5th Birthday Party

mjsjtjcj · #1 (**permalink**) 06-14-2002, 10:06 AM

Can anyone help me with ideas for my son's 5th birthday party which is coming up in August. This will be his first birthday with friends - he is inviting 3 boys and 3 girls. In the past we have only done the family type of parties with cake, ice cream and gifts and basically all the adults sit around and chat. What type of games or grab bag items would be good for the 4 and 5 year old age group? I don't want to bore these kids with games, but I want to make sure they have a good time since this is the first time ds gets to invite more than 1 friend over at a time.

Thanks for your help!

Shawn · #2 (**permalink**) 06-15-2002, 01:55 AM

Are you going to have a theme? If so what will it be?

Please also check out the other threads in Party Ideas to find sugesstions and ideas.

OmommyO · #3 (**permalink**) 06-15-2002, 10:50 AM

My son's sixth birthday is in August and this will also be his first birthday party with friends. We have bought invitations that invite his friends to his 6th birthday. We will have a pinata filled with stickers, pencils and some candy. In the little goody bags we are putting a squirty toy, a whistle, a mini bag of microwave pop corn, a page of stickers and maybe a bouncy ball of some sort. We are having the party outside so the kids can play on the swingset, in the sandbox and ride on the powerwheels. If it is going to be real nice we might have water balloon fights or if he doesn't invite too many kids, let them get in the pool for a while. I will put on the invitations to make sure the kids wear play clothes and swimsuit if nessesary. We will probably play hide and seek and duck duck goose. They all seem to like that.

We just had my older sons 8th b-day party and did a lot of the same things. The kids had a blast being able to play outside and just run around. One thing we did try was to make ice cream in Ziplock bags, whick is a wonderful idea, the only problems with was it was the hottest weekend of the year. High in the upper 80's to lower 90's and it didn't want to set very well. It would work alot better in coooler temps. Hope some of this helps.

mjsjtjcj · #4 (**permalink**) 06-17-2002, 07:15 AM

His theme will be construction. The only thing I have decided on so far is that I will make cupcakes with white frosting and crush up chocolate cookies for "dirt" on top. My neighbor mentioned pin the tail on the donkey, but I don't know if that would be age appropriate. DS will be 5, but his friends that are coming are about 4 - 8 months younger than he is. They are in the same pre-school class, but DS will not start Kinderg. until age 6 since he is so close to the birthday deadline and very shy. I wondered if they would have more fun running around playing what they want vs. games.

Thanks for your help!

kathyandcrewof4 · #5 (**permalink**) 06-17-2002, 10:20 AM

I've got some really cute ideas I got from a book or magazine that I'd be glad to e-mail to you if you'd like (it has a really cute idea for the cake and I think some other things). As for party favors, I'd suggest small, inexpensive dump trucks with candy or something wrapped in plastic wrap & set in the back of the truck. If you wanted to just do the cupcakes instead of a cake, you could set the cupcakes in the back of the truck. Also, a sand box outside with dump trucks, etc. to play with would be good for that age; they always love sand. And my opinion is that they are happier at that age playing what they want rather than having to play certain games. Also, if you give prizes to the ones who win, you've got to make sure everyone wins something so noone feels left out. That's hard! E-mail me at kathyandcrewof4@aol.com and I'll be happy to help all I can. Good luck and happy birthday to the little guy! Kathy

MommyHill · #6 (**permalink**) 06-19-2002, 12:20 PM

My daughters bday in in August to. This can be such a hot month.. Last year for her 4th we had over 4 friends. We did it outside. The theme was Dora the Explorer. Daughter helped make favors(bead bracelet she chose colors) magnifi glass,lollipop,and gum. Kids thought this was real cool. Had them do a craft. Toilet paper roll bonoculars. This kept them busy and creative. Then played swiper no swiping.. They had a ball...
Good suggestion is to have your son decorate a paper bag for a pinyatte(sp?) then can be filled up with stuff. He will be really proud that he was the one to make it.

BestPartyMom · #7 (**permalink**) 06-20-2002, 06:09 AM

Regarding the "pin" the tail on the donkey -- another idea is to "velcro" the tail on the donkey

it's so much easier for children of this age.

For my sons birthday he did Bob the Builder and we used the "dirt cake" in the back of a toy dump truck in addition to the Bob cake we had. It turned out to be a great hit! You can also do the recipe with vanilla pudding and nilla wafers to make a "sand cake"

Here's a few more "construction" themed ideas;

Boulder Toss

Divide your little workers into two equal teams in separate lines. Give the leader of each line an inflated balloon. At the sound of go they must try to pass the balloon in the air to the next person in line without it ever touching the ground. When it reaches the end person have them pass it back to the front. The first team to get it to the front of the line wins.

If you're having an afternoon party ... why not pack up some lunch boxes or bags for those mighty workers. Fill it with a juice, a cookie, sandwich, some treats, etc (really cute if you can find some inexpensive lunch boxes or colorful paper bags!

Have them "construct" their own rootbeer or coke floats!

secamom · #8 (**permalink**) 06-20-2002, 05:00 PM

Hey Instead of pin the tail on the donkey..how about pin the hat on the construction person..You can draw or get a picture of a construction person make hats and then have the kids put the hat on the head...

mjsjtjcj · #9 (**permalink**) 06-21-2002, 09:04 AM

Great idea! The only problem is I can't draw! Where could I find a picture of a kid friendly construction person? I could probably manage the hats, but I know I could not draw a decent looking person.

Thanks to all for the wonderful ideas!

BestPartyMom · #10 (**permalink**) 06-21-2002, 09:19 AM

You may try going to the store (WalMart) and buying a coloring book with a construction theme and seeing if you can find a picture you'd like to use! It doesn't have to be a construction worker - it could be ANYTHING construction related - tractors, etc.

Just look for something that you think might be easy to draw or if you are lucky enough to be able to get your hands on an overhead projector - simply tape a piece of construction paper to the wall - move the projector back until the image is large enough then trace it onto the posterboard! Color it as you want! If it's a Const. Worker - just don't trace the hat - do that on another piece of poster board and cut it out (well, several if you like so that each child will have their own) you get the idea ...

Have a great party!