Party Ideas for Toddlers. Birthdays: Little hosts and their guests!
Party Ideas for toddlers birthdays: Little hosts and their guests!
Planning a birthday party for little ones can be tricky. And it can get trickier if the guest list includes more toddlers than children old enough to understand a simple ‘no’.
To start with, most toddlers haven’t yet outgrown their naps. A successful party can only be planned around the times when the birthday boy, or girl is well-rested and in a mood to ‘entertain’ the guests.
When it comes to a theme for a birthday party for toddlers, party-planners are in luck. The little ones are not as discerning about themes as older kids. All the same, an appearance from their favorite animation character is sure to brighten up their moods, such as a princess, superhero, and/or fairytale character.
Toddlers love animals, since they are often surrounded by softies. A jungle theme is a good option in such cases, with wild cats, bears, rhinos and giraffes all over the party grounds!
Party Ideas for Toddlers
Another thing that can be a great birthday theme is nursery rhymes. There is a huge variety of rhymes to base your party on. Old McDonald and his coterie of farm animals, Twinkling Stars, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Lambs and so on. Find a rhyme that your toddler fancies the most and plan the party around it.
The menu of a toddler party, again has to accommodate tiny hands that like to feed themselves. Finger foods, cut up fruits and other healthy treats will have parents of your little guests thanking you for your thoughtfulness.
Set up a separate eating area for the little ones where they can play, pick and eat their food with little supervision from adults.
Similarly, low tables and chairs will be easier for the kids to settle down on at activity stations you set up to entertain them. Little hands love to get ‘icky’ with play dough. You can make your own play dough, in huge batches of various colors, or buy it ready made. Just make sure you have enough to go around, along with some other shapers, cutters and rolling pins that might be needed to keep the children busy molding things.
Party Ideas for Toddlers
Large lego blocks are a good activity, as are stacking cups that challenge motor skills. Both activities encourage parallel play and are a good way of keeping toddlers busy for a while. Remember each child is different and toddlers are more likely to play alongside each other than play ‘with’ each other. Sharing doesn’t come to them easily.
You can also set up a painting station where little guests can create their own masterpieces and take home with them. Make sure you have enough smocks to prevent any artwork finding its way on their clothes though.
It can be tricky to organize games with children at such a young age, they don’t understand what rules are for. The best bet is to think of a game where everyone can participate without having to stay in place for long periods of time.
You can have some basic toss and catch the ball type of games and improvise it with your theme, it could be toss and catch a softie, star, spider etc.
A sure hit with any children’s party, irrespective of age, is fairytale character, princess, and/or superhero party entertainment. These can be hired from a children’s party entertainment company.
If you want to cut down on your own planning and running around time, these companies can also be hired to do all the work for you, suggest ideas and themes to base your party on, as well as put up an appearance from a character of your choosing to enliven things up.
Last, but the most important, make sure you have multiple changing stations for your little guests, as well as a quiet corner for them to wind down and nap.