Indoor Birthday Party Activities – Keep it Simple

If you are like me and have a child whose birthday happens to be in March then I’m sure you know the struggles it can be to plan a birthday party. You never know what kind of weather it will be on their special day. March’s weather is very iffy…. Is it going to snow? Is it going to rain? Will it be cold, warm or chilly? Will it be windy or icy? Will it be a beautiful Spring day? Do I plan a birthday party inside or outside?

This March my son is turning 13. He will be a teenager and his party will be different this year than in earlier years. No longer do I have to plan relay races, figure out games to entertain him and his friends for his birthday parties. But, I did for many years and I have two other younger children that I still will be planning birthday parties for them for years to come. However, their birthdays are in months that I find easier to plan for. My daughters birthday is November 23rd and her Birthday Party is celebrated during our Thanksgiving feast. My youngest son’s birthday is in the middle of July and every year we celebrate it on the deck and in the pool…. easy to plan. But, March is so different. And, with a birthday in March comes many challenges including how to keep the kids from getting bored and antsy on March days that are to wet or chilly to send the kids outside.

My answer to it all was to make sure I had plenty of indoor activities planned to make sure the children didn’t get bored. Bored children means trouble. You will have children climbing the walls, running around and most likely getting into things they shouldn’t be. But, if you have plenty of indoor birthday party activities that are easy, that don’t take a lot of skill or thought, then you will have happy children. Which means you will be able to survive your March Birthday Party with your sanity in tact.

The trick is to keep the activities as simple as possible. Don’t plan activities that you have to look up directions to understand it. Because even once you understand how to play the birthday games you will have to explain it to the children. And, if you try to explain a complicated game to the children you are likely to fail at this causing what will appear like mass hysteria. Okay, maybe that is a little dramatic. But seriously, simplicity is key. For indoor birthday party activities stick to the basics. And, make sure to have more than enough activities planned and in your back pocket ready to pull out at any point.

So, to keep it easy and fun lets keep it to a few categories….

• Balloon Activities – A birthday party just wouldn’t be a birthday party without balloons.
• Food Activities – Yes, there are some really great birthday party activities you can do with food.
• Musical Activities – Music + Birthday Party = Fun!!
• Craft Activities – Birthday party crafts are a great way to keep the kids entertained and in one place during a party.
• The Classics – If you want to guarantee a great time for all….. go back to the basics. Try the birthday party activities that worked when our parents planned our birthday parties.

Balloon Birthday Party Activities

• Static Balloon Game – Place a bunch of blown-up balloons in the center of the floor. When you say “Go” the children will run and grab a balloon. Each child will take the balloon they grabbed and rub it in their hair creating static. Now, the balloon should be able to stick to the wall. Once it is stuck the child will go for another balloon. The player with the most balloons on the wall wins. This game can be played with teams as well.
• Balloon Bust Game – A race to see who can break the most balloons. Again, place a bunch of blown-up balloons in the center of the floor. When you say “Go” children will run to the pile and begin breaking balloons. They can use their hands, their feet or their back-sides to break the balloons. The child with the most broken balloons wins. This is another game that works well in teams.
• Balloon Stuffing Game – A race to see who can stuff the most balloons in their clothes. The child stuffed with the most balloons wins. This game is another game that is wonderful to play in teams.
• Balloon Relay Game – If you have enough kids at the birthday party to have two teams this balloon game is a wonderful activity. Again, have a pile of blown-up balloons on one side of the room and the teams on the other side of the room. The idea is to be the team who can get the most balloons from the pile they are in now to they team’s side. With each child’s turn they can carry as many balloons they can to their side of the room. They may carry them anyway they can…. even stuffing them in their clothes. The team with the most balloons on their side wins.

Musical Birthday Party Activities

• Musical Chairs – This game could have went under the Classics too. I’m sure most of you have played this game at birthday parties when you were young. And, its here to stay because it is so much fun. The idea is to have one less chair than the amount of kids playing. Start the music and have the children walk around all the chairs. When you stop the music they must find a chair to sit in. The child without a chair to sit in is out. Start the music again and continue playing this way until there is one child still playing. This child is the winner.
• Freeze – When the music starts the children dance and when the music stops all the kids must freeze. The children must stay frozen in their funny positions until the music starts again. If a child can’t hold their position and moves they are out.
• Hot Potato – Another classic game, but since it is played with music I put it under the Musical Birthday Party Activity category. Choose an item that will be the “hot potato”. It doesn’t actually have to be a potato. It can be any item that you will pass around. Something soft will be ideal since the children will be passing the item quickly so as not to be the one stuck holding it. A bean bag or a soft ball would be perfect. The children will sit in a circle and they will start passing the hot potato to one another. When the music stops the child left holding the hot potato is out and will leave the game. Once there is only one child left that child is the winner.

Craft Birthday Party Activities

• Make a Card – Bring out a bunch of crafts supplies like construction paper, card stock, markers, crayons, glitter, glue, ribbons, lace and any other craft supplies you want and let the kids make the birthday child a special birthday card.
• Play-Doh - My daughter went to a birthday party this past weekend where they did a Play-Doh activity and she really enjoyed it. The birthday boy had a Sponge Bob themed birthday party and this activity used the Sponge Bob’s theme. The children were to create their favorite Sponge Bob character out of Play-Doh. Hannah made Patrick.
• T-Shirt Activity - Here is a craft that will cause the kids attending the birthday to not only have a wonderful time, but also have a memento to remember this special birthday. Using plain white T-shirts let each child decorate their own. Stores sell permanent markers that will stay put on the t-shirts even when washed.

Food Birthday Party Activities

• Decorate the Cake – This is truly a fun activity for all the kids. Instead of having the cake already decorated for the Birthday child let all the children at the birthday party participate in the cake decorating. Have a cake cooled off and brought out the the dining room table. Bring out some icing, M&M’s, chocolate chips, multi-colored sprinkles and any other fun cake toppings you wish. Take tons of pictures of the children’s birthday cake creation.
• Cupcake Decorating – This birthday party activity is along the same lines as the “Decorate the Cake” activity, but the children will decorate their own cupcakes. Bring out some goodies and icing fun for decorating cupcakes. Then let the children eat their creations…. YUM!!
• Make your own Sundaes – Bring out a bunch of ice cream and toppings and let the kids make their own Sundaes.
• Taco or Pizza Creations – Another way to keep the kids occupied and having fun is to have them prepare their own meals. Give them all the ingredients to make their own tacos or let them put toppings on their own personal size pizzas.

Classic Birthday Party Activities

• Pin the Tail on the Donkey – I am sure you all already know the rules to this game. When I was a child growing up there wasn’t a birthday party for a child under 10 that didn’t have this birthday party activity. The idea is to blind fold the child, give the child a gently spin and let them try to pin (tape…. please don’t use pins) the tail on the donkey. The child that attached the tail closest to the correct spot that the tail really belongs is the winner.
• Simon Says – The children do whatever Simon Says. The leader gives the children orders, but the children are to only obey Simon’s orders when the leader begins the order with, “Simon Says”. If the leader doesn’t give the command starting with, “Simon Says” then the children should not follow these orders. If the child does do something that the leader says, but it didn’t start with, “Simon Says” then the child is out. The last child standing is the winner.
• Scavenger Hunt – Hide things around the house and give the kids lists of what to find. For young children make sure to have pictures of the items as well.
• Whisper Down the Alley – I use to love this game as a child. Have the children be in a circle. Pick one child to begin. This child will have to come up with a short sentence to whisper in the child’s ear that is sitting next to him. Each child will whisper the sentence they heard into the next person’s ear until it comes back to the person who started the whispering. The last person will tell the first person the sentence. Listen to the laughs when you hear how different the sentence is than what it began as.

Image above by Crystl

1 Comment

Tags: activities, birthday parties, children, crafts, kids, parenting

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 8:17 am and is filed under Kids Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.