Outdoor birthday party ideas

[noodleoo]

DD1’s 6th birthday in coming up next month. I want to throw her a small outdoor birthday party with probably 4-5 friends from her school. Any ideas for activities we could do outside and distanced relatively easily? We went to one this weekend where they painted pottery in the driveway that was awesome. I would steal that idea but it was mostly the same kids, LOL. You guys always have great ideas so I figured I’d brainstorm here!

ETA: The kids are great at mask wearing and they all play together at after school so I’m very comfortable with it. Plus all the parents are vaccinated at this point (and still stayed masked). 

[zarapipe]

We did gem mining. We live in the mountains and there are a few nearby. We then walked next door to an Italian place and had pizza outside on their deck. It was great.

[noodleoo]

Apr 19, 2021 21:25:41 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

We did gem mining. We live in the mountains and there are a few nearby. We then walked next door to an Italian place and had pizza outside on their deck. It was great.

That sounds so fun! I was thinking more of something we could do outside at our house in the yard or driveway.

I thought bounce house but that doesn’t seem like a great idea for keeping distance. I feel like someone else had a thread about this recently. Off to search!

[zarapipe]

How about set up a movie night? I see ppl putting up sheets and projecting a movie. Warm enough yet for a slip and slide? Flower planting by painting a pot, and planning a flower?

[minzy]

Can you set up games stations? I am thinking of doing our Olympics party again this year and will probably do that masked outside. Opening ceremony with fake torch, long jump, obstacle course with cones and pool noodles, hula hoops, (fake) egg and spoon race, burlap sack race, chalk the driveway, bubbles station, ring toss, a selfie station (with medals, head garland - I may skip this part this time bc we’ve already done lice 😬, and an Olympics flag backdrop smile.amazon.com/TrendyLuz-Flags-Olympics-International-Grommets/dp/B01M1H1S57/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=olympic+flag+3x5&qid=1618899676&sprefix=olympics+flag&sr=8-5), temporary tattoo station smile.amazon.com/Small-Olympic-Temporary-Tattoos-Removable/dp/B07H2P119L/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=olympic+temporary+tattoos&qid=1618899759&sprefix=olympics+temporary&sr=8-3, Rolos to go as “gold medal” favors. In the past I’ve done circles of blue, black, red, yellow, and green fruits like the rings, but you may want to pass on much communal food.

[pittpurple]

Tie dye? Or painting t-shirts with fabric paint.
Depending on what your daughter likes... any sort of crafting really.There are nice sets to make headbands, jewelery, etc.
Outdoor movie is fun - you could set up little stations for each of them with treats, a drink, etc.
Dancing can be distanced and there are plenty of games to play with music - musical statues, etc.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Apr 19, 2021 21:19:31 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

DD1’s 6th birthday in coming up next month. I want to throw her a small outdoor birthday party with probably 4-5 friends from her school. Any ideas for activities we could do outside and distanced relatively easily? We went to one this weekend where they painted pottery in the driveway that was awesome. I would steal that idea but it was mostly the same kids, LOL. You guys always have great ideas so I figured I’d brainstorm here!

ETA: The kids are great at mask wearing and they all play together at after school so I’m very comfortable with it. Plus all the parents are vaccinated at this point (and still stayed masked). 

I'm no help because painting pottery is what we did for dd's over the summer.  

[orval]

They do have at home gem mining kits if you think they may like that. You have to order the "dirt" and provide some tubs/water. here is one link, but there are others if you google gem mining at home.

pfgems.com/how-to-gem-mine-at-home/

[formerlyak]

For ds’ 7th birthday, we brought 4 families of his friends to a drive in movie. We made snack bags for each car and parked next to each other. The parents and kids stood outside the cars and chatted and played for about a half an hour after we parked before the movie started. Then we all got in our cars for the movie. The kids loved it.

[turkletsmom]

Apr 20, 2021 3:07:11 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

Tie dye? Or painting t-shirts with fabric paint.
Depending on what your daughter likes... any sort of crafting really.There are nice sets to make headbands, jewelery, etc.
Outdoor movie is fun - you could set up little stations for each of them with treats, a drink, etc.
Dancing can be distanced and there are plenty of games to play with music - musical statues, etc.

I like the tie dye idea.  Another craft could be stepping stone kits or fairy garden kits from Michaels.

[noodleoo]

Thx all! Great ideas! I like the idea of a planting party (decorating pots and then planting a flower). I think the kids would enjoy it and then they have a nice flower to take home! I also thought about doing a scavenger hunt at the local school. They have picnic tables, so we could have a snack/cupcakes there. We have a small yard and I'm worried it won't be that much fun for them so maybe the school would be better.

[af1212]

Ideas we have either done ourselves or gone to -

Movie night in our yard
Canvas painting
Pumpkin painting
Puppies brought from an animal shelter
Water gun fight
Scavenger hunt

[minzy]

Apr 20, 2021 9:20:43 GMT -5 turbo said:

minzy, I want to hear more about your Olympic party! Is it for kids or adults? Or both? Don’t want to threadjack, but I was just thinking that sounds like so much fun.

Yes, they have been so fun, both to plan and host! I’m excited about potentially hosting two in an eight month period coming up here! Kids have been my focus the last two (summer 2016 and winter 2018) but there have been adults there, too. This year, I may do American flag shots for the adults, as I have still have so much of the ingredients left over from the inauguration, haha. Maybe since the Summer Olympics are in Japan this year, we’ll have a sushi option.

I think I was able to make it the same day or weekend as the opening ceremonies (currently that’s Fri July 23 this year). The kids got mini American flags and we had a “torch” made of a wrapping paper tube, a paper plate, and some orange crepe paper, and they traipsed around to the Olympic theme song at the beginning. m.youtube.com/watch?v=MCqUESCoB1w Then we started the games at the stations. Ate. Passed out medals at the end with the Rolos.

For winter, we did a luge track with wrapping paper rolls and Hot Wheels and had kids release the cars against each other to race. I made mini tabletop curling boards where they went back and forth with quarters. We had figurine ice skating (i.e., two inch Daniel Tiger, Elsa, Paw Patrol characters) with water I froze in circular cake pans (that was a huge hit with the toddler set). There was a faux speed skating station and we attempted some slalom hops (just in my basement, so obviously nothing hardcore). I did a painting thing with small circular tubes where they could make Olympic ring art. And they all got the tattoos I linked above.

For decorations, we had the Olympic flag I posted above, an international flag banner, some smaller paper Olympic ring sets I found online, international flag plates and napkins. I saved all of it and am eager to dig it back out, lol. I have since become somewhat anti-balloon for helium and waste purposes, but I have done them in gold, silver, and bronze, and I found a set with all the continents that looked pretty cool at our selfie station. The first time I made our own Olympic t-shirts, but we got more serious and ordered some for the winter games, I think they were from Old Navy. I don’t see that Old Navy has any right now, but that may change as we get closer. You could get gear from www.teamusashop.com/ but they don’t have much with just the rings (probably copyright stuff). I really love the simplicity, symbolism, unity, and colors of the rings (much like I love the Olympics themselves)! I am aware of, but try not to focus too much on, the down sides, like inequities with vaccination, the environmental and economic impacts of these temporary villages, crap training conditions and support for some of these world class athletes, etc. 😬 At its very best, the Olympics can showcase the best of humanity, and I am here for that part, and to make it fun for kids while we can. 😊

[minzy]

Also on the Olympics ideas, I feel like maybe pugz, Velar Fricative, and konapoppy ought to be in here, too.

[pugz]

we did an Olympics party in 2016! kansascity.momcollective.com/hosting-summer-olympics-party/

[jaycee]

Will it be warm?

Before covid times, we had an end of the school year party for my sons (ages 7 and 5 at the time). I bought these pool noodle squirt gun things (link below) for $3-ish each. They're great because little kids can use them easily, you just dunk them in a bucket of water to refill, and they're cheap. Then I put 6 huge buckets of water around the yard. I also had a pile of sidewalk chalk, bubbles and jump ropes. In my area, there is an awesome ice cream truck that can come to your house on a scheduled visit with no minimum order necessary. Another year we had the same squirt gun party but instead of the ice cream truck, we rented a sno-cone machine.

www.walmart.com/ip/Toy-To-Enjoy-Water-Blaster-Guns-Pack-6-Foam-Noodle-Squirt-Shooter-Kids-Adults-Summer-Party-Toys-Outdoor-Pool-Beach-Fights/124952675

[noodleoo]

Apr 20, 2021 12:27:14 GMT -5 jaycee said:

Will it be warm?

Before covid times, we had an end of the school year party for my sons (ages 7 and 5 at the time). I bought these pool noodle squirt gun things (link below) for $3-ish each. They're great because little kids can use them easily, you just dunk them in a bucket of water to refill, and they're cheap. Then I put 6 huge buckets of water around the yard. I also had a pile of sidewalk chalk, bubbles and jump ropes. In my area, there is an awesome ice cream truck that can come to your house on a scheduled visit with no minimum order necessary. Another year we had the same squirt gun party but instead of the ice cream truck, we rented a sno-cone machine.

www.walmart.com/ip/Toy-To-Enjoy-Water-Blaster-Guns-Pack-6-Foam-Noodle-Squirt-Shooter-Kids-Adults-Summer-Party-Toys-Outdoor-Pool-Beach-Fights/124952675

Ooh those look fun!  Kids would have a blast!  It might be warm, May can be finicky in New England but it has been a warm spring so far.  

[macmars45]

A relay race? One of my sisters has a June birthday. She always had way better birthday parties than me (November). The relay race was my favorite year. I didn't participate at her friend parties (just so we're clear. I'm 4 years younger than her and was not welcome). My parents still have the relay race tapped on vhs. Crawling under sawhorses, pulling a wagon full of water balloons to throw at a target, running to collect water balloons and bringing them back between their legs....

[ilikedonuts]

My kids went to one last month at the park where (while in masks) they went on a hike, decorated tshirts with puffy paint, and watched a movie. It was just them and 4 girls (from 3 families) from swimming and they could have been sitting in a cardboard box and they would have been in heaven just being together!

[luckydog]

We made fairy gardens for DD’s sixth. I got some cheap bigger bowls, like for chips at a party. Had the kids get some river rocks from the yard, just enough to cover the bottom. Add soil. Add plants and moss. Add fairy garden stuff. I thought about having them paint tiny birdhouses or upside down tiny pots to use as fairy houses, but didn’t get the stuff in time. Pinterest probably has better ideas along these same lines!

[fn2187]

This is a smaller activity but if she likes ladybugs, you can get the containers of them at a local garden store pretty cheap and have the kids release them and play with them near plants, trees etc.

[wizardressofoz]

Apr 28, 2021 13:08:08 GMT -5 luckydog said:

We made fairy gardens for DD’s sixth. I got some cheap bigger bowls, like for chips at a party. Had the kids get some river rocks from the yard, just enough to cover the bottom. Add soil. Add plants and moss. Add fairy garden stuff. I thought about having them paint tiny birdhouses or upside down tiny pots to use as fairy houses, but didn’t get the stuff in time. Pinterest probably has better ideas along these same lines!

I love this idea!

[1yeartogo]

Soccer, obstacle course, swings (if you go to a playground or have one in your yard).

For my DDs birthday we brought out an inflatable tumble track the kids could jump on 1 at a time (already owned), we also played kids music on Alexa (perry griff is their fav) and the girls did some dance party and would plan out moves. It got them super active and silly which is what a party is all about.

[ellipses84]

I like the idea of different stations. No matter what, it’s hard to keep kids that age apart, but it’s probably no different than school if they are outside with masks. We have all boys and so do a lot of our friends so I don’t know if she’ll care for most of these ideas. We’ve done different kids of “battle” parties, like nerf, water balloon, paintball (you can do colored water balloons instead). Outdoor movie night (kids could decorate boxes to sit in -like a fake car for a drive in). My brother once did a minute-to-win-it party with different games from the show. Camping theme/activities, even if they don’t spend the night and have their own little tents with sleeping bags and s’mores.

[keyslover]

Not sure if odd squad is still a thing, but dd had an odd squad party where they put together gadgets. I grabbed some random things around the house and the dollar store (craft stuff, plastic utensils, whatever you think works, and duct tape).

For distancing, I add a pool noodle to "attach" their gadget on and they can show them off or battle.

[luv2rn4fun]

My neighbors just had a party for their 5 year old. It was unicorn themed and they had a “unicorn” (pony) show up as a surprise and to give pony rides. The kids loved it!

I also like the idea of fairy houses/gardens or doing some kind of craft. Or having it at a park (one that isn’t generally crowded)....kids can play, have cupcakes, etc

[wizardressofoz]

I just had a birthday party for my 4 year old yesterday. I booked a shelter house at a park that’s next to a nice playground. I invited her daycare class only, and some brought siblings who incidentally were in my older kids class. The kids played hard for about an hour and a half, taking a brief break for a snack and cupcakes. Parents all stood around distanced and chatted. It was amazing to see other people, and the kids all enjoyed playing with each other. I think we were the only ones at the park.

[waverly]

Not helpful for your age group but I am planning on maybe an outdoor laser tag place for DS’s 11th birthday.