Choose one of these one-of-a-kind parties, and your child will have a unique and unforgettable party. And because [...]]]>

Looking for a dynamite birthday idea for your child this year?  Skip the cartoon-character-of-the-month birthday party. Every other kid on the block will have the same  party – same paper plates,  same streamers, maybe even the same games.

Choose one of these one-of-a-kind parties, and your child will have a unique and unforgettable party. And because of the timelessness of these ideas, you may even be able to recycle your efforts on a younger sibling’s party.

Jungle Party: Decorate the room with green streamers and lots of houseplants. As the children arrive, direct them to a table stocked with white paper plates,  construction paper, scissors, glue, pipe cleaners, and any other craft items you think the children would like.

Instruct them to make a mask of a jungle animal: tiger, elephant, monkey, lion, toucan, gorilla, etc. When they’ve finished their masks, attach elastic with a stapler and let them wear them.

Play a charades game in which the children act like different animals. For younger children, allow them to act out the animals that correspond with their masks.  Play “Pin the Tail on the Elephant.”

Decorate the cake with green frosting and plastic animals.

Tea Party: This is a favorite among little girls. Send out sophisticated-looking invitations to the children instructing them to come to the party all dressed up (preferably in their mother’s clothes) and to bring a companion (doll, teddy bear, etc.)

Your daughter will likely love the preparation involved for this party. She can make fancy place cards to put on the table and set the table with a lacy tablecloth, flowers, and pretty plates and cups.

Instead of musical chairs and pin-the-tail games, play croquet. If the birthday girl has willing siblings, dress them up like maids and butlers, and they can serve the  “ladies.”

Serve dainty pastries like éclairs or ladyfingers. Of course, don’t serve the girls tea, but they’ll love fancy lemonades with their birthday cake and ice cream.

Firefighter Party: Arrange with your local fire department to bring the children to the firehouse to look at the engines and talk with a firefighter. They’ll love  listening to the siren, and the firefighters may even let the climb up in the truck.

You can buy plastic red firefighter hats at party supply stores. Buy one for each child and write his or her name on it with a magic marker. They can wear their hats to the fire station and for the rest of the party.

Traditional birthday party games work well for this type of party. You can also play a variation of freeze tag in which the kids have to be sprayed with imaginary fire hoses to be “un-frozen.”

Decorate the birthday cake with fire hats and Dalmatians.

Arts-and-Crafts Party: If you have an artistic child, this may be the perfect party. Set up three or four tables with supplies for simple crafts. If you’re the type who doesn’t like to think up crafts on your own, check a book out of the library or search a kids’ site on the Internet.

The first table they go to should be equipped with brown paper bags, big enough to carry their crafts home in. They should write their names on the bags and decorate them with paints, stickers, glitter, string, crayons, and markers.

If you want this to be a real hands-on party, you could bake cupcakes instead of a big cake and allow the children to decorate their own cupcakes with frosting, candy, and sprinkles.

Water Party: Lucky is the child whose birthday falls in the summer months. On the invitations, tell the children to come in their swimsuits and bring a towel. You must have a yard equipped with a hose for this party, and you’ve got to have a back-up plan in case it rains on your child’s birthday.

Borrow or buy a “Wet Banana” or “Slip-and-Slide.” The kids can line up and run and slide down the slide. You can also play run-through-the-sprinklers games. The rainbow-type sprinklers are great for games. The children will just make the games up as they go along.

Set up a picnic table with a checkered tablecloth. If your party is scheduled for lunch or dinnertime, serve barbecued hot dogs, chips, and soda pop. Then follow the meal with cake and Popsicles.

The Instant Party is always fun to try and is so easy to do.

Get all of the party items first. After the children have arrived tell them you are going to celebrate that fact that you are all just here together. You will then split the children up into three groups.

Group one will be the interior decorators and they will be in charge of decorating for the party.

Group two will be the games group and they will be in charge of the afternoons activities. And last but not least, group three will be the treat team and they will be in charge of making sure that there are some wonderful snacks.

Give each team about 20 minutes to prepare with items that you have already bought.

When they are finished it will be time to PARTY!

Gather the kids at the end of the party and tell them how happy you are that they could all work together to make the party so much fun.

If none of these party ideas speaks to you or your child, examine your child’s interests. Does he love trains or picnics? Does she love rock climbing or dancing? You can design a party around virtually any interest, and if your child loves it his/her friends probably will  do, too.

So skip the cartoon characters and plan your child’s birthday party around an activity he/she loves. It may not be the trend of the week, but it just may be the party of  the year.

Original article: Written by Rachel Tolman Terry – © 2002 Pagewise

As a South African citizen I must admit I [...]]]>

Ok, tonight I was actually going to tell you about a new “Frequently Questions and Answers”  service I am going to start on my kids-theme-parties site, but this morning I realised that for the readers in America it is also the celebration of Independence Day on Sunday.

As a South African citizen I must admit I am not really so up to date with the history of Independence Day. What I DO KNOW HOWEVER, is that the 4th of July has been for as long as I can remember,  the celebration of my mother’s birthday and also while my father was still alive, the celebration of their wedding anniversary.

Sadly my father passed away on the 19th of June 2006, a few weeks before my mother’s birthday and before their 53rd wedding anniversary.

On Sunday, 4th of July of this year 2010, my mother will celebrate her 80th birthday and I am happy to say that she is, apart from the normal ailments that one experience at this great age, still in good health and sound mind, and honestly, sometimes when I look at her, she looks better than me…

Maybe this  photo is not really “normal” for a kid’s birthday party site, but grandparents play such a great role in a child’s life and in helping and sharing their birthday parties, I think it is quite appropriate to add this photo of my mother and father on their wedding day in 1953 to my site.

In the mean while,  since the 4th of July also has so many good memories for the people in America and of course for parents all over the world whose children have  been born on this day and even if you celebrate your own birthday on the 4th of July, is to enjoy this day no matter where you are and have lots of fun!

Update: Time caught up with me on Friday night while I was busy writing this post. Mom’s birthday is nearly over but everything went so well today. Even nature played along and gave us a lovely warm winter’s day.  Mom had lots of friends visiting and they had a good time. However, the highlight of the day was definitely the visit from her three grandsons and their mother from Qatar who are back for their annual holiday here in South Africa. A lovely 80th birthday surprise and gift.

Happy Birthday Mom.  We love you!

The cute little blonde girl in this image was the “keeper” [...]]]>

It’s been a while that I have been thinking about changing the look of my kids-theme-parties site and today I actually did it. I hope if you are a regular visitor here, that you won’t click away thinking that you are on the wrong site.

The cute little blonde girl in this image was the “keeper” of all my posts on kids’ party planning and various other party stuff for many months , but she and I moved into different directions and today it was time to finally say goodbye to her.

I would like to hear what you think about the new look of kids-theme-parties…  I have  also changed the name of the site to “Kids Birthday Party Ideas” as I feel that it is more appropriate for all the  information I write about on hosting your kid’s birthday party.

You now have the option of subscribing not only via my RSS feed or to receive updates in your inbox whenever I post some new ideas, but you can also subscribe to receive updates when you leave a comment on a specific post.

Don’t forget that you can also listen to the posts and subscribe to the podcasts that you can download to your computer or iPod. Just click on the “listen now” button at the beginning of a post.

To celebrate the new look of my site I am sharing Peter Rabbit’s Family Recipes with you. This e-book has a beautiful little story of Peter Rabbit that you can print out for your kids as well as some delicious recipes that you can print out for yourself.

Cotton-tail’s Blackberry Lemonade and Peter’s Gooseberry Foolishness will be great for any kid’s party. You can soothe your nerves after the party is over with Mrs. Rabbit’s Chamomile Tea. Just click on the image to download the pdf. file to your computer.

Don’t forget that you can contact me with any questions or suggestions you have about planning your kid’s birthday party. I would also love to hear about the themes and ideas you came up with for birthday parties. Why not send me some photos as well and I will create a special page to share it with the other readers of this site.

As always, have fun when you plan your kid’s birthday party!

That is what happened this past weekend while I was still busy making the plantable handmade paper I originally wanted to use for Mia’s birthday party invitations.

My daughter and [...]]]>

Sometimes when we plan a birthday party or any other event, circumstances beyond our control can force us to change our plans, sometimes with a neckbreaking speed.

That is what happened this past weekend while I was still busy making the plantable handmade paper I originally wanted to use for Mia’s birthday party invitations.

My daughter and I decided to change the Rapunzel party theme to a “normal” party and I had to come up with something else for the invitation cards.

My computer and I have a wonderful relationship…lol, so after an hour or two of playing around, this is what I came up with:

A spiral invitation card printed on pink card, cut out with decorated edge scissors. Small paper butterflies and some glitter glue lend a festive touch to the invitations. (The glitter does not really show up well on the photo, but it was a lovely purple/blue/pink mix)

Not a very good photo but it shows you how the spiral card opens and twists around – nice to play with!

The envelopes were designed using a square and 4 circles and printed on white paper.

The front of the envelope were decorated with the image I used in the countdown to my granddaughter’s 4th birthday party post. It added a personal touch to the invitations and immediately told the recipients that Mia will be 4 years old on her next birthday.

I actually forgot to add the names of the guests on the envelopes but since Mia handed it out personally, I guess it did not matter so much.

With a few hours and a little bit of work it is so easy to make unique cards and envelopes for your kid’s birthday party. I will admit it is also just as easy to go out and buy some invitations in a store, but to go that extra mile shows your kid that you really love him/her.

If you would like a blank template of the envelope, just use the contact form (in the navigation bar) and I will send you a .png file you can personalise yourself.

Don’t worry, your e-mail details are safe with me, I value your privacy as much as I do mine!

I would really like to hear what you think of these spiral invitation cards, so please leave a comment in the comment section of this post.

Remember to have fun when planning your kid’s birthday party!

On the other hand, the small guests enjoyed it thoroughly.

There was a [...]]]>

My granddaughter went to a kid’s birthday party and although I do appreciate the fact that the mother of the birthday child is working long hours, I really feel that she could have gone to a little more trouble with her child’s birthday party…

On the other hand, the small guests enjoyed it thoroughly.

There was a birthday cake, nothing fancy or outrageous, just a normal frosted cake with some decorations and candles of course.

The mother bought candy from a wholesaler that stocks candies in all shapes and sizes and not normally found in ordinary grocery stores. She also purchased small packet of crisps from this wholesaler as well as small, inexpensive items that she used for party favours.

I was actually quite impressed with the small guitar shaped bottles filled with bubble mixture that my granddaugter brought home.

A small carton of fruit juice was added to the favour box, and that was  the sum total of the party snacks.

The kids had a wonderful time in the inflatable swimming pool, jumping for hours on the trampoline and playing and talking to each other.

The party also kept on for an hour or more than the time stated on the invitation cards.

This set me to wondering if we do not sometimes go overboard when we plan a theme party for our child. Should we not try to cut back on expenses especially in these tough economic times when it can be  difficult to give your child a party that really incorporates all the elements of his/her favourite TV character, superstar/hero or just to keep up with the Joneses.

I know and understand that you want to do the best you can for your child’s birthday party and to make it a special day for him or her. However, do we not also unwittingly teach our children to expect theme parties that have to get bigger and better each year?

Would it not be more beneficial for them if we teach them to enjoy their parties even if there is not all the things kids automatically expect these days when they have a birthday party.

A party can still be fun even if it does not have a specific theme. It should be planned with love and should be fun even if it does not have all the elements of a fully fledged theme party.

What do you think? Should we really go all out when planning our kids birthday parties or can we get away with a more simple party but still have lots of fun in planning the party?

Whether you are celebrating the first birthday of your child or planning a wonderful theme party for your kid’s 16th birthday, I hope you will be able to come up [...]]]>

Another New Year has dawned and there are birthday parties to be planned but I first have to say Happy New Year to all of you!

Whether you are celebrating the first birthday of your child or planning a wonderful theme party for your kid’s 16th birthday, I hope you will be able to come up with super ideas to make this day an unforgettable experience for your child.

As I have mentioned a few times, coming up with ideas for party favours can be quite a daunting task sometimes.

When you plan a theme party for your child’s birthday, you should always include him or her in the planning and preparations as much as possible.

Making friendship bracelets to hand out as party favours will not only include your child in the preparations but teach him/her the value of hand-made gifts and of giving and sharing something of him/herself with the party guests and close friends.

Depending on the age of your child, friendship bracelets can be as simple as a toddler using silver or gold pipe cleaners to thread coloured beads or a teenager planning a more intricate design.

Friendship bracelets need not be expensive, all you really need are a few beads and some shirring elastic for a really quick and easy friendship bracelet.

Beads come in all shapes and sizes these days and I personally like the small square ones with initials. It can lend a special touch to a friendship bracelet if you and your child use these to make a bracelet.

Making friendship bracelets can also double up as a party activity and then you won’t have to worry about finding something to give as a party favour.

Have fun planning your kid’s theme party!

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 [...]]]>

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

1. They will play games and/or be entertained.

2. They will eat birthday cake and other snacks

3. They will see their presents get opened.

But they also know that when they leave the party, they will receive a favour or goody [...]]]>

Every child knows that when they go to their friend’s birthday parties, certain ritualistic events will occur.

1. They will play games and/or be entertained.

2. They will eat birthday cake and other snacks

3. They will see their presents get opened.

But they also know that when they leave the party, they will receive a favour or goody bag. The favour bag is usually considered the best part of a birthday theme party because it is something that they get to take home. Almost like their reward for attending their friend’s birthday theme party.

Don’t think you can just throw a couple of pieces of candy in a bag and hand them out as the children are leaving. The birthday child is usually judged by how cool their favour bags are. If the favour bags are exceptional, kids will look forward to the next themed birthday party.

Today’s kids are quite more sophisticated in their choice of favour bag items.  They often try to outdo each other when their respective parties roll around – take care or they will really press you to come up with expensive items for their favour bags. It can become more difficult each year to try and come up with ideas for party favours. Why not try  some fun new ideas that will leave them with something to remember and will make them feel good about attending your kid’s theme party.

Since most kids like to vent their creativity through a variety of art projects, it might be a good idea to provide white t-shirts and fabric paint for them, so that they can create their own masterpieces and have a lasting remembrance of the party, as well. This doubles as an activity and a party favour, making it ideal for kids who aren’t terribly young. Even in the case of those who are under the kindergarten age, similar projects can be done using fingerpaints that are designed for fabric.

Another arts and crafts idea involves purchasing wooden cut-out letters – using the first letter of each child’s name who’s attending the party. With these, a bit of glue and lots of decorative accessories, the kids can decorate their own initial with glitter, sequins, foam shapes, stickers, and any other bauble that you might find at the local craft store. If you prefer not to risk the mess of gluing decorations, then you can buy self-adhesive decorator items. They’re a bit pricier, but will eliminate the worry of clean-up.

Prior to the party, purchase enough small picture frames to give one to each of the party guests who attend. During the festivities, take a series of photos, making sure to include each child – and be sure that they’re instant photos, so that they don’t have to be taken out and developed – super easy with today’s digital cameras, a computer and your own printer. Let them decorate the frames themselves while you print out the photos – just before the party ends, hand over the respective photos so that they can put it in their decorated frames.

For those who still like the idea of sending a favour bag home with the children, you can make it a bit more interesting by allowing them to make their own goodies to go inside. For instance, using lollipop molds and the necessary ingredients, you can instruct the children to make their own pops early in the party, so that they’ll be ready to go when they leave. Other types of candy can also be made and taken with them, offering a fun activity during the party and a tasty treat afterward.

To make the lollipops extra special, print out some colourful butterflies, flowers or images that will suit the theme of the party. Cut two small slits in the picture and push the lollipop through. (See picture…)

Once you let your imagination go, you can come up with great ideas for favour bags for your kid’s theme party – you can either make the items yourself before the party, and choose to include it in the activities once the party is under way. In most cases, the party guests will have fun as well as have something to take home.

Have fun planning your kid’s theme party!

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 [...]]]>

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.