A child’s third birthday brings excitement for the child and the parents. A 3-year-old realizes that his birthday likely means a party, presents and time with his friends. Organized activities are often a sanity-saver for you as the host. Keeping the activities simple makes planning easier for you and ensures that all of the young party guests can participate.
Benefits
Organized activities keep the 3-year-old party guests entertained, helping you avoid the stress of out-of-control kids running around. The activities focus the attention of the toddlers into something productive. You avoid boredom, wandering children or arguments that may erupt if the kids don’t have a constructive activity.
Considerations
By 3 years old, kids have basic muscle control to handle basic games and activities. Party entertainment with simple rules and requirements means that the young guests will catch on quickly without getting frustrated. If you are unsure about a particular game or activity, test it out with your own 3-year-old before the party. The available space at the party venue also influences the best activities.
Game Ideas
Games are a classic option for kids’ birthday parties. Games that relate to the theme create more excitement for the kids. For example, you might play pin the shield on the knight for a knight-themed party. General game ideas that work well with 3-year-old children include follow the leader, Simon says, freeze dance and duck, duck, goose.
Craft Ideas
A craft station offers a less active form of entertainment for the birthday party. Basic crafts without a lot of steps work best, especially since the toddlers probably won’t sit still very long. Ideas include painting a ceramic or wooden figure, making a puppet, coloring a themed picture or playing with homemade play dough. Assign at least one adult to the station for supervision and to help the kids with the project.
Safety
A set of established rules, especially for active games, helps ensure the safety of the young participants. Limiting the game play or activity area keeps the kids away from potential dangers, such as a busy road. Constant adult supervision also increases the safety of activities at the birthday party.
