3 Year Old Birthday Party - Herriman,UT

I just had my daughter's third bithday this weekend. Instead of goodie bags, we went to the dollar store and let my daughter pick out "presents" for her friends. We did beach balls, bouncy balls, bugs, etc...stuff they could all play with outside. And then at the end of the party, each child picked something to bring home. It was a HUGE hit.

Good luck!
M.

My son's preschool did a party where they had several rubber ducks in a plastic tub of water. My four year old thought it was the best and I had trouble dragging him away. He did get pretty wet, of course.

If you have not already purchased the pinada, they now have the Pinada's that have stings hanging off the bottom of them and you hang the pinada and you have each child grab a string and when you say ok, they all pull and the bottom pulls and all the candy falls out. My kids love it and it is so much safer. The little ones that could never break the other type of pinada feel part of breaking these new type of pinada's. I found them at Walmart but they are everywhere. Just look for the ones with strings hanging off the bottom.

My son just had his 3rd birthday 2 weekends ago, at which we had 8 kids rangin in age from almost 3 to 6 1/2. We had a bug birthday party with a pinata. No problems with it. You just have to be sure to control the situation. It was a pool party so the kids played outside in the water and inflatable pool for about 30 minutes (the rain decided to come, but not for long). We had a balloon popping game. I put a piece of paper labeled with a prize in each balloon and each child had to pop their balloon to get a prize. They really enjoyed that!

Other than the things I listed above, we ate cupcakes and opened presents, played with a few and we were done. The party was 2 hours long and the kids survived that with no problems.

I don't suggest scheduling the party too long for that age group. I would think that having the bouncy house and pinata is good enough. No need to go overboard. Good luck!

Make it a GREAT week!

S.

Cookie or cupcake decorating is fun, if you don't mind the extra sugar rush. It's also pretty inexpensive.

you are lucky to have many adults coming. put them to use! give specific assignments to those who offer to help. i like the idea of the parents helping the kids do a craft. not every party can be done that way because of the lack of adult help. and keep the bedroom/toyroom doors locked. maybe bring out a few toys to the family room that you don't mind being brought outside. if you don't set some limits as to where the kids are allowed to play in the house, you can end up with your kids' stuff (and possibly yours) all over the place because it's hard to keep your eyes on so many kids if they're not in the same place. i hope your party goes great!

I attended a really cute Old MacDonald Farm party a few years ago. They made different animal ears hats for the kids. Painted cardboard boxes like little barns. Gave the kids rides in wagons around the yard. When they sang Old MacDonald the kids would make the sound of their animal when it was their turn. It was very fun. Good Luck!

Hi Cindy,
Sounds like you have quite a bit going on for the party! Since you really don't want to do the pinata, why don't you take the candy from the pinata and 'hide' it in the backyard! Kind of like an Easter egg hunt, without the easter eggs! Give each child a container to put the candy in. Just a thought! Good luck!
B.

I've done pinatas for the last 5 or 6 birthday parties my kids have had. They're so much cheaper (especially homemade-some flour, some water, a bit of glue to make sure it holds) than buying goodie bags for everybody & planning for the non-RSVP guests who always show... a pinata, especially when you stuff it w/a bit of candy, a bunch of dollar store trinkets & fill the rest w/fruit snack packets, goes a lot further. We either hang it from our basketball hoop or loop it through the garage door. Dad holds the rope, is a good 10' away & the kids get a plastic baseball bat to whack with. I'd say for that age you probably wouldn't even need blindfolds. If you do a pinata, take pictures-it's a trip to watch!

My daughter is about to turn 2 soon and we want to do the same except we're getting her a bubble machine because she is crazy about them (most kids that age are). They have it a party city, and it's only around $15.00. You can have it going during the whole birthday party. We're also having a small scavenger haunt. Hope that helps.

GOOD LUCK!~

If your son likes the Backyardigans we did a fun backyard, backyardigans party. I burned cds with their music for party favors and had it playing during the party. I found paper masks of the characters that were fun and the kids got a kick out of it. Our colors on the cupcakes were backyardigan colors. Have fun.

Hi Cindy - with that large of a party you are going to have your hands REALLY full. In this case, less is more especially if your backyard isnt a half acre. : ) You might need to enlist your husband or another parent to help you coordinate the games/fun while you welcome guests and deal with food and the birthday cake, etc.

If you dont want the pinata, then dont do it. I dont think 3yr olds have the most fun doing it. The kids are going to want to spend most of their time in the bouncy house anyway. I like the hidden candy/treasure idea.

How about a craft that the kids can work on with their parents like a foam craft or something that fits the theme of your party. There was one party we had where the kids decorated foam visors with foam stickers and letters, etc. The girls could turn their's upside-down and make them into tiaras. It was something that any age could have fun with.

If you want to do an organized game, just consider that you will have 12 kids so they will have to wait a while for their turn.

Have fun!