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.

They can come in many shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common… they add to the liveliness and festive feeling of any party.

They can be made from balloons, from newspaper or tissue paper, they can be adorned with feathers, [...]]]>

A kid’s birthday party is not complete without a party hat!

They can come in many shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common… they add to the liveliness and festive feeling of any party.

They can be made from balloons, from newspaper or tissue paper, they can be adorned with feathers, glitter, sequins, colourful buttons, flowers or streamers, the choice is yours. Party hats can be shaped like a cone, a top hat, a simple band with Mickey Mouse or Bunny ears, a pirate hat, a witch hat… as with so many crafts, your imagination is the only drawback when it comes to the kind of hat you will make for your kid’s theme party.

The easiest party hat you can make yourself is the conical party hat. Draw a triangle on a piece of stiff cardboard or coloured paper – size 12″ x 18″ – use the 12″ as the height and the 18″ as the size to go around the head. Change the straight bottom line to a curve:

Decorate as desired, then glue the edges together and leave to dry. (Use paperclips to hold the hat together while it is drying). Staple both ends of a thin piece of elastic string onto opposite sides of the bottom edge of the hat so it fits under the chin.

A golden rule when planning your kids’ theme parties is to let them be a part of the planning from the beginning, so the older kids will really enjoy making their own party hats.

Download this colourful party hat template by clicking on this link…. http://kids-theme-parties.com/Party-Hats.zip The .zip folder  also contains a .png file with instructions on how to edit the file to design a party hat that will fit in with your kid’s party theme.

Have fun planning your kid’s theme party!

Once they get the hang of it, they will be able to finish a few bags in no time at all.

Once the favour bags are made, they can get creative with decorating it to suit [...]]]>

Let your child or children share in the excitement of an upcoming theme party by making the favour bags.

Once they get the hang of it, they will be able to finish a few bags in no time at all.

Once the favour bags are made, they can get creative with decorating it to suit the theme of the party.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to make your own favour bags or even gift bags (why buy when you can make it yourself?)

First off you will need some empty cardboxes like cereal boxes, biscuit boxes, etc.  (the size of the box will depend on the size of the bag you want to make – if there is no empty boxes on hand, try using a soft-cover book)

Other things you will need:

Scissors
Coloured card or heavy wrapping paper
Double-sided tape or glue
Cardboard
Hole punch
Ribbon, string or cord to match or compliment the paper

Lay box flat on long side of paper, ensuring paper will fold up to cover three-quarters of base.

Wrap paper around box to take circumference measurement, adding 2cm for overlap at side join. Mark dimensions with pencil, remove box and cut out.

Wrap paper around box to measure overlap, remove and open up again. Fold 3-4 cm over to inside at top edge of paper, glue in place.

Idea: Strengthen the places where the holes for the string or cord will be by cutting two pieces of firm cardboard about 3.5 cm wide and just a little shorter than the front and back width of the bag. Put glue on either side of the cardboard and position the pieces of the cardboard along the inside of the bag before gluing  the top edges in place.

Wrap paper around box and secure the overlap at the side with double-sided tape or glue.

While the box is still in the bag, fold the bottom edges over.

Secure with double-sided tape or glue

Tip:

For extra strength or a neater finish, you can cut a piece of paper just a little smaller than the base of the bag and glue in place.

Slide box out of bag

Another tip: You can also cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the base  and insert it into the bag on the bottom.

Pinch edges of bag together with fingers and crease down sides carefully.

Flatten bag, fold bottom and flatten. Fold bottom back and open bag.

Punch two holes in each side at top, measure the string or cord to the length that you want the handles and add about 5 cm.

Thread the string or cord through the holes and knot the ends. Make sure that the knots are big enough so that the handles don’t come off.

Have fun planning your kid’s theme party!

Since kids love attending birthday parties, this is the best time to introduce them  to [...]]]>

Tired of the usual themes for kids birthday parties? Then try an “art class type” party theme for a change. This will work especially well if your kid and his or her friends are also into art and craft work.

Since kids love attending birthday parties, this is the best time to introduce them  to the beauty of art so they will develop a love for this early. Having an art class as a theme is good for the young guests because it raises children’s levels of awareness of the art around them as well as the art they can produce themselves.

An art theme for a kid’s birthday party can be easy to organize. All you need is a room where little tables and chairs can be arranged so the kids will have a place for their art pieces.

Art can be incorporated during the birthday party as one of the activities that kids can do while waiting for the food to be served or after they have finished eating.

Having an art class as a theme can also help parents save some money because they will just have to provide all kinds of papers and boards—construction paper, tissue papers, drawing paper, watercolor paper, poster boards, foam core, and others.

When it comes to drawing materials, you can provide paints such as tempera, watercolours, acrylics, oil paints, fabric paints and dyes along with palettes and brushes for the kids to use. Other alternatives may also include printing materials such as blocks, inks, papers, frames of all sizes and styles, and pre-cut mats, kits, clay, paper mache, glue, paste and craft materials for collages.

To avoid too much clutter during the art themed party, make sure that you:

• Cover the painting area with a waterproof covering or old newspapers

• Provide an overall or old clothes to protect their clothing

• Instead of using stamps for block painting, substitute a small sponge, a ball of cotton wool, cork or sliced fruits and vegetables.

• Provide powder watercolours since these are more preferable than the usual watercolours because you can control the amount your children need

• Make sure to keep the paints in small plastic containers, which has a hole on top for the paintbrush

• Use plastic egg cartons as palettes

• Add some liquid starch to thicken up the powder instead of adding extra powder or add liquid starch in a container and add some food colouring

If monitored properly, the art class theme can be the most memorable experience that your child as well as his or her friends could ever experience. Remember, it pays to have lots of patience when you use this theme because kids can be unruly if they start to have fun or mess around with the materials. When this happens, all you have to do is to remind them subtly by telling them that they are in a party and they are not supposed to destroy the materials because the birthday boy or girl will be sad.

Splatter Art Game

This is a messy game and should definitely be played outside and in old clothing that it does not matter if it gets messed up. This works best with a smaller group of children 8 – 11 years old. Set up picnic tables back to back, or for smaller children, folding tables with the legs collapsed so they lay on the ground works better, and purchase big rolls of paper that you can roll over the top of them, totally covering the tables. Get several different colors of paint, I find that 5-8 colors usually works best and paintbrushes in different sizes.

Now have the children stand over the tables and splatter paint with the paintbrushes all over the papers. Give them a specific time limit, usually like 30 – 60 seconds works best so that the paper is not dripping with paint and there is still some design to it. After the paint dries you can cut the large paper into fairly equal pieces of art and help each child frame it so they have something they can take home and hang on the wall as a memory. Before framing be sure to have each child sign and date the picture.

Here are a few ideas to make puppets:

Paper bags: Draw a face on a bag,  twist the corners for ears [...]]]>

Kids of all ages love puppets. It is quite easy to make them from odds and ends you have in the house and this activity can also be used for a craft theme party.

Here are a few ideas to make puppets:

Paper bags: Draw a face on a bag,  twist the corners for ears and hold in place on the child’s hand with a rubber band round the wrist.

Wooden Spoons: Draw a face on a spoon and drape a scrap of material around the handle for a cloak.

Socks: Stick or sew eyes on to an old sock. Show children how to put their hands inside and pull the toe of the sock in between their fingers and thumbs to make a mouth.

Match-boxes: Take the outside part of a match-box and glue on paper shapes for noses, eyes and ears. Use as a finger puppet.

Paper or felt: Make finger puppets by cutting out semi-circles, curling them into a tube shape and sticking them, so that they just fit over the fingers. Draw or stick on eyes, noses, ears and hats.

Card: Cut an animal shape out of card. Cut two holes at the bottom to allow the fingers to poke through and act as legs.