If your child has a birthday party this time of year, take advantage of the great weather to throw a fun, creative bash that lets the kids put their energy to good use while having a great time. Be sure to plan ahead, check the weather, and have plenty of adult help on hand!
1. Easter Egg Hunt
Buy plastic eggs, fill them with treats, and hide them in a yard or on a playground where your party is taking place. Ask children to bring their own baskets, or provide baskets, lunch bags, or buckets for each guest.
- To ensure everyone has a good time, count the eggs you hide, and divide by the number of children so everyone gets a batch!
Party favors: This is the easy part: the eggs — and treats inside — are the favor. The children can take home their bags filled with Easter egg goodness.
2. Planting Party
Purchase small flowers, and give a short tutorial on how to dig a small hole and plant. Children can have a great time choosing where to put in their flowers and working together with other children.
- Consider doing this part of the party at a park, a school, or an area of town that could use some sprucing up. Do not neglect to first get permission from the appropriate authorities.
- Be sure to have plenty of small gloves and gardening tools on hand.
Party favors: Send each child home with a flower to plant in their yard, or the yard of a friend or neighbor.
3. Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
This can be done by hiding simple household objects, toys such as matchbox cars and balls, or listing a variety of things typically found in nature:
- sticks that look like alphabet letters or numbers
- certain kinds of leaves
- rocks with particular colors
Be sure to have examples of these things handy so the kids know what they are looking for.
Party favors: If using toys for the scavenger hunt, send children home with the items they found. If using nature items or household objects, let the kids trade them in for some toys you've placed in a treasure box.
4. Nature Hike and Picnic
Hand out water bottles, rub on the sunscreen, and take kids on a trek at a lake, through some woods, or at a local nature trail.
- Encourage the birthday boy or girl and their guests to see what discoveries in nature they can find.
- Have the picnic afterward (along with the cake), and allow the children to share what they picked up along the way. Provide them with paper and crayons or pencils to draw a picture of animals and other things they saw along the way.
Party favors: small sketch pads and a few crayons or a pencil for each guest.
5. Sport/Game
Take advantage of the spring weather by hosting a game party. Choose from baseball, T-ball, soccer — whatever sport is most appropriate for your child and his guests.
- Be sure to go over rules, and even have a little practice before starting a real game for those children who may not be familiar with how to play.
Party favors: miniature sport balls, often found in party sections of grocery stores, or party supply stores.
6. Outdoor Fun Stations
Choose from some of these activities to set up around your yard or at a park:
- Bubble blowing station with bubble makers, small and large.
- Painting station with large art brushes and big sheets of paper. Be sure to have a place to hang up the artwork so it can dry. (Note: Do not choose this activity for a windy day.)
- Car racing station: provide several matchbox cars, and pull-back toy cars, and let the kids hold their own little Daytona 500.
- Cars in sand: Set out a couple of large shoe boxes filled with sand and toy cars and construction vehicles.
- Other activity station ideas include sidewalk chalk, kite-flying, working with play dough/clay, building with Legos or other kinds of blocks.
Party favor ideas: small containers of bubble blowing solution, matchbox cars, a few pieces of sidewalk chalk, and the artwork children created.
