Kids' Birthday Party: Ways To Manage Gift Opening

Worried about the wild excitement that could surround opening the gifts? Here are a few fun ways to have the birthday child open presents that cut down on the frenzy and help them focus on one gift at a time.Gift Hunt:

• Before the party, write clues leading to various locations in your home.
  
• For instance, "If it's a gift that you want, it's a gift that you'll see . . . When you are looking behind the couch!" After the guests arrive, have an adult gather up the presents and hide them in the locations corresponding to each clue.
  
• When it's time to open presents, hand the birthday child one clue at a time. As he finds each gift, have him open it on the spot.

Gift Pass:

• Have the guests sit in a circle with their gifts in their laps and the birthday child at the head. Going one-at-a-time around the circle, tell each guest to hand his or her present to the birthday child, who stops to open each one before taking another.

Musical Gifts:

• To make the circle strategy more festive, turn it into a game of "Musical Gifts." Position an adult near a stereo so they can start and stop a song periodically.
  
• While the music is playing, have the children pass the presents slowly around the circle. When the music stops, the birthday child opens whichever present he's holding.
  
• Continue play until all of the gifts have been opened