Birthday Party Games for 4 Year Old

I did this for my son's 4th birthday also. Some of the games that we played were bobbing for apples, musical chairs, dropping a clothes pin in a bottle (this one you have the child kneel on a backwards facing chair and try to drop the clothes pin into the bottle with out reaching too far down), we also tied mini powered donuts to a string and tied the the string to an outdoor table and the kids had to eat the donut off the string without using there hands (very fun to watch and very fun for the kids), and we also had the usual-pin the tail on the donkey. I hope these ideas help you.

C.,

I have to say the old stand by's still are my favorites. Pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, simon say's. You can tailor them to meet your parties theme. We have played "master say's" when we had a puppy party (imagine "roll over", "sit up and beg" etc.) We have also done pin the wings on the fairy. Musical games don't necessarily have to have chairs we have used paper plate "lily pads" (one less than the number of players) scattered in an area of our yard and using theme music our "frogs and toads" hopped to the lily pads the frog without a lily pad when the music stops is out you remove one lily pad each time until only one frog is left. To avoid possible tears the child who was "out" got to help with the music the next round. We also played "the wonder bone" goes round and round at our puppy party and sang to the tune of The wonder ball goes round and round. We used a plastic toy dog bone. Another game our kids love is when we blow up several balloons and put small pieces of paper in them. A few pieces of paper had a puppy sticker on them. We released the balloons in our back yard for a puppy romp. The little "puppies" had to catch a balloon and pop it by sitting on it or stepping on it. (No sharp objects!) The ones with the sticker got a token prize. This game can also be changed to adapt to your theme. Our puppies all received floppy puppy ears when they arrived at the party along with some whiskers and a brown nose, so you can imagine how cute the pictures are. It's always good to have an activity planned at the beginning of the party to keep kids occupied until everyone arrives. An inexpensive option is to get a large piece of mural paper and let all the kids draw theme related images with crayons (paint if you're really brave!) Then the mural can be hung as part of the party decorations. Keep it simple so you'll be more relaxed. If you are having a good time so will the kids. And write a schedule of how you will progress the party so everyone stays engaged. 15 minutes of drawing, then party games, cake and ice cream, gifts, end with a pinata and goody bags or if you want a more relaxing end with young children, gather them around you for a story. All children can be sent home with their goody bags so don't give them out till the end that way you won't deal with "I can't find my bag" You can also remind the little ones during the games that everyone will leave with a goody bag with a littly surprise inside. Have Fun!

J. L.

I love big parties for kids....divide the kids into groups.
Have other parents help, our family members.
A great website is www.birthdaypartyideas.com
they have game ideas, craft ideas and foood ides to go along with just about any theme. Remember, have fun!

I second the opinion that 4 year olds don't need many games to amuse them. In fact, my 3 boys never had much use for them at all. But recently, I catered a party for a mixed group of 3-5 year olds. We played musical DOTs (instead of chairs that they might fall off) Each child got a big red dot; exept the guest of honor. They stand in a circle and then put the dots on the floor. The rest is just like musical chairs. As each guest is knocked out, they go and have their face painted. So it isn't like loosing at all! You could play tape the stripes to the tiger once everyone has been painted. Then, bring on the cake!

I always liked to have each child hand their gift to the guest of honor. They get to sit beside the birthday child, while the gift is opened. This gives them face-time with their special friend AND it gives Mom (or Dad) a chance to make note of who gave what- to make Thank You notes easier.

Good luck! And Have FUN!

For my 3 year old daughter we did something similar @ the park w/ her 12 classmates. They played a 4 inning game of baseball then a short game of soccer followed by pin the tail on the donkey & a pinata. That took up the allotted time for the party plus cake & pizza! Hope that helps!

Hi C.- I too just had an outdoor party for mine (only 3) but i found out that they are happy to run more than do organized games, and it was hectic keeping everyone on the same page. that said... they have these awesome ribbon dancer things ( long ribbons on sticks) and they are tons of fun for boys and girls alike, and perfect for outside, and all of the different colors, will look like stripes maybe. Have fun!

Well you could always do rub on tattoos or face painting along with the pinata, musical chairs, decorate their own cupcakes,etc. You could also search online for great party games.....have fun with whatever you choose to do!

Hide-and seek is always a classic. Tag works too. What about duck duck goose.

When my sons were younger and we did pinatas, I would make up a little bag. When the pinata breaks all the bags fall out and everyone gets the same thing. I found this helps keep the game fun and no one ends up feeling like they didn't get "enough stuff". The other suggestion is to play very simple games like red light green light, freeze tag. Keeping the party games simple and following the childrens lead is always a great way to have a sucessful party.

Do you have a theme? I always do Pin the "something" on "something". For instance, for my one year old's birthday in Sept, the older kids played pin the candle on the cake. Any variation works and the kids get a kick out of where their piece ends up. Another good game is to put a potato on a spoon and have them race back and forth. Lot's of laughs on that one!!! Crafts are always good too...especially for girls. My niece loves to do crafts at her parties!! Good luck

I'm sure that, judging by the date of your post, the party has already come and gone. I hope it turned out wonderful.

Anyways....in case someone else reads this looking for ideas, I thought I'd mention one of the things I did with the kids at my daughter's 5th birthday party. I bought a package of paints that has the paint inside of the brush handle. I think they are made by elmers (available at walmart). I also got a big sheet of white poster board and a package of 10 washable markers. I used a couple markers and alternated colors and wrote "Happy 5th Birthday Mikayla" at the top. Then as each child arrived, I painted one of their hands and stamped it on the paper. I had them write their name underneath the hand print (if they knew how...otherwise I wrote it myself). I also had my own kids do theirs. Now my daughter has a special keepsake from her birthday party. We've got it hanging on her bedroom wall.

Blessings,
J.

My 4 year-old LOVES to play Red Rover. Try that. It takes alot of kids.

you can always try red light green light little kids like to play games like that.

Bean bags. Kids love them. You can have a toss. Divide up the colors (make teams) and throw them into different sized buckets (varying the points per bucket). The team with the most points wins. Or make a board to pitch the bags throw to win a small prize. Balance the bag on your head and race. Have a bean bag hunt. Or you can make up your own game. Good luck!