Drawing is something everyone can enjoy. And what better gift to give someone than an original drawing made by someone very near and dear to your heart? For this activity, request that guests not bring presents with them because there will be an opportunity to make their own during the party. What a fun surprise for not only the birthday boy or girl, but also for the guests! Before the party begins, think of 5-10 nouns (people, places, or things) and place them in a hat or bowl. When guests arrive and everyone’s ready to get their drawing on, hand out paper and drawing utensils to every person. Oh how exciting!!! A blank piece of paper!!! Depending on how many nouns you came up with, that will determine how many sheets of paper each guest gets (5 nouns, 5 pieces of paper for each guest).

Explain the rules:

• A noun will be drawn out of the hat.
• As soon as the noun is read aloud, guest can pick up their writing utensil and start drawing whatever it is. Can you guess what name I drew out of a hat based on my drawing above? A FOREST! Obviously. 🙂
• Guests only get one minute to draw the noun.
• THE BEST RULE – For that minute, guests CAN NOT pick their writing utensil up from the paper. This is called a continuous line drawing. It’s difficult, but so much fun and makes for some pretty silly drawings!
• After all the nouns have been drawn, shower your guest of honor with the drawings and wish him/her the happiest birthday of all!

What you need:

• A timer – any device will do (stop watch, cell phone, hour glass, someone counting aloud)
• Paper
• Pens, markers, pencils, whatever you have!

This is such a meaningful exercise for everyone involved at the party, especially the guest of honor. They will have something to hold on to and treasure for years to come! A great way to keep these drawings would be to go to a thrift store and grab some inexpensive frames. They can all be different because all the drawings are unique in their own way. Frame the drawings and hang them up in your child’s room. Your child will be reminded everyday about their fun birthday party, fun friends and caring family.