Which craft ideas are suitable for which age?
Even three- or four-year-olds can do crafts at a children's birthday party. However, most birthday children at that age simply want to play with their guests undisturbed. If you want to offer craft ideas for younger children, you should make sure the crafts are relatively quick and easy to do, because that way they can be offered as a quick 'in-between' activity and won't dominate the party planning.
Craft tip 1: Paint masks and crowns
You will need:
Crowns, animal masks, pirate masks made of cardboard, either from the craft shop or drawn and cut out yourself
Craft glue
Pens or craft paints for coloring
Glitter glue, stickers, self-adhesive decorative stones, etc. for decorating
For masks: elastic bands
How to do it:Prepare crowns in advance if necessary and lay them out with the craft materials. Each child may choose a crown and paint and decorate it themselves. Then the crowns are glued or fastened together to fit the head circumference. Masks are adjusted to the head circumference with an elastic band.
Craft tip 2: Decorate cookies
You will need:
Homemade cut-out cookies in pretty shapes, e.g. hearts, crowns, stars
Icing, possibly colored with food coloring, or chocolate glaze
Sprinkle decorations: colorful sprinkles, sugar stars, chocolate sprinkles
Piping icing in tubes
Optional motif toppers for the cookies
Cellophane bags or small boxes for packaging
How to do it:Lay out the cookies and decorations, plus a few brushes or teaspoons for the icing. Each child can take cookies and decorate them as they wish — and of course they may snack while doing so. The self-decorated cookies are attractively packaged in a cellophane bag or a small cardboard box and taken home as party favors.
Birthday craft ideas for elementary school children
From about six years old most children want more activities for their birthday party. The crafts can now take a bit more time. It's ideal if the crafts can be combined with other activities, such as with self-decorated treasure boxes.
Craft tip 1: Decorate your own treasure boxes
You will need:
Small cardboard boxes with lids, e.g. from stationery shops or craft stores
Spray paint
Felt-tip pens, acrylic paints and brushes for painting/writing
Glass gems, shells and other decorations to glue on
Craft glue
How to do it:Either spray-paint the treasure boxes in advance, or let the children choose a color themselves. In the second case, you will have to allow some drying time before you can continue decorating. Then decorate and stick the colored treasure boxes as desired. At the end of the party each child takes their treasure box — perhaps filled with a few 'treasures' — home as a party favor.
Tip:Combine the treasure box craft with a scavenger hunt: the children find their treasure boxes as a surprise and can then decorate them themselves; this way time flies by.
Craft tip 2: Paint fabric bags
You will need:
White fabric bags, tote bags with handles, or drawstring bags
Textile paint or fabric markers
Optional old shirts to protect clothing
How to do it:Each child receives a fabric bag and may decorate it themselves with textile paint. With markers the fabric can be painted and written on like a sheet of paper; with liquid paint you can do, for example, hand and footprint prints or potato printing. When the bags are dry, each child can take their bag home.
Tip:Instead of bags, white t-shirts or caps can also be decorated. Ask the birthday child what they would prefer.
Craft tip 3: Stringing jewelry
You will need:
Nylon cord or thin elastic band on a roll
Scissors
Various colorful beads and pendants for threading
Optional large darning needles to help with threading
How to do it:Each child receives a piece of cord and threads on the beads they like best. Depending on the length, they become bracelets, necklaces, or even anklets.
Tip:You can sometimes find simple plastic clasps for homemade bead necklaces in craft supply and hobby shops. If the children have a lot of stamina for crafting, you can also offer them the option to shape their own pendants from modeling clay and thread them together with the beads.
