At the Goldilocks birthday party, we had 10 toddlers on our hands for two hours. So I planned ahead for them a bit and planned some activities for them to do that were very age appropriate. The first activity was eating – a snack, lunch and cupcakes after. There was a break between all three eating sessions, but they were all thoroughly enjoyed by the kids and they just LOVED sitting at that table!
I set up three stations for the kids: paw prints, paper bag bears and the photobooth. An on top of this I had one of the moms (a former school teacher) hold special reading of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Brennan was thrilled by this, as he got to turn the pages for everyone.
I don’t know a kid around who doesn’t like to have their hand traced. I used my new product–crayon box templates!!–to make bear themed crayon boxes and stuffed them full for the kids to use and rolled out a really long sheet of paper on the porch for the kids to scribble on. As you can see, the first order of business was to dump all those lovingly placed crayons on the floor.
Gluing things to paper is another favorite toddler activity. I set up a little station to make paper bag bear puppets. The shapes were pre-cut, and I put the googlie eyes and red pom pom noses in the sandwich holders (another new product!) that matched the party.
Photobooths are always my favorite part of the party. Lots of cheesy pictures were taken, many to have some good laughs over! And all will be priceless in the birthday photobook.
Our little “Be the Bear” corner was filled with photo props: papa bear’s bowler hat and big floppy tie, bear ears (one for each guest at the party), mama bear’s apron, and a chalkboard to write sweet notes to the birthday boy. Just like 2 year olds can’t read, 2 year olds can’t write…so the parents and childless adults had a little more fun with this than they should have, and the pictures cannot be posted here on the internet. But it was entertainment for the kids and rowdy parents alike! And that cute burlap banner? From Laugh Loud Smile BIG! It was truly JUST RIGHT.
And when all else fails, sometimes it’s just best to let them loose on the play equipment and dig through the toy box. I know some party people dislike balloons, but at this age, I really think they are a must-have. The kids ran like wild chasing each other with a balloon in their hands and wouldn’t let go of those balloons once they were handed to them. And it IS all about the kids!
Annika @ Cakes Likes A Party
Thursday 24th of March 2011
This absolutely blows my mind! SOOOOO fun and such a great unique idea! I've never seen anything like it and that is hard to say! W.O.W. Everything is just TO DIE FOR! I wish I were Goldilocks!
dm designs
Thursday 24th of March 2011
OMG - this is adorable! such a cute idea ~ I especially love "be the bear" :)
Becky
Wednesday 23rd of March 2011
Thanks you for saying it is about the kids, I see so many of these beautiful parties online and sometimes I wonder who the party is for...don't get me wrong I would love to go to a party like that. Your parties are stunning thanks for sharing.
Nicole @ Tradewind Tiaras
Wednesday 23rd of March 2011
Handling ONE toddler for two hours is tough! Fabulous planning of age-appropriate activities to keep them all happy!
Paula @ JCs Loft
Wednesday 23rd of March 2011
What fun activities! Love the paw prints and those crayon boxes are adorable!!!