Host an Itsy-Bitsy Birthday Bash

Dainty Desserts

Give each party guest her own teeny-tiny cake. Just be sure to let the birthday girl make a wish and blow out all the candles first!

Little Detectives

Set up a scavenger hunt, complete with clues printed in 6-point font and tucked into tiny envelopes. Partygoers can decipher the text using mini magnifying glasses.

• Purchase mini-magnifying glasses from Oriental Trading Company.

Mini Munchies

Set the scene with dollhouse-size table décor, 2-oz. glasses, and cut-down straws. Serve finger foods, like individual taco salads in Tostitos Scoops!, chicken-and-waffle bites made with tiny waffles, and petite pizzas (circles of tortilla topped with pepperoni cut with a small icing tip).

Tiny Toppers

To make teensy party hats, fold a paper cupcake liner into quarters, roll into a cone, and close with hot glue; glue a pom-pom to the top. Punch holes in the bottom of finished hat for a headband or elastic string.

• Or purchase full-size party hats at Shop Parents and cut them down to size using scissors.

Take-Home Fun

Take-Home Fun

Fill mini gift bags with small-scale goodies, like fun-size candy bars or tiny figurines, and top them off with itsy-bitsy 5" helium-filled balloons lofted by 12-gauge aluminum wire.

• Purchase colored aluminum wire from Jamali Garden.

Manners & Responsibility: Kids at Parties

Originally published in the September 2015 issue of Parents magazine.