Is 2 YO too young for a messy party?

[elf]

I have always wanted to have a messy party in our backyard.

Is 2 yo too young?

What have you guys done? What have you used?

[sapphire_chan]

I'd let Lina go to one and she's only 18 months. I think messy is a great idea, with warning for the parents. Maybe get a set of smocks for everyone? Even just a set of adult t-shirts from the thriftstore.

What I'd want to see would be things like tubs of glop to explore textures (corn starch and water, pudding, applesauce--add green/blue food coloring so they don't look like food ), paper with stuff to stuff to smear on, some dry stuff like sand, rice, beans, (whatever won't hurt your lawn), to pour around. Condiment bottles filled with stuff to squirt hither and thither. Maybe some shaving cream or whipped cream to make mountains.

Have it set up as a series of different stations so kids can go from one to the other at will.

It'd also be super cool to do a vinegar/baking soda volcano.

And after the kids have cleaned-up and eaten, but while there's still some time before they'll head home, BUBBLES!!

(Er, I'd assume parents would be present and mostly going around with their kids, so maybe aprons, or XXXL t-shirts for the adults? And make it clear that the goal is MESS!!)

Ooo, I'm loving this idea the more I think about it. if you had a way to get everyone to take a nap, it could be the only 6 hour toddler party in history to go well. But I think that if the kids get to pick what to play with even if they do only a couple things it'll be fun for them. And really 45 minutes for mess exploring, ~15 minute clean up (smock off, wash hands/face), ~30 minute meal/cake, 30-60 minutes more playing +toddler factor and it's about 3 hours of pure awesome.

[lolar2]

At 2, pretty much any party will be a messy party, won't it?

[Katie T]

Originally Posted by lolar2

At 2, pretty much any party will be a messy party, won't it?

Depends on the kid, lol but yeah could be. My 20 month old would even love a messy party! I might just have to do one for my children this summer. It sounds so fun!

[PatchChild]

My DS would adore it. I think a big consideration is to decide if your 2 year old is an eater or not. DS has no desire to put things in his mouth so I'd be fine with it. I've met other kids his age that still put things in their mouths and I'd be a lot more careful with materials with them.