Baby and Toddler Birthday parties are fun, loud, magical, exhausting…and a challenge to plan…
You want to make sure the little ones are kept busy, but not over stimulated, being entertained, but by something that is age-appropriate, and that their big Birthday is amazing, but not too much for them to cope with! It’s a fine a balance, but we have plenty of baby and pre-schooler- friendly entertainment ideas to help you get it just right.
A mix of interactive and passive entertainment is great for baby and toddler parties – time during the party to be active and burn of bundles off energy and time to be quiet and be absorbed by something. That’s why in this guide we look at baby, toddler and pre-school party games and activities as well as party entertainment ideas for that quieter time for your little ones.
If you’re planning a big birthday for your baby or toddler, you may also want to check out our kids party themes infographic, as well as our essential kids party planning blog (with a kids party planning checklist and music playlist) or even our Complete Guide to Children’s Party Entertainment – which covers everything from how much it costs to hire a children’s entertainer, to what entertainment will work for you, and all the little practicalities you might not have thought of.
Baby, Toddler and Pre-School Party Entertainment
Bubble Fun!
- Bubble performers are the perfect entertainment for any toddler or pre-school party. They can put on a full show, and keep your little guests absorbed and entertained or just wander about amongst your party babes and surprise and delight them with their tricks. For baby parties a bubble machine is often all the entertainment they need, so they can just watch the bubbles float up to the sky.
Circus & Magic
- Children’s Magicians, Clowns and Jugglers are an old favourite for baby and toddler Birthday entertainment. Hiring a Party Clown will appeal to kids from a very young age, all the tumbling a fooling around makes them chuckle from as early as eighteen months, while Magicians and Jugglers work better for children from around the age of 3 or 4, when their attention spans are a little longer and they can be awe-struck by disappearing objects and juggling feats.
Hula Hula!
- Hula Hoop performers are a great option for Pre-school party entertainment since their act is usually high-energy, colourful, fast-moving, simple enough to be understood and often involves a bit of mini-audience participation!
Disco Kids
- A kids’ disco has energy and dance moves like no club in the world! This one is particularly good from ages 3 or 4 onwards – a kids’ DJ will not only play all their dance favourites but will also arrange party games and activities too, leaving you to enjoy the fun with your kids.
Smiles & Entertainment for very Little Ones
- Puppet shows and costume characters are both great party entertainers for young children. A short puppet show will bring smiles and laughs from very little ones as well as giving them some slightly quieter time. Costume characters are a delight form the moment your kids start to develop obsessions with TV, Disney and book characters and many of them also organize activities and decorations to make little Birthdays really special.
You can search for a children’s party entertainer near you here, or just fill in our request form and we’ll get our entertainers and event services to contact you with their quotes. So if you want to hire face painters or find cake makers, hire a photographer to capture all those amazing Birthday moments or find a baby or toddler party entertainer that’s just right for you, just let us know what you need!
Baby, Toddler and Pre-School Party Games and Activities
We have some great Pre-school Birthday party ideas, baby and Toddler party games and lots of inspiration to keep all your little guests happy and having fun below…
Build a play area
This one is ideal for crawlers and toddlers…get the cardboard out and start building crawl through tunnels and play houses. You can use fabric tubes, old cardboard boxes, sheets and bright material to make a lovely interactive play area experience.
Find the treasure
Bury prizes or objects in a big sand box and get your mini party guests smiling and messy as they dig around trying to find the treasure!
Activity Tables
For toddlers and pre-schoolers there are few things that are as much fun and scribbling and playing with modelling dough and sensory materials, so why not prepare an area with water or washable markers, playdough and modelling sand!
Build & Play
Make good use of all the toys you already have to create a building blocks and play figures area. You could create a dinosaur area, a farm area or a trucks, cars and diggers play zone. Little ones always love other people’s toys more that their own, so they will love getting stuck in.
Making Music
Okay, the result may not be a symphony of beautiful music but making a ‘band’ by giving each of your little guests a musical instrument, or just something to shake or bang is a lot of fun!
We hope that we’ve given you loads of ideas to help you plan children’s party entertainment for your baby or toddler party, and please do fill in our request form if we can help you find anything from bouncy castle hire to children’s magicians and everything in between.
You’ll find plenty more ideas & inspiration in our blog, including Baby Shower Entertainment Ideas, Teen Birthday Entertainment Ideas & Kids Party Essentials.