I am trying to put together my son's birthday party and am having a difficult time. The theme we had decided on is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. I found a deal online that you get all the party supplies for 8, including a pinata and filler, and the gift boxes. We had decided to also have it at my aunt's house since she has a great backyard, awsome kitchen, and a pool table for the men to play. Well, we have run into a problem of entertainment for the children since we will have some older children there. We had factored in a cardbord stand up of Mickey Mouse to be proped up to take pictures by, but am not sure what else to do. We dont have a lot of money, and worried that a bounce house would be too costly for our own good. Are there any other things that are easy on the budget that can entertain children at a birthday party? We do have a backup plan that I am not particularly fond of, but will do if we have to... Chuck E Cheese!
Advice is appreciated!
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions!
I will definately take some of the games and see what I can get. We looked at the guest list, and most of the kids will be under the age of 5. There are only a handful of children that will be around the age of 9, so I will have some things to do for them as well. I am definately going to bring some of my son's toys so that the children his age have things to occupy themselves. Thanks again... and wish me luck!!
Get some boxes, big empty plain boxes, and watch them have a ball. It wont hardly cost a thing and they will enjoy that more than a bounce house.
Relay games (ie. carrying egg on a spoon - hard boiled to prevent a huge mess), musical chairs, hula hoop competition, bean bag toss (can make cardboard frame with holes in the shape of a Mouseketeer's hat or the MMC logo. I hope that helps!!!
musical chairs?
and
tables w/ crafts set up? dollar store coloring books & crayons or even print-outs from the conputer:
http://www.fredscorner.nl/mickey/mickey_mouse_coloring.html
and have bubbles set out...
I'm thinking kind of like 'stations' where kids can do crafts (or just color), play with bubbles,
and then you can break for games (musical chairs, freeze dance, etc) and then they can go back to the 'stations'
HTH
L.
HI S.,
Not sure of your budget, and I know how birthday parties can escalate in costs.....but I had my daughter's 1st birthday this past Sept, and had alot of kids from 1yr old right up to 14...the bounce house was a great hit! Kept them so occupied that I didnt even have to do much else with them! I found this place to be quite good(I shopped around a bit) they might have changed their names by now as the owner told me they were doing so,,,,but hopefully you can still reach them at this number. Owner is Efrin- Bouncing Parade-###-###-####. Bounce houses start at $99. I got a pkg deal with a Disney Castle Bouncehouse,cotton candy tables, chairs & a tent for $365. Good Luck
Hi Sandra,
Since you have, as you said, a big back yard at your disposal, you can do lots of activities with the kids. There is an internet site that I go to when I need ideas for kids and you can always adapt the games/activities to the age of the kids and most of the times you can substitute the materials you need with things you have in the house or yard. e.g. a sock filled with beans can be used as a ball. I get great Ideas from this site hope you do to.
http://www.funattic.com/game_list.htm
Enjoy and have fun at the party.
J.
My advice is that you use the back yard at your aunt's house to play sports. Maybe kickball since all you need is a rubber ball and you can use anything as bases. If you have more girls than boys, you may want to also do crafts or download and print coloring pages and crossword puzzles. If you want to make crafts at the party you can go to Michael's and pick up a few things that won't be very expensive at all. You may also want to do a scavenger hunt. The kids love this and you can hide anything anywhere and just provide clues.
Hi Sandra,
Well I hope this help you....
I did this before for a couple of my kids b-days
You print out a cardboard of Micky's back.. without the tail, then you put double side strong tape under the tale(tale is on a separate piece of cardboard or you can do it with cloth).
You get a dark clothes to cover the kids eyes and they have to make a line all of them to try to put the tail on mickey, they love this one whoever wins gets a price.
Then maybe you can have one of the big kids help you too, like an assistant for the face painting, get face painting from the custom store or party super store and have one of the big kids paint faces to the little ones, they love this too.
Then you can get like tittle chairs from big lots or any cheap store, put some tables and print out pictures of mickey out of the computer, get glitter and some washable paint and have some kids paint @ the same time...kids like to do different things @ the same time..just let them pick whoever does the best paint gets a price...then the last one, get a pole and have two of the dads help you on this, put some music and have the kids go under, till the pole is very low to the ground....etc etc
Hope this help you!!!!
Adele
____@____.com
You can think about using a Karaoke machine. I don't think it should be that pricey buy everyone loves Karaoke! You can have it with Disney theme songs.
i went to my friends daughter's party recently and the age group was 4-13. She did freeze dance, sack race, water balloon relay, tie a balloon to ankle and try to pop the other balloons and last one with balloon wins, dress up relay, each sack had a costume in it and they had to run to the line put on costume(over existing clothes) run back, take off and give to the next person and repeat. in the past she has done t shirt painting, the kids painted designs on the shirts and they were dry by the time they went home.
Hi Sandra,
The great thing about children is that it doesn't take a million dollars to keep them entertained :0) Remember that all ages of children are happy to be at a gathering w/ other kids and usually have fun regardless of what is "provided" for entertainment.
Weather permitting, squirt guns and water ballons are cheap & fun. (broken balloon pieces are not that great of an idea for your 2 yr old..or younger ones) Maybe have some "events" three legged races, egg toss, wheelbarrow races, etc...be sure to get the adults involved....kids like seeing us act like morons, LOL. Good luck and remember, it will be a good time had by all just from being together. Have a great time celebrating your child's birthday!
My advice - kids love simple, fun games and activities, as long as some of the parents play along and act enthusiastic. You don't need to spend a lot, especially at that age. My son is now turning 5, and we're about to have his first "school mates" party. And I am definately spending too much. When he was turning 3, we had a simple home party and our au pair at the time (I'm a working mom whose husband is out to sea half the year) came up with a fun game. Fishing. Go buy some dollar store toys. Have two adults (or older kids) hold up a blue sheet (the water) and put another adult behind it on the ground / floor, hiding with the toys. Let the kids take turns throwing a home-made fishing pole (stick with a string) behind / over the sheet and the adult ties on a toy / prize. The child is thrilled to see what they "catch".
Another idea - watch some episodes of Mickey's Clubhouse for theme ideas and set up an arts and crafts table with contruction paper, supervised scissors, glue sticks, Mickey stickers, etc. Have the older kids help and come up with craft projects (homemade hats, Mickey ears, books, birthday cards for the child of honor, pictures, etc.) to make or decorate.
I also live in Fort Lauderdale, if the weather is good, you could set up a kiddie pool with bubbles. Can't lose with bubbles at that age.
Ok -good luck. don't spend a lot and have fun!
