Over the last few weeks I have posted ideas on birthday party food which I used at my son’s 3 year old party in early May. If you missed them they were:
For this age group I have a personal preference for having activities for the kids rather than games. Sharing and turn taking for 2 to 3 year olds is a developing skill. Expecting co-operation for intricate games in the exciting setting of a birthday party is a big ask. It is certainly possible, but I have lent towards activity based parties where the kids can create and move about with greater freedom.
For Babaganouski’s 3rd birthday party the theme was loosely based on construction and I had three key activities through out the 1.5 hour duration of the party.
Construction
This was the first activity for kids to do upon arrival. I went to the fabulous Reverse Art Truck and purchased a large garbage bag full of odds and ends for the kids to construct with. If you aren’t familiar with the Reverse Art Truck it is located in Ringwood (Melbourne) and is a non profit organization which collects rejects, seconds and factory offcuts for distribution to schools, early learning centres, community groups and individuals.
The biggest hit by far was the foam shapes with sticky backing. The kids just had to peel off the back and stick them on to the cardboard off cuts They could stick them together like bricks and made all sorts of buildings etc. The first photo at the top was taken after the party and shows only the remnants of what was left of this popular material.
Hammering
Thankfully the rain held off, so we could then go outside for the next activity. (Some kids chose to stay inside and kept working on their constructions which was also fine.) When our kids have turned two they have all received their own mini toolbox, complete with real hammer, nails, screwdrivers, screws, nuts and bolts. I used these hammers and bought a couple of extra small hammers from the $2 shop.
You can see that the object that they are hammering into is and part of an old tree stump. I had three of these, all of which have been weathered, so are very easy surfaces to hammer into. The nail that we used are called Clouts. They have a very large head, so make it easier for the little ones to hit.
Just in case you were wondering, there were 6 hammers and there were no accidents!
Chalk Drawing and Water Painting
As we had more children than hammers and wood, I also had chalk for the children to draw on the bricks with. I had along side this set up 3 buckets of water and numerous paint brushes (also from $2 shop). The kids could either paint off their chalk drawings or just use the water to paint the bricks.
After this it was back inside for their individual lunch boxes and honeycomb ice cream birthday cake. I think 1.5 hours is definitely long enough for a three year old birthday party – especially for mum!