a couple of questions about ds's 3rd birthday party

[hoxtonchick]

ds is 3 on sunday & we're having a party for him on saturday. 7 children are coming, it's going to be in our house. they are all almost 3. i'm not sure how much structure to have. the party's 2 hours long. so far i've planned to blow up lots of balloons & have general jumping around with them, pass the parcel & musical bumps. any ideas for simple games for 3 year olds? i reckon the food will take about half an hour, & am hoping no one will be on time! basically there's an hour to fill....

also, 1 boy is bringing his little sister who's a year old. do i do a party bag for her?

I think 2 hours is a long time to fill with 3 year olds.

They should just about be able to do P the P (and you could always do it twice, as sometimes young children don't get the hang of it until the very end). Another idea is a little treasure hunt - get them to find some gold chocolate coins left around your living room (in visible places).

A sing along nursery rhyme session is a good idea too.

And if you've still got time to spare, you could always unwrap the presents.

Good luck, and don't forget the most important part of a children's party - the gin & tonic for afterwards!

If they are anything like ds and his friends they will just want to do the jumping around bit! You could always get a few activities out a la toddler group and let them have a bit of free play time going from one to another, have selected toys out, do some cutting and sticking, playdough if you can stand the mess etc? Sleeping lions is a good game when you've had enough, when the music stops they all lie down and you prowl around trying to 'wake them up' - I can make the lying down bit last 5 minutes if I really need to . Maybe a bit of singing at the end, too?

thank you, thank you. ds & i could make lots of playdoh today (mental note, remember to take the rugs up). a couple of parties we've been to have been 3 hours - waaaaaaaaaaay too long.

dp is in charge of booze for parents. i'm 16 weeks pregnant so sadly no g&t for me - i'll be on here for a virtual one!

'what's the time Mr Wolf' has been a massive success at every 3 yo party we've been to recently.
also hide and seek around the house.
all games seem to be over incredibly quickly.
a 1 year old won't notice if she gets a party bag or not, but her brother might do on her behalf!

at the last party my 3 year old went to they had pass the parcel, musical bumps and stick the tail on the donkey (or some such themed thing).
By the time they have all arrived and settled down, played pass the parcel and other games, had food and cake then they will probably just want to play by themselves for the rest of the time.
Have a great time!

I asked this exact question back in Sept when my DT's were 3! (Sorry, no good at links or I'd find the thread for you!)

We had a small party at home and I too wasn't too sure how 'structured' I should make it.

In the end we did 'pass the parcel', played lots of dancing music (older dd got them going) and let them basically play with lots of toys and together. It seems to take a while for this age group to 'warm-up' to each other, I noticed, and they don't exactly eat quickly, so the tea took a while. Apart from the music, three year olds seem to love balloons - so your idea of lots will go down a storm, I suspect. Musical bumps might be good. Didn't have much success with 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey' at older dd's 5th birthday for some reason - some seemed worried by the blindfold and others just didn't get the idea at all, so not sure for 3's!

In the end it all went quickly actually and they all enjoyed it. I shouldn't try to structure it too much though. Most of all, have fun and happy 3rd to your little chick

Oh, btw yes - do a party bag for the little girl, even if it's just a mini one! In fact, I've learned to always have a couple of extra spare party bags just in case a stray brother or sister turns up. Nothing worse than not having a party bag to give to a hopeful guest, even if you weren't expecting them.

i am feeling a lot more relaxed about the whole thing now. thanks so much everyone. off to find your old thread now tinygang. i do have a few party bag extras though i think ds has his eye on them....

'Wake up Mr/Mrs Bear' is a good one, especially if you need to calm things down a bit. Get the littlies to sit in a circle, one lies down in the middle, everyone says "go to sleep Mr/Mrs Bear" and the one in the centre has to close their eyes, Get a bunch of keys and place them next to the sleeping bear. Next, tap one of the circle on the shoulder and they,very quietly, get up and take the keys from next to the sleeping 'bear'. The circle all put their hands behind their backs, including the one with the keys, then say "wake up Mr Bear". Bear then has to guess who has the keys, asks around the circle (sitting in the centre) "have you got my keys?" to each child who then show their hands to bear until bear finds the kid with the keys, then that kid becomes 'bear'. I've managed to get fifteen minutes out of this one in the past and every second counts! Good luck