"I initially thought about a pinata without blindfolds, but think that might be a little too old. The kids coming will range from 15 months to 6 years, but most will be about 2-3 years old. Help? This is my first time going through all of this, so I'm looking for any and all advice possible!"
A pinata sounds like fun. Maybe the adults could partner with the toddlers and help guide their swings in the right direction and the older kids could go ahead and try with blindfolds.
Either way, the best part about a party at the park, I think, is that you don't really have to plan a lot of entertainment and games at all. The majority of time can be spent playing in the park with friends and eating. You might bring some balls of different types along since all ages would enjoy throwing those around to pass the time. Bring them in a big bucket or bring some hula hoops that they can practice making shots into / through and then let everyone take a ball or hoop home.
What do you think? Are pinatas too much for a group of mostly toddlers? What other outdoor games would you suggest? Share your thoughts on the forum or below in the comments.
See Also: The All About Parenting Blog Carnival on Birthdays
Here’s an idea: find someone to dress up as a clown and sing and dance with the kids and tell them stories. I was once at a birthday party like this (at a park) and it was very successful.
Also, If there is a sandbox at the park, you might want to bring sand toys (buckets, shovels, sifters, etc) – that is always a hit too.
Do a bouncy house. A pinata is too old for the toddlers. You could decorate paper bag (one per child), fill them, hang them, and let the toddlers whack at one, allowing him/her to take the contents of that one bag.
Actually, they make pinatas now that don’t require hitting them with a stick or a bat. They have strings or ribbons that hang down. Each child pulls a string until the pinata pops open. I saw this done at a party with two and three year olds and none of the kids had a problem with it and they all seemed to think it was fun.
I have three little girls so a differnet part theme is hard to find every year. Here are a few things that we have done in the past at our parties and they were all a pretty big hit.
1. Side walk chalk
2. Bean bag toss
3. A bubble machine or just bubble blowing
4. Buy old T-shirts and finger paint and have them paint there own shirts.
5. Treasure hunt
6. Let them decorate there own cupcakes
7. Face painting