Craft ideas for 4yo's party?

[Letitia]

I noticed the other birthday party thread, and I bet there are more if I went back further.  We've debated what to do when DD turns 4 soon.  We thought about going to a place with jumpers or some other focal activity, but we can't afford it and it's just not our style. 

If the weather were warmer, we'd probably go to a park, serve some cake, and let the kids run around.  But it's too cold for that here now.

What we decided to do is have a few kids to the house and have some kind of project available for them to do.  Maybe something like paper bag puppets.  Any ideas?

[greenemami]

A friend had the kids decorate placemats with glitter glue, sitckers, and crayons which we then used for the snack.  The kids really enjoyed it and even younger ones did well with it.

Depending on how many kids you are having, we may attempt flower pots this year for dd's 4th bday if it is nice out.  They'll paint the pots in the beginning then throw some dirt and seeds in at the end to take home wrapped up in cellophane.  I did this at dsd's 8th bday and it was fun.  I think the 4 year olds can handle it, but only if there are not a lot of kids and a lot of adult helpers :)

Paper bag puppets sound great!  Dd really likes doing sock puppets too.  You could even ask everyone to bring an old sock with them. 

Dd also liked doing milk carton bird houses last year.  you can google it, but they are a pretty quick painting project.

HTH, have fun!

[wishin'&hopin']

Decorating their own cupcakes!  Making birthday crowns (you can get cardstock crown forms or make your own).  Get matting and have kids make their own photo frames (standard glitter/sequin/glue) and take digital photos (if you have a printer at home) of each kid in their crown to put in the frame.  

Making slime (google "slime recipes" and you'll get tons of options).  They can put the slime in small plastic cups and squish it to make "inappropriate" noises :)  Making play dough...google no cook play dough recipes.  

Line a wall with butcher block paper and let them color to their hearts content.  Trace each kid on butcher block and let them color it in.  

[staceychev]

I don't know that it would be something to do in the cold weather, but we went to The Christmas Tree Shop (kind of like a cross between Target and a dollar store) and bought a bunch of color-your-own-kite kits. The kids all sat in the yard coloring so intently and then putting their kites together. It was hilarious--quietest 5YO birthday party ever! Maybe you can find a similar type of craft kit there or at orientaltrading.com.