Need An Inexpensive, But Personal Party Favor? Here It Is!

My birthday girl, just "horsin'" around!

Update:  This was a big hit at the party today!  The girls loved how practical the gift & contents were!  Just an FYI.  :) 

I wrote yesterday about the low-budget gymnastics party I threw for my daughter this past weekend.  At the end of the post, I immodestly (forgive me - brilliance doesn't come often) bragged about the party favors I'd made.  Well, here they are!


I scooped up a bunch of those Design-Your-Own Cups at the Dollar Store when I saw them there (pictured at the top of the photo below).  Since everyone drinks water out of re-usable bottles, they're a no-brainer gift that all the kids will use.  I discarded the outer insert because the instructions are on the sticker on the outside of the cup anyway.

The parts to the party favors...

I bought some cheap scrapbook paper at Michael's for $.05 a sheet and made a template to fit in the cup out of the side of a cereal box (pictured right above).   I got two pretty inserts from each sheet of scrapbook paper.


After cutting the pretty paper to fit inside the cup, I just rolled it in.  Then I added three pieces of candy, a rubber duckie, and assorted hair stuff (clips, elastics, etc.) to complete the party favor.  Voila!

...and the completed party favor.

There's still a sheet in the cup with a design the kids can color themselves that came with piece, so after the party ends, the kids can go home with an activity.  All in all, I think each cup probably cost under $2 each to make, including candy.  Sweet!


Stay tuned to this blog next week because I had so much fun offering FREE GHOSTING OR BOOING SHEETS (find them here), that I think I'll offer something brand new over the next few days.  And, as always, THANKS FOR READING!!!

Yes, You CAN Throw A Gymnastics Party At Home!

Lily's school notebook - can you tell she loves gymnastics?!

 

 

Lily, my soon-to-be 9 year old, wants some big-ticket items for her birthday, but with our budget being limited, we agreed that she could have the electronic device ONLY if we celebrate at home.  With our house being tiny and her group of friends, plus gymnastics team, being large, we proposed two small parties.  My little girl readily agreed. Thus, began my brainstorming for how to hold a gymnastics-themed party at home, on a budget, without equipment. Here's how I did it:

Invitations: These were easy. Evite has some nice Olympic-ring-style invitations which were appropriate for her party.

Decorations: Some posters of famous gymnasts, plus a home-made banner which read “You know you're a gymnastic when your whole world is always turned upside down!.”

Snack foods: Onion rings, celery balance beams (celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese), pretzel rods (like uneven parallel bars), and carrot sticks.

Games:

1. Races – During training, the girls do a lot of races. Hubby had them do relay races, obstacle courses during which they had to do cartwheels.
2. Balance Beam - Lily placed two lines of duct tape across our patio which the kids used as a balance beam. They then took turns doing their beam routines.
3. Hula Hoop Competition – The girls competed to see who could keep the hoop up the longest.
4. Head Stand Competition – At meets, while the judges are tabulating the winners, they hold contests to see who can stand on their head the longest.
5. Ribbon Wands – I bought these wands fairly cheaply at Amazon and they were great for the girls to twirl as if they were doing their floor routines.

Ribbon wants - perfect for a gymnastics party!

I also had  my FAVORITE party game, Hullaballoo (read my review here), on the back burner just in case they got bored.

Favors: Goodie bags had a little candy, but also stuff they use at meets for their hair including elastics, brightly-colored bobby pins, hair clips, and mini-hair sprays. They also received a small trophy.

Yes, everyone received a trophy!

Cake: A simple sheet cake was decorated with 5 Twizzlers shaped in rings (like the Olympic rings). 

The girls had a blast and since Saturday, I've seen some of them sporting the clips and bobby pins in their hair. I think the team enjoyed being together, outside the gym, and my daughter had a blast. Sometimes the best parties are the ones you have at home that don't cost a lot. 

My simple sketch of Lily on the balance beam at gymnastics.  Clearly, I should not quit my day job to become an artist...

Lily is having a second party this weekend for a few school friends and I've come up with some BRILLIANT favors (even if I do say so myself). Stay tuned for more details! 

Thank you for reading!

Worried Your Kid's Party Won't Go Well? Here's How To Make Sure It DOES!

What if my child's birthday party doesn't go well? What if it tanks?!

I was nervous about Lily's at-home birthday party this past Saturday. Of the 8 kids we'd invited, only three were scheduled to show up (with several people not RSVPing until the day before – SERIOUSLY people?! Show some consideration!). It was starting to look more like a playdate than a party. So what do you do when your child's birthday party could, potentially, fall apart? Here's what saved the day:

1. Have an agenda and back-up plans. With the party being in October and the uncertainty of the weather, we had an indoor itinerary and an outdoor one. I'd planned on the kids doing a craft, but the birthday girl nixed that idea at the last minute. Since the weather was nice, we opted for relay races, obstacle courses, and Lily even made up a few games herself.

2. Have extra food on hand.   Munching kids are busy, happy kids.  Based on the mid-afternoon time slot of the party, I'd vetoed the idea of pizza in favor of having just snacks and cake. Bad idea. Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to buy the ever-popular Bagel Bites on hand and when I saw the kids gorging on the Doritos, I whipped up a batch of those easily-microwaveable pizza bagels. They were a hit.
   
   
   
   
    

3. 

   My FAVORITE kid's game - for parties or playdates!

   In advance, PURCHASE THE GAME HULLABALOO! I bought it years ago, when my son was in preschool and am convinced that it's THE GREATEST GAME EVER INVENTED FOR KIDS 9 and under! It's so simple that they can play it on their own, with friends of all ages. The game consists of different colored and shaped pads you place on the floor and a main “console” with one button that plays clear-cut instructions. You go from pad to pad; sometimes you dance on the pad, other times you contort into Twister-like positions or pretend you're playing a musical instrument, etc. The unit goes off if the kids haven't played it in a while. I used to carry it in my car because if the kids ever got bored at a relative's house or were on a playdate that they didn't get along with, I could whip it out. The game can be played indoors or out and it's tons of fun. Even the teen will play it with his sister. We brought Hullabaloo outdoors and the girls played it on the patio for at least 45 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Give the birthday kid some control. Lily, thank God, is an outgoing child who manufactures merriment when she's with people. She came up with variations on the races, threw some duct tape on the patio which the kids used as a balance beam, good naturedly mocked her own performance, and was having so much fun that it became infectious. Her out-of-the-box thinking and positive attitude really made the party enjoyable for all of her guests. 
   
   

   

   What would a kids' party be without music & dancing?

   
   
5. Make sure music is involved. Kids LOVE to dance and be silly, so either have a dance party or play Freeze Dance. To play, just put on an upbeat song. While the music is playing, the children dance. When you pause or stop the song they have to freeze. Technically, whoever keeps dancing after the music stops is out, but we modified it so that whoever had the silliest face on when the music stopped won. I didn't give out any prizes, but everyone laughed at the goofiness of the game.

Don't forget that you need to have a positive attitude, too. Kids get a lot of cues from adults. When they see that you're honestly trying to please them, they respond accordingly. Really, it's about the birthday child having fun, the cake, games, and favors. Children know that “party” means “fun” and they're prepared to have a good time.

What could have been a flat party, turned into one where the children were all begging to stay even longer (we wound up extending the festivities for another hour). Thank goodness, Hubby and I were able to relax and enjoy Lily's big day. And the biggest payoff – Lily had a blast!

Here are more tips on how to survive your own kid's birthday party.

Thank you for visiting my blog!  Come back again, won't you?

The Teen's New Year's Eve Sleepover – Party Prep 101

A few weeks ago, Junior asked us for permission to have a New Year's Eve Sleepover. My first reaction was, “Good!” because I am quite aware that I'll only have a few more New Year's Eves with him before he prefers to go out with his friends. His dad and I also agreed because the boys been hanging with this year are a nice group of kids who tolerate assaults from Diva with kindness and patience. Plus, if it's within our power to make our son happy, we do it.


The norm for Junior's sleepovers is that the kids bring their laptops and spend most of their time playing on their computers. They do this every night anyway via Skype, so it's nice to see them having face-time whenever they can outside of school. “What can I do,” I asked, “to make this party extra-special since it is New Year's Eve?” My son thought about it for a second, which made me a little nervous because I thought he was going to ask that we take the entire party out for dinner (NOT!). “Mom, I'd like a Taco Bar,” he said. Interesting concept. We volleyed some ideas and here's what I'm picturing:


We'll do it, obviously, buffet-style. We'll start out with a basket containing hard taco shells and soft tortillas; the soft tortillas might be easier for our guests who have braces to eat. Then there will be individual dishes containing tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and black beans. Next in line will be two dishes containing seasoned ground beef and turkey, respectively. Lastly, I foresee a container of taco sauce and a large salad bowl on the side in case any kid actually wants to add some to his plate.


The bar will consist of Sprite (which is apparently the choice drink for this group), seltzer, and sparkling cider served in plastic champagne glasses (fancy!).


For dessert, we'll offer a Make-Your-Own-Sundae Bar which is easy thanks to those single-serve cups of half-chocolate, half-vanilla. The kids can spoon on, from little serving bowls, toppings such as nuts, M&Ms, smashed Butterfingers, and add whipped cream before pouring on chocolate syrup, if they want. The final bowls will consist of sprinkles and Maraschino cherries.

I thought about buying party hats and noisemakers, but then realized that these kids are too cool for hats and are noisy enough without the noisemakers. I'm thinking that penny whistles might allow them to make some noise at midnight without my ears ringing for days afterward.


The next day, the waffle maker will come in handy for obvious reasons, especially since the catch phrase for this group seems to be “I like waffles.” With any luck, our guests will be picked up by 11:30am on New Year's Day.


I know that future parties will get bigger and more expensive, so I'm cherishing the simplicity of this one and knowing that my son will be in the house having fun the last night of 2013. Junior will get very little sleep (the last time some of these kids slept over, they didn't go to bed until 4am) and start out the New Year happy, if tired. Yes, my son, you can have a sleepover. Let's make it the best one yet!


–


Please check back in with me for my favorite New Year's Jokes. Why shouldn't 2013 go out with a laugh?!

The Lessons Of An American Girl Doll

Once there was a little girl who, for a long time, had wanted an American Girl Doll.  Yes, this is my little girl, Diva, and she's pretty typical, right?  At a certain age, lots of girls crave these mass-marketed dolls who not only have their own stores, but tony clothing, accessories, a hair salon, and even wheelchairs and hearing aids.

 

We, her parents, questioned her motivation.  Did she want one just because all of her friends did? Probably.  Or did she want one because of the series of American Girl Doll movies and books that had enthralled her over the last few years? Maybe.   Whatever the reason, our little one's longing had remained strong over the last three years.  Unfortunately, we and Santa (whom she did repeatedly ask) had been on budgets and American Girl Dolls retail for about $110 dollars; that's damn pricey for a toy!  Still, an American Girl doll remained at the top of Diva's Wish List.

This year, for her 8th birthday, we told her she could have one IF (and it was a big IF), she could stick to a budget as we planned her birthday party.  She and I had a long talk.  Our house is too small for more than a few kids, so we looked at the usual kids' party venues.   The big places (gymnastics locations, Build-A-Bear, various crafting studios) were way out of her price range; they average $500 and up.  We thought about some of the stuff we'd done over the summer; we'd been bowling quite a bit and Diva loved it.  Turns out, having a bowling party fit our budget nicely.  She did the math to see how many people she could invite while staying within our number and whittled down the attendee list on her own.  She explained to friends who were not included that as much as she wanted them there, Mom was limiting the number of guests (I'll take the hit - I don't care). 

Having met her goal of staying within budget, it finally came time to pick a doll.  She initially looked at the blond-haired, blue-eyed models she usually gravitates to, but after much consideration picked out one that surprised us.  The Chosen One has  black hair and dark chocolate-colored eyes.  And she is "Chinese" - just like my daughter!  This is significant for, you see, my Diva is adopted from China.  And while she is extremely proud of her heritage and we had gotten her Asian-looking dolls in the past, this was the first time that SHE chose one that looked like her.  Plus, this doll is a gymnast, just like our graceful Diva.  We heartily approved. 

Sunday morning, my radiant daughter and her Daddy boarded a train into the City to get the doll named Ivy.  The train left at 8:30am; my daughter was up at 5.  She was beaming all day, like a proud momma.  She introduced me to Ivy and showed me her silky black hair and almond-shaped eyes.  She made sure her new friend was securely buckled into the car for a short trip to the grocery store.  Diva is already planning to expand Ivy's wardrobe but knows she will have to save up for the extra clothes; we're exploring some of the discount doll clothes websites.

What, perhaps, started out as the desire for something that her peers have has morphed into so much more.  It's been a lesson in delaying gratification, earning what she wants through budgeting, and embracing her own appearance.  As we read the book that came with Ivy in which she "battles lonliness" and finds "solace in gymnastics," I'm looking forward to discussing some of these issues with my precious little girl.  This American Girl Doll could be the begining of a closer relationship with my daughter.  Or Ivy could wind up just another discarded toy on the shelf.  I have my hopes up, but only Time will tell.