Keep Them Entertained: Kids Home Birthday Party Ideas
Guest article by Silvia Savage, a mom of four who’s full of birthday party ideas.
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Home Birthday Party Ideas
Every year we are all faced with the same question: what to do for our child’s birthday party? From my personal experience, as children grow older, coming up with birthday party ideas gets a lot easier. But I remember those early birthday parties and the dilemma I was faced with (and still am, as my youngest daughter is five years old). I always want something unique and memorable, but something that doesn’t hurt the bank account too much. With four active kids, I’m looking for flexible hours, so that the birthday party can happen between the soccer game and the hockey practice. I know what the solution is: a home birthday party. I can make it as long as I want, and I can make it fit in our busy schedule.
The biggest challenge I have found in hosting a home party is how to keep the kids entertained. Below I share some birthday party ideas that have worked really well for my own children over the years, and all of them do not involve much work – there is something for every one!
Go Farther Afield
If your child has a summer birthday, the choices are endless. Both my boys were born in the summer, and all their parties have been outdoors. If you don’t have a backyard or your backyard isn’t big enough to host a group of kids, Vancouver has so many great parks and fields that it’s impossible not to find a great venue to host a birthday party.
Right In Your Own Backyard
Our backyard parties always involve water games: good old-fashioned water fights, water balloon games (and the possibilities here are endless!), a timed obstacle course which includes shooting at “targets” with super soakers, a slip-and-slide team game…I could go on and on. Perhaps the best memory I have is the one when my son turned six. I will never forget 16 six-year-olds “shooting” (with super soakers) at the five moving targets : my two older kids and their three friends – it was a great time had by all, and one of my favourite birthday party ideas.
Sports Day
Is your child a sports lover? Then you can have a soccer game at one of the many school fields. Just have the guests come dressed in either a dark or white shirt and you have two instant teams. The same can be done with baseball or road hockey – all of them will be a sure hit with the sport enthusiast in your family. There are no shortage of sports-themed birthday party ideas.
Dress It Up
I know that a birthday in the winter can be a little bit trickier. However, I have found that dress-up is a very easy to way to host a young child’s party. Young children have incredible imaginations and a natural love for dress-up. Why not let them enter a world of pirates, fairies, princesses, kings or wizards and have a birthday party experience to call their own? It’s easy to turn your living room into “fairyland” or a “pirate ship”, and a traditional game of musical chairs can easily be changed to musical lily pads, or musical islands. With dress-up, you don’t need to organize too much – children will use their imagination once they put on those costumes. If finding costumes for every one, or asking kids to come in their own costumes seems like an unreasonable request, there are companies out there that rent themed birthday party packages, costumes included.
Hire a Professional
Another popular option if you’re out of your own birthday party ideas is to hire a birthday party entertainer. There are many out there, including clowns and companies that provide science experiments right in your home.
Rent a Gym
Again, if your living room is not made to accommodate a group of children (or you simply don’t want to!), there are many gyms available for rent at a very reasonable price. Check your local community centre or church and you’ll find that most rent large rooms or gyms at a very good hourly rate. Plus, your home will still be in one piece after you’re done.
Without a doubt in my mind, home birthday parties are what children prefer. Over the years, I have found that the best birthday party ideas for my children have been the ones that were kept simple, yet managed to capture their imagination and sense of adventure. A birthday party at home doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience for the adults. I hope the suggestions above will help you in panning your child’s next memorable party!
Silvia Savage is a mom of four and owner of The Party Treasure, which offers complete themed birthday party kits that include everything you need for a fun and memorable party, delivered right to your door. Visit www.thepartytreasure.ca for more info.
Image credit – Steven Depolo on Flickr
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If you live in the Vancouver area and are looking for a great party idea for kids/teenagers you will want to check out the Mobile Gaming Arena from PlayPodz (www.playpodz.com). Our kids loved the video games and we loved how easy it was to plan and host – great idea!