Your venue is booked, the cake is ordered and the invites are sent — you’re a pro at planning your kid’s party. But you’re not done yet. For the party to be true success, you’ll need to prep a few interesting things for your little guests to do. “You can’t plan fun, but you can plan fun activities,” suggests Adrienne Humphrey, owner of craft studio The Best Time Ever. Pick and choose the most age-appropriate activity for your birthday group from the following seven birthday crafts. These projects will keep kids entertained and double as party favors, giving you one less thing to plan!
Get ideas for easy birthday party games
- Print Infinity Scarf
Bobbi Conner, author of “The Giant Book of Creativity for Kids,” suggests kids make their own homemade scarf. It’s easier than it sounds if you ask guests to bring an old light-colored T-shirt. Cut off the neck, sleeves and bottom few inches of the shirt, keeping only the mid-section to create a loop-scarf. Place cardboard between the layers to keep paint from bleeding through and set out plastic plates filled with fabric paint. Have guests dip cut-up sponges or stamps into the paint, then press the items into the scarf to print a design. When dry, flip the scarf and print on the reverse. “Let each child decide upon a basic design before he starts, or he might just create a spontaneous design with several colors of fabric paint,” Conner suggests.
- Snow Globes
You can make it snow, no matter the time of year. Give each child a glass jar (this is best for kids a little older who will be careful with the glass) and set out small plastic animals or character figurines. Glue the items to the inside of the lid with waterproof glue. Fill the jar with a mixture of water and your child’s glitter color of choice. Close the jar and seal the edges with glue. Shake and enjoy! Make sure you have bags on hand so party guests can bring these home safely.
- Musical Instruments
Skip the party music and let your little guests be the entertainment. Gather soda can pop tabs, oatmeal containers, plastic milk jugs, tissue boxes and rubber bands for kids to create their own instruments. Let them decorate their container of choice with paint or colored paper before building your band. Wrap rubber bands around tissue boxes for a guitar, put pop tabs in milk jugs for fun shakers and add wooden chopsticks to oatmeal containers for an easy drum. For very young guests, fill plastic Easter eggs with rice and dried beans, glue shut, and let them decorate their egg shakers with stickers.
- All About Me Coasters
This birthday craft idea comes from Rhonda Conry, president of Art from the Heart Classes. Give each child four 4×4 inch tiles (sold in hardware stores) in your color of choice. Take four “personality” photos of each child making funny faces, then print using photo paper before trimming to 3×3 inch square. Use Mod-Podge glue to paste the photos to the tiles. Once they’re dry, use permanent makers to decorate the borders. Place the coasters in a mini burlap bag for guests to bring home.
- DIY Stuffies
Ask guests to bring an out-grown soft item of clothing, such as an old fleece sweatshirt. Adults can help trim the item into an unusual shape before sealing the seams with no-sew fabric glue. Leave a small hole and stuff the shape with craft store pillow stuffing before closing the seam completely. Kids can attach felt pieces, yarn and googly eyes to create their very own soft stuffed creature to snuggle with.
- Glass Jar Lanterns
Your party animals will love tearing paper apart before putting it back together again. Set out colored tissue paper, and let the kids rip it up into irregular shapes and sizes. Paint the inside of a glass jar with white glue, then stick the pieces to cover the inside of the jar. Let them dry, then insert a battery-operated tealight into the jar for a fun, flickering effect. “They can use it as a table decoration, a night light, a pencil holder on their desk,” Humphrey says. “They’re useful and pretty — almost stained glass-esque!”
- Teach and Learn
Got a skill you’re proud of? Teach it! Whether you knit, create origami or can demonstrate how to draw cute baby animals, share that skill and send each guest home with some memorable birthday crafts!
Need some extra help organizing or setting up the party? Hire a babysitter or housekeeper to help out for a few hours.
Need some ideas for planning a party? Try these Creative Ideas for Kids’ Birthday Parties.
Cara J. Stevens is the author of nine books for kids, including “After School Stuff,” “After School Stuff: Cool Crafts” and “60 Super Simple After School Activties.” She and her kids spend their spare time and snow days coming up with crafts using recycled objects.
