Your toddler is turning three!
After three tough years, you've reached the third birthday. They are now at a phase in life where they are curious and energetic. This is an exciting time when they understand and cherish the little things in life.
The first two birthdays will not be days your little one will remember, but the third will always be special. They will soon be a preschooler, and you want to make it all special. You want to throw a party your child and their friends will enjoy without making you go crazy.
And we are here to tell you that it is possible. We have some unique birthday party ideas for your 3-year-old daughter or son to make their special day unforgettable while keeping you stress-free.
Here's how to throw a three-year-old birthday party that is low on stress and high on fun.
Keeping it simple
One of the fundamentals in throwing a party for your three-year-old is keeping it simple. As a parent, you want to do everything bouncy castles, clown shows, fancy food and whatnot. You want to make sure that it is one of their lives best days, something they will remember.
Unlike the tween and teens, 3-year-olds have a limited attention span. When hosting a party, keep the festivities and the duration short. Ninety minutes should be ideal timing; this timeframe allows for activities, food and cake.
Because the kids coming for the party will also be of similar age, keeping it this way will help them have loads of fun and go home happily.
Timing is key
Since your guests will be other 3-year-olds, selecting the time of the party is crucial. Late in the day or too close to the afternoon nap time are not windows you need to have a party. It would be best if you had your attendees well rested, so ideally, have the party in the morning or the golden hour between 3-5 pm.
Picking the guests
If you are handing out invitations in school, most preschools might want you to invite the entire class. Of course, it may be tempting to include the whole class, but large parties can be overwhelming at this young age.
A better idea is to keep the party small and include kids your little one plays with regularly. But if you are not inviting the whole class or the playgroup, make it a point not to dish out invitations in public so that the ones who do not get invited don't feel left out.
Children this age will not remember what party they were invited to in preschool. Five to eight is an ideal number; ten should be the maximum.
Kid Friendly menu
Many three-year-olds are picky eaters, and there are better times to experiment with new recipes or fancy desserts than a birthday party.
Preschoolers like familiar foods and base eating decisions on how things look and smell. For the party menu, stick to foods young children typically like and downsize the portions. Pizza is a party staple, but you do have wiggle room here. Chicken fingers, grilled cheese, and tater tots are usually a hit.
Check with the parents if the guests have any allergies to ensure you're serving the right food.
The Entertainment & Activities
Entertainment and activities are what need to take the spotlight at your party. Your guests will be overjoyed to find their friends on a non-school day, and you'll need to plan activities accordingly.
Just like preschool, parties for young children need structure to avoid the chaotic scene of kids just running around. If you are having a party at a bounce place or gym, the party's timing is already taken care of, though it never hurts to have a picture book on hand for when the food is being served.
For home parties, plan short activities to make the party fun and keep it structured. Figure 45 minutes to an hour of activities followed by food, cake, and goodie bags.
Here are a few entertainment activities you can plan for your 3-year-old's party.
1 - Bubble making
A simple activity that everyone can get involved in bubble making. You can invest in cheap bubble maker liquid and hand out the bubble stick to each of the attendees. The guests can run around, collect their bubble liquid, and compete to blow the biggest bubble. This could be an activity ideally for outdoors, but you can do it indoors as well.
2 - Scavenger hunt
Plan a quick course with little challenges for the guests to run around and find. For every task completed, see if you have a few lollies or some candies so they can go on to the next step. Only do 4 or 5 tasks because the kids might eventually get bored.
Ensure you reward all the kids who participate so that nobody misses out.
3 - Sponge painting
Sponge painting can be an interesting activity to get everyone to learn something while having fun. Cover the table with Kraft paper to give the kids a full canvas to paint on (and to keep things clean).
Cut the sponges into quarters and attach a clothes pin to each. A few squirts of paint into the middle of the table, and hello, sponge painting!
Allow the kids to be creative and create their own mess. Attaching clothes pins will help the kids from getting crazy messy and gives them an easy way to hold onto the sponges.
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