Anyone who has arranged a party for a child of any age knows that it can not only cost a lot of money, but a children’s party also takes a huge amount of planning and forethought. The biggest fear for any parent organizing a party for their little one is that a child will get bored (the horror of it!), the second biggest fear is that the children will not be satisfied with the goods (party favours, food etc.).
To allay both of these fears we have come up with a few ideas that serve a dual purpose, they will both entertain the children and give them something to take home with them. Points all round!
All kids love to create so there will be very few if any kids that will not take part in this first activity. It is good to have as high a ratio as possible of adults to children in any art activities but we have chosen the next activity as it should not require a very high level of supervision in case this is not an option.
First of all, some rules for you:
1. Be prepared – have everything ready for your demonstration, do the “here’s one I prepared earlier” thing to wow them and keep them interested (and to make sure you made all the possible mistakes the first round and have learned from them!)
2. Make sure the kids are in a manageable group, if they are a bit distracted, split the group and deal with half now, half later
Design your own bandana/ handkerchief
I chose this activity as it is suitable for all age groups and is quite easy to manage! I thought designing bandanas/ handkerchiefs was easier than t-shirts as there will be no sizing issues and a simple white square of cotton is cheaper and has more uses!
You will need:
A number of white bandanas (can be bought cheaply via Amazon link below)
Fabric pens/ paint (allow for about 1-2 per child)
Preparation:
The fabric paints can take up to 4 hours to dry so it’s best to do this at the start of your kids party (you can speed up the process with a hairdryer or drying paints in the sun if you are lucky enough to have this as an option!)
It can be useful to have a few designs ready to inspire the kids, the nature of these will depend on the age but draw out some flowers, basic animal shapes, names etc. to get them started with ideas!
The products you will need for this activity can be bought below quite cheaply:
The pens can be better for toddlers to avoid paint mess!
The 3D paints give a great effect!
Select the plain white option when you click on this link
These make great keepsakes and they are versatile enough to be suitable for both boys and girls of all ages.
Face-painting:
This is always a firm favourite with kids, it is not strictly speaking an activity that keeps them all occupied simultaneously but it provides the basis for lots of fun and gives them something to bring home with them (ish!).
Face-painting is pretty easy if you have the right tools and some pictures to go by (and give kids a, b or c options, not ‘what would you like to be?’!). The face-painting crayons are nigh-on impossible to apply so avoid these. I use ‘Snazaroo’ face-paints which are the ones the professionals use (link further down if you wish to buy via Amazon). They are just like regular paints applied easily with a sponge and paintbrush.
I found a site with some interesting alternatives to painting kids’ faces (I have found some kids hate this or are too young to stay any way still). The solution is these hand-puppets! – Genius!
You will need:
1. Face-paints (the Snazaroo ones I recommend here come with a leaflet and ‘how-to’ guide)
2. a small tumbler of water
3. a paintbrush (the Snazaroo Party Pack has both a brush and sponge but have an extra one if you can)
4. a comfy seat with a small seat in front for your little guinea-pigs!
4. a table or ledge beside you for the water and face-paints (especially if there are toddlers in the vicinity who will go to town if they get hold of them!)
Preparation:
1. practice a couple of the popular faces (tiger, princess) beforehand
2. have another adult help organise the queue and entertain those kids waiting
The products you will need for this activity are:
These are the best I have used and the easiest to apply (and remove!)
You can get a book on face-painting if you think you will be really into this and want to provide more options to kids (otherwise the little booklet with the Party Pack will suffice)
Enjoy your face-painting and feel free to post your comments here!
