Birthday Party Ideas for Children Ages 2-12

Need a few birthday tips and ideas for the next birthday party in your household? Here’s a variety of suggestions that we think will help you make your child’s birthday party fun, special and easy for you.

Your child’s birthday party should be a fun and memorable experience for your child and for his or her guests. Here’s how you can pull it off:

• Let your child choose the theme of her birthday party and be actively involved in the planning stages of the event. Have her write the invitations if she are able.
  
• Have your child greet each guest at the door. This will help her guests feel welcome and will help her learn how to be a great hostess.
  
• Have a birthday party table or counter space available for the presents. Ideally this place should be a place where all of the guests can sit comfortably and see your child open the presents.
  
• If you order a pizza or another ‘hot food item’ leave it in the oven before the guests are read to eat.
  
• Avoid games, which leave some of the guests with nothing to do. A birthday party can be a nightmare if one of the guests is unhappy. If your child insists on playing a game from this genre, provide additional activities which the guests can do while they are waiting for the game to end.
  
• If you plan on making a birthday party craft with the guests, make sure you create a prototype, for the guests to see and for you to gauge the difficulty level of the craft before the birthday party begins.
  
• When opening gifts make sure that your child acknowledges who has given her each gift and that she thanks every guest.
  
• A party favor or a goody bag is a nice way to end birthday parties. Your child can say goodbye to each guest with these items.
  
• Book special events in advance. (i.e. Children’s museums, Pizza Parlors, Arcades, Fun Houses, Tumble Bus Birthday Parties, etc.
  

Birthday party themes, games and activities are perhaps the most memorable parts of your child’s special day. Here are some ideas that will make your child remember her birthday party for a long time to come:

1. For the scientific child, help her to set up a series of fun science experiments that all of the guests can participate in. For a treat, serve the guests green sherbet with cream soda or ginger ale.
   
2. For the ‘fashionista’ in your life, divide the guests into two teams and have them race to put on designated outfits and accessories. Once they put the clothes on they must quickly walk or run down a run-way and pose for a picture. (You might need other parents or family members to help with this one). This is a birthday party she will never forget!
   
3. For older children, play ‘1-100’. This game requires 2 dice, one piece of paper and a pencil or a pen for each guest. Have each guest write his or her name on the piece of paper leaving space to write 1-100 below the name. Then, the birthday girl gets to choose someone to go first. The chosen individual will role the dice and if he or she does not get doubles then he or she will pass the dice to the next player. If however, the first player does get doubles then he or she will begin to write 1, 2, 3, 4,…….etc. under until another player roles doubles. The dice will continue around the table and when the dice returns to the first player and he or she gets doubles again then that player would begin where he or she left off. Whoever gets to 100 first, wins!
   

Birthday gifts and surprises don’t have to include Barbies and Gameboys. They can also include the following:

• Ballet Classes
  
• Gymnastics Classes
  
• Sports Equipment
  
• A Mini-Trip
  
• A Trip to a Space Museum with Mom or Dad
  
• Breakfast in Bed
  
• A New Book on Tape
  
• Language Lessons
  
• Puzzles
  
• A Book of Science Projects+ Materials
  
• A Trip to their favorite Restaurant
  
• A Recipe Book for Kids, etc.
  

Remember parents, what your children want the most is time with YOU! Give your kids the gift of time.