My son will be 4 in a month. I don't really want to spend the money on a party place -- I always had do-it-yourself parties growing up and I think it will be fun to have this as a project. Last year we were lucky with the weather (early spring in NJ can go either way) and had it at a playground with a few games and cake. I'm just looking for some ideas from other people who have done it themselves. We don't have a big house or yard, so my fingers are crossed that the weather will be good. He is into the usual 4 year old things -- trains, dinosaurs, space, superheroes, but it doesn't necessarily have to have a theme. There will be about 8 children there, a mix of boys and girls, all around the same age.
Thanks!
PJ Party mid-day! Everyone wears jammies and you can read spooky stories, have the kids decorate pillowcases, eat "midnight snacks", make the dining room table look like a bed (saw this in a magazine), serve pizza, juice and cake and you're all set!
The pillow case could be the "goodie" with a small bag of candy or (even better) a little book to go with it!
IMO young kids are so happy to have a chance to play and celebrate that no real "theme" is required - really, you could have some big empty cardboard boxes, sidewalk chalk, bubble wands, balloons, and beach balls and they'd probably have a grand time. And for a game you could always do some variation of "pin the tail on the donkey" (pin the flag on the pirate ship, pin the antennae on the space alien, etc.)
Last year for my son's 4th birthday party we had a pirate theme. All the kids came and made telescopes (is that what they are called?), colored their own bandannas, made foam pirate hats, and then went on a treasure hunt. We also had my sister there to paint their faces up like pirates if they wanted. It was SO easy and simple, but the kids had a blast! If you are interested in anything I did, let me know, and I will give you my info.
This year, I will be due with my second within a few days of my first's birthday party, so we will be going elsewhere. However, I had originally hoped to have a dinosaur party. I was going to bury "bones" in the sand box, create dinosaur masks, search for dinosaur footprints, and have them build their own dinos. I hope this helps and have fun!
We are doing a western theme. Using some refridgerator boxes to make a little town for pictures, making cowboy vests with paper bags, panning for gold in our sand box and a shoot out with water guns! Nothing too expensive, but tons of fun! Good luck!
L.
Licensed Kindermusik Educator
Grow and Sing Studios
http://www.growandsing.com
