ABC Home Preschool Blog » birthday parties

Summer Party Ideas For Kids

TheNanny612 — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:00:27 +0000

Summer is a terrific
time of year but it can also feel like a long season. This is especially true
for parents who are home with their kids all day because the days of summer
are long and it’s sometimes hard to fill them with enough activities to
keep everyone entertained and happy. If your kids are of school age, they probably
want to have friends come over to play and then you’ve got the problem
of additional kids who are complaining that they’re bored during the hottest
hours of the day. Most of the time, the summer is great, but if you need to
shake a little bit of fun into it to get the excitement back then you might
think about planning a Summer Party.

You can pick just
about any theme and run with it for planning your summer kids’
party, but here are some ideas to get you started:

Beach
party. You don’t have to live near a beach to enjoy throwing
a beach-theme party. If you’ve got a sandbox and a kiddie pool
– or things that are close enough – you’re in business
for this kind of summer kids’ party. Cheap toys that you’ll
need include plastic buckets and shovels for sand castle building contests,
big sunglasses and floppy hats for costumes and some sort of water for
splashing around in.

Hollywood
Movie Parties.
Every summer, at least one big Hollywood kids’ movie is released and
there’s a good chance that all of your kids’ friends are going
to know what it is. Theme your party around that release. If you’re
adventurous, you can even take the kids to go see it. But that’s not
necessary. Make homemade costumes at your party and let the kids act the movie
out for themselves.
Popsicle
Parties. Popsicles are a great summer treat and they make for a terrific
theme for your party as well. When the kids first arrive at the party, they
can participate in the making of the popsicles. This means you can use fruit
juice and other healthier options to make the treats. Children can be given
popsicle trays or even shaped ice cube trays to make their own individual
treats. While your waiting for them to freeze, your party can continue with
outdoor games and activities. After the popsicles have been eating, everyone
can wash away the stickiness by playing in kiddie pools or sprinklers.
Sundae
parties.
Just like with popsicles, ice cream sundaes are a great summer treat. They
cool you down and they’re terrific for parties because you can lay out
the toppings and let the kids enjoy making their own.

Summer parties
for kids are terrific because they help to break up some of the monotony
of the season, giving them focused activities to work on and something fun to
plan for. If you’re having a theme summer party, you can turn many of
the decorations and games into small crafts for your kids before the party.
This reduces the cost of the party and also helps to increase the planning excitement
for everyone. And if you can get a few other parents to plan parties this summer,
too, everyone should be able to stay happy all season long.

Balloon Games to Make any Birthday Party Special

TheNanny612 — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 04:07:57 +0000

Here are a list
of super fun Birthday Party Balloon Games. Some are classic balloon games that
you might remember from when you were a kid and others are new favorites. But,
one thing is certain… these Balloon Games are sure to make any Birthday Party
special.

Balloon
Pop – Insert a note into each Balloon. One of the balloon should
say, "Winner". The rest of the notes can say anything you want…
a joke is always cute. Fill each balloon up all the way. Place the filled
balloons around the house and let each child pick one to pop. The child
who pops the Balloon with the "Winner" note is the winner.

Catch
the Balloon – Have the children sit in a circle. In the center
of the circle have an adult holding a blown up balloon. The adult will
throw the balloon in the air and call out one of the children’s
names. The child whose name was called gets up and tries to catch the
balloon before it lands on the floor. If the child catches the balloon
she gets to stand in the center of the circle and call out another child’s
name when she throws the balloon in the air.

Balance
the Most Balloons – This game is tons of fun!! Blow up 20 balloons.
Set a timer for 90 seconds. When the timer begins have a child try and
hold as many balloons as he can. He is allowed to hold the balloons any
way he can as long as he receives no help from an adult. He can put balloons
in his clothes, teeth, under arms, in between legs… whatever way
he can as long as he is holding them. See how many balloons he is holding
when the timer goes off after 90 seconds. Write down the amount and set
the timer for the next child. Whoever was holding the most balloons after
all the children have participated is the Winner.

Balloon
Pop Relay – This game is played with two or more teams. Place
5 or more children in a line. If there are 10 kids there will be two teams,
if there are 15 children there will be three teams… and so on. Have
a bag filled with balloons ahead of each of the teams about 20 feet away.
When an adult says start each team’s first player will run over
to their bag of balloons and pick a balloon to sit on. Once the team player
pops the balloon they will run back to their team and tag the next player.
Once the next play is tagged this player will run to the bag of balloons
and pop a balloon and run back to his team. All teams will do the same
thing at the same time. The first team to finish the relay is the winner.

Stuffed
Shirt – Each team has two players. One of the children on the
team will put on a baggy shirt. The other child will be a balloon stuffer.
It does not matter how many teams you have. Give each team about 15 –
20 balloons. Start a timer for two minutes. The stuffer will have two
minutes to stuff as many balloons into the child’s baggy shirt.
After two minutes the team with the most balloons stuffed into the baggy
shirt is the Winner.

Balloon
Yummy Fun – Before you start blowing up balloons fill the balloons
with candy. Hand each child a party favor bag. Place the candy filled
balloons on the floor. Have the children make a circle around the candy
filled balloons. Put on some music and tell the kids that they are supposed
to pop the balloons when the music is playing and stop popping the balloons
when the music has stopped. When you are finished playing music and all
of the balloons are popped have the children fill their party favor bags
with candy. **Make sure the kids do not step on each other.**

Water
Balloon Toss – This balloon game is a classic and it is still
as much fun as it was when we were kids. Have the kids match up with another
child. Have the pairs face each other. When you say begin they children
will make their first toss. Each team that make a successful catch take
a step away from each other. The game keeps going like this until the
final pair is still playing. This final pair is the winner.

Technorati Tags: balloon, games, activities, birthday_parties, kids, children

Kids Birthday Party Games

TheNanny612 — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 04:00:40 +0000

Yes, you can always rely
on the standard party games to make sure that the kids at your child’s
next birthday have a good time. After all, old favorites like hitting the piñata,
playing hide-and-go-seek, bobbing for apples and even playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey
never really get old. But if you want to make sure that everyone has a really
good time at your child’s party and that the event is really one that
will be remembered, then you might consider trying out some more creative birthday
party games.

Here are a few kids’
birthday party game ideas to get you started:

Balloon
Games – There are many different games that can be played with
balloons so as long as the kids in your party group are old enough to
play with them without problems, you’ll probably want to add a
balloon game to your child’s party. For example, have a balloon
Stuffing Contest – The way this game works is to divide the group
of kids into teams of two. One of the two gets to wear a big, baggy
T-shirt. You’ll turn on fun music and the second child will stuff
blown-up balloons up the baggy shirt of the first child. The child with
the most balloons in their shirt is the winner but all of the kids win
with the silliness of this game. A less silly but still fun balloon
game is Back-2-Back in which two kids stand back to back passing a balloon
around to each other until it pops; the last team with an unpopped balloon
wins and you get lots of good video footage of the kids laughing as
the balloons pop all around them.
Craft Games
– Crafts may be something that you enjoy doing with your kids
during downtime but they can also be great for kids’ parties.
The best craft activities are those which leave the kids with something
to take home at the end of the day. For example, you might have them
make bracelets with their names on them. Alternatively, you can have
a craft in which everyone makes something for the birthday kid. Your
party invitations can say that no gifts are necessary since you’ll
be making them at the party, something that will please the other parents!
How Many
Games – You can put almost anything in a jar and have the kids
at a party guess how many are there. Keep it birthday themed by making
the item in the jar be candles, birthday cake toppers or balloons. Have
a prize for the winner but let all the kids take something out of the
jar.

Recess
Games Revamped – The games that your children play at recess at
school are games that they enjoy. Take the party outdoors and play standard
recess games such as Red Rover and Duck-Duck Goose. However, change
the games slightly to reflect whatever the theme of your birthday party
is. Even if you have no theme, the birthday itself can be a theme. For
example, duck-duck goose can become happy-happy birthday.
Scavenger
Hunts – For awhile, treasure hunts were all the rage at birthday
parties and then they kind of went out of style. They take some planning
but this can be a great way to spend a good portion of the party and
keep all the kids entertained and occupied together.

These are
just a few of the general ideas that you might want to think about when
planning your next kids’ birthday party. Activities like these keep
the keep the kids focused and active which helps to minimize the negative
effects from all of that sugar in the cakes and candies! And they also
help to brighten up the party, making for great photographic moments that
you’ll be able to enjoy long after the celebration has ended.

Technorati Tags: birthday_party, games, activities, crafts, kids, children, parenting

Birthday Party Menu Pictures

TheNanny612 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:20:16 +0000

Here are the promised
pictures from my Son’s Birthday Party. Yesterday I posted a Review about the
Taste of Home’s Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine. I promised
I would post pictures of some of the Birthday Party Menu Ideas I got from the
Taste of Home’s Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine.

Here is a picture
of the Lady Bug Cake.

This cake was the Kid’s favorite… and mine!! So, Yummy!!

Here is a picture of the Frog Birthday Cake. Isn’t he cute? It was tough to
cut this cake… he was a MASTERPIECE.

There is my Son Riley, the Birthday Boy, getting ready to blow out the candle
on his Birthday Cake.

The
rest of the images from the Birthday Party Menu I borrowed from the Taste of
Home Web site. My pictures do not do the items justice.

Here is a pictures of the Fly Burgers. These mini burgers were a huge hit with
the kids. Their small hands had no trouble holding the items. My Fly Burgers
looked more like beatles, but they were yummy!!!

One of the appetizers that I made was the Cheese Worms with Grasshopper Dip.
This appetizer was delicious, but the grasshopper legs drove me crazy when I
was putting this item together. They were the green part of green onions and
I couldn’t seem to get them to look the way they do in the picture, but none-the-less
it was really good.

Another appetizer I had was the Lady Bug Appetizers… These were super easy
to make and very, very tasty.

I made these Butterfly Cheese Sandwiches thinking that these would go quickly
with the kids, but believe it or not they went fast because the adults couldn’t
stop eating them. I think the kids were afraid to eat them because of the olives
on top. But, these sandwiches are still worth having on the menu at any children’s
party…. for the adults. They were really great!!

The last item on the menu that I got from the Taste of Home’s Kid-friendly
cooking & Crafts Magazine were these Watermelon Cookies… I know these
weren’t part of the bug theme, but I had to make them. I found them to be so
cute!! And, they were a hit. Everything was… it was a great party with great
food.

If you missed yesterday’s
Taste
of Home Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine Review take a look at it.
This magazine gave me all these ideas and more!! Plus, this magazine is chuck
full of craft ideas for parties and holidays throughout the year. It also has
a section for “Boredom Busters”. It is definitely a magazine I will keep around
all year round.

Technorati Tags: birthday_parties, kids, children, party, menu, food, cooking

Taste of Home Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine Review

TheNanny612 — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:09:02 +0000

This week’s review will be
on the Taste
of Home’s Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine. I had bought the Magazine
last week when I was in the check-out isle at the Grocery Store. As I was waiting
for my turn to check-out I scanned the magazine rack for my usual weekly gossip
fill. But, as I was scanning the rack the Taste
of Home’s Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine caught my eye. The
cover of the Magazine had a bunch of super cute brightly colored alien cupcakes.
Once I saw the sub-title, "Plan the Perfect Birthday Party!" I had
to take a look.

You see, my son’s
fourth birthday was July 11th and I was planning a Birthday party for him for
yesterday, July 15th. I knew we would have food, fun and cake, but I didn’t
quite know the specifics…. that is until I purchased the Taste
of Home’s Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine. Within no time at
all I had everything planned. My son wanted a Bugs
Birthday Party Theme and this Magazine had tons of Bug Food Ideas for a
Birthday Party. This is how the Birthday Party Menu went:

Cheese
Worms with Grasshopper Dip
Fly Burgers
Butterfly
Cheese Sandwiches
Ladybug
Appetizers
Beef Barbecue
(not from the magazine)
Pasta Salad
(not from the magazine)
Crescent
Butterflies
Taco Salad
(not from the magazine)
Watermelon
Cookies
Hoppy Frog
Cake
Ladybug
Cake

I have never
had so many compliments on the food and cake at any of my parties before.
Plus all of the kids ate the food!! I never had any problems with the
kids eating the cake, but sometimes I have a problem getting the little
kids to eat some of the main course, but everything was a hit. Especially
the Fly Burgers which are tiny burgers on tiny baked rolls that are supposed
to look like flys, but mine turned out to look more like beatles.

My menu was
just a very small section out of the Taste
of Home’s Kid-friendly cooking & Crafts Magazine which has 101
Recipes kids love to eat. There are also 17 easy to make crafts for kids.
This magazine is chuck full of fun stuff for the kids and for you. If
you are anything like me then you are always looking for creative things
to do with the children… well, this magazine has tons of creativity
for and the kids.

Tomorrow I
will post some pictures from the party that includes some of the Birthday
Party Dishes I made for my son’s Birthday Party.

Technorati Tags: birthday+parties, kids, children, crafts, entertaining, cooking, party, family, parenting, boy, girls