Barney Birthday Party Ideas

Invite your guests to a Barney birthday party for some fun and games!

Young children will be excited to find themselves in the world of their favorite character.

Resources:

For Barney birthday invitations, write party information on white construction paper. Get medium-sized plastic eggs (that open and close) from a store.

Place your invitations inside the eggs together with small plastic dinosaurs. Close the eggs tight. For a fun effect, place Barney stickers on top of the eggs. Next, hand-deliver invitations to the guests.

As an alternative, draw and cut out egg shapes from white or purple paper. Photocopy and glue a picture of Barney in the middle. Then write party details.

Lastly, you can create cards out of construction paper. Glue a photo of the birthday child on the front of the cards. Write "Come and Play at Our Barney Party!" Draw fun pictures all over the card, and include the party details inside.

If you would like to save time, you can get ready-made invitations from a party outlet.

Hang Barney posters near the front entrance. Cut out large "dinosaur" footprints out of purple construction paper and place them on the walkway leading to your front door. Play Barney party music in the background.

Inside the house, hang purple balloons and paper streamers all around the area. If you have Barney soft toys, spread them out on the floor. Hang Barney posters on the wall at child's eye level.

Cover your party table with a purple table cloth. Place a Barney toy our cutout in the middle for a centerpiece. Hang "Happy Birthday" sign near the table.

Send the kids home with Barney party favors: Barney toys, coloring and activity books, stickers, blow outs, cone hats, fun cookie cutters, and so on.

*Barney Welcome: Spread out a few activity and coloring books on the floor. Invite the children to color them while they're waiting for others to arrive.

*Dino Hunt: Buy inexpensive plastic dinosaurs from a party store. Before the party, hide them around the room. When everyone has arrived, get the kids to find dinosaurs.

To make it even more fun, create Barney footprints out of purple construction paper, and place them on the floor to lead the kids to dinosaurs and other Barney party items. (You can spread them out around a large area, placing each item every few feet.)

*Barney says: Play a theme version of "Simon Says" game. Get one of the adults to help you out. Ask him to be "Barney" and call out actions as the little ones follow the lead.

*Musical Chairs: Have enough pillows for everyone but one player. Place them on the floor in a circle. Have the kids walk around the pillows as you play music in the background. As the music stops, the players must sit down on the pillows. Whoever is left out, goes out but receives a prize! (Remove a pillow after each round.)

Generally, I don't recommend competitive games for toddlers, but this one can be a lot of fun. Watch the kids giggle as they run to occupy a spot.

*Barney Train: Put on a Barney or other kids' party music. Get the children to form a human train. Have them dance to the beats as they move around the party area. Encourage the leader to make various kinds of moves (hopping, jumping, rolling, twirling, etc.) as the rest of the group follows.

*Pin the Horn on a Dinosaur: Buy a poster of a triceratop (dinosaur with a horn). Make construction paper "horns" for everyone. Write guests' names on the back, and put a double-sided tape on each one.

At game time, blindfold the kids one by one, and get them to pin their horns on the dinosaur. (Don't push the kids if they don't want to be blindfolded.) Have prizes for all the participants.

*Barney-Live!: Hire a performer dressed as Barney to show up at the end of the party. What a surprise that will be for the kids!

Or, you can rent a Barney costume at your local party store and put it one yourself.

*Barney Cake: Print a picture of Barney. Bake a round or sheet cake. Place the picture on top of the cake and trace it with a toothpick. Then frost and decorate the sections of the cake accordingly.