Don’t forget the kids when you’re planning your 4th of July party this year. Here are some fun activities you can plan to help keep your kids entertained and having fun.

• Printable 4th of July Color Pages
• Patriotic Games
• Plan a parade- have all the children dress up in their favorite patriotic outfit for a fun parade. Have them bring a wagon, or bicycle, and decorate them to make their own float.
• Paint flags on the children’s faces
• Have a patriotic scavenger or treasure hunt
• Set Up a Wet and Wild Obstacle Course
• Make a patriotic pony bead necklace

I’ve posted more fun 4th of July ideas at my b5media blog, She Knows Parties:

•  4th of July party decorations
• Ideas for making your own 4th of July party decorations
• 4th of July fireworks safety
• 4th of July red white and blue dessert ideas

What fun games, and activities have you played at your 4th of July parties?

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Here are some things to think about when you’re planning activities for children’s birthday parties. This video gives some great pre planning advice for birthday party activities, crafts, and pinatas.

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Here is an inexpensive party activity for a preschool aged party. Just purchase a box or two of  ‘O’ shaped cereal such as Fruit Loops, Cheerios, or Apple Jacks. You could also use chewy Lifesavers.  You’ll also need a pack of string licorice.

Let the children string  the cereal onto the licorice strings.

When they’re done making the necklace they can eat it. It’s a fun preschool party activity, favor, and snack all rolled up into one.

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Preschoolers are so easy to entertain, but you will want to keep things as simple as possible to keep yourself from pulling your hair out.

Sidewalk Fun

If it’s warm outside get them outside to blow off some steam. Sidewalk chalk or sidewalk paint are great fun for preschoolers, let them draw each other’s shadows, or make shapes, letters, or simple pictures. Draw up a game of hopscotch to play.

Homemade Sidewalk Paint

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

6-8 drops of food coloring

Mix cornstarch and cold water together in a small container. Add the food coloring and stir. Repeat this process to create different colors of paint. Washes away easily with rain or water.

Play Dough

Playdough is a fun and easy thing to do with preschoolers at a party. Keep the playdough in one area, with plastic on the floor to catch any pieces that may escape. Get several colors of playdough, and some cookie cutters or let them mold their own creations.

Make your own playclay recipe:

Edible Play Dough

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of corn syrup

1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar

1 1/4 cup of powdered milk

Mix all the ingredients together. Your kids can form their own creations, then eat them. Make sure they wash their hands before playing with this play dough and they should work on a clean surface. You can provide coconut, nuts, raisins, sugar coated candies, or sprinkles for them to decorate their creations with.

Play A Simple Game

When you’re playing games with preschoolers stick to games with simple rules they may be familiar with. Some good preschool party games to play include the old favorites, Simon Says, Duck Duck Goose, Freeze Tag, Warmer/ Colder, and simple scavenger hunts.

You can also lay a large sheet of butcher paper (leftover wrapping paper works great too) or use a plain white roll of paper, on a long table or on the floor and give them some simple drawing books, and some crayons or colored pencils. Let them make a mural for the birthday child.

You can also set up craft stations, and let them rotate between the stations, just make sure you have an adult helper for each station.

Whatever game or activity you plan to do with preschoolers keep it simple, and if it’s not going well regroup. Free play time always works well if none of your ideas are working out. Don’t get too stressed and have fun with it!

Tags: preschool party games, preschool party ideas, preschool party games and ideas, party ideas for preschoolers, games and activities for preschoolers

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Little girls (and boys) love to play dress up, and it’s a fun party activity that fits into many party themes. You don’t have to purchase expensive outfits to let the kids have a great time playing dress up.

Here are a couple tips for having fun dress up activities at your party without breaking the bank:

1. Accessorize! It’s all about the accessories right? Get some bright colored boas, shoes, gloves, hats, and costume jewelry. They’ll have just as much fun trying on accessories as they would the whole outfits.

2. Check out some local garage sales or thrift shops. You can usually find gently used party dresses, costumes, and fun outfits at bargain prices.

3. Make your own, or better yet let the kids make their own costumes, or accessories at the party. It can be a lot of fun. Oriental Trading Company, Inc. has a bunch of fun kits you can purchase to make your own accessories. They have magic wands, pirate hats, princess crowns, and much more.

4. Don’t forget to raid your own closet, and your friends closet. Go through the closets to see what you can find from fun shoes, to scarves, think of the clothes from a kids point of view. Throw in anything that looks like fun. Scarves make great superhero capes, and my son loves to wear anyone’s shoes but his own around the house.

Let the kids dress up and show off their creations, or act out a skit. They’ll have a ton of fun, and create some great memories. Don’t forget to capture a few shots on camera, or video.

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Here’s a video tutorial to help you and your party guests learn a dance for the Hannah Montana song “See You Again.” It would be fun for a group of kids to learn for a Hannah Montana birthday party activity.

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With all the Hollywood awards shows, red carpet events, and movie premieres, your child may want to be a star for the day. Let them walk the red carpet and have their moment to shine.

Hollywood Theme Party Pre-Planning and Invitations
Break out the stars and have your own Hollywood awards party. Start your party plans a few weeks ahead of time with star-studded invitations. You can make your own by cutting yellow cardstock into star shapes, and gluing a small card to the center with all the party details. You could also add a photo of a Hollywood award statues to a cardstock card you design yourself.

Possible Hollywood birthday party invitation ideas:

• Your invited to a star studded event…

• Come be a Hollywood superstar for a day…

• We’re rolling out the red carpet for *****’s birthday.

If you don’t want to make your invitations you can purchase pre-printed Hollywood style invitations.

Hollywood Themed Party Decorations
Get movie posters, or life-size cutouts of your child’s favorite movie stars. Make a movie marquee by stringing white mini Christmas lights around a poster board, or a large sheet of white paper. Write happy birthday to the star of the day. Put gold stars on the walls with the party guests names on them, and use black and gold streamers. Don’t forget the red carpet!

Don’t forget the Hollywood Theme Party supplies.

Hollywood Themed Party Snack Ideas
You can have movie theater snacks like popcorn pizza or nachos, or make it a fancy affair with mini hot dogs, or chocolate covered strawberries. Whatever you decide on keep it simple and fun, remember the ages of your partygoers.

Hollywood Party Activities

• Let your little actors show off their acting skills by playing Charades or acting out skits.

• Show a favorite movie. Pop your child’s favorite movie in the DVD player, and let them share the movie with their friends.

• Gather up some fancy clothes from a local thrift store, your closet, or hit a garage sale. Let the children dress up Hollywood style and show off their outfits in a red carpet parade.

• If you have a digital camera take a photo of each child and let them decorate a frame for their picture. Have stickers, gold glitter pens, stamps and markers for them to decorate with.

• Hang a Movie Pinata

Hollywood Party Cake Ideas
Use star stencils to add a glittery star to a cake or cupcakes with edible glitter.

Whatever you do just have fun with it and keep it simple.

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Here are some fun kid’s party related links for you to check out this weekend.

Birthday Parties and Themes has a fun bingo game for the kids to play at your next birthday party.

Seasonal Kids Activities has a really cute idea for homemade Valentines 

Mommy Auctions has one of my favorite party activities- coloring on the floor. They don’t really color on the floor, and it’s a great way to get rid of that leftover wrapping paper.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

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My son made a really simple knights shield. I thought I would share the idea here, it would make a great project for a knight, castle, or dragon party.

What you will need:

A pizza cardboard

Aluminum foil

A stapler

stickers or construction paper

A strip of fabric the width of the circle for a handle

How to make it:

Attach the strip of fabric to the back of the cardboard by stapling it on each end.

Wrap the foil around the front of the shield and attach it to the back, you may want to put one or two staples around the edge to hold it in place. Let the children decorate the front of the shield with stickers, or cut shapes out of construction paper.

This knights shield is a great activity for little children, since it is so simple.

Princess~ Knight Contrasting Party Themes 

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You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to party games. Some of the oldest games work the best when you’re trying to figure out how to entertain a group of children. Most children already know the rules and understand how to play these old familiar favorites. This means less explanation from you, and more playtime for the kids.

If you’ve overlooked a game because you don’t think it fits the theme of your party, think again. Many old favorites can be tweaked a little, or maybe just renamed to fit the theme of your party.

Pin the tail on the donkey is one of the most versatile games there is. All you need is a blindfold, Something to be pinned, and something to pin on. If you’re having a farm or tractor party, just draw a large tractor on a whiteboard, or poster board. Cut a tractor wheel out of black cardstock, or construction paper. Use sticky tack on the back of the tire to help it stick repeatedly, or have a helper hold the tire in place until you can mark the exact spot, and the initials of the person who last pinned.

Pin the tail on the donkey can also be renamed as pin the tail on the mermaid, pin the cord on the microphone (for American Idol, Hannah Montana, Rockstar, or Karaoke theme birthday parties). You can also try pin the tail on the Pikachu (Pokemon), pin the horn on the unicorn, pin the hook on the pirate, the tiara on the princess, and I think you get the idea. All you need is an imagination, a poster board, some markers, and construction paper to change pin the tail on the donkey to fit your party theme. Don’t forget the blindfold!

Another fun game that’s easy to adapt is hot potato. Instead of a potato you can have an object to fit your theme. Some titles might include, Don’t Get Caught With Hannah Montana’s Hat, Don’t Be Left Holding the (beach, base, foot, soccer, basket) ball (for a sports theme or beach party). Use a soft Nerf type ball in case someone gets hit. If your having a jungle, dog, cat, dinosaur, Webkinz, or unicorn party use a soft stuffed version of the animal for the “hot potato,” and make up a name to fit. Whoever is left holding the “hot potato” when the music stops is out of the game.

Easter egg hunts can also adapt to several party themes. Rename them dinosaur egg hunts, Poke-ball hunt, or hide party favors for your theme around the yard or house and let the children find them.

A relay race is simple and works very well with most party themes. For a beach party you can have the children divide into teams. Each team will have to grab several beach related items (a towel, a pair of flippers and a snorkel, a beach ball) and race down to a marker and back. They then hand the items off to the next person who races down, until everyone on the team has gone.

You can make this a dress up relay for older children, the dress up relay works well for princess or pirate parties. Have a costume ready for each team to put on. Each person on the team has to put on the costume, race down and back, take off the costume and hand it off to the next person in line.

I think you get the idea, just use your imagination, and any game (with a little tweaking) can fit your party theme. If you play a game that the children are already familiar with they will be less nervous, they’ll be able to focus on the game, and have more fun.

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