what to do at 3 yr old party?

[lfp2n]

OK thanks ladies for getting back on my no gift question, now I'm wondering what you are all going to do at your parties. I think there will be six 3yr olds at mine, we aren't having anything major like bouncy castles but I'm wondering whether to load up on playdough or balls. Do you think they should just play, or should I try and structure it a bit, it seems like they may be a bit young for organized games. What are you all doing/have you done to keep them entertained for an hour and a half.

Thanks

Lucy DD 3/03

[trumansmom]

We blew up balloons and the kids sat on them to pop them. Lots of fun for most kids, but the noise freaked out a couple of them. We also did pin the tail on the donkey, but that was a total bust! Hope others have some good ideas.

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04

[kelly ann]

Most of the parties we have gone to just have the kids play. I recently went to a 2nd birthday party and they had some crafts. It was fun, but most of the parents were doing the crafts and the kids didn't have the concentration. It could have just been the crafts chosen though.

One idea...

You could have them make their own pizzas and then decorate their own miniature cake or ice cream sundae (while the pizza cooks) - kind of like a cooking class. I know my 3 year old would absolutely love this. You can also hand out aprons for party favors personalized with their name.

[muskiesusan]

We pretty much just let the kids play as they are usually interested in seeing what toys we have. I did have foam stickers so they could decorate their party hats, but it was just laid out on a table for them to do when they felt like it.


Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[zoestargrove]

we haven't done anything organized yet, but I think for my son's 3rd birthday I'll plan a few activities. He keeps telling me he wants a pirate party...so, I plan on getting some pirate dress up accessories for everyone and leading them through a scavenger type treasure hunt.

I loved party games when I was a kid, sitting on balloons, musical chairs, three legged races, races where you carried an egg on a spoon, balloon tosses...I bet they'd like a pinata at three too!

[kransden]

For ages 2-3 we had a treasure hunt. I bought a bunch of little plastic animals from the dollar store and scattered them all over. They filled up their cups with them. I also had a sandbox and bought "gems" (those plant rocks from Wal-mart) and filled the sandbox with them. Kids just love finding things. You can hide things in the house too. If you don't have a lot of something they can "find" 3 or 4 or 5 of whatever they are looking for.

Another fun game is save the frog (prince). Print out alligators and scatter them over the floor. The kids have to hop through the gators without stepping on any to save the frog. Bigger kids hop on 1 foot.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[LBW]

We had our Music Together teacher come to DS's third b-day. She had the kids singing, playing instruments, and marching. It was wonderful. We also had a pinata.

I've been to parties with crafts, and it usually works well if it's a fairly simple activity. One great idea a friend's DH had was to have a bunch of paper airplanes made ahead of time. The kids spent a good 15-20 minutes flying them.

I have to say, most parties around here are at party places -- gymnastics, etc. So, the activities are all taken care of by the place.

[miki]

We had toddler crafts at my DD's last birthday and they went over well. Painting with brushes and rollers. Stamping with large foam stamps and large ink pads. Stringing animal shaped beads onto long pipe cleaners. And, not crafty but the kids liked it, a plactic bin full of dried beans that they could dig through and find some seashells. Kind of like the PP's treasure hunt. This was all done outside, by the way. I wouldn't recommend the paint indoors.

[jvorhis]

The last two years the kids have just played at Emma's Parties. This year we are doing a Dora Princess Party and I am going to try to follow something like this for the kids to do -

http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/ht...parties_3.html

This site has awesome ideas.

Good luck and have fun :-)

[laurena]

I was just at a 3yo party where the kids made pizzas and topped their own cupcakes. The mom had embroidered aprons with the kids names on it and gave wooden/metal cooking utensils as favors. Other than that, the kids just played and I thought it was a great party.

As one of my cousins pointed out, the parties just keep getting bigger every year, so no need to knock yourself out when they are really little b/c where do you go from there? :)