My son turns 1 at the end of this month and I have a party planned for him at our house. The kids attending the party will range from 1 to 4. I don't have an extremely large house. I have a large backyard with few trees. I already thought of bubbles...and we'll rent a moonwalk if we have to. I would really like to keep it on the cheaper side, though. Does anyone have any ideas of activities we may do with this age group? Anyone have any suggestions of what they have done in the past?
This is the theme
http://www.birthdaydirect.com/birthday-party-supplies-cake-c-33_51.html
2006-08-07 07:31:05 · 17 answers · asked by mistiaya 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
I own a party planning business and as a professional trust me the moon walk is a BAD idea for a 1 year old. Technically the safety factor of a young child in a moon walk is not very good.
Kids at that age won't be able to particiapte for long periods of time in organized games and such. It is better to find simple things that take 5-10 min and spread them out over the length of the party.
Some simple things we have done are:
A kiddie pool filled with ballons of varying size and shape that they can play in.
If the weather is hot a simple sprinkler set up, because even guest not in swim attire can play in sprinklers!
We have made memory shirts. To fit with your theme... Get a large pillow case or adult shirt and have each guest put their hand in panit then stick it on somewhere. Make sure their name is written on or near the hand print. The decorate it up with 1st b-day info (name, date) It is a great keep sake of their first party. And the paint part is simple and fun.
2006-08-07 10:36:05 · answer #1 · answered by Kitara 1 · 3⤊ 1⤋
If it's warm enough turn on your sprinkler and let the kids run through it. Otherwise, kids love these cheap new years noise makers(but they will drive all the adults crazy). You could try fingerpaints or markers (I reccommend color wonder markers so they can't get colors all over the place) Other then that try sing along activities like london bridges or head shoulders knees and toes. If they are under 3 they will have have a hard time partaking in any organised activity and not much longer than 5 minutes if your lucky.
2006-08-07 07:38:39 · answer #2 · answered by cassandra581 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1.Pin the nose on the clown.(my daughters 1st party we did this quite a few times & the older kids liked it to)
2.Tug of war (they won't do that well but its fun to watch)
3.bubbles are good
4.fingerpaints cheap but let the parents know what the children will be doing!
5.Music game---Sit when the music stops or just dance
At One there are limited things you can do.....Wait til they are 3 or 4 for the moon walk.
Even then just getting involved with them is more fun than a bounce house.....I bought a whistle and coordinated different games (3yr) we had a blast!!!
2006-08-07 09:33:01 · answer #3 · answered by MindinChaos 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How about making hand prints of everyone that they can take home as part of their goodie bag. It goes with your theme and will be cheap and fun to do. 1 year olds love to finger paint so after they make the hand prints just let them finger paint on butcher paper or finger paint paper (something slick) and that will keep them occupied for a good long time. Just make sure to let parents know that there will be messy activities so no one is surprised.
2006-08-07 07:45:59 · answer #4 · answered by creative rae 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'm agreeing with the majority on this one.
at one year..these kids will not be really in tune with organized activities and a moon walk isn't necessary. think about a one year old's viewpoint, not the view of the parent's who will be there too.
maybe have a peanut scramble with little toys and candies.
also, bubbles and a sprinkler are good.
maybe some kickballs you can get cheap at wal-mart.
a sand box is great if you have one...but if not, then i wouldn't worry about it.
also...don't forget the cake and ice cream!
have fun!
2006-08-07 08:32:50 · answer #5 · answered by joey322 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'm doing a shaving cream table at my 3-year-old's party. just get a waterproof card table (or put plastic over one), slather it with shaving cream, and let the kids knock themselves out. (not literally.) or any version that lets all the kids have access to the good stuff.
it's basically just soap - you can have a hose there to help them clean up, but especially in warm weather like this, it just dries up and flakes off. TONS of fun - and make sure the cameras are handy!
yeah, we're doing bubbles, too!
2006-08-07 07:36:13 · answer #6 · answered by kwanyin_mama 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have a ballon pit, pick a room and fill it with balloons, and i do mean tons of balloons, kids love balloons, just make sure some one is always watching all of the kids, incase one were to pop, and make sure to discard any ripped, tor, or deflated balloons and all thier pieces so there is not choking hazards. tons of balloons should do the trick. they will have a blast hiding in them, throwing them and catching them. and at this age they usually play with them till they go home.
2006-08-07 10:25:03 · answer #7 · answered by derangdlilmonkey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the last answer. They are too young for a party like this. That's alot of wasted money on a one year old.
2006-08-07 07:34:58 · answer #8 · answered by Hot Pants 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had my sons first birthday at Build a bear. Get a baby pool and let them have a splash party!
2006-08-07 07:36:34 · answer #9 · answered by Blondie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What ever you do, they will only pay attention in the short term. Most likely they will just go off and run and run and do their own thing. Bubbles sound good though.
2006-08-07 07:34:38 · answer #10 · answered by bretto24 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋