Boys and Girls

Kids from about 4^th grade and older will enjoy learning about the Middle Ages and participating in a carnival. 

Set Up: This will take a little creativity, but you should be able to set up several carnival “booths” made from toys and games kids already have. Any kind of game of skill will work here, such as throwing darts or a ball at a target or tower of cans. Foot races and jumping contests would be good, as well as sack races and three-legged competitions. Make several different contests in different areas of your party space and recruit a parent or teen to help at each one if you can. 

Sometimes very young children are afraid of clowns, but most over the age of three will have fun with this party. 

Set Up: Visit your local second-hand store to get a collection of bright colored shirts, pants, dresses, and even shoes. If you find some wigs or funny hats, that’s great, too. You should also buy some costume make-up, be sure to get plenty of white. You can often get red, stick-on clown noses at party stores, and they are fun, or you can just use lipstick to give the kids their red noses. Print off a few pictures of clowns to have on display, and ask some teenage helpers to attend. 

This party is for elementary aged kids that enjoy playing board games. They will get a chance to try out several different games and challenge their friends. 

Set Up: You will need to gather many different games together. Those that require two or four players will work the best. Some good choices are Checkers, Chess, Mancala, Parcheesi, Sorry, Trouble, Battleship, and Rummikub. You will also need a timer and a whistle or bell to indicate when the next round of the tourney is beginning.

Kids of all ages will have fun at a snow party. The main disadvantage is that the weather can be a problem. It it’s too cold, everyone is miserable and if it’s too warm, the snow will melt, but a nice winter day is perfect.  

Kids of all ages will have fun with this one as long as they have some sort of riding toy. Even toddlers who just push on the ground with their feet can join in 

Set Up: You will need to find a large open field that is smooth enough to ride on for this gathering. You may be able to get permission to use a school or church parking lot at a time when the facility is not busy. Before the party starts you need to establish a start and finish line for several races of different lengths. Bring some chairs or buckets to use for a barrel race and an obstacle course would be fun too. It will also help if you have a stopwatch and some kind of loudspeaker. 

This gathering will be fun for kids from about 3 to 10 and even older if they are fond of drama. You can look forward to a lot of creativity and imagination with this theme. 

Set Up: Before the kids arrive, you will need to provide a space for a puppet theater. This can be as simple as letting the kids hide behind a table covered with a floor-length cloth. You could also hang a sheet on a cord strung across one end of a room at about waist height. This might be a good choice if you will have several puppeteers presenting at one time, because it will allow more room.

Skating, whether on ice or with roller blades, is great exercise and lots of fun for kids. Many ice rinks and roller skating parks will rent their facility for a party, or you can take your group and join with kids already there. 

 If you do go to a public rink, give your guests colorful stocking caps or scarves to wear that will identify them as part of your group. Before turning the kids loose on their skates, tell them you will be judging them for prizes to be awarded at the end of the party.

Baby animals and little kids are made for each other, and if your party will be held in the spring, it is a perfect match. The idea is to expose the children to as many baby animals as possible. 

Every child loves playing in the sand and in the water, especially smaller children who love building with sand and splashing in water. This type of party will keep little ones happy for hours. 

You can have a day of sand and water even if you live miles from a beach. You can even have it if the weather is not good enough to go outside (that is, if you are not too worried about your carpet or furniture.) A sand and water play area can be created fairly easily and will provide hours of fun for toddlers.

Kids usually enjoy a chance to be creative and show off their flair for fashion. That’s why a t-shirt decorating party is likely to be a hit. 

The first thing you will need is a plain t-shirt for every guest. If you buy them in packages of three or four, maybe in the men’s or boys’ underwear department, they are not expensive. You have several options for the decorations. The simplest would be to provide permanent markers and let the kids draw right on the shirts.