Inexpensive Birthday Party Games for Dads on a Budget
You don’t have to hire a magician or a pony to make a child’s birthday party a success. The only real expense you might have to endure is birthday cake and ice cream. Otherwise, kids just need some easy-to-create fun activities. You can go fly a kite or take a trip together to the local playground.
If you want to be more industrious, here are some easy-to-make attractions that will keep a group of kids (4-10) busy for a few hours:
Fishing game
What it is: Plywood 3-sided structure about 5 feet tall and 8 feet long, painted front to look like water. Fishing poles made from bamboo poles about 3’ long with string attached and clippie clothes pin tied on the other side.
Materials needed: 2 4×8’ sheets of plywood, 4 bamboo poles (6’ long and cut to 3’ each) string cut to 4’ long, spring clothes pins to clip on fishing prizes. VOLUNTEER to cut the plywood and assemble the exhibit, and paint the front. Small prizes to be “fished” for.
How to play: Volunteers sit behind exhibit. Kids come up and throw the fishing line over the “water”. Volunteers clip on prizes, small toys, stickers or candies.
Pirate Ship Walk the Plank
What it is: A balance beam with a large cut-out graphic of a pirate ship attached at one end. It sits on a blue tarp trimmed to look like water. (The school may have balance beams we can borrow)
Materials needed: A balance beam. A large board, about 5’x6’ cut out and painted to look like a pirate ship (maybe with a shark). A blue painter’s tarp with the edges rounded to look like a pool of water. Pirate dress-up of some sort: a pirate hat, hooked hand, eye patch and vest. Plastic gold coins.
How to play: