"And More......."

29th Birthday
Recently, we celebrated my 29th birthday. My boyfriend thought it would be nice to do a day of "kid stuff". So we went to a pumpkin patch and went pumpkin picking and then we went to an amusement park where I took my very first roller coaster ride. It was special because it was one of those things that I said I would do before I was 30 years old, so I guess I got in just under the wire. My fears were confirmed!! We played games and went on more rides, bought candy and ice cream and later on, we went out for pizza. Sounds like a cheap date (pizza?) but he knows it's my favourite and what kid wants to go to a fancy restaurant anyway? - Thanks to Melissa, staying young in Brooklyn.

Who's Your Favourite Character?
The best party we ever had was a Disney costume party. All the kids dressed up as their favourite Disney character. Everything from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Pocahontas to 1 of the 101 Dalmatians. The centerpiece on the table was a collection of all of my kids' Disney toys such as McDonalds happy meal toys and all of their Disneyland souvenirs. We had "stations" for the kids to rotate at......like the goodie bag station where they got to decorate their own goodie bags with rubber stamps and glitter and stickers. Then we had a "necklace station" where they got to string their own "charms" (fruit loops and colored uncooked noodles) onto colorful yarn. And we had a face painting "station" where a mom was ready to paint. We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed making their own party favors. - Thanks, Tricia, in Palmdale, California.

Pyjama Party with a Twist
My daughter's birthday falls in late June, right when all of the soccer, baseball and dance wind-ups/recitals are happening so it's always a scramble to do something fun that'll work for almost everyone. This year, she wanted a sleepover but as we can never seem to get the numbers down (and I won't host a sleepover for more than six), we are surprising her with a Pyjama Party. The twist is, that although the invite says 6:30ish to 12:00 (note no am or pm), we will be (with the parents' permission, of course) "kidnapping" the girls out of their beds in their PJ's (we've asked that the parents make sure they're in "mall worthy" pyjamas, not teeny tiny nighties), taking them for breakfast and then for a short jaunt through the mall, all still in their PJ's. I may tie in a short and sweet scavenger hunt there if I can get a few key stores to assist (maybe two or three clues to help them find out where they'll wind up next - our house). Once we're done there we'll come back to our house for a quick craft and two games - shave the balloon (hung from a string outside) and put the (real) lipstick on the lips (a large poster of a face I'll make up), which will be more fun and a grown-up twist on the classic. Then we'll do cake and presents and send them all home at noon. We have rented a van and will be deciding where to do breakfast shortly (McD's, Dennys, Perkins or IHOP). My only not quite sure thing is how rotten it is to have cake and then send all the kids home in time for lunch, no quite right but what else can we do? I don't want to have to have two full meals be we gotta have the cake! Maybe fruit on the side? - Thanks Ellen - a sleepover without the sleeping part!

More Easter Fun
Further to Karen, from Campbell River's Easter. Loved the ideas I got from her. We tend to do a big Easter Party too. Nicest thing for us is that it's strictly a come over, do a craft, play a game or two, find some eggs and home you go. No cake or food (just drinks and egg goodies) which we do enough of the rest of the year. A suggestion to make things easier - we use egg cartons, either cut in half (for six eggs/a larger crowd) or whole (for twelve eggs each) so that everyone gets the same number of eggs. Even the littles ones who can't count (and the little ones always go first, that way it's a little more challenging for the older ones to find what's left) know that when their crate is full, they're done. We always have eggsta' eggs ready, at least enough for two or three extra kids, then put out six more than we actually need (after the head count, before the hunt), that way there's enough even if they don't all get found. We found three afterwards in our yard and most recently - a full month later- one more - ewwwww! - Thanks again, Ellen in Kelowna, B.C.

Fairy Princess Garden Party
I have a four year old princess. When we arrived at the date to celebrate her birth, the only appropriate way to honour her was to invite those who worshipped her. Invitations were sent with instructions to arrive appropriately attired for a fairy princess garden party. In addition to her perkiest playmates, beloved babysitters (11-14 years) arrived in their most dazzling finery with glass slippers and sparkles, wands and wings.
I provided wings for those who arrived without their own. The fairies were further adorned with pink and purple spray-on hair colour. This paint eventually made its way on to the wings creating beautiful rainbow designs. The dressing up continued with glitter and giggles and of course plastic play party shoes. Decorating each other occupied a good part of 30 minutes, and the remainder of the hour was rounded out with bubble blowing and popping. We put the bubbles away long enough to dine on the classic party food with a few key adjustments. The hot dog buns were purple, the jello had fizz (made with ale) and the "Barbie Princess" dress cake was composed of Rice Krispie square material, sumptuously decorated by another admirer. More bubbles and of course flying kept the party hopping till home time when the visiting fairies dispersed with their wings and more bubbles as take-home favors. Simple flowers potted in tea cups discovered in thrift stores would have made long-lasting favors as well. Oh, for the next time.
This was one of the easiest parties I have ever done. The yard with a few very simple streamers was transformed. The house was used by party goers only for potty breaks. The supplies were all found at the local Dollar store and the babysitters played with the girls. A precious at-home finale is that the hair paint turns the bath water a lovely color. - Thanks Trisha......Enchanting!

Spiderman Party
My little man just had his 4th birthday. We had a Spiderman theme and did the following:
- Spiderman invitations asking that the kids climb on over to the house
- trail of spiders through the front yard leading to the front door
- pictures of Spiderman set up when they came in with a personalised Spiderman bucket of stickers, spiders, craft bits to colour and decorate their "placemat" to take home
- spider walk races
- pin the spider on the Spiderman
- food included red Spiderman juice, spider cupcakes, birthday cake in the shape of the head of Spiderman
- the lolly bags were made of spiderweb (black netting) - Thanks Jennie in Sydney, Australia

Camping Out
We celebrated our son's 3rd birthday recently, and the theme was "Camping Out". We camped out in the woods in our backyard, the children and their fathers roasted hot dogs over the campfire and I made mac-n-cheese for the side. They also made s'mores for a treat. The party favors were my favourite. I bought bandanas and put a s'mores granola bar, gummy snacks, and a compass in it, and tied it to a stick. I also bought each child their own toy lantern that was battery operated for $2.99 from Target. This way they were not getting a bunch of junk. And the party was a hit. All the moms left the party after the cake and went to dinner. - Thanks Holly.....I like the part where the moms get to go to dinner!

Previous Page
Next Page
Back to the Party Idea Page

Party Themes ~ Party Ideas ~ Favors and Fun Stuff ~ Party Planning
The Cookie Jar ~ Good Stuff to Eat ~ Top it Off
Family Sites ~ Things We Can Learn From a Dog ~ There Yet? ~ Photo Album
Contact Us ~ Order Info ~ FAQ ~ Shipping ~ Home