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The
idea:
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Kids love bugs---and lady bugs are
really in right now. Decorate everything from food
to invitations with these cute insects.
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Invitations:
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Use a lady bug stamp (from a craft
store) or make
your own using a potato. Stamp a piece of construction
paper, cardstock, or scrapbook paper. Cut squares
of white paper for the inside of the invitations.
Write out the party information on the white squares.
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| Food:
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Cupcakes are easier for little
ones to handle---and they're the perfect amount
of sweets for most kids. Decorate the cupcakes as
miniature lady bugs. Need more cake, make a leaf
out of a sheet cake to serve to the adults.
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| Favors:
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Using a ladybug stamp, print some
more white cards and paste them to bright red lunch
bags. Fill the bags with lady bug stickers, sunglasses,
bottle of bubbles, snack-size cheddar fish.
Submitted by Kathleen Gordon-Ross
(Lawrence University Ward, Topeka Kansas Stake,
USA)
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The
idea:
|
Have a birthday party with everything
on a grand scale. From the invitations to the food,
this is one birthday party the kids will be big
fun for all.
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Invitations:
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Make invitations on posterboard with
fat markers & mail in tubes. They will be larger
than life.
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| Food:
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For the cake Make a huge rice
krispie treat;use a greased storage bin to set it.
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| Favors:
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Fill tins or craft boxes with giant
gumballs or other candy and wrap in colored cellophane
tying at the ends to look like
a giant piece of candy for a party favor.
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| Activities: |
Draw large cutouts of the guest
and let them decorate with markers,paints,etc.
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The
idea:
|
Kids love breaking the rules! Have
them do everything at this party--BACKWARDS!
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Invitations:
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Write invitations backwards so recipients
have to hold to a mirror.
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| Food:
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Have the cake decorated backwards.
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| Favors:
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Have all the guests wear their clothes
backwards .When serving food have guests sit backwards
in their chairs. If playing games have them play
them backwards.
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| Activities: |
Have all the guests wear their
clothes backwards .When serving food have guests
sit backwards in their chairs. If playing games
have them play them backwards.
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The
idea:
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Water & kids....need we say more?
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|
Invitations:
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Blow up a beach ball. Write all the
party information on it. Deflate it and put it in
a envelope. When your guests get the invitation,
they have to blow it up to read the info. Plus,
they get a beach ball to keep. (Go to a dollar or
discount store to get beach balls at a cheaper cost.)
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| Food:
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Serve cake and ice cream then
go rinse off in sprinklers!
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| Favors:
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For party favors get beach towels
and wrap up mini water guns, sunglasses,candy,etc.
in the towel. No towels for you to wash and the
kids have a cool party favor!
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| Activities: |
Be sure when guests first arrive,
to apply sun block! Have activity pool or small
pool with beach toys for little ones,slip-n-slide
and flamingo sprinkler for older children. Also
can have water balloon fights or sit on the water
balloon to see who can bust it first for games.
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The
idea:
|
Boys and girls of all ages like to
play trains. Make your birthday party unique with
this idea.
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Invitations:
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Make some invitations in the shape
of a railroad lantern,railroad crossing sign or
a locomotive.
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| Food:
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Make a train out of mini-loaf-shaped
cupcakes. Attach Lifesaver-like candies for wheels
with royal
icing. Attach train cars together with stick
pretzels. Decorate with candies and more royal icing.
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| Favors:
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Pass out inexpensive plastic train
whistles available at national party supply chain
stores, red bandanas to tie around guests' necks
and conductor hats.
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| Activities: |
Draw train tracks with chalk
on the sidewalks and driveways. Maybe spray paint
crossing signs for the yard or game area. Decorate
with precut construction paper trains on the walls
and let guest choose one to decorate with lifesavers(wheels),cotton
balls (smoke), licorice (windows) or whatever else
you have. Get some appliance boxes (ask stores or
neighbors) and decorate to look like a huge train.
This is great for kids to play in.
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The
idea:
|
Turn your ordinary home into a tropical
party paradise.
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|
Invitations:
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Send out pineapple shaped invitations.
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| Food:
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Serve chicken,pork and vegetable
kabobs.
Bake a regular square sheet
cake. When cooled hollow out a round portion of
the cake. Ice and cover the remaining cake and sprinkle
with dried, shredded green (shaken with food coloring)
coconut for the "grass." Fill the hollow
area with set, broken up blue gelatin for the "water."
Decorate with gummy fish, toy boats ,gummy lifesavers
(for innertubes) with little trolls or people "swimming."
Have toy cars on the grass with pieces of fruit
leather and a troll sunbathing. Use black licorice
for a dock and gummy trees around the lake.
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| Favors:
|
Decorate with bright colors [streamers,candles,floating
candles in blue water (dyed with food coloring)].
You could make palm trees from cardboard and spray
paint them or use real ones. When guest arrive great
them with a lei, comb with flowers (hot glued on)
for girls and sun visors for boys. For games you
can play pin the monkey on the palm tree,make sand
art in baby food jars,limbo, or show them
how to hula with hula-hoops or grass skirts.
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| Activities: |
Decorate with bright colors
[streamers,candles,floating candles in blue water
(dyed with food coloring)]. You could make palm
trees from cardboard and spray paint them or use
real ones. When guest arrive great them with a lei,
comb with flowers (hot glued on) for girls and sun
visors for boys. For games you can play pin the
monkey on the palm tree,make sand art in baby food
jars,limbo, or show them how to hula with hula-hoops
or grass skirts.
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The
idea:
|
Kids love plants and learning how
to make things grow. Incorporate this idea into
a birthday party--and watch your creativity bloom.
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|
Invitations:
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Send out invitations shaped like a
watering can.
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| Food:
|
For the cake you can make it
look like a window box with candy flowers or a big
daisy. You could also serve flower shaped cookies
on a stick arranged in a flower pot with floral
foam as a cookie bouquet.
Alternative: Fill cups with
chocolate cake crumbles mixed with chocolate pudding
(this will resemble dirt). Add an artificial flower
in it to make it look like a potted plant. (Caution:
be sure to remove flower before serving treat to
younger kids...it can be a choking hazard.)
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| Favors:
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The plant and pot they made become
their favor. For a take home favor use a mini
gunny sack filled with candy, flower shaped magnets,and
bug pins. Some variations on the favors;decorate
their own garden gloves or garden apron.
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| Activities: |
When guest arrive have them
decorate small clay pots with acrylic paints. While
they are drying they could play pin the ladybug
on the flower. Then your guests can plant a small
flower or seedling into the pot.
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|
The
idea:
|
Brave enough to have 10 screaming
5 year-olds for the night? If you said, "yes"
this party is for you. Oh, come on...Remember how
fun sleep-overs can be?
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Invitations:
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Send out pillow shaped invitations.
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| Food:
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Make build-your-own ice cream
sundaes with ice cream, chocolate syrup and lots
of toppings. Make your sundaes unique by including
fun things like gum balls, gummy bears and other
unusual sundae toppings.
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| Favors:
|
For party favors, get cheap flashlights
and a pillowcase with iron on
transfer for them to color with permanent fabric
markers. Each child could sign their name to each
other's pillow cases.
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| Activities: |
Have them bring their favorite
doll or animal(for comfort for first timers). For
an activity you could hook a trailer to an ATV and
go on a hay ride. Maybe you could borrow some hay
from someone. Videos and board games are also fun
things to do at a sleep-over.
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|
The
idea:
|
Get a clue! This crime-scene party
is perfect for junior detectives.
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|
Invitations:
|
Secret-Code Invitation
Write the party info on thin paper (see wording
below). Flip paper over; trace the letters onto
another piece of thin paper, so words read backward,
and make copies (guests will need a mirror to decode).
Stamp them "Top Secret" and mail.
Your mission is to uncover fun for
Ryan's birthday bash. We'll supply spy gear and
clues to the hidden stash. So be on the sly, and
sneak over at four. There will be mysteries to solve
and goodies galore.
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| Food:
|
Make a sheet cake; cut into
two life-size footprints. Frost black.
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| Favors:
|
When little sleuths
arrive, tell them the party loot has been stolen.
Give each a plastic detective badge and magnifying
glass.
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| Activities: |
Around the house, hide clues
that lead to a briefcase of bounty — plenty
of play money and plastic jewels — that
gets divided among all spies. Before the party,
have your child clip pictures of celebs from magazines.
Snip out faces and give to kids. Tape body cutouts
to a wall as if they're in a police lineup. See
how many matches the gang can make.
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|
The
idea:
|
Take kids to nearby pond to go fish'n.
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|
Invitations:
|
Cut a fish out of construction paper.
Attach a hook to it and a piece of string. Place
it in the envelope to keep it all together.
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| Food:
|
Make a cake with gummy fish
and worms.
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| Favors:
|
Make goodie bags with gummy fish and
worms and cheddar cheese fish crackers.
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| Activities: |
Take children to nearby pond
to fish. (Make sure you have plenty of adult supervisors
to help keep kids safe.) Make fishing poles from
bamboo sticks and string. Use sticks or twigs if
you can't find bamboo or other poles.
If you don't have a nearby lake or pond, or you
don't want the hassle, "go fish'n" in
a baby pool in the backyard. Stock your fake pond
with small toys or waterproof candy that they can
"fish" out.
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More Birthday Fun
Can't Find the Right Cups & Plates
for Your Birthday Theme?
Can't find goods for your little ones theme
for their birthday party? Just print pictures from Internet
sites (make sure they're not under copyright) and use
contact paper to put them on plates,cups,etc.
Cake Questions
Read Jen writes:
I'm going crazy! My daughter's birthday
is coming up. She's having like 20 kids plus some moms,
so I'm planning on making one small sheet cake plus some
cupcakes. Cupcakes should be easy enough -- I'll just
add sprinkles. For the sheet cake, though, I've never
made one! What do I do? Beyond writing "Happy Birthday"
I'm drawing a blank. We're having a clown, so I thought
about finding some plastic clown and balloons that could
be set on it. No luck so far, but even if I did, I wouldn't
know how to set that up for a sheet cake. (Much bigger
than a round cake, ya know!) Beyond that, I'm not a "great
talent" -- just a mom who needs to cut corners on
the cake so we can afford the entertainment! So, I'm thinking
..... sprinkles, very easy, and extremely affordable.
I checked out a discount place where I can actually get
FOUR types of sprinkles in one box for TWENTY FIVE CENTS.
The only drawback is that they were from Valentine's.
So everything's hearts-related. I'm still thinking that
isn't necessarily bad, right? I mean, my child is a girl,
so she likes hearts. With all that blabber said , here's
what I have figured out so far: I'd like to incorporate
the same sprinkles being used on cupcakes with the sprinkles
on the cake. But beyond that, I'M COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY
L-O-S-T!!!!!!! I saw all your stuff on cakes. It's just
they don't "fit" with this. Help! If you've
got ANY ideas, I'd truly appreciate it.
Thanks, Jen
Reader Responses:
We actually just had a birthday party last
week with twenty 5th grade girls. I made two sheet cakes,
one chocolate and one white. After baking,I leveled off
the tops to make them as even as I could. With a little
frosting in the middle, I placed one cake on top of the
other and frosted the whole thing. I then just added sprinkles.
I used purple sugar, pink sugar and some tie dyed butterfly
sprinkles. The girls thought it was neat, especially when
I cut into it and there were two different types of cake
under the frosting.
I cut the cake in small squares and it fed
everyone with a few left overs. After hosting many children's
birthday parties, I have found that cutting the cake in
small servings is the best. The children tend to be more
interested in playing then eating. Serving large portions
leads to a lot of wasted cake. If after the small slice,
they need more, then give them another small slice.
You may also want to look into colored frosting. I really
enjoy tinting the frosting to different hues. Boys seem
to like the yuckier colors (muddy green, etc.) and girls,
the pastels.
To save time, go with the sprinkles. Combining
two or three different sprinkles in the same theme will
add dimension and be very easy. Your guest will remember
how much fun they had and not necessarily the decorations
on the cake. Good luck and have a ball!
-Lisa James, Arizona
First look through a few cake decorating books or magazines.
They are full of great ideas that you can adapt to fit
you. The books and magazines can be found either at your
local library or at craft stores (like Hobby Lobby, Michaels,
JoAnn's, etc.) that sell cake decorating supplies - sometimes
Wal-Mart even has them. They may also have the little
clown and balloons you're looking for.
I wonder if you could create a balloon stencil
out of waxed paper - place it down on your frosted sheet
cake and then fill it in with sprinkles - moving the stencil
around to create different balloons. Use rope licorice
as the string. Add HAPPY BIRTHDAY and you're done.
Here are a couple of other tips:
My mom always made her sheet cakes in what
I think most people call a jelly-roll plan. She used a
large cookie sheet that had a one-inch raised edge all
the way around the pan. One cake mix filled it completely.
She added a layer of waxed paper to the bottom before
she poured in the cake mix to help the cake release completely
from the pan.
My husband's advice, the real cake decorator
of the family, is to start early -- a couple of days before
the party because decorating always takes longer than
you think it will.
To keep the plastic wrap from sticking to
your frosting, use long toothpicks or skewers to create
a plastic wrap tent around your cake. And store it in
the refrigerator. This will help keep the cake moist -
if wrapped properly.
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