3 Year Old Birthday Party

The fishing game is good. Get a kids fishing pole or a broom handle or other stick with a 3 foot string. Tie a clothes pin on the end of the string. Purchase small prizes you can easily clip in a clothes pin, keeping in mind who the party guests are, adults inculded. In a door frame, use a sheet or blanket, blue if you have it, to block the door way from the bottom to at least half way up. A grown up hides behind the sheet with all the party guests on the other side. The guests "fish" by casting their line over the sheet and waiting for three good tugs and then pulling their line out to see what they've caught. This game is hilarious for kids and grown ups alike because you can get silly gifts specific to each guest. Be sure to have someone on the guest side of the sheet vocalize who's up to fish so that the person filling the "hook" gets it right. I love this one because everyone wins. Have fun.

I also have an almost three year old and what we are doing for her birthday is having a "pool" party. We are going to fill up a few wading pools and have some sidewalk chalk and bubbles on hand as well as a sprinkler going. Also I have older children and at this age they do not remember their parties so it is more for us. Just ask what she wants, I am sure she will let you know
!:)
M.( wife and mother of 4)

Hi C.: We just celebrated my daughter's 3rd bday. These days everyone seems to go someplace, like Pump-It-Up or other kid venues, but I actually like having parties at home. Since the kids are still pretty young, I didn't think they would keep focused on too many activities, so I wanted to keep it simple. I also didn't want to prepare too much - getting the snacks and decor ready is enough to focus on! So I remembered that Penny of Penny's Puppets (www.pennypuppets.com) does home visits (she used to do the shows at The Children's Museum). It costs $125 for a show,but that is cheaper than going somewhere else and she was A HUGE HIT with all of the kids - ranging from 2 to 5. That also set a puppet theme for our activity. We made puppets out of paper bags. Nothing like a bunch of paper lunchbags, glue sticks, foam cut out pieces, miscelaneous tissue pieces, and different size googly-eyes to keep the kids occupied. You can also purchase Puppet making or Monster making kits for a very low cost at www.discountschoolsupplies.com. I ordered the monster kits there once and my daughter got endless enjoyment out of creating her own monsters. Every now and then I pull out the parts and glue stick and she has a go at it. The kit lasts a long time. Hope this helps and HAVE FUN!

I made up a simple game at my friends party since she didnt have anything planned. It was a cross between hot potato (but we used a balloon) and musical chairs. All ages could play. Just get the kids in a circle and start some music. Pass the balloon around the circle until the music stops. Whoever is left with the balloon is 'out'. If there are lots of kids you can start out with 2 or 3 balloons unti the circle gets smaller. It was really easy and lots of fun.

HI Christie, with three year year olds, what I have found to be the best experiences are having the party at a children's museum if your town has one (or Chucky Cheese--whatever is available). Have the kids draw until everyone arrives, then eat a quick snack (sandwhiches, pizze, juice boxes) cake, open presents and off to play in the museum, park, etc. for the rest of the time. Their attention span is short and they need to move so the faster the eating and presents, the better!

I'm glad you asked the question because my daughter is turning 3 at the end of the month, and she is going to have a couple of friends over and probably a lot of adult friends/family members. My daughter has requested that we play dress-up, and she happens to have a lot of princess dresses for her little girlfriends to wear. We have one boy coming, so I think I'm going to get some things for him to put on, too (although he is a good sport and will wear dresses if he must!).

You might try googling party ideas... I have found some fun and creative things to do when I've done that. I have an 8-year-old son who enjoys helping with the festivities, so asking your son to participate might be a good way to include him. Last year I covered my kitchen table with butcher paper and my husband made "placemats" for each kid, using crayons to draw on the paper. Then when my daughter and guests came, each had a box of crayons that they could use to enhance their placemants and make more creations... very fun to draw right on the table and even the adults joined in.

Good luck ~ and have a fun party!

Jen (wife and mother of two redheads!)

Hi C.-
We bought the game Elefun for my daughter's 3rd b-day, and the kids- of various ages- really liked it. The kids also decorated 'magic wands' (star sugar cookies on a stick) I put the icing on and put various shaped sprinkles in a small cup for each kid and they put the sprinkles on, then either ate the cookie or I put it in a bag for them to take home. The kids also made bracelets.
Have a good time!
K.