Games for a 3-Year-Old's Birthday Party

Games for 3-year-old's birthday party are an important aspect of planning the party. A birthday party means coming up with fun, appropriate games that the birthday boy or girl and all of the children will enjoy playing. Most options for games for a 3-year-old's birthday party are simple activities that will provide plenty of entertainment for the toddlers.

This classic party game requires little skill and has easy to follow rules, making it the perfect game for a 3-year-old's birthday party. The object of Pin the Tail on the Donkey can be adapted to fit the theme of most parties. It can be changed to Crown the Princess or Put the Hat on the Cowboy. All parents need to do to prepare for this game is find a large picture of a donkey or object related to the party's theme and a paper version of whatever the children will be attempting to pin on. With the picture secured on the wall, children take turns wearing a blindfold and trying to pin the "tail" in the right spot. Whoever comes the closest wins.

Hot Potato is a quick paced, simple to follow game for a 3-year-old's birthday party. Instead of playing the old-fashioned way with an actual potato, children can toss around an object related to the party's theme, like a toy tractor or animal figurine. Aside from the object the children will be tossing, all parents need to provide is the background music. Children should be seated cross-legged on the floor in a circle and will simply pass the "potato" to the person sitting next to them while the music plays. When the parent turns off the music intermittently, whoever is caught holding the "potato" is out. The game continues until just one player remains.

Musical Chairs is an ideal choice of game for a 3-year-old's birthday party, as it has simple rules and serves as an outlet for all of that endless toddler energy. Parents should gather enough chairs for all but one child to sit in and arrange them facing out in a circle. Music should be played while children walk around the chairs, but when parents turn off the music intermittently the children should find a seat as quickly as they can. Whoever is left without a seat is out. The game continues on until only one player remains. Musical chairs can get a little rowdy as toddlers push and shove to get a seat, so parents should establish some basic ground rules before beginning.

Simon Says not only provides a lot of laughs and entertainment, but its emphasis on listening and following directions make it a suitable learning activity for toddlers as well. Parents love Simon Says because it requires no props and is completely free to play over and over again. When being played as a game for a 3-year-old's birthday party it is best that an adult or older child play Simon first to help teach the younger set how to be Simon later on in the game. The children listen to and follow the commands given by Simon until Simon omits saying "Simon says" before a command. Whichever children are caught following that command are out, until just one player remains. All the participants can take turns playing Simon.