Birthday Party Games Lady Blog

With good birthday party games, you should have no trouble keeping your partygoer’s engaged and on track with the planned activities rather than causing problems and wrecking the party. UNLESS you’ve loaded them up with all the sugar that’s in all the traditional party foods. The excitability that sugar creates makes it much harder for the kids to stay focused on your games, and that can be ‘death’ to a party that’s enjoyed by all- including you.

Candy isn’t the only evildoer here either. Those chips and pretzels are just as bad: the simple carbs in them are converted to sugar way faster than the complex carbs in fruits and vegetables. So you’re not just sending them home on a sugar high- you’re getting the nefarious effects on your watch.

And the kids don’t have to groan when they see your healthy food presentation. You can make it attractive and inviting without the nasty results. My favorite, and a big hit with the kids, has always been chocolate covered strawberries.

A foray onto the web for other ideas turned up lots of good resources. To start, you’ll find a quick list at Kids Party Advice. There’s a yummy sounding apple treat at Penelope Plans. Scroll through all 10 screens of healthy snack ideas at FamilyFun. For vegetarian and dairy/gluten free ideas, check out the list at Adorable Gift Baskets. Lastly, I found 3 more good ideas at girl.com.au.

And for a drink that is also a healthful snack, that helps fill them up a bit and keep the munchies at bay, try one of these delicious smoothies. Making these could even be one of your party activities- I’m sure your neighbors would lend you a couple of extra blenders for the day of your celebration.

One idea always seems to lead to another: how ’bout a smoothie making competition as part of the Survivor Party smorgasbord of games - the best tasting combination wins? You just supply the fruit/yogurt/milk ingredients and they create/drink/choose the winner? Take it one step further and have them create green smoothies - a twist on eating bugs or some similar gross Survivor type challenge that might even show them that healthy can actually taste good!

So don’t let the sugar highs ruin your birthday celebration. Combine these food ideas with any of the great games from Birthday Party Games Lady and your group of kids will be having a ball doing what there supposed to be doing and not turning you into the bad cop. Have Fun!!

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I keep reading about this gift idea as I troll the web for new and interesting kid’s birthday party ideas. At first glance, I thought “Nah- no kid is going to really like this”, yet it sticks with me as something we parents should teach our children to do. Give to others.

I’ve now read several blog posts about kids deciding that instead of presents, their party guests should bring a contribution to a charity or organization that’s meaningful to the birthday child. Things like a medical organization in honor of a classmate or relative suffering from that disease. To help their summer camp offer assistance to kids that can’t otherwise afford to attend. The ASPCA if a cherished pet has passed on. Even just to buy a few books for the school or local library.

So many party presents are interesting for about a minute and then get put aside for good. Or never interest the child at all because it’s just not “their thing”. And that’s truly a waste of money, which is a silly thing to do.

And while a birthday party is indeed a celebration of the birthday child, it needn’t be totally self-centered. The party itself is a gift from your child to his or her friends. We parents rarely communicate this fact to our children, and it’s the perfect lead-in to suggesting that the presents be used to help others less fortunate than the birthday child.

They’re never to young to learn the joy of giving to others. Don’t force it on your child, but a well timed suggestion well ahead of time might just have surprising results that are good for your child as well as others. It can be a win-win! And what could be better that othewise “wasted” money on presents that aren’t really appreciated going to do real good for people in need.

Just so you know I practice what I preach, my birthday party games website contributes $1 from every premium party order to Save the Children. There are so many needy and worthwhile organizations out there, but I chose this because ALL children are important, not just our own.

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I always threw away the candy in the loot bags my kids brought home from birthday parties- they’d already had enough sugar when they walked back in the door. And the little toys they got to bring home always broke or were put aside within about 5 minutes. AND- someone spent a bunch of money on this stuff for each kid at their party!

There’s just no need to waste your money this way. I’ve created 4 party favors you can use instead, each a more memorable take-home for your guests and each costs almost nothing. Just customize them and then print them out for your guests. All are available to anyone who wants them.

Having just discovered the HubPages site, I’ve put these 4 party favor ideas up there. If you like these ideas and think they’re useful, please help me out with a thumbs up rating. And if you’ve got other party favor ideas that are cheap and easy, please add them in the comments section on the hubpage. Thanks!

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6 year olds are still little kids, but having been to school they think they’re more grown up so you’ve got a fine line to walk in keeping them properly entertained at your birthday party.

Keep as much as possible a group activity. You’ll avoid any meltdowns from performance anxiety that even a simple game like Charades can induce in some kids. Mix the groups up as needed to prevent the group dynamics from getting out of hand; they’ll just think the changes were part of your original plan.

Directions for what they’re going to be doing need to be kept simple and short to match their abbreviated attention spans. Adding a twist to a game or activity that they already know how to do or play keeps the instructions brief and allows you to bend things to reflect your overall theme. Continuing your theme from one activity to the next will also help keep everybody on board and tuned in.

Be flexible. If a certain activity isn’t engaging the kids or you’re seeing frustration, give it up and move on to another activity. Have more activities ready to go than you expect to use just to cover this situation.

Small motor skills are still all over the lot with 6 year olds, with some kids able and some not. Therefore, I don’t recommend craft activities for this age group as some may have a very hard time, be embarrassed, maybe even act out. It’s important to remember that your child isn’t the only one at the party and what your child can easily do may be difficult for others ( and, of course, vice versa).

Lastly, I strongly recommend keeping the sugar intake to a minimum with this young age group. I’d rather vacuum up the popcorn that gets spilled than deal with 10 sugar highs.

You can see more of my thoughts on birthday party games for 6 year olds on my website.

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We all know that the kids coming to your son or daughter’s birthday party aren’t coming for the food. Not even the cake. As long as they’ve got fuel in their tank, they really don’t care what they’re eating at a party. So why not surprise them with something unique and different from the usual?

I love it when someone finds a unique something that can be incorporated into a birthday party and makes the kids smile. Check out this personalized jello mold on goodyblog.com. It’s reasonably priced, and obviously you can use it again and again. The personalization should certainly please the birthday child and everyone will get a kick out of it. Stick some candles in it and I bet they’ll find it all hilarious! And as the author so aptly points out, anyone can make jello. And can make it in far less time than it takes to make that cake and write the birthday child’s name on it in icing.

I’m always in favor of making the whole party process as easy as possible while fun and unique, just as I do with the 5 party packages from Birthday Party Games Lady.

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You want a truly unique birthday party for your child, and you figure you can’t have that when you purchase a party package on-line? NOT TRUE!!

Many of my clients add their own ideas and make subtle (and not so subtle) changes to my birthday party games packages that add a whole new dimension to the party. It’s not necessary, and usually adds to the cost, but the results can be well worth it.

Here’s a good example from Joanne in North Dakota:

[We] had Taylors b-day party [the Magica theater party game] this past Sat. and the girls had a blast!!! Taylor was of course the main princess and we rented a beautiful dress and had her done in an “updo” and had a tiara. All of the girls were dressed in their parts and at the end stated, “this was the best b-day party ever!” The parents loved it as well.

The castle was fun to make as my husband made that out of boxes and he painted them. He also made the drawbridge and dungeon out of a box.

The girls held their scripts for the play, but some also memorized their parts. It took a while to run through the first time. The best part was the girls were entertained the entire 3 hours and were never bored. After the first run through, we had presents and build your own sundaes and then went through it 1 1/2 more times before parents arrived.

My daughter wants to do a “part 2″ for next year—–any ideas??? haha

She loved to get dressed up and get her hair fixed. All the girls were in 3rd grade.

Making the props took the longest time [and is totally optional] —everything else was easy.

For the price of a rented dress and the salon visit, Taylor really WAS a princess for her day. You can bet she’ll remember this birthday for a long, long time.

Don’t be afraid to add your own ideas- the results can be terrific. As my birthday party packages are designed to save parents as much money as possible, I don’t include these add-ons, but there’s room for them in each of my 5 birthday party games packages. Your birthday party ideas + my games = TRULY UNIQUE and MEMORABLE.

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I”m all for saving money- that’s one of the main reasons I created my birthday parties for my own kids that are now available to other busy parents on the web. So here’s a tip for your birthday party…

There’s no need to spend your money on those fancy birthday party banners. You can make one yourself in a flash. It’s easy. And it’s a fun way to ‘decorate’ for your party without spending much money or time. The kids don’t much care about decorations anyways- they just want to have fun.

Just buy a roll of paper, standard width is fine. You should be able to find rolled paper at CVS or Staples, but if not, they definitely have them at the craft stores like Michael’s. Grab some of those stick-up squares while you’re there so you don’t ruin your paint.

Cut the paper to the length you need, based on where you’re going to put it. If over an opening, make sure to leave a few extra inches so you can attach it. But don’t make it too long or the weight will rip it or make it sag.

Then, cut the letters for “Happy Birthday Susie!!” or whatever your message is out of colored construction paper. If you want fancy, use one or more of the fancy origami papers instead. Or cut from glossy magazine pictures, fabric scraps, wrapping paper scraps. Make the letters about 10” tall, assuming your paper roll is a 12” width. Using your child’s glue stick, glue them on the roll.

Decorate with Clip Art that you’ve enlarged and printed, based on your party theme or your child’s interests. Or use photos of your child. Or leave it plain.

Tack it up with the sticky squares, and VOILA!! You’ve got your birthday banner to greet your birthday party guests.

If it sags a bit, take it down, attach a small piece of paper to the back in the middle at the upper edge (to give you a 2 ply spot), and make a hole with your hole punch. Slip string through the hole, put it back up and tack the string up in the center to give it a bit of support.

And if you’re looking for other fast birthday party tricks, check out my 5 complete birthday party theme packages for kids age 6 to 13.

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Birthdays mark the progression through life, and for kids it’s a very rapid progression through the magical years of childhood. They change so fast and learn so much. I’m not really that much different this year than I was last year, but your 6 or 8 or 11 year old is VERY different this year. As parents, we need to stamp these years into our memory because you’ll never have the child you have today tomorrow- he or she will be quite different. The birthday and the birthday party mark all these transitions. And it’s the perfect opportunity to create lasting memories of a time that will be gone forever.

Enough philosophy, but an email I received from a customer got me thinking along these lines. Renee wrote to say:

“I wanted to let you know that we haven’t had the [Medieval Madness] party yet. It is scheduled for October27th and my daughter and her sister have had a blast planning it. My 12 year old is sewing her own medieval dress and her friends are as excited about the upcoming event as she is…one parent has already asked if they can come too. I don’t remember when we have had so much fun planning a birthday party.

Of course I will send an email after the party to let you know how it went but I know it will be fantastic.”

I’m delighted when I hear that parents have done the preparation for one of my party packages WITH their birthday child. Doing things together is another of the childhood joys that slips away as they get older. Getting things ready together makes it a family affair, not just MY birthday party. And it’s yet another memory of a time soon gone by.

All of the birthday party games packages from the Birthday Party Games Lady (except for the Detective Party as it would ruin the ‘mystery’) can involve the birthday child in the preparation, so go for it!! And your party will then really be a Celebration instead of another chore to get through.

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Early elementary school kids ages 6, 7 and even 8 are beginning readers and still not very good at following directions or staying focused. To keep them involved in your party rather than veering off in their own direction, your games must be simple and straightforward and relatively short.

You need to plan a variety of short games, each with simple rules of play. One task at a time, and wrap it up before moving on to the next activity. But just because they’re not yet good readers doesn’t mean they can’t think or solve problems! Provide simple challenges that they can meet, and the fun level will rise accordingly.

At this age and developmental level, your party invitation takes on extra importance. A standard invite to what appears to the child to be a standard birthday party will create very little curiosity about what they’re going to be doing.

The young child’s natural curiosity is a factor you want to use to your advantage. Structure your invitation to create curiosity and excitement about the unknown, and the kids will immediately be drawn into your activities- just to find out what it’s all about. Once engaged, good games will keep them that way and avoid problems for you.

Stay away from games that require any one child to ‘perform’ solo, such as charades. Some kids this age love being in the spotlight, but there’s usually one or two that start shaking the minute they realize what’s expected of them. That anxiety can cause the behavior to head south, create other behavioral problems in it’s wake, and then you have to step in as the bad guy. No Fun. Stick to all group activities.

Many parents believe the answer to those short attention spans and possible behavior problems is to spend a bunch and take the kids somewhere to do something. This party option is not only very expensive; it doesn’t really solve the problem. These places usually provide one activity over the duration of the party and these young kids have difficulty staying focused on that one activity for so long.

To see how best to structure a birthday party for this age group, take a look at the Survivor Party Games at the Birthday Party Games Lady website. Short, simple, silly games strung around a theme the kids find interesting and exciting. Team activities that incorporate simple challenges and keeps all the activities in a group framework.

I’ll be posting soon about the age factors you need to consider in planning birthday party games for older kids, so stay tuned. Or, check out the birthday party games for older kids.

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Every great mom knows that having the right birthday party tips and tricks is one of the only ways to stay sane when planning her child’s yearly celebration.

And the most important of those is the games and activities that you provide for the groups enjoyment.

Age is perhaps the single most important factor in choosing your party activities. Don’t ask a bunch of 6 year olds to play a game that takes more than about 15 minutes- they need a series of quick moving and short games to stay tuned in. The older they are, the more you can ask them to think as part of the fun. Trust me- they’re not only able to think, it enhances their fun.

Good birthday party tips and tricks will not cost you a fortune. The best parties will be remembered for a long time by the kids who attend because they are fun and different from all the other parties they go to. Not because they ate their cake off an expensive cartoon figure plate.

Traditional games for birthdays are overdone. Every child has been to a celebration where they played Charades. Ho-Hum. But twist this old stand-by game up a bit and put it in the context of a Harry Potter theme, and you’ve got your group casting spells! They won’t even realize that they’re playing Charades. And no one will think it’s just another Ho-Hum party.

Does your little girl and her friends love to dress up and put on little skits? Turn their enjoyment of this very traditional activity into your whole party where they dress up and act out a favorite fairy tale (and they end up doing all the work, not you).

Treasure hunts are one of the oldest of party activities, and not so overused in this day and age. But spice it up by having them hunt for clues to a mystery and it takes on a whole new dimension of fun.

One place to find these quality birthday party tips and tricks is with the Birthday Party Games Lady. She has been planning parties since her girls were little, and she understands how to make children’s birthdays special, memorable, and affordable. When you purchase one of her kits, you will have all that you need to have the best birthday celebration possible. For example, her Magica Party kit helps you plan a fairy tale themed party that lets your little girl and her friends perform a skit for your enjoyment. There is even a detective kit that is perfect for boys or girls and lets them work through a mystery together. You can find out more about her packages at http://www.birthdaypartygameslady.com/. She has kits for children aged 6 to 13, so check her out today!

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