Birthday parties are all about letting loose and having fun. Let your child and all her guests indulge in messy activities that are normally outlawed at home. Messy games give children the feeling of freedom and absolute indulgence. Prepare for the mess early, and you can create an incredibly fun, fascinating party theme without too much stress for you.
Early Warning
Unless your child is partying alone, you need to prepare his guests for the fun they will enjoy. Without proper notice of the theme and expectations of the party, some parents may unknowingly dress their children in their Sunday best. Send out invitations that let everyone know that this party isn’t a traditional tea or standard birthday. Invite kids to come in their grimiest attire to ensure everyone is ready for the fun.
Fun For All
Depending on the games, you can host a messy party for any age group. Preschoolers and young grade school children will enjoy simple relays and races, while older kids may prefer more elaborate obstacle courses, ones that require them to remember different steps. If you are hosting a painting or other art competition, you may want to have prizes for everyone, especially little kids. Winning entries might include “most creative” or “most use of paint.”
Materials
Just about anything that is sticky, runny, gooey, foamy or messy can be integrated into popular birthday games. Run relay races with water balloons full of shaving cream or a cornstarch and water mixture. Fill small pools with pudding, gelatin, colored cornstarch and water or other mixtures, and invite the kids to go digging for treasures. Budding artists can practice throwing paint-filled sponges at canvases or squirting them with spray bottles full of watered-down paint.
Clean-Up
Make the clean-up process just as much fun as the getting dirty. Establish a clean-up station in a clean tub or pool of clear water. Add some soap for a bubbling good time. See who can splash the most paint, dirt or other grime off in a given amount of time. Hand out sponges and see who can get cleanest the fastest.
Prizes
Don’t let anyone go home empty-handed. Visit your local drug or discount store and gather bath time toys, such as rubber duckies. Wash clothes, bars of soap and bottles of shampoo encourage a good cleaning at home. To keep the fun going, send home squirt bottles or squirt guns.
Photo Credit
- dirty baby image by Maya Kruchancova from Fotolia.com
