Fun Birthday Games for Toddlers

Fishing Pond

• Create a fishing game. Make simple fishing poles using string and a wooden dowel. Attach the string to one end of the dowel. Add a magnet on each fishing line. Make fish, squid or whales from poster board, decorating them with paint or markers. (Laminate the creatures to make them last longer.) Attach a small metal object, such as a paper clip, to the end of each fish.

  Throw the fish in a plastic kid's pool. Give each toddler the chance to go fishing by touching the fishing pole magnet to the paper clips on the creatures. Award a prize to the toddler who catches the most fish or mark each fish with a given prize.

Maze

• Create a maze for the young party guests. Use hay bales or cardboard boxes in various sizes to create the maze. (Add a few heavy books to each cardboard box to prevent the maze from collapsing when bumped by toddlers.) Add pictures and props throughout the maze that relate to the overall theme of the party. Let a few toddlers at a time go through the maze so it doesn't get overly congested.

  An obstacle course offers a similar party game for birthdays. Use items around the house to create obstacles that are appropriate for toddlers such as bean bag chairs, boxes, large toys and pillows. Ask the children to walk quickly around the items.

Toy Walk

• Modify the traditional cake walk game to fit the age of the kids with a toy walk. Cut different shapes from poster board and attach them to the floor in a circle. Identify each shape with a picture of an animal so the toddlers easily can tell who wins. Make small cards for each animal, which will be used to draw the winner.

  Play lively music as the kids walk around the circle, stepping from one shape to the next. Stop the music and draw one of the cards from a bucket. Name the animal picked. Identify the child who is standing on the corresponding spot and allow the toddler to pick a prize.