Kids Birthday Party Ideas » kids theme parties – history of birthday parties

Interesting Popcorn Facts

Elsie — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:40:28 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Popcorn’s scientific name is zea mays everta, which means ” corn turned inside out” and it is the only type of corn that will pop.

The unpopped kernels are called “old maids” or “spinsters”. Good popcorn should produce less than 2 percent of “old maids”.

Popcorn kernels will start popping at the temperature of 347 degrees and can pop up to 3 feet in the air.

Some Native American tribes believed that a spirit lived inside each kernel of popcorn. The spirits wouldn’t usually bother humans, but if their home was heated, they would jump around, getting angrier and angrier, until eventually they would burst out with a pop.

The real reason why popcorn pops… Popcorn kernels contain water. Inside the kernel is a soft patch of starch with around 14% moisture. The moisture is contained by the hard outer shell of the kernels. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive “pop” results

The Indians of North and South America popped corn 2,000 years ago. Popcorn was popped by throwing it on sizzling hot stones tended over a raging campfire. Naturally, as it popped it shot off in various directions. The game was to catch the popcorn and the reward was snacking on it.

Some Indian tribes discovered the delicacy of popping oiled popcorn while it was still on the cob. Somehow the corn stayed attached to the cob and it was eaten in the same manner as corn on the cob. This is the ancestor of buttered popcorn.

It is said that they flavored popcorn with dried herbs and spices, possibly even chili. They also made popcorn into soup and beer and made popcorn headdresses and corsages.

The colonists loved popcorn so much they served it with sugar and cream for breakfast. This was the very first puffed breakfast cereal.

Mr. Perry Spencer is credited with discovering microwave popcorn in 1945. He discovered that when popcorn was placed near a microwave it would pop. This led the way to the development of the microwave oven.

January 19 is National Popcorn Day!

October is National Popcorn Popping Month!

Rapunzel’s Tower – A fairy tale party for grown-ups

Elsie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:03:39 +0000

I know this is a site for kids party themes, but sometimes grownups can really feel like kids too when they celebrate their birthdays…

Quite a few days have gone by since my last post but I think I will be forgiven if I tell you the reason for it. Since it was my birthday on the 27th of October, my friend from a far-far away land came to whisk me away to be “locked up” in a tower for one day and one night.

The tower is surrounded by mountains and a few kilometers from the small town of Clarens in the Free State Province of South Africa and although there are no wild thornbushes and a forest that you have to hack through to get to the tower, the feeling of adventure that takes hold of you on the way to the tower, is enough to get you into the mood for a party.

Best of all, you don’t even have to think about a theme for your birthday party because the moment you drive through the gate and follow the winding road that takes you to the entrance to the tower YOU are the theme… a fairy tale theme for a grownup.

I was planning on having my party outside amongst the lovely red roses and other plants that grow in the garden but the late afternoon sunshine and blue skies soon made way for clouds and a few hours of rain. It fitted in so well with the fairy tale story of Rapunzel and being locked up in a tower.

However, as always with good planning, it was quite easy to take the party inside from where we had a lovely view over the mountains whilst enjoying the simple but very tasty party food that consisted of home-made bread rolls, smoked salmon, black olives, different cheeses, crackers and dips. We also enjoyed some wine my friend brought as a gift – it is produced in the wine area of Gols near the Neusiedlersee in Austria.

If going up and down the stairs to see all that this tower had to offer, can be thought of as party games, then yes, we had a lot of fun playing hide and seek and calling each other as we went our own ways sometimes to take a closer look at the many beautiful items in the tower. Maybe Rapunzel did not have such a bad life after all…

Taking photos was the main activity but relaxing and enjoying the view in a bath 12 metres above ground level, was definitely the highlight of the party activities.

There was no goodie bag to take home but for once it did not matter…LOL

A birthday party should be fun and spending it in such an enchanting place and being able to relive the fantasy of Rapunzel’s fairytale, has made my birthday a very special occasion.

Visit the Castle in Clarens site for more information about Rapunzel’s Tower

So you want to sing “Happy Birthday” to your kid?

Elsie — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:54:12 +0000

Did you enjoy this video? I actually enjoyed the delight on my granddaughter Mia’s face more when she watched the video and started to sing along with the Chipmunks.

“Happy Birthday to You”, also known more simply as “Happy Birthday”, is a traditional song that is sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person’s birth.

As long as I can remember, my mother (now 79 years old) used to sing this song to my brothers and me on our birthdays. Even after we moved out of the house, she would sometimes sing it over the phone to us. When our kids celebrated their birthdays, she sang it too them as well and since Mia was born three years ago, she also sang it to her.

I will have my birthday in a few weeks and I know she and Mia will sing this song to me even before I have my first cup of coffee.

According to the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is the most well recognized song in the English language and the song’s base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages^.

The song has quite an interesting history. In the late 1800′s, two sisters, Patty and Mildred J. Hill, both kindergarten school teachers, created a little song that consisted of only 4 lines (three of which are identical) and 16 words and this song “Good Morning to You” was sung every day at the school. In 1893, they published the tune in their songbook Song Stories for the Kindergarten.

Apparently the Hill Sisters’ students enjoyed it so much to sing this song that they also began singing it at birthday parties but they changed the lyrics to “Happy Birthday” and today this song is sung all over the world when somebody has a birthday.

Robert Coleman included “Good Morning to All” in a songbook with the birthday lyrics as a second verse in 1924. The song was also published in 1928 in Children’s Praise and Worship. In 1933 it was again published by Coleman in The American Hymnal.

Not many people are aware that “Happy Birthday to You” was actually copyrighted as a “work for hire” in 1935 and technically it is illegal to publicly perform the song unless royalties are paid to the Summy Company and its owner, Warner Chappell who bought the company in 1990.

In 2008, Warner Chappel collected about $5000 per day ($2 million per year) in royalties for the song. This includes, and I quote, ” use in film, television, radio, anywhere open to the public, or even among a group where a substantial number of those in attendance are not family or friend to whoever is performing the song”.

Apparently the copyright will only expire in the year 2030 and if you take into consideration that the value of “Happy Birthday” is estimated at US$5 million, it is enough to stop you dead in your tracks before you allow the guests at your kid’s theme party to start singing the song.

Don’t worry, you are not paying them to perform this song and what would a birthday be without it. Wake up your kid (or spouse/friend) on his or her birthday with “Happy Birthday to You” and know that after reading this article, you will not only have brought joy to their day but will also be able to share in an age old tradition – and if you tell this story at your kid’s theme party, you will also share the origin of the song with everybody.

Clever Mom!

This article was adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You

You can also listen to the original “Good Morning to You” by clicking on the above-mentioned link.

One last little tidbit about this song:

One of the most famous performances of “Happy Birthday to You” was Marilyn Monroe‘s rendition to U.S. President John F. Kennedy in May 1962.

Kids’ Birthday Parties around the World

Elsie — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:00:37 +0000

I am still so much in a travelling mood after my recent holiday as mentioned in the previous post, that I just had to post this article here as well. Maybe you will find some inspiration to plan the upcoming theme party for your child’s birthday.

Kids’ birthdays are normally celebrated with fun theme parties, so let’s take a quick trip around the world to find out how people from major parts of the world celebrate their kids’ birthdays and how they practice it in general.

In the United States and many other parts of the world, we commonly celebrate kids’ birthday parties with themes of choice by the one celebrating his or her birthday.

It is a common practice to have the party at home, with decorations set up in place and common party fare includes cakes, candies, soda, hot dogs, marshmallows and other treats children enjoy. Games are played during the course of the party where guests participate and win prizes at the same time.

This is also a similar practice throughout the Western world and is one of the most awaited party activities for kids all over. In Africa, there is a tribe in Ghana that celebrate the birth of their children on the day of the week they were born.

They call it Krada, which means “soul day” as their way of giving tribute to the creator for giving them the gift of a child – another soul added to their family. Most tribes or communities do not celebrate the birth of their children and common celebrations only involve tribes – people celebrating the manhood of children, as they are ushered in to adulthood through certain rituals and traditional practices.

In the Middle East, specifically in Egypt, children’s birthdays are commonly celebrated with singing and dancing with the party venue decorated with fruits and flowers, which symbolizes life and growth as the years go on for those celebrating their birthdays.

However, people do not traditionally celebrate birthdays as part of their religious practice. In Israel, food is also prepared with guests invited to attend from family, friends and neighbours. The highlight of the party is to have the one celebrating the birthday sit on a chair adorned with fresh flowers as guests gather around the chair offering prayers and well wishes to the celebrator.

In Great Britain, birthday parties are also held in homes with food and drinks prepared for guests. The British practice their tradition of celebrating the birthday by sending out birthday cards to the birthday celebrator, a tradition that was begun more than a hundred years ago.

As part of their cultural tradition, an Irish child celebrates his or her birthday by gently getting hit on the floor of the home by family and friends on the day of his or her birthday. The Danish people, on the other hand, celebrate birthdays by expressing their love for their country as well.

The Danish proudly raise their country’s flag outside their home whenever somebody in the house celebrates a birthday. Russians, on the other hand, also celebrate birthdays with food and drinks, but the only difference is, they do not prepare cakes but would rather have pies.

In China, a child celebrating his or her birthday receives money as a gift from his parents, who in turn, pay his respects to them as tradition dictates. Family and friends are invited over for lunch, where noodles are served, which symbolizes productivity and long life.

In India, a birthday child is showered with colourful dresses and chocolates and the home decorated with colourful balloons and shredded colour paper. If it is a school day when the child celebrates a birthday, the birthday child gets to wear a colourful garment and passes out chocolates to friends and classmates.

Interesting facts about birthday parties

Elsie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:17:13 +0000

I just returned from a three-week long trip to Germany and Austria and it really felt as if everyday was like a birthday; full of surprises. Lovely buildings and statues around every corner, loads of decadent cakes and “tortes”, ice creams and other treats and every house and second building adorned with window boxes filled with vibrant, colourful flowers.

During a visit to Schloss Shoenbrunn on the outskirts of Vienna, I could quite imagine myself in a bygone era where ladies of the court, dressed in finery, were spoiled with chocolates or having their tea and dainty cakes in the rose garden, maybe sitting underneath giant trees listening to music, laughing at the antics of the court jesters or just walking around the grounds of the castle, having a good time until it was time for the ball in the evening with fine food and wine.

Isn’t that what birthday parties are all about? Today, we celebrate birthdays with treats, cakes, and tons of fun shared by close friends and family. However, birthdays were not always the joyous occasions that it is today. In fact, centuries ago, especially in Europe, birthdays were considered to be something much different.

Originally, people feared their upcoming birthdays and were quite fearful of this special day because they believed that evil spirits could harm them. So birthday parties were devised as a way to keep those spirits away by surrounding yourself with friends and loved ones who often brought small tokens and food to share. People also used noisemakers to scare off the spirits that may be hanging around the house.

It was in the middle ages that birthday parties began to take on a more celebratory status and the tone turned more positive. But they were not yet commonplace amongst peasants as it was usually only celebrated by royalty or some of the lords and ladies that were very wealthy.

It wasn’t until reformation that the birthday party became a more common occurrence in England. Then people would begin to make cakes for the birthday person and they would place hidden fortune tokens in the cake for the guests to find.

It is thought that children’s birthday parties originated in Germany and was called Kinderfeste.

Over the years, the art of throwing birthday parties went form a small party to elaborate parties that are only fit for royalty. The art of throwing parties have come along way and today a lot of planning goes into choosing a theme for your kid’s birthday party to ensure that it will be a day that will be remembered not only by your kid but also by his or her guests.

Theme Parties from Yesteryear

Elsie — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:32:03 +0000

Here are a few photos of birthday cakes that I have made for my son when he was a kid… he will be 31 in a few weeks and I realised when I looked at the photos how quickly time goes by.

To host a party for your kids can be a lot of work but to see the wonder on their faces when you bring out the cake and other goodies is worth all the time spend on preparing the food and putting together a theme for the party. The personal joy one experiences cannot be compared to anything else as well. So enjoy organising theme parties for your kids and make memories that will last a life time.

racing track cake for boys

racing track party food

I used a racing track theme for his 3rd birthday party at the day care centre that he attended at that stage. Click on the photos to open in a new window and get some ideas on how to use store bought cookies, sweets and vienna sausages to make racing cars and “spectators”.

Kids Alien Space Ship Birthday Theme Party

On his 6th birtday I tried a space ship theme but the cake eventually turned into an alien monster kind of space ship but the kids were very impressed with it…lol. Store bought wafers and ice cream cones turned into smaller space ships and boudoir finger biscuits became small planes.

Alien Spaceship Cake

alien spaceship party food

Train cake

I tried to make a train cake for his 4th birthday but now that I look at the photo again, it is actually a far cry from a train, still it was a lot of fun to make the cake.

Train cake for a boy

The radio cake for his 8th birthday looked more realistic and suited his passion for certain songs on the radio at that stage.

radio cake for a kid's party

If you have read my post on where to find ideas for theme parties, I hope these few photos will help you realise that it is really not difficult to come up with a kids-theme-party idea.

Remember to have fun planning your kid’s next theme party!