Fun, Low Cost Home Birthday Party Games for Kids

Recently my daughter attended a 4-year-old girl's birthday party at a place where kids are welcome to eat and bounce on a giant inflatable thing. Think about that for a moment. Consider the combination of lots of excitable young kids eating pizza and cake and tons of treats and then bouncing repeatedly! If that's not a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is.

And that wasn't even the worst part of this party concept. It cost the parents $1000! Is it just me or is spending $1000 on a child's birthday party just wrong in so many ways? Aren't there better things that could be done with that huge sum of money?

We raised three girls and while I'm not saying we are the best parents ever and do everything right (but maybe we are and maybe we do...), we do one thing really well and that is birthday parties. We have a three-step, no-fail plan for parties. If you follow these three steps, you too can throw fantastic, fun parties for your kids and use your $1000 elsewhere.

Step 1: Keep the party small in both size and time. The rule of thumb says that you should have an attendee for every year of your child's age. So, your four-year-old has 4 guests, your eight-year-old has 8 guests, etc. While this may be difficult to stick to exactly, the concept is a good one. Children's parties shouldn't be huge and the truth is that the fewer kids you invite, the better the party is likely to be. Really. I love kids but the truth is that in large numbers they can be unruly. Keep the party small and keep it reasonably short. It will be fun and there will be a lot less crying. (On the kids' part and on yours, too.) Your party should be scheduled, too. Under age five, keep the party to an hour and a half. For slightly older kids, two hours maximum. Be sure to let the other parents know exactly when the party will begin and, even more importantly, when it will end. Talk to your child about which friends he'd most like to have at his party. Also talk about the way a good host behaves in a way which makes everyone feel welcome. Keeping the party small makes it easier for your child to be a good host, too.

Step 2: Have a schedule of party activities and stick to it. Great teachers will tell you that the best lessons are those that are well organized and well planned. So it is with birthday parties. Plan the activities in advance and make sure you have everything you need. It's important to make sure you know in advance what will happen at the party and how much time each part will take up. Involve your child in the planning and in the decorating. You'll be teaching her a terrific life skill too, because being a good host is a wonderful thing. And, she should be made to feel like she had a hand in her birthday party. It'll be so much more satisfying for her that way. Plus, she'll learn that family events are just that -- handled by a family working together.

Step 3: Do exactly what we do! Our birthday parties follow a 3-stage format. First, the arrival project, followed by the games/activities, ending with food. Here's how it works. Stage 1: As the kids arrive there is always a craft/art project set up for them to do. This is a terrific way to ease in to the party as the kids will arrive over a period of time and this keeps them engaged as they arrive and into the first 20 minutes of the party. The project can be as simple as decorating a birthday banner to as complex as making party animals. For the birthday banner you just buy a big roll of paper (like brown butcher paper or newsprint) and unfurl it on the floor. Have lots of crayons and markers ready and as each child arrives, he sits down and colors something or writes something on your child's birthday banner. After everyone contributes, you can hang the banner as a party decoration. Or, involve the kids in a more complex project like making "party animals." Have seats around a table (enough for every attendee, another reason for keeping the party small) or on the floor with all of the supplies in the middle. You'll need pipe cleaners and styrofoam balls, maybe some googly eyes (all of which can be purchased in craft stores or online) and other decorative pieces that can be glued on to each "animal." You'll also need glue. Each child will use the materials to create a "party animal." Kids love this project and it can also serve as a party favor to take home. Other easy and fun projects include: making puppets from old socks and buttons or brown paper bags (and then they can be used for putting on puppet shows during the party), making masks from paper plates and string (so they can be put on the heads and worn for a while during the party), fashioning creatures from modeling clay or Sculpey (which can be baked during the party so the creatures can go home with each child), decorating cookies on dough you've pre-made and will bake during the party or decorating cupcakes you've already baked and left blank ( a good project because each child can eat his cupcake for the cake part of the party). Any simple art or craft project that can be completed in about 15 or 20 minutes will work. It should be one that doesn't require too much direction, too.

So, the kids have arrived and created and 20 minutes of the party is already over! On to Stage 2 -- the main event, which is the activity/game section. For party games we had a few "go to" choices. Kids love Pictionary or Charades and each can be played in teams which is what you want to build camaraderie for a party atmosphere. We also had them play "The Price is Right" and they loved that. We bought inexpensive toys or art supplies for them to guess the prices and then those served as party favors, too. If it's a nice day and you have a backyard you can always send the kids on a peanut hunt. You hide peanuts (in shells) in the yard and give each child a bag to collect as many peanuts as they can find. Give them about 10 minutes to hunt and have a small prize for the child who finds the most. What's nice about this activity is that it gets the kids outside and moving around. Other fun choices include putting out a big box of dress up clothes and letting kids put on "costumes" and make up skits to act out for the audience of other attendees. When our kids were about 8-12, this was one of the favorite party activities. The kids loved "acting" and we videotaped the skits and showed them during the party. This was a win-win because the activity took up twice the amount of time and the kids loved putting on the skits and then watching themselves and others on the video. You can even post the videos online if you like so that the kids can show their parents what they did at the party. What matters here is that you choose a party game/activity that is appropriate to their age and will take up the right amount of time, about 45 minutes or so. We often throw "carnival" parties where we set up carnival-type games like a ring toss, a fishing hole (with plastic fish), a "Twister" section for two players at a time, Pin the tale on the donkey, a ball toss to knock down plastic bowling pins, a basketball throw (use laundry baskets for this one). The carnival does require some adult hands to guide each game and older siblings or cousins are great for this. Let your imagination run free when designing these games. Kids love the carnival theme!

Next comes the third stage of the party -- (stage 1 was arrival/art project, stage 2 was the activity/games) -- the food! You can make this as easy or as complex as you like. First remember that you don't have to serve a meal. Depending on what time you schedule the party, you can serve accordingly. If you don't want to factor in a meal and would just prefer to serve birthday cake and treats, schedule the party on a weekend afternoon about 2 or 3 and let the parents know that it's a cake-only event. But, if you do choose to serve a meal, keep it simple. Pizza is always a winner. You can even make cooking part of the party activity. How about having the kids make a big salad as part of the party lunch? The other parents will love you for it. The truth is that kids love to cook and will be so happy to do this. Another food choice is breakfast. Schedule a morning party on the weekend and serve the kids pancakes. Before you serve any food you'll want to make sure you check with the other parents about dietary restrictions. Nothing ruins a birthday party faster than a child having an allergic reaction to something you served!

After the food if you want to allow your child to open gifts, do so now. Kids (even the attendees to just watch the opening) do seem to love this part of the party. Be sure to review the courtesies of gift opening with your child just before the party. Make sure your child understands the concept of taking the time to sincerely thank each gift giver in a gracious way regardless of how he or she might truly feel about the gift. (This will also serve your child well when opening any gifts from well-meaning grandparents or relatives who have no clue what your child likes.)

By this time, your party should be just about ready to wrap up. Have an easy activity ready to be happening while you wait for the parents to come and pick up their children. Freeze dance is always fun and it's easy and free. Put on some music and invite the kids to dance. Every few seconds, stop the music and everyone must "freeze." Fun times are had by all.

So, there you have it. You can throw a terrific birthday party without spending a fortune or losing your mind. And, while the other parents are competing to see who can throw the fanciest party and spend the most money doing so, you can show them all the beauty of the at-home children's birthday party thrown with love and care and imagination. Enjoy!

If you like the practical parenting ideas you read here, please consider checking out my parenting book Raising Amazing Children (...While Having a Life of Your Own) or you can also order it on Kindle at a reduced rate. It's easy and fun to read and it will help you learn how to be a parent AND have a life of your own. What more could you ask?