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 just want to play undisturbed with their guests. If you want to offer craft ideas for younger children, make sure the crafts are relatively quick and easy to carry out, because that way they can be offered as a "between-times" activity and won't dominate the birthday planning.
Craft tip 1: Painting 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 can choose a crown and paint and decorate it themselves. Then the crowns are glued or fastened together to fit the head size. Masks are adjusted to the head by attaching an elastic band.
Craft tip 2: Decorating 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
Icing pens/tubes
Optional: decorative toppers for the cookies
Cellophane bags or small boxes for packaging
How to do it:Lay out the cookies and decorations, and a few brushes or teaspoons for the icing. Each child can take cookies and decorate them as they wish – and of course they can snack while doing so. The decorated cookies are packaged decoratively in a cellophane bag or a small cardboard box and taken home as party favors.
Birthday craft ideas for elementary school children
From around six years old, most children want more activities for their birthday party. The craft projects can now take a bit more time. It's ideal if the crafts can be combined with other activities, such as decorating their own treasure boxes.
Craft tip 1: Decorating treasure boxes
You will need:
Small cardboard boxes with lids, e.g. from the stationer's or craft stores
Spray paint
Felt-tip pens, acrylic paints and brushes for painting/writing
Glass stones, shells and other decorations to glue on
Craft glue
How to do it:Either spray the treasure boxes with color in advance or let the children choose a color themselves. In the latter case, however, you must allow some time for drying before continuing with the decorating. Then decorate and glue the colored treasure boxes as desired. At the end of the birthday party, each child takes home their treasure box—perhaps filled with a few 'treasures'—as a party favor.
Tip:Combine the treasure box crafting 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: Painting fabric bags
You will need:
White fabric bags, tote bags with handles, or drawstring bags
Fabric paint or textile markers
Optional: old men's shirts to protect clothing
How to do it:Each child gets a fabric bag and may design it themselves with fabric paint. With markers the fabric can be painted and written on like a sheet of paper; with liquid paint you can, for example, make hand and footprint prints or potato stamping. 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 which they would prefer.
Craft tip 3: Stringing jewelry
You will need:
Nylon cord or thin elastic cord on a roll
Scissors
Various colorful beads and pendants for stringing
Optional: large darning needles to help with stringing
How to do it:Each child gets a piece of cord and threads on the beads they like best. Depending on the length, these become bracelets, necklaces, or anklets.
Tip:In craft stores and hobby shops you can sometimes find simple plastic clasps for homemade beaded necklaces. If the children have a lot of patience while crafting, you can also offer them the chance to shape their own necklace charms from modeling clay and string these together with the beads.
