Fun And Frugal Birthday Games

My daughter turned three this past week. This year I wanted it to be a little more fun for the girls so I thought I’d plan a few games. I didn’t want to spend a lot of any money on them, which meant I had to get creative. Now, there are plenty of free games that require no props such as Tag, Hide-And-Seek, or Duck Duck Goose, but I wanted to play something completely different for them so here’s what I decided.

Bean Bag Toss

For whatever reason, we don’t have any little bean bags, so this was a completely new thing for them.

Here’s what you’ll  need:

• Scrap fabric
• Sewing Machine (optional)
• Thread
• Bag of dried split peas or any dreid bean
• Medium-sized box
• Wrapping paper (optional)
• Utility Knife
• Packaging tape
• Scotch tape

Here’s what  you do: I cut the fabric into (10) 5-inch squares to make 5 bean bags. I placed two squares facing and sewed them together leaving a 2-inch opening. Then I snipped the corners (this helps them be pointy) and turned it right-side out. I ironed it, filled it with 1/2 cup dried peas and then top-stitched (being sure to close the opening). That’s it. For the box, I just wrapped it in extra wrapping paper to make it look pretty, cut a shape out of the top and then reinforced the edges of the shape with packaging tape so that it wouldn’t come ‘unwrapped’ right away. It held up really well.  We used a box that held computer paper, so it also had a removable lid.

Magnetic Fishing Game

The girls have never played anything like this and really got a kick out of the fish ‘jumping’ onto their pole.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Card stock or posterboard
• Large paper clips
• Long sticks
• Yarn or string
• Strong magnets
• Tape

Here’s what you do: Draw a simple fish shape or find one to print out. Then trace and cut out the number of fish you’d like. Place a paperclip on the ‘mouth’ of each fish. Then tie a long string to each stick and tape a magnet to the end of it. You can put the fish in a plastic kiddie pool, a large bowl or just all over the living room floor. Whatever you do, don’t use a metal bowl ( Yup, we had the fish in a metal bowl. It was funny.)

Why I do what I do ~ On Mothers Day I had Chloe give a homemade card to my mother. She handed it to her and said, “Happy Easter Nana!”

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Tagged as: Birthdays, Crafts, Saving Money, Sewing