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

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

She has heard me talk so much about the Rapunzel theme party I posted about in December 2009, that she was quite happy when [...]]]>

My granddaughter Mia will be 4 years old on the 6th of March. Yesterday I sat down with a piece of paper to start my checklist for planning her birthday party.

She has heard me talk so much about the Rapunzel theme party I posted about in December 2009, that she was quite happy when I suggested that we should use this theme for her party this year.

I have decided to keep you up to date with my planning and I can tell you that a preliminary guest list has been set up already. I decided on the party snacks, but still have to decide if I am going to make a faux tower/castle cake or bake two cakes and “chop and paste” them to build the cake.

This weekend I will try my hand at making plantable  paper and will add some herb seeds to the paper. I will then use the paper to make  invitation cards.

While I was writing down all the ideas that popped into my mind, I realised once again how easy it is to use items that would normally find their way to the dustbin to make decorations for a kids theme party.

The eggs that I bought last night, came in lovely green cartons that will be perfect for party favours or to hold candy and will fit in nicely with the colour scheme of the Rapunzel theme. It can quite easily be turned into little treasure chests with the aid of  glitter and a few other odds and ends.

Empty toilet rolls (or any other empty rolls like kitchen paper rolls) can easily be turned into fun decorations by using paint, coloured paper, buttons, wool and many more. I will use a few rolls and turn them into small towers to decorate the party table.

With some  imagination and creativity, you can save a lot of money when you plan your kid’s theme party.

Remember also, always have fun when you do it and don’t forget to use a checklist from the moment you start planning the party.

Mia's 1st birthday fairy theme party

fairy theme party cake

close up of fairy wings on fairy cake

meringue fairy wands

bread snails and bread flowers

butterfly and marshmallow flower party biscuits

personalised fairy theme party favor box

Click [...]]]>

Photos of my granddaughter Mia’s 1st birthday party

Mia's 1st birthday fairy theme party

fairy theme party cake

close up of fairy wings on fairy cake

meringue fairy wands

bread snails and bread flowers

butterfly and marshmallow flower party biscuits

personalised fairy theme party favor box

Click on the link to read the post about the fairy theme birthday preprarations.

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