What games can we play at a teddy bears’ picnic in the park for my son’s third birthday?
At this age, games with winners and losers can cause all sorts of frustration and tears of disappointment, so here are a couple of non-competitive ideas.
Start off with a Teddy Bear Relay. Divide everyone into two teams. The first person on each team is given a teddy bear and on the count of “1, 2, 3, Go!”, they must run up to a pre-decided landmark (for instance the big oak tree or granny in her deckchair), and back again. When the runners return to their teams, they hand over the teddies to the next person, who must run there and back, too. Keep cheering and giving loads of encouragement – everyone will feel like a winner. Place a couple of grown-ups on each team, who must race on their hands and knees with a teddy balanced on their backs to give everyone a good laugh.
Bunny Hop is good for little ones. Everyone is a bunny with hands in front of chins and noses twitching. An adult is the storyteller, who begins with the words “Once upon a time…”, and then tells a simple story about a bunch of bunnies coming out of their warrens and hopping around to look for the greenest shoots of grass. While the story is being told, the bunnies hop all over the place, keeping on the move at all times. If the storyteller shouts “Fox!” at any point, all the bunnies must stand absolutely still. Continue until everyone has had enough, then bring the story to a natural close, with everyone hopping back to their holes for a bowl of carrots and a snooze.
Give all the bunnies a well-deserved pot of bubble mix and let them blow, chase and pop to their heart’s content.
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