Birthday Party - Chicago,IL

For my kids 6th birthday, I put notes in blown up balloons and they had to pop the balloon using no tools-jump on it, sit on it, etc. At first I thought it would be lame for them but they loved it. Each child had one and they had to act out or do the thing on the paper.

J., I am sure that you will get a lot of great ideas. You could fill a jar with items and have them guess the number. You could put different items in a box and have them feel them (with eyes closed) and have to guess what they are. Musical chairs or duck, duck, goose, if you have the room. The telephone game is fun, where they are in a circle and you pass a message around. Simon says is another good one.
Best of luck!

S.
mom of 7 y.o. and 4 y.o.

Hi J.,

You could try some tried and true games like:

*Clothespin drop (kids stand over an empty jar, touch clothespin to tip of nose, let it go and try to get it to fall in the jar)

*Make your own pin the tail on the donkey

*Scavenger hunt

*Bean bag toss (make your own bean bags - if you don't sew, it can be plastic snack size baggies - and toss through a hula hoop or a piece of cardboard. If you use the baggies, double bag them and tape them closed)

*Ping pong ball toss (into a bucket, they are super bouncy)

*"Who Am I" Guessing game (tape a piece of tape on each child's back and secretly write the name of a famous person on the back - the other kids can give them clues as to who that person is without revealing the actual name - the kids have to guess who they think they "are")

*Word scramble or crossword (perhaps with birthday-themed words including the birthday child's name)

Kids also love a "do-it-yourself" food bar, like make your own tacos or ice cream sundae.

Hope this helps. Have fun!

M.

If you haven't already gotten a cake, pick up a cake mix or two and some frosting. Do you have any sprinkles or colored sugars around the house from the holidays? You could make cup cakes ahead of time and make one of the activities a decorating game. Then the kids will each have their own dessert and a fun time.

S.

Hi J.,
We have played this game for years. We call it the box game!
Items you need:
1. Winter coat (bigger than the players, the bigger the better!)
2. gloves that would be too big for the players as well!
3. Boxes of all sizes (however many you want to wrap.)
4. 1 can of anything that is heavy. We usually use a big can of tomatoes!
5. duck tape
6. dice ( you only use one though)

Prepare the boxes before the party. You are trying to make it somewhat difficult to get into each box! Put the can of (whatever you choose) in the smallest box and tape it up and continue to place each taped up box into the next size box until you have a decent size box and have at least 5-6 boxes to unwrap before you get to the can! Wrap the last box with wrapping paper to make it look pretty!

Game play go like this:
You need a large space around a table. Put the wrapped up box in the middle of the table along with the oversized coat and gloves. The birthday girl gets to roll 1 dice first. She will start rolling the dice and keep rolling until she rolls a 6. She then needs to hurry up and put the coat and gloves on and start attempting to unwrap the "present". In the meantime, the next player (to the left) starts rolling the dice (at the same time the player is trying to open the present). They will continue to roll the die until they roll a 6. When they do, the player with the coat and gloves needs to stop trying to open the present, give the coat and gloves to the player who rolled the 6. The player(who rolled the 6) then puts on the coat and gloves and attempts to open the boxes. As soon as a player rolls a 6, they can get the hat and gloves (putting them on) and trying to get into the boxes. So as a player is trying to roll a 6, the player previous player is trying to get into the box.
The object to the game is to get into the last box and get the can. Whichever player does that, wins a prize! It is fast paced fun game that adults and children can play at the same time.
If you have any questions please feel free to message me!Have fun!
K.

How about having a make-n-take party. You can have all sorts of materials for the children to work with. They can make their own party hats and projects to take home. How many children are you inviting? I may have some materials and/or books you can use.I teach too.

Little girls love freeze dance. You could send them on a short scavenger hunt in the neighborhood, weather permitting. You could borrow a kareoke machine from someone and do that. You could make your own ice cream sundaes. Good luck.

"spa parties" are pretty popular in my area. Maybe you could enlist the help of a friend and each girl could get her hair styled and maybe nails painted or make-up done. Something light and easy, not a salon make-over. Good luck.