Using your Climbing Frame for Kids’ Parties

Your garden climbing frame can easily be transformed into the central entertainment feature of any kids’ party at any time of year. Building up this climbing frame entertainment option will need some thought, but kids between the ages of three and eight will enjoy fantastic, active and fun-filled celebrations when you host a kids’ party on, around and under your climbing frame or tree house.

The type of party you’re hosting and average age and mix of kids is likely to influence the planning for your children’s party, so check out our following tips.

Think about your audiences’ ages and energy levels!

The ages of all children likely to attend the party will need careful consideration as little tots and toddlers will need to be kept away from the action. It’s easy to knock them over when there’s a bunch of young hooligans swarming on and over the frame. Adult supervision is another essential for the event but once that’s in place your imagination can run riot.

Why not make a meal of it?

Consider serving food and drinks under the climbing frame and all kids, toddlers and babies will enjoy noshing on superb party foods and treats in their own private marquee, which is easy to create when you drape pastel, coloured sheets over the top of the climbing frame. Pin your sheets together to make a large tent shape and then simply swathe the climbing frame with your tent.

No kid could fail to adore al fresco party dining. All you’ll need is suitable chairs and tables or blankets so they can eat while seated cross-legged on the ground. Or even one of our picnic benches to gather round for the birthday cake.

Parents, grandparents and adults will also appreciate the simplicity of serving foods in this manner too, as it’s far easier to sweep all leftovers and spills straight into bin bags when kids eat outside.

Get the games going, but softly, softly!

Once the food and party items have been cleared, you can organise traditional kids’ party games in your private tent or around on the ground near the frame. Favourites of ours include blind man’s bluff, pass the parcel and musical chairs.

Simple games like these are one of the best ways to allow the kids to break the ice with new friends and digest food prior to starting more strenuous activities;. when the traditional games are over you can quickly pull the sheeting away from the climbing frame and sort the kids into opposing teams for a variety of exciting games or role play adventures.

And then the fun really starts

Pirates is an easy kids game to organise with children on the pirate team working to capture or tag any kids with their feet placed firmly on the ground or in safe areas. Kids will need to start on the lawns and then the pirate team members are set against them to tag or capture them, until the final team member is declared ultimate winner. You’ll just need some armbands or markers so team members can be easily differentiated. Use different sections of the climbing frame as safe areas where kids cannot be tagged and then let the opposing pirate teams do their worst until such time as the teams are whittled down to one member only. You can play around with rules and play for this game, perhaps creating a team of three or four pirates to capture the rest of the kids on land or safe areas.

It may look mayhem as the kids swarm up the slides, leap onto gliders, swings and clamber up netting or rope ladders, but as long as the rules for game play are created at the outset the kids will instinctively know how to play. Set up a trampoline or pool play area in a separate area of the garden for kids that have been tagged so they don’t get too bored while waiting for the game to finish.

When the weather’s hot a game like Storming the Fort can be a great climbing frame entertainment option. Sort the kids into groups again, with one group given the climbing frame fort to defend and the other group instructed to storm the climbing frame and capture it. You can issue weapons to the kids or leave it to their own natural ingenuity to concoct weaponry. Doubtless the kids on the fort will consider water bombs and buckets of water as ideal for defence, while the attackers will need to invent weaponry suited to the capture.

You could provide bows and arrows, water pistols or other weapons and will need to decide how many times a defender can be hit before being declared “out” of the game. It’s probably a good idea to play a game like this on a warm, summer’s day when the kids can access a pool of some type to cool off or while away time when they’re pronounced captured or “dead”. Swimsuits and sandals are ideal to wear for games of this nature.

And if it gets really toasty then you cannot beat a Water Fight as long as all involved are prepared to get wet. Pistols, hoses, buckets and balloon all add to the range of equipment, just try to make sure the teams are balanced. You can play a version of storming the fort, though the chances are that all will end up drenched!

Whatever you do, gear your party climbing frame entertainment and games to the ages or interests of kids attending, but don’t be surprised at the likely mayhem and hubbub when the party tribe starts to relax into these active role play games.

Our Gardenatics climbing frames and tree houses offer a host of options for different climbing frame entertainments and games for parties and independent play. When you have two adventure towers or tree houses you can plan a lot more exciting games for kids’ parties.

Just call 01962 600 626, or contact us to learn about our top quality and exclusive climbing frames that can be fitted into gardens of any size or shape.