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?

Sometimes I Hide

I am on the floor of the bathroom. The door is locked and I am playing Word Weasel on my phone. I am hiding from the 8-year old. Despite having thousands of dollar worth of toys in her room, she is unable to play by herself. We had fun today, playing 20 games of Trouble (she won them all), drawing, reading, and playing at least eight games of Hullabaloo (the GREATEST kids' game ever invented!  Find out why below.). I'm tired. She's been needy today.  Despite my begging

her to play by herself, I'd finally had it. She worked my last nerve, so I took refuge in the only room with a lock – the bathroom.

Moments like this used to throw me when I had only one child. I used to retreat to the bathroom is a storm of frustration and tears, swearing that I was THE WORST MOTHER WHO EVER LIVED. Now, after 13 years of parenting, I understand that I am normal and I am sure there is at least one other mother going through the same thing at this very moment.

Parenting is fun and wonderful and bittersweet, with the growing realization that the kids will only be little once and will, someday, not need you. Today is not the day. Diva has not been able to spend one minute without me; she has also worn down the patience of her father, who is in his office paying bills and is not to be disturbed. She knows better than to pester her teenage brother who is on Skype with his friends. So, once again, she's after me.

“Moooooommmmmmy!” The wail comes from downstairs. My daughter is neither sick nor hurt. She is frustrated because I am not at her beck and call. The sound comes closer and closer (cue in the suspenseful horror movie music). I sigh; my peace is about to come to an end. “Mommy! Come out here!” she demands. I tell her no, Mom is in a time-out. “I need my space,” I tell her. Predictably, this is not received well. She's now yelling and banging on the door. The tantrum escalates. I hold my ground. I am NOT coming out.

Suddenly it gets quiet. I'm not worried. As I said, there are two other people in this house so if there really was a problem, she could easily go to them. A slip of paper touches my foot. “You are mean,” it says. Well, at least she's in touch with her feelings. “Write on it,” she demands. I will not engage. I hear her outside the door, scribbling on paper she has pilfered from Daddy's office. More paper comes under the door. I am expecting more declarations of anger, perhaps even an “I hate you” note. Instead, the paper reads, “I really, really, really, really” with an arrow indicating that I should flip the paper to the other side; the flip side reads “really, really love you.”

I know she does. I'm filled with happiness because she knows, without a doubt, that I love her, too. We've played this scenario out many times and I've reiterated that Mommy loves her; Mommy just needs time to herself. My daughter does not take it personally. She continues to scribble love notes to me, while I breathe and play my game by myself. In a moment, I'll come out. My self-imposed time out will be over and we'll go on to paint with water colors and get ready for school tomorrow.

Another Mommy Storm passes. I unlock the bathroom door, smile at my beautiful daughter who hugs me, and take her hand. The refugee is out and I know that I am indeed, just another, normal mom.

–

I mentioned the game Hullabaloo. I bought the game years ago, when my son was in preschool and am convinced, as I said above, that it's THE GREATEST GAME EVER INVENTED FOR LITTLE KIDS! 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. Basically, 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 I've even used it at parties. Today I found it in the closet and Diva, her teenage-brother, and I played it for at least an hour.

Listen up: if you have kids 9 or younger (preschool age), you MUST GET THIS GAME! It will save your sanity – trust me!