Small Backyard Birthday Party Ideas, The old-fashioned backyard birthday party seems to have gone the way of the punch card computers. That is to say that it doesn’t seem to be a very popular option these days. However, in my opinion, it is a much-overlooked option and can be the best party your child ever had!
There are several options and fun games when considering the backyard birthday party. One can hire entertainment or one can do the entertaining oneself. You can allow a free for all playtime or you can plan outdoor games and children’s birthday party activities for the little kids. It can be a big bash or a small intimate gathering. It can be a catered meal or it can be snack foods and make your own sundaes! The options are literally endless in the summer months. Let’s explore some of the possibilities for backyard birthday parties!
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Top Backyard Birthday Party Ideas
As far as entertaining young children, it first depends on the age of the children. Once that is taken into consideration, you also have to decide what may be interesting to them. For the youngest children, a few games, some balls, and a swing set are probably the most appealing party ideas. As children get a bit older, they may enjoy more sophisticated entertainment.
If you choose to hire entertainment, you may choose a clown, a team that does science experiments for the kids and their best friends or a travelling zoo among other choices. Be sure to check with the entertainer for the optimal number of children he prefers and also find out how long the performance will last and what exactly is included.
Find out if there will be any hands-on opportunities for the kids or will they just watch a show. Also, find out if the entertainer needs anything specific like a table or if the children need to be seated in a particular way (i.e. in chairs or on the ground or maybe it doesn’t matter). Do find out all the details! This will make the party a huge success!
Some choose to do the entertaining themselves. This can be done in a variety of ways. I’ve seen arts and crafts parties where there are stations set up with different crafts and each child moves from station to station as they are ready to do so. Crafts are set up and easy to do independently.
Games can be set up in a similar fashion with things like bean bag toss or a magnetic fishing pond or you can choose to do whole group lawn games where everyone at the party participates together. Group games for older children can range from “Pin the Tail on the __” to relay races to something you create on your own. Here are a few of my favourite party games that are so much fun to play and watch:
Surprise Balloon Relay Race For Younger Kids And Outdoor Parties
Before the race, blow up balloons but put a toy or candy surprise INSIDE the balloons. Children line up in two teams on one end of the yard. Baskets with the surprise balloons are on the other side of the yard. Proceed as in a relay obstacle course race but when the racer gets to the basket of balloons, he has to take one out, pop it to get his surprise then run back to tag the next person in line to go. Line that finishes first wins but really everyone wins because everyone gets a prize!
A Nature Scavenger Hunt For Kids Of All Ages
Place a treasure chest somewhere secret. Create clues that lead the children to the treasure chest such as “check behind the tree that has the pink balloons hanging from it” or “the key to the treasure lies where you will find baking pies (kitchen)”. At each location, children will find another clue until the final clue leads them to the treasure. Inside the treasure box, children will find small toys to keep.
Musical Shapes For A Kids Birthday Party
Place cut-out shapes (or use paper plates with numbers on them even) around in a circle. Each child starts off on a shape or numbered plate. Play music and the children must walk around the outside of the circle. When the music stops, each child finds a shape or plate. The caller calls out a shape or number (you can put them all in a cup and draw one out each time so it is random). If the number or shape you are standing on is called, you win a prize.
Penny Or Gem Toss At A Children’s Birthday Party
Spread pennies or gems out in one particular area. Have children stand outside that area until you shout “go”. At that time, children are encouraged to pick up as many pennies or gems as they can find. The one with the most pennies or gems is the winner. Children seem to love finding the “gems” (I used clear/coloured marbles) and then even trading them to get the ones they found most beautiful.
There are also plenty of well-known party games such as Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, Mother May I?, Duck, Duck Goose and so many more. You can do bean bag tosses or basketball toss (if you have a hoop). You can do soccer ball kicks to see who can kick the farthest.
Outdoor Birthday Party Ideas For A Memorable Birthday Party
A backyard is a natural setting for a party that can be fun, safe, elegant or festive for party-goers of all ages. The website Amazing Moms in an article points out that there’s more to throwing a great backyard birthday party than throwing the kids outside and serving up hot dogs and cake. A backyard party still requires planning and structure for everyone to have fun.
A Backyard Picnic Is Great For Older Kids
A picnic theme can be adapted to please the birthday honoree no matter what the age or gender or the summer heat. For children, include plenty of white and red balloons and other bright decorations along with traditional white and red checked tablecloths.
Spread blankets on the ground if you don’t have enough outdoor seating. Fire up the grill and cook the birthday girl’s favourite barbecue items. Both children and adults will enjoy backyard games like croquet, badminton or hide-and-seek. You can also make a backyard birthday picnic elegant by stringing lights around the yard, trading the paper plates and plastic forks for real dinnerware and serving upscale picnic foods and hot summer day drinks.
A Zoo Party For Those Special Occasions
Many organizations around the country will bring a small “zoo” to your backyard for parties and other special events. If your birthday honoree is an animal lover, a zoo party may be a perfect fit. The variety of animals and levels of interaction will vary with each organization so be sure to ask for details before booking the event. Call your local zoo or chamber of commerce for information on the most reputable mobile petting zoos in your area.
A Garden Party Is The Kind Of Party Everybody Loves
A garden party is always appropriate and a fun way to celebrate a backyard birthday. Ask the guests on the guest list to dress in formal “tea party” clothes and serve finger sandwiches and petit fours on elegantly set outdoor tables. If your birthday honoree would rather dig in the soil than sip tea, host a working garden party theme. A great idea is to ask guests to bring seeds or flowers for planting, decorate with pots of herbs, serve canned drinks in a wheelbarrow full of ice and arrange your menu around items that can be grown in a backyard garden.
A Bug Party Is A Great Option For A Summer Birthday
For boys or girls who are intrigued by bugs and the great outdoors, plan a party that’s all about these six-legged creatures. Find an entomologist, a bug scientist, to talk to the children about the bugs in their own backyard. After the talk, the kids can enjoy a humane bug safari with a prize awarded to the child who locates the most species.
Serve cupcakes decorated with gummy worms, and decorate with bug stickers, butterfly nets and large images of common bugs. Set up an outdoor movie screen just like for an outdoor movie night and let the party guests watch “A Bug’s Life” while snacking on “ants on a log” (peanut butter-filled celery sticks dotted with raisins) or other bug-inspired cuisine.
