DIY Pin The Tail Party Games - Tutorial

When it comes to planning a party for kids...Party games are essential. And what better way to keep the kids entertained and occupied than the classic party game, "pin the tail on the donkey"?

Pin the tail on the donkey can be tailored to fit just about any party theme. And, believe it or not, it's easy and inexpensive to make!

For Grace's Bunny Themed Birthday Party, pin the tail on the donkey became pin the tail on the bunny.

You'll need between 1/2 a yard to a yard of felt, depending on the size of the shape you want to make.  I found an image I liked (Wazzyjump), imported it into Block Posters, blew it up to the size I liked and used it as a pattern.  Trace or draw your image onto the felt using chalk, which can be easily erased or wiped off.

Cut your image out and then pin to fabric.  I knew I would hang the pin the tail on the bunny in a door frame, so I needed fabric wide enough to span the door frame.  If you don't want to buy fabric, a frugal option would be using an old bed sheet.

Pin your image into place and sew around the perimeter.

The view from the back illustrates how the bunny was sewn into place.

To finish, sew a hem around the length and width of your fabric background.  *If hanging from a door frame, create a pocket to slide a curtain rod into by folding the top over approximately an inch and a half and sewing the edge down.

I used a similar technique to create the doorway puppet theater.

Decide on a tail.

I used a large white pom pom and double sided tape. 

Hang, give your party goers a spin and watch as they try and pin the tail on the bunny.

Want a no-sew version?  I've got you covered there as well.

For Grace's circus themed birthday party, I made a no-sew pin the fez hat on the elephant.

Cut your details out of felt and glue them into place.

*Ok, so I did sew the curtain rod pocket on the top but you could just pin it up and omit sewing altogether.

For the fez hat, I cut out fez hat shapes out of brightly colored felt, made a slit in the top of the hat and knotted the end of some yard through the hat.  To make them stick, I applied some no sew velcro, the hook side or scratchy side, to the back of the fez hats.  The hook or scratchy side should stick to the felt when your party goers attempt to pin it into place.

You can customize the traditional pin the tail game to just about any party theme.  Pin the head lights on to the car.  Pin the tiara on the princess.  Pin the superhero mask onto the superhero.  Pin the bow onto Hello Kitty.

What version of pin the tail would you make?

Originally shared at One Artsy Mama.

Bunny Themed Birthday Party - The Big Reveal

Some bunny is {still} 5.

And that was definitely a reason to celebrate.

We decided to throw Grace a bunny themed birthday party.

We had access to 3 bunnies so a bunny themed party with real bunnies could not be resisted.

On a Goodwill budget, the party was decorated using a thrifted desk, a DIY moss covered letter birthday garland, a free salvaged window and some barn wood bunnies.

I also exhausted my Easter Pinterest board for DIY ideas.

The table was filled with bunny themed foods.

I was happy to finally have a reason to make these carrot cupcakes.

And, since bunnies were the theme, a 'become a bunny station' seemed fitting.  The station was stocked with bunny ears and cotton ball bunny tails.

Our guests, Grace's entire preschool class {16 kids}, embraced becoming bunnies, eagerly waiting to be transformed into bunnies themselves.

After sixteen 5 year olds were transformed into bunnies party games ensued.

The first game was a Rabbit Hole Punch box.  'A Casarella has made it impossible for me not to have a punch box now.

Curious if the kids liked it?  Just look at the picture below.  They swarmed me, anxious to have a turn 'punching' and also watching as their friends had a chance to 'punch' and retrieve their prize.

Armed with punch box prizes, we played the bunny hop on repeat as each guest got to be the leader.  Had the Bunny Hop been the only thing we would have done, I think all the kids would have been very happy. 

After 20 minutes of hop, hop, hopping to the bunny hop, pin the tail on the bunny was the next activity.

I quickly realized, 5 year olds are unconcerned about personal space.  It's not nearly as challenging to pin a tail from 6 inches away with a group of kids propelling you forward.

My last game, a bunny version of bozo buckets, was sadly forgotten about and never played. 

After the games, the adorable cardboard house my talented sister made, enticed the little girls.  No detail was spared from the round door with a door knob to the flower boxes filled with pink blossoms.

Inside the cardboard house, was a box filled with dress up clothes where the bunnies transformed themselves into princesses.

The time came to lure our guests into the house.

As I got the cake and ice cream ready, the kids kept busy doing a craft.  It was supposed to be pipe cleaner bunny whiskers but ended up looking more like a spider on a stick with a pink pom pom.

As soon as the cake came out, everything else was forgotten about.  Singing happy birthday and diving into as much sugar as possible became the goal of sixteen 5 year olds.

High on sugar, the party came to an end and I sent sixteen 5 year olds home with bunny party favor bags.

The birthday girl was happy.

And I was left to appreciate the reason for this celebration..

that some bunny turned 5.

Is it too early to start planning 6?