*This is the Valentine Fun Friday that we are doing for my daughter's 4th grade class.
Theme: Valentine's
Games:
1. Gift Bag Toss Up. I have enough gift bags for each child in the room. I actually bought brown paper bags. I bought the dollar prize packs from Wal-Mart. I tried to get things that had both boy and girl type patterns. In each bag goes a prize. When we play the game I will start with one child and hold up two bags. The child picks one bag and gets to open the bag and see the prize. I then replace the picked bag with another and the next child gets to pick which bag they want. We do this until all the kids have a prize.
2. Plastic Cup Stack Up Relay. Break the class into two teams. Set the clock for 3 minutes. Give each team 10 plastic read glasses. The object is to stack them into a pyramid and then unstack them into a single stack and pass it off to the next person in line. The team that stacks and unstacks the most win.
3. Win, Lose or Draw Valentine's Style. Break the class into two teams. They each take turns coming up to the white board to draw a Valentine themed object. As the person is drawing their team has 30 seconds to guess what they are drawing. Then we switch over to the other team to have a chance drawing. The Valentine objects are : a box of chocolates, a rose, a sucker, a Valentine, candy, love, kiss, teddy bear, chocolate covered strawberries, a flower, heart, a kitty, a puppy, an angel, a bunny, a car, a pencil, a red crayon, a book, a letter. (trying to come up with Valentine's things was a little harder than I thought so we added animals and school things to make enough tags to draw out.) Each of these I am going to write on a little heart and the kids draw them out. The winning team gets a pencil topper prize that I found at Michael's.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Green (Any Color) Party
*This is a party plan for my daughters upcoming party. I will add pictures after and let you know what worked and what didn't.
Theme: Green Party (Really this could be any color party, just switch out your color for green)
Decorations: Green everything with a couple accents of a complimentary color to make things pop.
Games: *The winners will get to pick out beads from a bowl to add to their necklaces that we will make at the end.
1. Balloon Ping Pong with green balloons and green paper plates. Staple paint sticks or wide Popsicle sticks to the plate. Then the kids break up into teams of two and hit the balloons back and forth across a table. I am thinking I am going to have a long table and divide it with tape. Then when they pass it back and forth it has to bounce once on the table to the other person.
2. Balloon Race. Set up a starting line (with green crepe paper or green masking tape) and a turn around point. (I plan on getting two sets of green balloon bunches that are weighted to be our turn around point. This will add decoration and be useful) Separate into two teams. Give each team a huge green balloon (not so big that it won't fit between the kids knees.) The first set of players put the balloon between their knees and run as fast as they can while keeping the balloon between their knees to the turn around point and back. Pass off the balloon to the next team mate. Whichever team gets through their line first wins.
3. Toilet Paper Race. I saw shamrock toilet paper from Oriental Trading. Separate into teams of two. Each team gets two toilet paper rolls. Then you can play this two ways. 1. Race to see which team can undo their rolls of toilet paper first. 2. See which team can unroll the longest strip before it breaks.
4. Questions. This is a fun spot light for the birthday kid. Make a list of questions and answers. I am going to make them multiple choice Have as many containers as there are questions. In each container put a prize. Then the guest each get a turn answering a question. If they are correct they get to open a container and keep the prize if not it goes to the next child.
5. Green Pom Pom Fight. You will need a bowl (label each bowl with child's name and 5 green pom poms for each child. The kids get to place their bowls anywhere in the room. Then when go is said they run around and place the pom-poms in each others bowls. Only one pom pom per bowl and only one pom pom can be taken out at a time from your own bowl.
(This is an adaption form the cotton ball snowball fight)
6. Find the Green Peanut. Have wrapped boxes in green paper (can also be part of the decoration). Inside fill the boxes with packing peanuts with one of them colored green. The first person to unwrap the box and find the green peanut wins and so on until they all find a peanut and get a chance to pick out a bead.
7. Balloon Pop Prizes. I am going to blow up a lot of balloons and lay them along one wall. In some of them there will be prizes, others none. The kids will each grab the first balloon they touch, run back to the starting line and have to pop the balloon. Then they run back and get another balloon. This also adds some fun green decoration to the room and I will do it towards the end of the party so that it still adds that decoration.
8. Necklaces. With all of the beads that were the prizes for the games we are going to make necklaces and/or bracelets. This is the party favor that I will send home with the girls. If you are doing this for a child who doesn't want to do jewelry then have different green prizes for each of the games.
Cake: Not sure what to do here.
Theme: Green Party (Really this could be any color party, just switch out your color for green)
Decorations: Green everything with a couple accents of a complimentary color to make things pop.
Games: *The winners will get to pick out beads from a bowl to add to their necklaces that we will make at the end.
1. Balloon Ping Pong with green balloons and green paper plates. Staple paint sticks or wide Popsicle sticks to the plate. Then the kids break up into teams of two and hit the balloons back and forth across a table. I am thinking I am going to have a long table and divide it with tape. Then when they pass it back and forth it has to bounce once on the table to the other person.
2. Balloon Race. Set up a starting line (with green crepe paper or green masking tape) and a turn around point. (I plan on getting two sets of green balloon bunches that are weighted to be our turn around point. This will add decoration and be useful) Separate into two teams. Give each team a huge green balloon (not so big that it won't fit between the kids knees.) The first set of players put the balloon between their knees and run as fast as they can while keeping the balloon between their knees to the turn around point and back. Pass off the balloon to the next team mate. Whichever team gets through their line first wins.
3. Toilet Paper Race. I saw shamrock toilet paper from Oriental Trading. Separate into teams of two. Each team gets two toilet paper rolls. Then you can play this two ways. 1. Race to see which team can undo their rolls of toilet paper first. 2. See which team can unroll the longest strip before it breaks.
4. Questions. This is a fun spot light for the birthday kid. Make a list of questions and answers. I am going to make them multiple choice Have as many containers as there are questions. In each container put a prize. Then the guest each get a turn answering a question. If they are correct they get to open a container and keep the prize if not it goes to the next child.
5. Green Pom Pom Fight. You will need a bowl (label each bowl with child's name and 5 green pom poms for each child. The kids get to place their bowls anywhere in the room. Then when go is said they run around and place the pom-poms in each others bowls. Only one pom pom per bowl and only one pom pom can be taken out at a time from your own bowl.
(This is an adaption form the cotton ball snowball fight)
6. Find the Green Peanut. Have wrapped boxes in green paper (can also be part of the decoration). Inside fill the boxes with packing peanuts with one of them colored green. The first person to unwrap the box and find the green peanut wins and so on until they all find a peanut and get a chance to pick out a bead.
7. Balloon Pop Prizes. I am going to blow up a lot of balloons and lay them along one wall. In some of them there will be prizes, others none. The kids will each grab the first balloon they touch, run back to the starting line and have to pop the balloon. Then they run back and get another balloon. This also adds some fun green decoration to the room and I will do it towards the end of the party so that it still adds that decoration.
8. Necklaces. With all of the beads that were the prizes for the games we are going to make necklaces and/or bracelets. This is the party favor that I will send home with the girls. If you are doing this for a child who doesn't want to do jewelry then have different green prizes for each of the games.
Cake: Not sure what to do here.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Valentine's Day
This Party Plan was one that I did for my little girl when she was in Kindergarten.
Theme: Valentine's Day
*I organized the games into file folders with instructions on the front and the game pieces inside. This made it possible to divide the games quickly and if there other helpers there I didn't have to explain each game. It was a quick set-up.
Games:
1. Don't Eat Pete. Print off the Pete Heart page and have a bowl of small candies or if there is a food allergy have small items such as pencil toppers, erasers, single stickers, etc. to use as game pieces. To start lay the paper on the table and load the board by placing one candy/prize onto each of the hearts. These were the instructions on the folder: One child is picked to be "it", they step away from the table. The rest of the group picks a heart on the paper to be Pete for that turn. The "it" child returns to the table and starts to take the candies one by one off of the paper. When he/she grabs the candy that is on the Pete Heart that was chosen the group yells "DON'T EAT PETE!" and their turn ends. Refill the board with candy pieces, pick a new child to be "it" and a new Pete is picked by the group. Continue until all the children get a turn.
Heart Page
2.Valentine Pictures. I bought Valentine stickers at the dollar store and in the dollar sticker section of Smith's and Wal-Mart. I gave each of the children a piece of paper and let them pick out stickers to decorate the paper with. I told the kids they could pick 8 stickers. (This helps them work on counting)
3. Valentine Puzzle. I took the heart puzzle pages and colored them and cut them out. I stapled one edge of the puzzle piece so that a magnet could pick it up. I taped a piece of string to one side of a circle magnet. These are the instructions that I put on the file folder (I stapled the sides of this one so that the pieces don't fall out) Use the magnets to fish for pieces. Put the puzzle together, if a piece won't fit throw it back and fish for a new one. Either fish until you find a piece that fits or pass it along quickly after only one fishing.
Heart Puzzle 1
Heart Puzzle 2 *you will need both of these to complete the puzzle.
4.Matching Hearts. I printed two of the don't eat Pete heart page, and two of the matching heart game. I colored each matching heart the same and cut them out into squares and stapled a corner. (Stapled the sides of this folder also) These are the instructions: All of the children get a string with a magnet on it (same technique as above). Spread out the hearts on the table face down. All the children fish out the hearts together and try to make matches. Repeat if there is time. Only one heart can be fished at a time, if two are caught then pick one and throw the other one back.
Matching Heart Worksheet
5. Heart Toss. I used my Lasting Impression Studio to create this game. For more from Colored Impressions go to http://www.lastingimpressions.com/ I printed all of these and cut out the pieces page. The big pictures I taped on the floor in a random pattern. Then a few feet away I put a tape line on the floor. On the folder these were the instructions: Line the children behind the tape line. The first in line picks a picture piece, then tosses the heart to the matching one on the floor. Two tosses then the person behind them picks a picture and tosses to that picture. Continue until time runs out or everyone has had a turn.
*The heart I found in the Valentine section of Target. You could find any Valentine stuffed thing to play this game. The heart worked best because it didn't roll when tossed.
Heart Toss Pieces
Heart Toss 1 Heart Toss 3 Heart Toss 5
Heart Toss 2 Heart Toss 4 Heart Toss 6
6.Color Pages. I printed 10 of each and had these on hand in case we had extra time.
Puppy Valentine Color Page
Queen of Hearts
Valentine Card
7.Stick the Heart on the Card. I cut a square out of butcher paper, in the center I put the teachers name. Tape the square to the wall and put a masking tape start line on the floor. Instructions: Give each child a small heart to color quickly or sign their name. When they are done put a piece of tape on the back, blind fold them, set them on the start line, give them a gentle turn and let them find their way to the square. Where ever they first touch they must place the paper heart. When all finished give the card to the teacher.
Heart Templet
8. Hot Heart. We did have time to play a game as a group. All the kids sat in a circle and passed the heart (if they got to excited and threw the heart at the person next to them they were automatically out.) Then the teacher or myself would turn our back to the group and shout stop, while the other was watching to see who had the heart when stop was called. That person was out and would scoot back out of the circle. We played until we had a winner.
Theme: Valentine's Day
*I organized the games into file folders with instructions on the front and the game pieces inside. This made it possible to divide the games quickly and if there other helpers there I didn't have to explain each game. It was a quick set-up.
Games:
1. Don't Eat Pete. Print off the Pete Heart page and have a bowl of small candies or if there is a food allergy have small items such as pencil toppers, erasers, single stickers, etc. to use as game pieces. To start lay the paper on the table and load the board by placing one candy/prize onto each of the hearts. These were the instructions on the folder: One child is picked to be "it", they step away from the table. The rest of the group picks a heart on the paper to be Pete for that turn. The "it" child returns to the table and starts to take the candies one by one off of the paper. When he/she grabs the candy that is on the Pete Heart that was chosen the group yells "DON'T EAT PETE!" and their turn ends. Refill the board with candy pieces, pick a new child to be "it" and a new Pete is picked by the group. Continue until all the children get a turn.
Heart Page
2.Valentine Pictures. I bought Valentine stickers at the dollar store and in the dollar sticker section of Smith's and Wal-Mart. I gave each of the children a piece of paper and let them pick out stickers to decorate the paper with. I told the kids they could pick 8 stickers. (This helps them work on counting)
3. Valentine Puzzle. I took the heart puzzle pages and colored them and cut them out. I stapled one edge of the puzzle piece so that a magnet could pick it up. I taped a piece of string to one side of a circle magnet. These are the instructions that I put on the file folder (I stapled the sides of this one so that the pieces don't fall out) Use the magnets to fish for pieces. Put the puzzle together, if a piece won't fit throw it back and fish for a new one. Either fish until you find a piece that fits or pass it along quickly after only one fishing.
Heart Puzzle 1
Heart Puzzle 2 *you will need both of these to complete the puzzle.
4.Matching Hearts. I printed two of the don't eat Pete heart page, and two of the matching heart game. I colored each matching heart the same and cut them out into squares and stapled a corner. (Stapled the sides of this folder also) These are the instructions: All of the children get a string with a magnet on it (same technique as above). Spread out the hearts on the table face down. All the children fish out the hearts together and try to make matches. Repeat if there is time. Only one heart can be fished at a time, if two are caught then pick one and throw the other one back.
Matching Heart Worksheet
5. Heart Toss. I used my Lasting Impression Studio to create this game. For more from Colored Impressions go to http://www.lastingimpressions.com/ I printed all of these and cut out the pieces page. The big pictures I taped on the floor in a random pattern. Then a few feet away I put a tape line on the floor. On the folder these were the instructions: Line the children behind the tape line. The first in line picks a picture piece, then tosses the heart to the matching one on the floor. Two tosses then the person behind them picks a picture and tosses to that picture. Continue until time runs out or everyone has had a turn.
*The heart I found in the Valentine section of Target. You could find any Valentine stuffed thing to play this game. The heart worked best because it didn't roll when tossed.
Heart Toss Pieces
Heart Toss 1 Heart Toss 3 Heart Toss 5
Heart Toss 2 Heart Toss 4 Heart Toss 6
6.Color Pages. I printed 10 of each and had these on hand in case we had extra time.
Puppy Valentine Color Page
Queen of Hearts
Valentine Card
7.Stick the Heart on the Card. I cut a square out of butcher paper, in the center I put the teachers name. Tape the square to the wall and put a masking tape start line on the floor. Instructions: Give each child a small heart to color quickly or sign their name. When they are done put a piece of tape on the back, blind fold them, set them on the start line, give them a gentle turn and let them find their way to the square. Where ever they first touch they must place the paper heart. When all finished give the card to the teacher.
Heart Templet
8. Hot Heart. We did have time to play a game as a group. All the kids sat in a circle and passed the heart (if they got to excited and threw the heart at the person next to them they were automatically out.) Then the teacher or myself would turn our back to the group and shout stop, while the other was watching to see who had the heart when stop was called. That person was out and would scoot back out of the circle. We played until we had a winner.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Pre-School Party
I had the amazing opportunity to host a Fisher-Price House Party from HouseParty.com.
Theme: Pre-School
Decorations: I went with the basic colors: red yellow blue orange green. We hung balloons from the ceiling to make the room (We had rented a community room from our community center) feel more warm. I found color sings and number signs from Wal-Mart. You could also find some at the Dollar Tree in their school supply section or at a school supply store. Here in Utah it is called Utah Idaho Map and Supply. I had planned on putting these in my little one's room after we were done so they didn't go to waist. I then printed off shapes and stuck them low on the wall. This way they were on eye level with the kids. On the floor I used masking tape and made huge shapes (great for the theme, but we also played games with them) circle, square, triangle, star and rectangle. (I should have added a heart) Then streamers over the door frame for the kids to walk through.
Games: Because it was a Fisher-Price House Party all of the toys that we played with were Fisher-Price; but you could use any toys that you have on hand or access to. Set up a few of your toys or have each child bring a set of toys to share. I set up the toys at different stations. One princess castle, the play food on the table, race cars in another corner.
1. Fetch. I have a batch of the soft ball pin balls from a blow-up toy. I tossed them all into the corner of the room. I then gave instructions to the kids to go and pick up a certain color and take it back to a certain shape. For example: go pick up a yellow ball and take it to the circle. After a little bit I would stand next to the circle for those kids that we struggling. If they didn't get it right no worries, only encouragement was given. Then they tossed the balls back into the corner and we picked a different color and shape.
2. Shapes. Using the same shapes on the floor I called out specifics about the children and told them to do an action to a shape. For example: if you have brown hair skip to the circle, if you have blond hair crawl to the square. Once everyone has gone to a different shape I invited everyone to as slowly as they could go to an empty shape (circle) and you play again. If you are a girl twirl to..... if you have on the color yellow crab walk to.... if you have a brother...... if your favorite veggie is carrots hop on one foot to......
3. Music Freeze Dance. ( I know I use this game a lot but it is a great way to get out wiggles and can be changed to fit almost anything. In the party favors that came with the party kit was a music cd that we played this game with. Having a huge open room was ideal to play in. The parents sat in the corner while the kids just played.)
Snacks:
I had asked each of the people coming to bring their child's favorite snack to share. This gives the children a chance at contributing to the party, and lets them express themselves. I supplied apple wedges with fruit dip, I found skinny sticks down the craft isle of Wal-Mart and made fruit kabobs with strawberries and bananas. We made some mommy snacks for the mom's as well. Along with whatever else was brought. Recipes below.
Cupcake wraps: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289720/Cupcake-Wraps?secret_password=1w15wpcvdeki785ms7hd
Shapes: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289724/Garland-Shapes?secret_password=mo0gyo29d8ww3kxcecc
Place Cards: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289733/Place-Cards?secret_password=28uadktq2ufaku9thkv4
Snacks: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289735/Recipes?secret_password=1emv5m30t2fxtsshl8g6
*All of the super cute photos were taken by Esther Rigby.
Theme: Pre-School
Decorations: I went with the basic colors: red yellow blue orange green. We hung balloons from the ceiling to make the room (We had rented a community room from our community center) feel more warm. I found color sings and number signs from Wal-Mart. You could also find some at the Dollar Tree in their school supply section or at a school supply store. Here in Utah it is called Utah Idaho Map and Supply. I had planned on putting these in my little one's room after we were done so they didn't go to waist. I then printed off shapes and stuck them low on the wall. This way they were on eye level with the kids. On the floor I used masking tape and made huge shapes (great for the theme, but we also played games with them) circle, square, triangle, star and rectangle. (I should have added a heart) Then streamers over the door frame for the kids to walk through.
Games: Because it was a Fisher-Price House Party all of the toys that we played with were Fisher-Price; but you could use any toys that you have on hand or access to. Set up a few of your toys or have each child bring a set of toys to share. I set up the toys at different stations. One princess castle, the play food on the table, race cars in another corner.
1. Fetch. I have a batch of the soft ball pin balls from a blow-up toy. I tossed them all into the corner of the room. I then gave instructions to the kids to go and pick up a certain color and take it back to a certain shape. For example: go pick up a yellow ball and take it to the circle. After a little bit I would stand next to the circle for those kids that we struggling. If they didn't get it right no worries, only encouragement was given. Then they tossed the balls back into the corner and we picked a different color and shape.
2. Shapes. Using the same shapes on the floor I called out specifics about the children and told them to do an action to a shape. For example: if you have brown hair skip to the circle, if you have blond hair crawl to the square. Once everyone has gone to a different shape I invited everyone to as slowly as they could go to an empty shape (circle) and you play again. If you are a girl twirl to..... if you have on the color yellow crab walk to.... if you have a brother...... if your favorite veggie is carrots hop on one foot to......
3. Music Freeze Dance. ( I know I use this game a lot but it is a great way to get out wiggles and can be changed to fit almost anything. In the party favors that came with the party kit was a music cd that we played this game with. Having a huge open room was ideal to play in. The parents sat in the corner while the kids just played.)
Snacks:
I had asked each of the people coming to bring their child's favorite snack to share. This gives the children a chance at contributing to the party, and lets them express themselves. I supplied apple wedges with fruit dip, I found skinny sticks down the craft isle of Wal-Mart and made fruit kabobs with strawberries and bananas. We made some mommy snacks for the mom's as well. Along with whatever else was brought. Recipes below.
Party Favors: In the party kit I was given party favors for the kids to take home. In it was a Little People coloring book, a Little People cd, a Little People dvd, Fisher-Price coupons and Little People Wheelies car.
*I loved the opportunity to host this party! Like I've mentioned before I love to celebrate life and being able to share my party pack with my friends was awesome! I gave away half of the toys that we had received in our party pack. Each family that came got to go home with a little extra prize. If I ever get the chance financially or am blessed to do this again, I won't hesitate. I was able to teach my children to share just for the sake of sharing and to do it with a smile. That it was a good thing to do and we had fun doing it!
Shapes: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289724/Garland-Shapes?secret_password=mo0gyo29d8ww3kxcecc
Place Cards: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289733/Place-Cards?secret_password=28uadktq2ufaku9thkv4
Snacks: http://www.scribd.com/doc/123289735/Recipes?secret_password=1emv5m30t2fxtsshl8g6
*All of the super cute photos were taken by Esther Rigby.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Rainbow
Theme: Rainbow
Decorations: I found sheets of crepe paper at Zurchers (a party store) I got one for each color of the rainbow. The rainbow colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (I just used purple for the last two)
I hung the crepe paper across the ceiling using packing tape and masking tape. The crepe paper is not exactly even with each other and it stretches a little bit. Mark or tape tow lines across from each other and then you don't have to rearrange to make things even. I overlapped just a tiny so there weren't any gaps. On the ends I used white toile tied off at the ends and fluffed in the middle to make the cloud part and hide the uneven papers. The main goal was to not have one section sag lower than the others.
We did a carnival style party. For each game played there was a prize in each color of the rainbow. We had bubbles, suckers, slinkies, punch balls, poppers, bouncy balls (everything we got from Zurchers in their bulk bins so we could pick the colors except for the bouncy balls we got at Old Navy because they were 0.25 cents in a huge gumball machine.) puzzles, disk shooters. I randomly picked a prize to go with each game and the winner got to pick out the color they wanted. (I would put the prizes in bowls put up, because even though having them out added to the rainbow theme it distracted the kids. If they had been in bowls then I could have pulled them out after each game and quickly put them away.)
1. To start our party I got withe paper bags from Wal-Mart, rainbow stickers and crayons. Each child was given a bag, a sheet of stickers (From the dollar store) and crayons and was instructed to decorate their bag however they wanted and to put their name on the bag because it would hold their prizes from the games.
2. For our craft we made our own crayons. I went through our bucket of crayons and pulled out all the ones that were extra or flat. We used a razor blade, sliced down the paper and peeled it off. I left the crayons whole but put them into white cups in the rainbow color pattern. I used a muffin pan that I found at Dollar Tree, we used a sharpie to write the kids name around the edge of each cup and let the kids break the crayons and add whatever colors they wanted to into their own cups.Then I put the pan into a warm oven and let the crayons melt. 2 to 5 minutes. If the oven is to high it will separate the wax from the color instead of just melting them together. Let them cool completely or they will break when you try to remove them (this happened and we had to remelt some of the kids crayons)
3. Cloud Scooper. A large bowl filled with cotton balls sits in the players lap. While a short bowl ( we used the plastic microwave covers, you know the ones that you put over your plate so your food doesn't splatter all over.) is held on the person head by a parent helper or your self. The player is given a ladle spoon and one minute. The object is to scoop the "cloud" cotton balls from the bowl on your lap into the bowl on your head. The person with the most cotton balls wins (This game idea I got off of the website: http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2011/08/fun-birthday-party-games.html )
5. Rainbow Maze. We have a hall that is split in two and about the same distance in length on the two sides. First I taped flags oat the ends of hall, I then taped crepe paper across the hall on each side in different crazy ways. I only used two colors that I had from previous parties but it would have looked a lot cooler if I had used the rainbow colors. The object of the game is one child goes down one side while another goes down the other side. First to get a flag and come back wins. The had to crawl over, under though the crepe paper. We then had a winners battle to decide the ultimate winner.
This can be done in a single hall way, you would just need a stop watch to time the kids.
6. Rainbow Tag. The kids each picked a balloon color and blew it up. We tied it to a string and then attached it to their ankle. Don't do a slip knot it will squeeze tight on their ankle. When I said go the kids all tried to step on each others balloons while trying to keep their balloon safe. Last one with their balloon wins. We played this twice.
Cake: This year we decided to go artificial free. Which means no artificial dyes and flavors. Which made doing a rainbow party a little harder to do. But this is what we did for the cake and party snacks.
We did a brownie bottom and whipped cream for the clouds. Different colored fruit made our rainbow. For the kids to make serving easier I did mini brownie cups, whipped cream with a piece of fruit. We also made cotton candy popcorn but didn't use any coloring so it was white and puffy like clouds. Recipe below.
Decorations: I found sheets of crepe paper at Zurchers (a party store) I got one for each color of the rainbow. The rainbow colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (I just used purple for the last two)
I strung balloons in the color pattern of the rainbow and hung them across the windows. One over the snack table and the other over the game table. I just used a needle and thread and strung it through the tied off end of the balloon.
Games: This is what the game table looked like.
We did a carnival style party. For each game played there was a prize in each color of the rainbow. We had bubbles, suckers, slinkies, punch balls, poppers, bouncy balls (everything we got from Zurchers in their bulk bins so we could pick the colors except for the bouncy balls we got at Old Navy because they were 0.25 cents in a huge gumball machine.) puzzles, disk shooters. I randomly picked a prize to go with each game and the winner got to pick out the color they wanted. (I would put the prizes in bowls put up, because even though having them out added to the rainbow theme it distracted the kids. If they had been in bowls then I could have pulled them out after each game and quickly put them away.)
1. To start our party I got withe paper bags from Wal-Mart, rainbow stickers and crayons. Each child was given a bag, a sheet of stickers (From the dollar store) and crayons and was instructed to decorate their bag however they wanted and to put their name on the bag because it would hold their prizes from the games.
2. For our craft we made our own crayons. I went through our bucket of crayons and pulled out all the ones that were extra or flat. We used a razor blade, sliced down the paper and peeled it off. I left the crayons whole but put them into white cups in the rainbow color pattern. I used a muffin pan that I found at Dollar Tree, we used a sharpie to write the kids name around the edge of each cup and let the kids break the crayons and add whatever colors they wanted to into their own cups.Then I put the pan into a warm oven and let the crayons melt. 2 to 5 minutes. If the oven is to high it will separate the wax from the color instead of just melting them together. Let them cool completely or they will break when you try to remove them (this happened and we had to remelt some of the kids crayons)
3. Cloud Scooper. A large bowl filled with cotton balls sits in the players lap. While a short bowl ( we used the plastic microwave covers, you know the ones that you put over your plate so your food doesn't splatter all over.) is held on the person head by a parent helper or your self. The player is given a ladle spoon and one minute. The object is to scoop the "cloud" cotton balls from the bowl on your lap into the bowl on your head. The person with the most cotton balls wins (This game idea I got off of the website: http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2011/08/fun-birthday-party-games.html )
4. Rainbow Toss: I spray painted tin cans white. Then I made bean bags from rainbow colored fabric that I got from Wal-Mart. I had some dried beans in the pantry that I have never used so they went into the bag. All I did to sew them was cut a strip of fabric 3 inches by 8 inches (rough estimate) folded the strip in half and sewed two connecting sides. I filled the beanbag and sewed the third side. I made three of these. We stacked the cans on top of each other in a pyramid and the kids got to knock over the cans with the rainbow bean bags. My husband, who is wonderful and so helpful with parties sat at the end cheering on the kids and restacking the cans.
5. Rainbow Maze. We have a hall that is split in two and about the same distance in length on the two sides. First I taped flags oat the ends of hall, I then taped crepe paper across the hall on each side in different crazy ways. I only used two colors that I had from previous parties but it would have looked a lot cooler if I had used the rainbow colors. The object of the game is one child goes down one side while another goes down the other side. First to get a flag and come back wins. The had to crawl over, under though the crepe paper. We then had a winners battle to decide the ultimate winner.
This can be done in a single hall way, you would just need a stop watch to time the kids.
6. Rainbow Tag. The kids each picked a balloon color and blew it up. We tied it to a string and then attached it to their ankle. Don't do a slip knot it will squeeze tight on their ankle. When I said go the kids all tried to step on each others balloons while trying to keep their balloon safe. Last one with their balloon wins. We played this twice.
7. At the end of the party waiting for parents to come I had rainbow colored pip cleaners and pony beads. We made rainbow crowns.
Cake: This year we decided to go artificial free. Which means no artificial dyes and flavors. Which made doing a rainbow party a little harder to do. But this is what we did for the cake and party snacks.
We did a brownie bottom and whipped cream for the clouds. Different colored fruit made our rainbow. For the kids to make serving easier I did mini brownie cups, whipped cream with a piece of fruit. We also made cotton candy popcorn but didn't use any coloring so it was white and puffy like clouds. Recipe below.
Cotton Candy
Popcorn:
9 oz popcorn
½ c. water
¼ c. butter
2 c. sugar
½ t. salt
1 t. vanilla
Flavoring:
orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon, orange (10 -15 drops or if using other flavoring 1 t. or 1 T. depending on how strong you want the flavor)
Pop popcorn,
set aside. Mix water, butter, sugar, and salt until boiling. Boil for 4
minutes at a constant boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla and flavoring. Pour over popcorn mix
well. Let cool and serve.
*We use doTERRA Essential Oil as our flavoring. In that case you do not need to add the vanilla.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Pirate Party
Theme: Pirate Party
Decorations: For this party we had a lot of fun decorating. It was by far the most prep work that I have ever put into a party. It was for my little girls 8th birthday and here in Utah 8 is an important age and we celebrated.
We used a lot of cardboard, green and brown and blue butcher paper, and card board boxes.
I called Lowe's and asked if they had any appliance boxes. They said that they had a fridge box and a dryer box and a range box. I sent my husband to pick them up and while he was there he noticed that they had empty carpet tubes. So he asked if he could take those as well. I bought a huge black Sharpie marker and some gold paint. We cut open the fridge box to make the back cabin and cut windows and trimmed the front so the flaps met up with the stove box which we used zip ties to secure the pieces together. We used a piece of red table cloth over the top to make the roof. The stove box we cut out a walk through and attached it to the dryer box. The dryer box we cut only one side off, secured the flaps so they wouldn't flop down and made a covered front end. I had some brown paint laying around so I painted over the printed words on the boxes. ( we had flipped the boxes inside out so the paint didn't have to be perfect.) Then I used string to help draw my lines and keep them somewhat straight. Pirates aren't known for being perfect so neither was the ship. I painted some paper plates gold to make the port hole. A carpet tube, curtain rod and sheet make up the mast. And a blue blanket for some water.
The snack table and game table I decorated with anything pirate or ocean thing I could find: a hook, sea shells, gold coins, some Geodes that I borrowed from my grandpa, jewels that we had gotten at Disneyland a few years back. I looked for more but couldn't find any in my budget. I did find at Michael's, in their wedding supplies, huge diamonds. I used some old colored glass jars, netting and sand, gold bars ( plastic bread pans sprayed gold). The table cloth was a brown and a red long. I just folded the red in half and stripped the brown. I also put on the table some of the game pieces that we would be using on later in the party.
Card board pieces that I had around I put up pirate signs. I used the sharpie that I had bought for the ship to also make the signs. These were some along with a birthday sigh.
Some balloons from Zurchers.
A black poster board flag done with white chalk
This is where more of the carpet tubes came into play. The base was a board about three feet long. On the ends of carpet rolls there is a plastic ring that keeps the carpet from sliding off the end. We screwed that onto the board. Took butcher paper palm leaves and we had palm trees. To make the leaves stay I used kabob sticks and pocked them through the end of the leaves kind of like a safety pin. One leave on each side and the stick on the underneath side. Tape two sticks in an X and they lay across the top of the tube. A little brown paint over the print.
Games:
1. The first thing that I did was that when each child arrives they received a sash (cut stretchy fabric from Wal-Mart) a sword (from Zurchers), an eye patch ( from Zurchers) and a bandanna (same stretchy fabric and some white fabric I had from an old sheet).
2. We had found a huge pirate coloring book, so as we were waiting for all the guests to arrive and suit up the kids colored on the floor.
3. We had a pirate sword fight. With a few safety rules reminded for example only swords to sword hitting, no hitting bodies, have fun and don't hit to hard or you will get caught by the Royal Navy and be put in jail for a minute (sit by me)
4. I asked my wonderful, talented friend to come and face paint for the kids. My daughter loves her and she came and painted for us.
While the kids where getting face paint we played some line games.
5. Island Chalk Picture. Using the butcher paper I made an island and water that the kids could use chalk on and add to the picture. (this is an adaptation for the underwater party chalk draw). This was done during the face paint time.
6. Pin the X on the treasure X. I took a brown piece of poster board and drew a map on it. Then cut out X's on my Cricut. I used chalk to draw out the map. I blind folded the kids with the same stretchy fabric.
8.Tick Toc Croc. The kids would go out in the hall, to start I hid a timer that ticked. The kids then came in and had to find the timer before it rung. I only set the timer for 2-3 minutes. The person that found it got to hide it the next time. We played this through so that everyone got a turn to hide the "croc".
9. Picture Treasure Hunt. I took close up pictures and wrote clues on the back of each picture. Then so you don't get all confused work backward from the treasure spot to the beginning.
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After the kids had found the treasure I had arranged for some "pirates" to come in and try and steal the treasure.
Inside the treasure bags I put ring pops, beaded necklaces, bracelets, gold coins, Rolos, Starbursts, mini treasure chest found at the dollar store, some pirate finger puppets found at Zurchers. We had some upon a jewelry store that gave the kids a gold bag and they could pick out a polished rock. We called them and asked if they would be willing to donate some of the bags and stones for our party and they did. I painted a dress up box gold for decoration and hid the treasure inside of it.
3. Pirate Treasure Race. I painted two toilet paper rolls with the gold paint and then drew circles on them to make them look like stacks of coins. The kids balance the coins in their open hands and would race to a marked spot on the floor and back. If their coins fell they had to step back two steps and then try again. First team to get all the kids their and back win.
The stacks of coins are in the upper left hand corner of the picture.
Cake: I didn't make the usual cake. We just had pirate snacks like gold fish, Swedish fish, apple slices, pretzel swords, and pirate flag brownies.
* I asked a friend to come and take pictures for me so that I could focus on running the party. Best decision ever! Here are more pictures of the ship and party. I also left some time at the end for the kids to just play Pirates and enjoy.
We opened presents in the ship.
Decorations: For this party we had a lot of fun decorating. It was by far the most prep work that I have ever put into a party. It was for my little girls 8th birthday and here in Utah 8 is an important age and we celebrated.
We used a lot of cardboard, green and brown and blue butcher paper, and card board boxes.
Some balloons from Zurchers.
A black poster board flag done with white chalk
Games:
1. The first thing that I did was that when each child arrives they received a sash (cut stretchy fabric from Wal-Mart) a sword (from Zurchers), an eye patch ( from Zurchers) and a bandanna (same stretchy fabric and some white fabric I had from an old sheet).
2. We had found a huge pirate coloring book, so as we were waiting for all the guests to arrive and suit up the kids colored on the floor.
3. We had a pirate sword fight. With a few safety rules reminded for example only swords to sword hitting, no hitting bodies, have fun and don't hit to hard or you will get caught by the Royal Navy and be put in jail for a minute (sit by me)
4. I asked my wonderful, talented friend to come and face paint for the kids. My daughter loves her and she came and painted for us.
5. Island Chalk Picture. Using the butcher paper I made an island and water that the kids could use chalk on and add to the picture. (this is an adaptation for the underwater party chalk draw). This was done during the face paint time.
6. Pin the X on the treasure X. I took a brown piece of poster board and drew a map on it. Then cut out X's on my Cricut. I used chalk to draw out the map. I blind folded the kids with the same stretchy fabric.
7. Break into the Fort. I stacked some cardboard boxes, that my husband got from work, into a wall. The kids lined up on a tape line and they each had two shots at the wall with two huge balls. They keep taking turns until the wall falls down.
9. Picture Treasure Hunt. I took close up pictures and wrote clues on the back of each picture. Then so you don't get all confused work backward from the treasure spot to the beginning.
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After the kids had found the treasure I had arranged for some "pirates" to come in and try and steal the treasure.
Inside the treasure bags I put ring pops, beaded necklaces, bracelets, gold coins, Rolos, Starbursts, mini treasure chest found at the dollar store, some pirate finger puppets found at Zurchers. We had some upon a jewelry store that gave the kids a gold bag and they could pick out a polished rock. We called them and asked if they would be willing to donate some of the bags and stones for our party and they did. I painted a dress up box gold for decoration and hid the treasure inside of it.
Some games that I had planned but we didn't have time to play.
1. Hopping X. Place X's on the floor with masking tape, each child chooses on X to stand on. You tell them an action to do to the next X. Sword fight a pretend pirate, swim, crab walk, dig up treasure.
2. Splash Tag. One person is pirate it, once they touch someone then they are a pirate and chase after the non it people until everyone is it.
3. Pirate Treasure Race. I painted two toilet paper rolls with the gold paint and then drew circles on them to make them look like stacks of coins. The kids balance the coins in their open hands and would race to a marked spot on the floor and back. If their coins fell they had to step back two steps and then try again. First team to get all the kids their and back win.
Cake: I didn't make the usual cake. We just had pirate snacks like gold fish, Swedish fish, apple slices, pretzel swords, and pirate flag brownies.
We opened presents in the ship.
One thing about the ship that we constructed. We lived in a small apartment and while in the building process we had to build the ship in two separate pieces because at the completion of the ship it filled our living room. Also with living in an apartment and having a Spring birthday we had to find an area big enough indoors and was blessed enough to use our church's gym.
Glow in the Dark
Theme: Glow in the Dark
Decorations: This party needs to be done in a dark area. I made the mistake of thinking if we shut the blinds it would be dark enough and it wasn't . So we used big black trash bags to cover the windows. I had found a little light at Zurchers. It was a mini multi-colored spinning dance party light. We decorated with glow in the dark stars and pictures painted with glow in the dark paint. ( I used black and it didn't show up very well. I think white would work better. And make sure you "charge" them up enough to be seen.) Neon colored streamers and balloons with glow sticks in them. Hang the balloons from the ceiling.
Games: When I did this party it was for my little girl when she turned 7. There wasn't a lot of parental involvement needed for the games. I explained how to do the different games and let the kids play. We had a great big room to play in which made it nice to just set up different stations the kids could go to and play the different games.
1. Frisbee Toss. I bought glow in the dark frisbee's from Oriental Trading (That is where I purchased a lot of the glow in the dark items) I then marked the floor with tape that had glow in the dark paint on it. I then put an X on the floor with the masking glow tape. The children threw their frisbee and tried to get it on the X.
(Each child took home 1 frisbee)
2. Bouncy Ball Blast. I painted some old ice cream buckets with glow paint and set them in a row along the wall. The kids then took a glow in the dark bouncy ball (from Oriental Trading) and tried to bounce it into the bucket. (Each child took home 1 bouncy ball)
3. Glow in the Dark Necklace. I set up a station to make glow in the dark pony bead necklaces. The pony beads I found at Michaels along with the glow in the dark string. (I had also ordered some glow in the dark necklaces from Oriental Trading that we passed out at the end as a party favor)
We then cleaned up the games for some group games.
4. Pass the glow stick. You can purchase glow sticks from Target for a $1. You can also find them at the dollar store. I would stand with my back to the group and yell stop. The person with the glow stick was out until only one person was left.
5. We then broke open all the glow sticks and gave each of the kids 5 or so sticks that they could wear and dance with and did a freeze dance game. (the glow sticks are really fun to see moving all around) I used black lights and my disco light to add some light in the area so the kids don't run into each other.
To carry home the party favors just a simple white bag with some glow in the dark paint. (The birthday kid could help with this and the glow in the dark pictures)
Cake:
I made mini cupcakes and a bigger cake. I decorated the cakes with glow in the dark stars and glow in the dark candles (found the candles at Zurchers). Then each little cupcake had a glow in the dark star on it.
- With the glow in the dark items they need to be charged really good or they don't glow very well. After the party was over I thought of having a charging station with flash lights that the kids could charge their own toys. During this particular party I didn't leave myself enough time to set up and could have used some extra grown up help. As a result I didn't get a lot of great pictures and had to improvise a lot.
Games: When I did this party it was for my little girl when she turned 7. There wasn't a lot of parental involvement needed for the games. I explained how to do the different games and let the kids play. We had a great big room to play in which made it nice to just set up different stations the kids could go to and play the different games.
1. Frisbee Toss. I bought glow in the dark frisbee's from Oriental Trading (That is where I purchased a lot of the glow in the dark items) I then marked the floor with tape that had glow in the dark paint on it. I then put an X on the floor with the masking glow tape. The children threw their frisbee and tried to get it on the X.
(Each child took home 1 frisbee)
2. Bouncy Ball Blast. I painted some old ice cream buckets with glow paint and set them in a row along the wall. The kids then took a glow in the dark bouncy ball (from Oriental Trading) and tried to bounce it into the bucket. (Each child took home 1 bouncy ball)
3. Glow in the Dark Necklace. I set up a station to make glow in the dark pony bead necklaces. The pony beads I found at Michaels along with the glow in the dark string. (I had also ordered some glow in the dark necklaces from Oriental Trading that we passed out at the end as a party favor)
We then cleaned up the games for some group games.
4. Pass the glow stick. You can purchase glow sticks from Target for a $1. You can also find them at the dollar store. I would stand with my back to the group and yell stop. The person with the glow stick was out until only one person was left.
5. We then broke open all the glow sticks and gave each of the kids 5 or so sticks that they could wear and dance with and did a freeze dance game. (the glow sticks are really fun to see moving all around) I used black lights and my disco light to add some light in the area so the kids don't run into each other.
To carry home the party favors just a simple white bag with some glow in the dark paint. (The birthday kid could help with this and the glow in the dark pictures)
Cake:
- With the glow in the dark items they need to be charged really good or they don't glow very well. After the party was over I thought of having a charging station with flash lights that the kids could charge their own toys. During this particular party I didn't leave myself enough time to set up and could have used some extra grown up help. As a result I didn't get a lot of great pictures and had to improvise a lot.
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