7 kids birthday party activities you can do in small spaces
Just because you live in an apartment doesn’t mean you can’t throw a killer birthday party for your youngster at home. You might just have to get a little creative to pull it off. Instead of renting an expensive space to host your little one’s birthday party, enlist one of these creative ideas to make it happen at home.
- Go camping.
You don’t need the crackle campfire or the chirp of crickets to host a camping trip. Make a “tent” out of extra sheets and blankets in the living room, fill it up with cushy pillows, and invite your pint-sized party guests on a journey into the wilderness. Create your own faux campfire out of orange tissue paper and paper towel roll “logs” and pass the flashlight around to tell spooky stories. You can even make s’mores in the microwave. - Decorate cupcakes.
Don’t have quite enough space for a campout? As long as you have a dining room table, you can decorate cupcakes. This is a good activity for older kids with an interest in baking or art. You make the cupcakes ahead of time, allow them to cool, and then hand them over to the little ones with frosting, sprinkles, and anything else they need to make them their own. - Throw a tea party.
Send out formal paper invitations to cordially invite your little one’s friends to a tea party. Encourage them to get dressed up in their finest party attire (tulle optional, but encouraged) and set the table with your best china (or a plastic party-store version) for high tea. Cut up cute little sandwiches, serve warm tea, and cap off the party with mini desserts. - Set up a movie theater in the living room.
Are your guests a little too old to be interested in a campout or a tea party? Maybe a private screening of a movie recently released on demand will hold their attention. Shovel out the popcorn, black out the windows, and set up a “snack bar” with a few different types of candy to choose from, then shush the crowd as you hit play on the evening’s feature film. - Break out the playdough.
If you’re aiming for a simple, easy birthday party, then you won’t want to go over the top. Instead, stick to some parent standbys, like playdough. Cover your dining room table with a plastic tablecloth and line up a rainbow of playdough. Let each kid create a masterpiece and allow them to take home some of the playdough as a party favor. - Get on-theme coloring books.
For younger kids who are still into coloring books, you might not even need to deal with messy playdough. Look for a handful of coloring books that match your superhero, princess, or cartoon show theme. Let each party guest pick their favorite—it’s wise to have a few copies of each to avoid any arguments—and set them up with crayons and a coloring surface. - Play pizza chef.
Letting kids create their own personal pizzas won’t just keep them entertained, it’ll actually take the task of food prep off of you. Win-win. Set up each youngster with a pita pocket or a mini pizza crust, help them apply some sauce if necessary, and then let them decorate their pie however they like from a host of ingredients. Make sure you have pizza staples like mozzarella, pepperoni, and mushrooms on hand.
The secrets to hosting a big-fun kid’s party in a small apartment [Brick Underground]
5 Kid Birthday Party Themes You Can Pull Off in a Small Space [Mommy Poppins]
10 Low-Key Birthday Activities for Kids [Hands On As We Grow]