Need 4yo birthday party ideas

[oceanbaby]

Ds1 will turn 4 in about a month, and we are going to have a party for him. We had one when he turned 3, and it was a blast. But he has a few more friends now, and when you add in siblings and parents, the number goes up quite dramatically. And we have a very small house and a very small backyard. We thought about going to a playground or park, but weather can be iffy here that time of year, and with the baby and lugging all the stuff I just don't want to deal with it. Plus the best playground for this type of thing is already booked.

With siblings, there will be about 8-9 kids, ranging from 2yo - 5yo. Last time there were 5 kids, and they just kind of ran wild around the house, but with more kids, I don't think that is the greatest idea.

And I don't know how to not invite any of these kids. 2 our are neighbors, one is my neice, 3 are from my 2 best mama friends, and 2 of ds's best friends from preschool. He is pretty close to all of these kids, and any one of them would be pretty hurt if they were not invited, or ds would be very disappointed to not have them here.

So any ideas on what we can do? Actually, any ideas at all - food, favors, etc. - would be much appreciated. I am the hostess with the leastess, really not good at this type of thing. The party will probably have a train theme of some sort, since ds is fairly obsessed.

[MamaWindmill]

Boy, the train thing throws me off just a little, since I was going to suggest face painting, bubbles, and classic backyard games...althoooough...you could do that still, and maybe give out bandanas to wear (train conductors wear bandana kerchiefy things, right? Or am I hallucinating?), etc? Maybe you could have them form a train, taking turns being the "engine;" whoever the engine is gets to lead the other train cars around with one of those great big bubble wand thingies (you know, like smoke coming out of a train..?). Maybe customize a game of Simon says, like "Thomas the Tank Engine says, choo choo two steps forward!" And, of course, a train shaped cake (I'm thinking one rectangular cake with cupcakes for wheels, and like, a twinkie for the smoke stack!). Or maybe these ideas are all bizarre. Feel free to ignore!

Originally Posted by oceanbaby

Ds1 will turn 4 in about a month, and we are going to have a party for him.

[GruppieGirl]

Ohhh...I love this stuff!

Pick a theme and run with it!!

The last two years I needed a party theme suitable for all ages and both genders (like you)!

We chose a red theme for dd's 3yo party;
red food, red clothing, red (open-ended) art supplies, a red handwritten party invite, etc.

We chose a pajama party theme for dd's 4yo party;
everyone came in their jammies, art with glow-in-the-dark paint, flashlights as favors, popcorn, a picture of dd in her jammies as the invite, etc.

Hmmm...train ideas...My dd hasn't shown any interst in trains, so I don't know too much about them....

Everyone could get a conductor's hat, create an easy train cake, you could do some sort of train art project with clay and wheels, pin-the-smokestack on the train game, sing "Engine Engine Number Nine"



I would love to help you with iany more ideas if you need them. Have a great time at the party!!

[oceanbaby]

Yes, please, any ideas are appreciated!

It doesn't have to be strictly a train theme, I just mentioned that in case it sparked any ideas.

I'm mainly concerned about entertainment. I'm not really comfortable with leading specific games, and I want to keep it pretty open, but I do want to make sure there's enough for all the kids to do.

I was thinking a table outside with bubbles and sidewalk chalk (we have a small concrete patio and a small patch of grass). I also have a small water table I could set up with some little boats and such. Or maybe wet sand would be better with little sand molds? I'd like to have another outdoor "activity station" but can't think of what else. It seems like the parents would kill me if I put out paint and let them go at it. I'd also like to have something set up inside - I thought about buying some of those cheapo fridge picture frames, and letting them decorate them with stickers? And then taking a pic and printing it for them to put inside. Or maybe a make your own pinwheel station, with all the supplies already cut and ready to go? I just don't know!

For food, I was thinking sandwiches cut with cookie cutters (pb&J and turkey), veggies and dip, maybe wagon wheel pasta with parmesan? Pretzel sticks? I'd need something more substantial for the adults.

I did an elaborate Thomas cake last year, and I guess I could do it again, but it seems weird to do the same cake two years in a row. I considered actually buying the cake this year (a total sin in our family to not make the cake!) cuz I can see it getting stressful trying to decorate a cake and throw the party with ds2 underfoot.

So please, feedback and ideas are much appreciated!

[MamaWindmill]

Originally Posted by oceanbaby

I'd also like to have something set up inside - I thought about buying some of those cheapo fridge picture frames, and letting them decorate them with stickers?

We had something similar to these http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/...t.asp?sku=1663
just to play with - one day, I whipped them out while some kids were here, and they went INSANE over them. I had no idea they were going to love them so much! I've ordered drawing paper from Discount School supply many times, and have always been satisfied with the price/quality. You'd have WAY more than you need, but then again, it's not too expensive...there's also Hands on Fun -
never ordered from them before, but some people on one of my homeschooling lists likes it alot, apparently.

For food, I was thinking sandwiches cut with cookie cutters (pb&J and turkey), veggies and dip, maybe wagon wheel pasta with parmesan? Pretzel sticks? I'd need something more substantial for the adults.

Cool idea! I would probably just order pizza for the grown ups, but I'm terrible like that. :

I did an elaborate Thomas cake last year, and I guess I could do it again, but it seems weird to do the same cake two years in a row.

Maybe a "cupcake cake?"

[UUMom]

I like crafts b'days. Last b'day for my turning -6 yr old (February, so too cold to go out & play easily), I cut crowns from heavy art paper and let the children collage them. My older kids and I cut small shapes out of construction paper. i also had small sequins, star stickers and small pieces of gems (plastic). I had plenty of glue sticks and some liquid elmer's type clue for the heavier stuff. Just make sure you run hot water over the Elmer's glue so they are not clogged for the kids. You could also have them use water colors to decorate-- no staining and less cutting out. I also put out crayons. When the children are done, you staple them to fit their heads. I have this out as children arrive so they have something to do right away.

I have also had children decorate their own cupcakes (a problem for the no sugar kids...maybe you could use softned cream cheese) right before we sing happy birthday. After they decorate them, they eat them. No need to cut billions of pieces of cake.

We also did 'tape the tail on the donkey', but with no winners or losers. You can give out pennies or nickles to each child as they tape their tail on, but i didn't, just said that when it was time to go, I'd give them a little bag with some treats. Pencil and erasers and stickers. We applauded each child's turn. Some kids wanted the blindfold and others did not. Not a big deal.

We also had a pinata. I put all the goodies in ziplock bags with names on them. In the bags, I put pennies, granola bars & peppermint sticks from Whole Foods. When they broke the pinata, the baggies fell out and they had to search for the bag with their names.

I also did drop the clothespins in the milk bottle, but only a couple of kids liked that. it's really hard! Again, each child who did it was a winner.

My dh and a friend played guitar for a little while and sang Old Macdonald and a couple of other songs.

But mostly, the children ran around playing. Which is the fun of a party. When it was time to go, i told the children that when they had their coats on, the birthday girl would give them their little gifts, thanking them for coming to the party. The last activity we did before the party was over was the pinata (you can have strings to pull open the pinata if you don't want kids beating anything), so I would not have kids opening them all over the place.

[4evermom]

You can bake the cake in advance and freeze it unfrosted. I think all you really need to make a party a theme is paper plates with trains. You'd think I'd have a decent train idea since my ds is a train fanatic.

[maya44]

My SIL had a train party for my nephew, but we are lucky.

We live near a commuter rail line.

Everyone got on the train with parents, rode 6 stops to a place where we got off and walked one block to an ice cream parlor, had treats and then back on the train.

Obviously this won't work for you unless you happen to live near a commuter line!

[lifetapestry]

I think your food ideas sound great-- you could offer a "make your own sandwich" tray to the adults that has the fixing for the turkey sandwiches you're making for the kids (or allow them to make sandwiches for the kids)-- some good rolls, gourmet mustards, sliced veggies and cheese is pretty substantial.

Two things I did at our last party that were big hits with the 2-5 year olds, and very non-messy: 1) tray with different shaped pastas for stringing, along with cords (I colored the pasta primary colors, but it's not necessary); and 2) stickers with blank "scenes"-- I did fish stickers with an "underwater" scene, but had blank paper for the kids as well. The kids all wanted to do "scenes" though.

This place has nice little booklets of train stickers (scroll through the various pages, they have 5 or 6 different kinds) for $1.50 each.

http://store.doverpublications.com/b...ookplates.html

And if you search on google for something like "railroad tracks photographs", you'll get lots of images that could potentially be "scenes", like this one:

http://wiscassetnewspaper.maine.com/...oad_tracks.jpg

hth,
Karla