2nd birthday party ideas

northernvabride

So DD will be 2 next month and this year, we'll have some other kids there, not just adults.  So I imagine this means that I need to have some activities.  The theme will probably be Elmo.  It will probably be at our house, but there is a small playground and gazebo in our neighborhood, that isn't out of the question.  I was thinking of starting the party at either 10am or 4pm. to work around the midday nap.  Thoughts?  Thanks. 

NowDNAtoo

It's so funny you asked this because DH and I were discussing this just this morning since we will be a month away from DS's 2nd birthday on Wednesday!  How did our kiddos get to be 2?!

We have just recently gone to a couple 2 yr old b-day parties for kids in DS's playgroup and they didn't have any activities other than some of the kids toys around or some outdoor toys in the backyards.  I'm thinking we'll clear up our basement and just have some toys down there for kids to play with since it's apt to be hot (I know it was last year). 

As far as theme the only thing we thought of was baseball (since it's summer time--although we did football last year) or dinosaurs as DS likes dance alot robot's dinosaur dance.

 BTW--how are you doing?

Baby4OT

Some easy party ideas for young kids:

- stickers! Get a bunch that relate to the theme and then let kids decorate stuff with them. At DD's 2nd bday party I got plain pink party hats and let the kids decorate those with stickers, also got plain white paper goody bags and gave them to the kids empty so that they could decorate them with stickers. Then I put the goody stuff in them right before kids left.

- make your own placemats: This one is a little more labor-intensive but if you have a grandparent or friend who can help during the party then it works. At DD's 3rd bday party I had printed a bunch of coloring sheets that matched the party theme and cut them into oval shapes (in other words, it wasn't left on a big 8x11 sheet of paper). I let the kids pick one or two and color them and then helped them glue them onto construction paper. Then they decorated it with stickers. After they were done, my MIL and SIL agreed to help with covering each placemat with clear contact paper.

If you are outside, you could just get out bubbles, sidewalk chalk, squirt toys and let the kids have fun.

Oh, and I'd have the party at 10 probably. I prefer to do stuff like that in the morning and then have the afternoon to recover

AgrippaRidesAgain

We didn't have any activities.  We rented a pavilion next to a playground and served food.  The kids that wanted to played on the playground.  They were all 2 and under anyway, so games weren't necessary.

Our party ran from 10:30-12:30 and it was perfect, b/c it hadn't gotten hot yet (although it was the first Saturday of May, it was supposed to be in the 90s that day).

tracy042206

We had Maggie's second bday at home and we mostly just have a few cousins on the kid side of things.  They are mostly happy to just play with all the toys (new to them) here but a few other things I had that they did enjoy were - party hats, those blower party things that make noise (pic below) and a few other little cheap things I ordered off the party site.Here she is with most of her get up.

 

I usually start the parties around 3 (after nap time for us) and serve lunch/dinner food but we often have most of the family staying with us so it is easier for me to do it that way (they all get fed).  However if it is at your house and you want it done early for cleanup I think 10AM is also a good time - then you can do cake right around lunch time and just serve fruit and other light/small things.