to over plan the parties and keeping it simple really seems to make it more fun for the kids anyway. Heck, playing at the playground and having cake there seems to be one of the best things we did for our girls!

Good luck!

Audra

My favorite for almost any age is to let them make their own "mini-pizzas" using refrigerated biscuits, spaghetti sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you want to provide in small bowls for them to pick-and-choose from. We first tried it with my 3-yr-old, but my 18-month-old loves it, too.

Making their own party hats using construction paper and a stapler or tape is always fun, too. No pattern needed. Just let them design it, you help size it.
Have a great time!

I am definitely going to crib some of these ideas for future events! Here's one more that pales in comparison to some of the others: you could have the kids make their own individual-sized pizzas. Similar to the cupcake idea, but perhaps a little less messy. You can buy the small Boboli shells and then put out all the fixings. Just have some containers (like the Glad sandwich-size disposable plastic containers) on hand for them to take home their leftovers.

decorating cupcakes sounds like a great idea!! you can have different frostings in bowls with kid knives or spoons, then bowls with spoons of sprinkles, candies, etc. you might want to set each cupcake without the wrapper in a plastic/paper bowl, so when they pile on the toppings the mess is in the bowl not your table/floor! you can also have a big blank card for your daughter on a table or mat with crayons, stickers, etc. for the kids to decorate for the birthday girl. it's easy and gives them something to do and they don't all have to do it at the same time.

finger paint with vanilla and chocolate pudding and wax paper
L. (Grandma of Brynzlie Kay)

The girls will enjoy decorating the cupcakes but maybe too messy for the 1 1/2 year olds boys. I say do like a pin the tail on the donkey type of game or pinata because all the kids will be able to do it.

D., Do you have a Michaels in your area? they have great craft ideas for all ages. Also Play-Doh is something that both girls and boys like to play with. Good luck with your party.