You all know the birthday classics — big cake, candy-filled pinata, elastic birthday hats — but maybe a bit of new thinking can re-create these birthday classics as healthy, safe, and fun alternatives that both kids and parents will love. It turns out that parenting.com had the same idea, and came up with a great list of new-and-improved birthday games and party favors:

What: Perilous Pinata
Why: Who thought of blindfolding kids and giving them sticks to swing wildly about? And the candy grab afterward requires crowd control worthy of riot police.
Better: Do-it-yourself treasure balls. Scrunch a small toy favor inside a wad of construction paper. Tape into a ball shape, then wrap with a long crepe paper strip, taping stickers, tattoos, and small toys along its length. Secure the end of the roll with a sticker. Let kids toss, roll, or unravel their treasure ball (make sure they’re light and won’t hurt partygoers).

What: Pointy Party Hat
Why: The elastic pinches chins and necks, the pointy tops poke, and they never stay on during the whole party anyway.
Better: Inexpensive plastic headbands turned into antennae with the addition of pipe-cleaner stems and Styrofoam balls as adornments; make them ahead of time or let the kids paint or decorate the balls as a party activity. Or make paper bag hats, which can double as name tags: Just roll up the edges of white deli-size sacks into a brim and decorate ahead of time or at the party.