Quietish creative party ideas (not painting) for 3/4 yeas olds

[alex8]

I wanted a couple of ideas in case it rains. I thought about decorating biscuits or some sort of sticking type thing. Can't face it being too messy (ie painting or cooking) and I don't want it to be over in 3 seconds. (I know that can't be guaranteed though). I thought of buying some sort of elc kit as I have a new baby and not a lot os spare type for preparation.

Has anything worked for you?

Thanks

[eidsvold]

dd1 had a party last year - I printed off pics of butterflies ( her decorating idea) and did a treasure hunt - they got a sticker for each butterfly they found.

Also found this pack of very thick cardboard doorknob hangers - I did their names ' x's room' in permanent pen - all arty and glitter glue and then they decorated them with coloured pens and pencils. Washable pens of course in case it went onto clothes - you could give them pics to cut out and they could put them on the hanger - or glitter.

[alex8]

thanks I like the door hanger idea.

I thought about a treasure hunt but does your house not get trashed? Or do you just confine it to one room?

[katherinez]

Buy some plain party hats for them to decorate with stickers and the like.

[ohsmellyjelly]

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[ohsmellyjelly]

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[Lizzylou]

My friend had coloured cardboard crowns which the little ones then decorated with jewels/glitter/sequins etc, Mom's stapled them to fit head size and then the children wore them for the birthday tea. I think they came in a set, but you could improvise and get the decorations from ELC/Woolies/Tescos etc. It kept ages 2-5 yr olds very amused for a while.

[haggisaggis]

www.bakerross.co.uk do crowns that they can colour / stick things on. We did that at dd's party last year - I got a few stick on jewels etc from baker ross, and other stickers and stuff elsewhere. It kept them occupied for a while!

[FrannyandZooey]

Glitter glue pens on a terracotta type plant pot is nice

a teeny bit messy but should be ok

fabric pens on a fabric pencil case also good, see Baker Ross

[singingmum]

The others are right Baker Ross are a brill company for this sort of thing.We have bought from them a few times always happy with purchases and excellently packed and sent fast

[Lizzylou]

I'd never seen the Baker Ross website, it's fantastic... (DS1 on 1/2 term from preschool next week and weather's supposed to be not so good.)

[harpsichordcarrier]

I made plain fairy cakes and got lots of things to decorate - icing pens, sprinkles, smarties &c
last year I made paper plate fish - get a circular plate and cut out a triangle for he mouth, use the cut out triangle for a tail and add an eye, then get them to decorate and hang them all on a line
you could also try the cbeebies website for ideas/

[Twiglett]

baker ross

or gingerbread men (can make in advance or buy) .. plus coloured icing plus various edible toppings to stick on top

[FrannyandZooey]

or a nice long roll of paper laid out on the floor / long table with letters HAPPY BIRTHDAY X for them to colour in, add sparkly stickers to etc

if you have an outlet of The Works near you they have the long rolls for £1, or Ikea do humungous ones

[Twiglett]

or lining paper in B&Q for 99p

[Sparkler1]

Decorate a T-shirt. Best thing I have ever done at my dd's party. Bought lots of very cheap, plain white t-shirts. I borrowed fabric pens from a friend (I think they were Berol ones if that helps). They loved doing them and were there for ages designing their own individual ones. The finished product does need to be ironed to seal the ink on - so if you don't have an iron handy or have time perhaps pop them in a bag with a note for the parent's to do it when they get home. They are great as a take home gift instead of/as well as a party bag.

[harpsichordcarrier]

you could do musical colouring: everyone walk around a big sheet of paper with lots of crayons/felt tips (lining paper or the ones from Ikea/Works) and when the music stops they have to draw something
don't know how it ends though...

[Sparkler1]

pmsl

[DANCESwithnewlytannedlegs]

Oooooh, I like the t-shirt idea. How easy is it to use them on the cloth though?

[Sparkler1]

Very easy - just like felt tips.

[Twiglett]

can get fabric pens from bakerross .. but they're about £12 for a pack and you need to iron afterwards

I would have thought 3/4 year olds are too young for t-shirts though at a party (my 3 year old has done a couple because I sometimes do them to commission so have all the stuff but they're all squiggles and she doesn't really wear them)

[Sparkler1]

My dd did the t-shirts for her 7th birthday. Her sister was 4 at the time and absolutely loved it. They both wear their's quite often.

[PandaG]

photo frames - 3 for £1.20 from Ikea - decorate with stickers, glitter pens etc, then take photo of each child with digital camera, and print out pic to out in frame to take home. We did this at DD's party and it worked really well. If you have lots of guests can do a group shot and print multiple times

[Fimbo]

I bought plain white paper carrier bags (small ones, like takeaway bags) from ebay - decorate your own party bag! You could fill them with stuff they have made from the ideas here! Much more ethical than those horrid plastic bags filled with rubbish.

[PandaG]

we did exactly that Fimbo

[alex8]

brilliant ideas. thanks very much. I am spoilt for choice. Its a shame as I already have the party bags and stuff to put in as its a great idea to make a gift to take home instead of sweets and plastic crap. And the baker ross website looks great too. More shopping. At least I can do it and bf at same time.