Henry’s 5th birthday is fast approaching. It doesn’t seem like it could have possibly been a year since I wrote a similar blog post! With his birthday right before Halloween, last year I wanted to come up with some ways he could celebrate his birthday at school and not be contributing to the holiday season sugar overload.
Last year we went with two of his favorites – pajamas and his “shows”. The entire class wore their pjs for the day, and we brought in an episode of one of his favorite shows, Pingu, to watch with his friends. It was a big hit for the kids and for me. I had no treats to bake, buy or transport, and didn’t have to worry about repeating the great cupcake drop of 2011. Yes, I dropped an entire batch of painstakingly assembled monkey cupcakes right outside EC3’s front door. Thankfully the kids didn’t care one bit if they still looked like monkeys!
Below if a recap of a few ideas from last year, with some new ones thrown in. Some require parent participation, and others do not. And of course, always check with your child’s teacher first.
- Face painting party: You can hire a face painter to come in and do faces, or check the internet for easy tutorials on how to do it yourself!
- Treasure Hunt: This will require a little pre-planning with the teachers and the assistance of a parent. At the end the kids could receive a special treat, like party favors or a new book for the classroom.
- Pajama Day: All the kiddos can wear their pjs to school, and the birthday child can bring in a favorite movie for the class to watch.
- Bubble Party! Arrange to bring in bubbles and wands and have a bubble party. To incorporate more of a science theme, bring in household objects to use as wands – spatulas and slotted spoons work great!
- Costume Party: Have all the kids wear their favorite costumes to school that day.
- Game Party: Have the birthday child bring a few of their favorite board games to play. This would be a great activity during small group times.
- Dance Party!!!! Bring in a favorite CD and the kids can have a dance party. Throw a game of musical chairs into the mix.
- Carnival: Organize carnival games around the classroom for the children to play. Ring toss, fishing game, bowling and the duck game are all timeless favorites.
- Stuffed Animal Party. Have each child bring in their favorite doll or stuff animal, and they can all set up a tea party for their fuzzy friends.
- Craft Project: Have the kids make and decorate party hats that they can take home.
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