Party Games for a 3rd Birthday!

[nick.w.v]

Hi all,

We?re hosting a little party for eldest?s third birthday this week and are looking for some sure fire party game hits to keep 8 other two and three year olds entertained for a couple of hours. Mums are likely to be fairly pre-occupied with younger babies so games need to be easy to organise, really engaging and easy for a (fairly knackered) dad to run.

Any ideas very very welcome.

Thanks!

Nick

[BeccaL]

Lots of musical games - musical bumps (when the music stops, all have to sit down, last one to sit down is out, last one left wins (small) prize), similarly musical statues (but have to stand still when music stops), pass the parcel.

Dead lions is a good one for if they all get a bit over-excited - they have to lie down on the ground and be a dead lion (i.e. still), when they move they're out, and last one left wins. This is particularly good if you're not looking too closely so they all get to have a quiet lie-down for a couple of minutes ;-) however, we did once have a winner of this at my sister's birthday party many years ago who refused to believe that she'd won - she thought we were trying to trick her into moving!, but that's more likely with slightly older kids. Otherwise a disco/dance is always good fun, especially if they've got balloons to play with.

Hope that helps - pass the parcel the only one which really needs any preparation (though you might need an assistant if you're concerned about making sure everyone gets a turn unwrapping the parcel and/or checking who is going to win it!)

Have fun!