Princess Party Games for 4-Year Olds

Your child's birthday is around the corner and you've got a princess theme in mind. You have the decorations, the food and the party favors, and all you need now are the games. But with a group of 4-year-olds attending, you may want to rethink the more competitive and challenging games that older kids play and opt for gentler, sillier activities 4-year-olds are sure to enjoy.

Before the princesses arrive, print out a picture of Sleeping Beauty and tack it to the wall. When you're ready to play the game, you can either put some red lipstick on the little ones' lips or cut out some construction paper lips with tape on the back for the girls to stick on Sleeping Beauty's mouth. While the kids are blindfolded, spin them around and lead them toward Sleeping Beauty and have them either try to kiss her on the mouth or add the paper lips. Tell all of the kids that because of their kisses, Sleeping Beauty has now been freed from the witch's evil spell.

To play this scavenger hunt-style game, scatter around the party area chocolate coins and plastic jewelry. When the kids are ready to play, tell them that the Queen has lost her treasure and needs them to help find it. The kids can scour high and low for the trinkets. When each guest has collected her share of treasures, you can either let them have the objects or, for story's sake, have the children dump their spoils into a golden treasure chest.

A twist on bobbing for apples, the little ones must grab as many apples as they can before Snow White's evil stepmother can harm the princess. Because 4-year-olds may not have the coordination for bobbing for apples, you can scatter the poisoned apples around the backyard and have the players search for them with baskets at their sides. At the end of the game, once everyone has found all of the apples, be sure to tell them that Snow White is saved and that it's all because of them.

As the children dance to some royal, instrumental music, stop the tunes and state that the Evil Queen has come to the ball, and when she stops the music, you must freeze. Turn the music back on and allow the kids to dance for a while longer until, at a random moment, the music stops and they have to freeze. For a competitive game, you can disqualify a child for not freezing; however, because most 4-year-olds get upset when they see others having fun when they can't, you may just want to let the kids freeze and then start dancing without any winners or losers.