Birthday Party Central
If you want a party, and you don't know what to do , here are some things I've done for mybirthday or ideas I've had for my upcoming birthday.
First idea is to host an animal party for your kids. Usually you can invite up to 20 people (kids), otherwise it gets too crowded. You can Google animal birthday parties or click on one of the links below:
http://www.wildthingsscience.com/birthday_programs.htm
http://www.utahvalley.com/events/details.aspx?ID=2100
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/wild-things-science-and-animal-explorations-llp-84100
(look on the side of the page and choose anything that you need for parties)
These are some ideas I found online for my 12th birthday:
have each group of girls cook a dish for the meal. The dishes can be
from around the world like nachos, spagetti, mango smoothies, etc. At
the end, they had a great dinner. The party favors can be personalized
aprons with each girls name on them.
· Shopping Mall Scavenger Hunt:
Then reconven at the food court. To save some money go after lunch and before dinner and bring cupcakes for everyone (you could also just bring a cake). After they eat, each girl receives another list and $10. On the list are specific things they have to get at certain stores with the money they were given. For example, buy a $1 rock candy stick at the candy store; buy something for $2-$3 at Bath and Body Works; buy something at Limited Too/Justice under $5. The items that they purchased could be their goody bag gifts. The pictures can be later developed and sent out with thank you cards as a memory of the party. By the way, the party invitations would be fake "credit cards" that are self laminated.
Notes:
Remember don't have a scheduled planned because tweens like to do more things on their own.
This is eccentric in a party as girls grow up.
More Ideas:
For my 12th birthday bash, I had a Movie Madness Sleep Over! This isn't your ordinary sleepover; it's a sleepover for the stars! INVITATIONS: Trace on cardboard the shape of an Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, etc. and write the information on the back. This is what I put: You are cordially invited to YOUR NAME HERE's Awards! Where: The Red Carpet (YOUR HOUSE HERE) When: YOUR DATE AND TIME HERE Please Bring: A sleeping bag, pillow, or anything else you want to bring (or whatever else you want to put as a necessity on your invitation) R.S.V.P.: DATE HERE AND PHONE# HERE Hope to see you there! Food: I had the regular pizza and the regular cake. I ordered my cake from a baker but you can bake your own for a lot cheaper. On my cake, I had yellow frosting spotlights, to make it a movie themed cake. I also had a Snack Bar, which you will read about soon. DECORATIONS: I had the sleepover in my basement and in my basement; there are rows of poles separating it in half. I purchased cheap red fabric and hung the fabric up, creating two openings. Over each opening, I put a sign that said either THEATER 1 or THEATER 2. When you got "in" the theater, I had the signs read EXIT. I also put up black, silver, yellow/gold, and red balloons. I had a long table covered in the same red fabric. I put a sign that said SNACK BAR and I put out a long array of snacks, popcorn, chips + dips, cookies, and sandwiches in the shapes of stars. I also found a way to make tuxedos out of napkins to hold the forks, knives, and spoons, all plastic of course. THE PARTY: I had my guests arrive at about 5:30. They all played a game called "Tangled Up". I had a different color yarn ball for each guest. On one end of the yarn ball, I attached a piece of paper with each guest's name on it. I wound the yarn around furniture and tangled it up with the other yarn. My friends had to untangle their yarn to get to their goody bags. The first person to untangle their yarn ball got a pack of starry stickers, but you can make it anything like lip-gloss, a bracelet, etc. We then set up our sleeping bags in the "theater" and we went to eat pizza and cake. We then played lots of fun games like Flashlight Hide-N-Seek, a Fashion Show, Sooo Embarrassing (where people tell their most embarrassing moment and people rate it from 1-10), and many others. Then, we opened presents. We settled into our sleeping bags and watched Mean Girls and The Princess Diaries. MORNING: In the morning, we had doughnuts and waffles. Before the girls left, I had an awards ceremony. Each girl got an award, whether it was "Most Likely To Model PJs" or "Giggliest Giggler". Everyone went home with an award. GOODY BAGS: For the goody bags, we had small things, like small notebooks, candy, and hand lotion. We also had gift certificates to the movies, which really fit the theme. I hope you have a fun Movie Madness Birthday, just like I did! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
INVITATION- you can either buy cool stationary and write the invitations, or you can just type and print them. Here's what they should say: The Celeb (Birthday Girl's Name) is turning 12 and she is hosting her party at the (her last name) Theater. The address is (your address. We will party on (party date) from (time guests should arrive) to (time guests should leave) the next morning. Please bring a pillow sleeping bag and any other sleepover gear. Call the theater at (your phone number) to RSVP. Thanks and hope to see you there!" DECORATIONS- Party City has a whole section dedicated to Hollywood/Movie Star decorations but if that's out of the budget here's some other ideas: use black and gold streamers and balloons to decorate the house cut out stars (from poster board one per guest) and on each with a Sharpie write the guest's name and their years of life (ex. 1997-present) then line them up leading to your house (on a sidewalk or driveway or even up the yard) to imitate Hollywood's Walk of Fame. You can also have a piece of green poster board (about the size of a street sign) that says "Hollywood BLVD" either on the door to the house or on your mailbox. A red carpet (just a long strip of red fabric) leading from the entrance to the main party room should complete the Hollywood look. ACTIVITIES- As guests are arriving hand each of them a special VIP tag (a business card- sized piece of paper either with a safety pin or some type of necklace attached) and have out art supplies for them to decorate with. They should already have the name of the guest on it and the guests can decorate with cool stickers. Also have a few "teen magazines" out (think Tiger Beat or Pop star) and scissors so each guest can cut out a picture of their fave Hollywood star and use that as their I.D. picture. DINNER- Sometime in between the games would be a good time to have dinner. Dinner should be served buffet-style. A "waiter" (a parent or older sibling) can take drink orders (water milk or sparkling cider). The food should be a shrimp platter (if the girls like seafood), fruit kabobs a veggie platter and finger sandwiches (PB&J ham and cheese turkey and cheese). The drinks can even be served in fancy glasses if you're willing to take the risk of them breaking. CAKE- for the Hollywood cake you'll need to prepare 1 and 1/2 circular cakes. (They don’t need to be large) It's easiest just to prepare 2 then ice the unused 1/2 separately (as a treat for the parents maybe). Place the 1/2 cake on top of the whole so that one side is twice as high. The higher side will be the Hollywood Hill. Cover the cake in light green icing. Using icing (or glue if they're not to be eaten) attach a toothpick to candy letters to spell "HOLLYWOOD". Then stick the letters on the "hill" part of the cake. On the lower side write (with any color icing squeezed out of a tube) "Happy Birthday (birthday girl's name)!" GAMES- "Fake Talent Show"- Have everyone write down (on two separate slips of paper) 2 ridiculous fake talents (examples- "do 3 somersaults in a row while singing a Hannah Montana song"). Then hold (and film) a talent show in which each guest draws 2 slips of paper and must attempt to perform them. "Makeovers"- All preteen girls love makeovers. Have the girls get into pairs of 2 or 3 and each one of them gets a makeover. Don't forget to take Before and After shots of all the girls! "Photo Shoot"- Now that all the girls have beautifully made-up faces it's time for a photo shoot! Set up a backdrop (could just be an oddly-printed sheet) and set up some big fans around the backdrop. Also have a big bin full of costumes (what can you find in your closet moms?) and weird props. Then give each girl a chance to be a Hollywood model and take lots of pictures! "Scavenger Hunt"- print out a picture of two very famous actors or Disney Channel stars that all the kids would recognize (e.g. Zac Efron Miley Cyrus) then cut each picture into puzzle pieces (9 is a good number). Split the kids into 2 teams. Then send the kids on a scavenger hunt in which they find clues to the next clue and with each clue there is a puzzle piece. The clues can be hidden all around the neighborhood or simply around the yard. One your team has found the last clue they must put the pieces together and tell the adult host who the star is. First team that puts the puzzle together and guesses the star wins the game. "Never-Before-Seen Movie"- Split the kids into 2 teams. (Maybe the same teams from the scavenger hunt?) Then have each team draw out of a bag the title of a movie. (Beforehand write several titles down and put them in a bag. these titles should be weird and funny such as The Attack of the Green Gummy bears) Each team then has 30 minutes to plan assign characters practice etc. Then have each team act out the movie (it should only be about 10 minutes per team) and videos tape it. "Movie"- After the kids are tired out from all the fun games it's time to relax and watch a movie. Set up the movie-watching room as a movie theater. (Black curtains hung around TV lots of seating) Pick a fun appropriate movie that the kids will like and then they can watch it. After that it should be about time to go to bed so the girls can go to the room they'll be sleeping in and talk until they fall asleep. COSTUMES- Costumes are not necessary but are sometimes fun. If you'd like you can have each girl dress up as her favorite movie character or actress. PARTY SNACKS- Have a small table (like a card table) set up near the movie theater to be the Concession Stand. Stock it with small Ziploc bags of popcorn individually wrapped (or small boxes of) candy and mini cans of soda for the girls to enjoy during the movie. BREAKFAST- for breakfast the next morning, prepare cinnamon rolls juice and fruit. FAVORS- The main favor should be a DVD (plain DVDs are fairly inexpensive) that has the fake talent show the before and after makeover shots the pictures from the photo shoot and the fake movies. (If you can’t load all this before the guests leave just include a note in the goodie bag telling them they'll receive the DVD ASAP) Also include a couple small party trinkets (lip gloss nail polish etc.) and some candy. (Either a large candy bar like a Hershey's or an assortment of small individually wrapped candies)and put them all in a small goodie bag (found at Dollar Tree). I hope you have as much fun having this party as I had planning it!"
For my daughter's 5th birthday, we went all out but stayed in! She wanted to do Build A Bear" but I like to do birthday parties at home. So we combined the two and held a "Sorta Sleepover" which included having her guests stuff their own new bedtime pals! Here was what we did: The invitation: Using scrapbook supplies I cut out a paper doll and added purple printed pajamas using white puff paint to outline the shirt and pants and tiny buttons glued down the front. I used googly eyes and made the dolls look like our intended guests with similar skin color paper googly eyes and the right colored hair. I even drew in glasses for one of the guests! I also glued on bunny slippers I printed out. Then I created a folded 5X7ish sized card cut to look like a sleeping bag. I used rickrack ribbon along one edge as a zipper had the top edge folded down and had a pillow cut out and glued on the inside. There was a small piece of Velcro holding the sleeping bag closed and the doll inside. The pillow said "______'s 5th Birthday!" The outside of the sleeping bag said "You're Invited to a 'Sorta Sleepover'!" The inside left side read: "You'll need your sleeping bag and your pillow too!/ _____ is having a Pajama Party and inviting you!/ You're invited for an exciting pillow fight / And everything else except spending the night!/ Games cake and a new special Friend -/ But the sleepover part is what's pretend! The inside right (under the pillow) said: "_____'s 5th Birthday is a "Sorta Sleepover! Date:______ /Time: 5:00pm (in time to have dinner here!) until 8:00pm (in time to go to bed at home!)/RSVP: _______/Please wear your favorite pajamas and slippers and bring a sleeping bag or blanket and pillow!" Note that I forgot to say where! So I added a sticker teddy bear holding a printed love blanket that had the address and directions to our house listed on it. These were mailed and I printed out return address labels that had 5 counting sheep jumping across the top with our address underneath and for the guest's addresses I used a clipart moon wearing a PJ hat. These invitations turned out so cute that we took pictures of all of the "guests" in and out of their sleeping bags before mailing them out! Decorations: We kept the decorations simple since we knew the main event would be pricier. We used bright purple green pink and turquoise solid table clothes napkins plates balloons etc. We had lullaby music playing as the girls arrived. A friend had rented two children's height long tables and chairs for a party earlier in the day so we set these up in the living room to keep the kids all together for the activities and eating. We used the basement to lay out the girls' sleeping bags (or blankets) for the games. Activities/Games: A) On arrival the girls decorated a pillowcase with fabric markers on which we had ironed on a picture that said "Sweet Dreams and Best Wishes ______!" B) Each girl picked a present out of a basket containing a necklace I had made earlier (each necklace was different in color combination for use later the necklace was ribbon with pony beads on either side of a pastel star 9 for $0.99 from the Christmas ornaments at Wal-Mart). C) We recited the poem "Star Light/Star Bright" and then played the song "When you wish upon a star" and I had someone carry out a covered basket that had a gold Mylar star balloon attached and floating above. I had all of the girls wish for something to help them sleep and when they opened there eyes there were all of the unstuffed sheep (purchased on Ebay for about $6 each) each wearing a necklace that matched one the girls' were wearing to identify whose was whose. D) I had set up five stations for the sheep stuffing with signs and adult manning each station - 1 Stuffing and Fluffing (stuffing box bowl of hearts to add) 2 Splish Splash (toy bath tub blow-dryer to blow off extra fuzz lavender spritzer) 3 Name that Sheep! (Small office supply tags with an added mini cow bell - girls decorated with markers with their sheep's name one side and their name on the other side) 4 Adoption (measuring tape for height postage scale for weight Papa at the computer entering info and printing little forms for each girl that said Adoption Certificate/ (sheep's name) is hereby adopted by (girl's name) on (date) for the occasion of (birthday girl's name)'s birthday! There were also spaces for height and weight to be entered. 5 Sheep Need Sleep Too! (Photo opp on my daughter new bed - she moved out of a toddler bed for her 5th birthday present from us read a story "When Sheep Sleep" and received a sheep sized sleeping bag made from $1 store fleece blankets to use for the sheep and for goody bags. E) We then ate Breakfast for Dinner (see below). F) After eating the girls trooped down to their sleeping bags where we played a slipper relay (all girls put their slippers in a pile divide in teams and race to get their own from the pile and put them on); musical sleeping bags (could also use pillows for this instead as the sleeping bags proved a bit slippery!) used the song Mr. Sandman and Goodnight Sweetheart; flashlight limbo used the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight; and a pillow fight freeze dance used the song Dancing in the Dark. G) After games we came up and had cake (see below) and opened presents I followed a tip from another submission for this one and set up to chairs by the presents. Each child held their present until their name was called and they went and sat next to my daughter while she opened their gift. We got cute pics of the birthday girl with each child individually this way and she hugged each friend and said thanks etc. right away. I personally don't believe in saving presents for after because I feel like this is how kids learn to be gracious and also because the children giving the presents often don't understand why their gift isn't opened or feel like it wasn't wanted if they don't see it get opened.(Sorry for the soap box speech but the two chair method worked really well!) Costumes: All of the girls wore their pajamas as did many of my daughter's dolls and stuffed animals. My neighbor her teenage daughter who helped at the party and I also wore our pajamas! Party Snacks: We served breakfast pancake bar with toppings of butter fruit and syrup; bacon; sausage bread rolls; mandarin oranges; and different juices. We also had sugar cookie Zzzzs and Teddy Grahams. Cake: My mom who makes fantastic realistic cakes made a replica of _____'s new bed using graham crackers dipped in white chocolate for a headboard and fondant to make the quilt. Favors: The girls went home with their Sheep and sleeping bag for the sheep as well as prizes from the games (everyone got all of the prizes) toothbrushes (5 for $1 at the $1 store); bath poufs and body wash (8 for $5.99 at Big Lots); and lip gloss rings (4 for $1 at the $1 store). In addition we passed out To Go brown lunch bags with a banana mini cereal box apple juice box napkin and spoon for each girl to have breakfast in the morning since they weren't spending the night. After the party we printed Thank You notes with a photo of everyone with their sheep on ____'s new bed using a Wal-Mart photo card with purple polka dots on a green background and then added a personal message to each card. We also sent out a slideshow of the photos taken at the party using Snap fish. This birthday turned out to be very special and too cute! My daughter and her friends are still talking about it. All told it probably cost the same as going to the mall store to make a stuffed animal but the girls got a greater variety of activities as well as the food etc. that going to the store would not have had. "
As guests arrive, have them place their gifts for the birthday girl on the Gifts Table. Make sure the table is set up prettily, and by a couch so the girls have a place to sit for present time. Also, have each guest sign a little note to the birthday girl in the Guest Book. Have everyone come dressed in a fancy dress loaded with as much dramatic jewelry and makeup as they want. Have the dinning room table set up so it looks like a fancy restaurant. Print out fake menus with choices of food, and pick an adult like the Dad, to be a waiter. Have the birthday girl at the head of the table of course! Have everyone seated, and then give the girls some time to pick what they want off the menu for dinner. Have the water come back in, and take drink orders, then dinner orders. (Have all the choices pre-cooked and re-heat able.) Serve the food. Everyone eats. After dinner, lead everyone to the Gift Area. Seat everyone and open presents. Have the birthday girl say, Now I have a gift for you all!, and let her personally hand out the goodie bags. OR, if you want it a little more extravagant, you can have the gifts in little fake plastic serving lidded platters, all lined up on a side table. (Make sure each individual gift platter, has each girls name taped to it.) Have the girl clap her hands, and have the waiter one by one, present each girl with her goody bag, by gallantly lifting the cover and bowing. It's very fun, and funny that way! But which ever the birthday girl wants is good. Give everyone a minute or two to open their favors and chat a bit. The Magnificent Manicures is the manicure station. Have a square or round card table with a pretty tablecloth and glitter. Cover that with a clear plastic tablecloth. Set up a bucket of water, a hand scrub, hand towels, cotton balls, nail polish remover, files, nail decals and a many assorted colors of nail polish. Now, lead group #1 to Magnificent Manicures station. They don't need to really be supervised for that, it pretty much explains itself! Let each girl chatter as they like and paint their fingernails. You can place a sheet of directions, like: 1.File nails 2. Paint nails (Ask a friend if you need help!) 3. Add decal. 4. Let them dry! When Group #1 is done at the manicure station and chillin’ in the relaxation area, lead the girls of Group #2 to Magnificent Manicures station. After those girls are waiting for their nails to dry, let everyone mingle for a bit. After everyone's nails are dry and they've had enough of just sitting, lead everyone into the kitchen table, for some cake time! Have the kitchen table set up more fun. With funky, glitzy colors in the fancy dinning room area. Have the Chef bring out the cake, light the candles, and have everyone sing Happy Birthday. Have the birthday girl blow out the candles, and get the first slice of cake. Seat everyone at the cake table, and enjoy. Now it's time for a game! Set up pre-made Bed Bugs. It's just colorful flat-bottomed glass decor rocks found at craft stores with mini googly eyes glued on. Have as many as you can afford to buy! Have an adult hide them around the room in tricky hiding places. Turn the lights out so the room is dark. See if the girls can collect all the bugs! Take turns giving each girl a flashlight, and let her try to find as many bugs as she can in 1 minute. When her minute is up, have the clock person yell, SWITCH! Have the girl run back, throw her bugs into a box with their name on it, and hand the flashlight to the next player. They then do the same thing. In the end, let each girl take home her box of bugs she found. Talley up how many bugs each girl collected. Give the girl who found the most bugs a prize, and each person a piece of candy for participating. This game is fun, and good for a little last minute energy wear-out! Have a room set up with a couch, or a bunch of floor pillows in front of the T.V. Have the birthday girl pick what age-appropriate movie to watch. Make sure she picks a secondary one, just incase someone’s not allowed to watch it, or has seen it so many times that it most likely wont hole their attention. Also, set up a kitchen counter with many flavors of ice cream, drizzles, and toppings. Have cute little plastic parfait glasses, and spoons. Line all the girls up, and let them go down the line, making they're own uniquely delicious concoction. Prop up T.V trays in the Movie Room, and let the girls enjoy their sundaes while they watch the movie. Have each girl get her own little tray with a single pink rose in a skinny vase. When everyone's finished eating have them pack their stuff, and play a board game or two while waiting for their parents to arrive. Make sure they have their party favors, and that the birthday girl thanks each guest for coming. This party any girl is sure to enjoy!
CRAFT #1 which was making your own goodie bag. If you can sew a straight line it is very cheap to get some fabric and cut a 12x24 rectangle, fold the short sides in 2 inches and sew so a string could fit through each tube like end, then fold the whole thing in half and sew up the sides, turn inside out and voila- a draw string bag and have the girls thread the strings thru themselves so they can say they made their own bag. I taped the yarn to a stick and let each girl thread the stick thru one side and then the other and tie in a knot. If you do not like to sew then just get bags from the store- fabric ones and fabric paint so they can decorate or more inexpensively paper ones and stickers or markers. CRAFT #2 was tissue paper flowers. Precut squares of tissue paper and stack 5 or 6 together and fan fold, wrap a green pipe cleaner in the center and then gently pull up and separate the layers of tissue paper making flowers. CRAFT #3 from the craft store what ever is on sale, we've done this party for 3 years- it is such a hit they keep requesting it. Either paint a 99cent box, place foam stickers on a door hanger, decorate a visor, flip flops. Next it is GAME #1 where I tie a donut to a string for each girl and they have to eat it with their hands behind their backs. (Use chocolate and glazed donuts, have a few other things/ flavors if any one can’t have a certain donut) CRAFT #4 is stuff a pillow. I get a bag of pillow stuffing and fabric from the store- we have used fabric with little sheep on it for counting sheep when they sleep, hearts are always popular, and teddy bears. I am not much of a sewer but with the right sides together sew a 9x12 rectangle leaving 3 or 4 inches open but make sure you sew the part right by the opening back and forth so it doesn't split. Right side out it and then let the girls stuff their own pillows as full or soft as they like. Then just sew them closed. Game #2 is truth or dare. I take a piece of cardboard 8 x11” and cut off a 1x8 inch piece making one end pointy like an arrow. Punch a hole in the center and a hole in the center of the big piece. Put one of those brass tabs thru both leaving spinning room. You may need to tape the underside of the bent tabs to bottom of the cardboard from underneath to make sure the thing sticks up enough so the arrow can spin. Then divide the top into Truth, Dare and Spin Again. Then I made up two bags of questions- this ensures the appropriateness of any questions. You can use dares such as "Charades; you cannot speak until you can get someone to guess who you are pretending to be" and it could be Brittany Spears to their classroom teacher. Or pretend to eat an ice cream cone. Or run to the bathroom and wash your hands while singing twinkle twinkle little star. For the Truths I put things like would you rather be the oldest or youngest in your family and why? Or would you like brothers or sisters better or what flavor is the best jellybean, what's your favorite color, is it the same for hair as for a dress. The main point is no question should embarrass anyone. Paper mache? We then bought spray tie-dye kits (oriental trading) and provided each of the girls with a T-Shirt (hobby lobby). I also got some fabric paints and paint sets for them. Wow, were the shirts colorful. For their party favor bags we had purchased some white canvas bags with a handle (hobby lobby $2). They then decorated their bags. They were all dry by the next day. I did provide each parent a 3x5 card with washing instructions. We then had a designer competition. I provided each girl with some newspapers, aluminum foil, paper clips, rubber bands, and clothespins. They had to create their own designer outfit. They were hysterical. While we were all glamorous in our makeup and new designer duds, we blind folded each girl (one at time) and placed bright red lipstick on them. They then had to kiss a poster of a cute guy. The one who was the closest won the poster. They wanted to do this again and again. `We had cake and ice cream and did presents. Our local grocery store has a wonderful bakery and she decorated a cake in the theme colors and had some plastic picks placed strategically like purses, lip stick, shoes, etc. It was getting pretty late so I decided to have them sit in a circle and we blind folded each girl and played pass the slipper. Each girl had to try to identify her own slipper by feel or smell. We played a couple of games of Piggly Wiggly. By now I had some starting to droop so we plugged in some movies (Mean Girls and Crossroads) and settled in our sleeping bags. Of course we had Teen Magazines everywhere. Periodically the girls would look at them. Their party favor bags consisted of toe rings, diary with feather boa pen, a rubber ball with bright streamers attached, jewelry (I went to an outlet Claire's store and purchased 10 items for $5), their T-Shirts, Canvas Bags, Margarita Glass, Nail Decals, Perfume, Lip Gloss, Body Glitter, I had several disposable cameras lying around so the girls could take pictures. I can't wait to get them developed. We had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, OJ, blueberry muffins, and waffles for breakfast. Of course we drank our OJ from our fancy glasses again. We took each girl home by noon the next day. I had some other ideas up my sleeve but I didn't need them. Thanks to this website for all the great ideas. It was a very memorable evening for everyone!
Then I bought colorful vases at the dollar store. I bought cheap flowers from grocery stores, and then used those together as centerpieces for the tables. GOODY BAGS- I bought plain beige and pink, paper bags, that had handles on them, then I put a candy bar in each one. I also put a few candies in each one, a lip stick, a sheet of stickers, and the last thing I put inside, was a certificate. A certificate for each girl so that they could come back to MARYS RESTURAUNT, when ever they wanted for free.
I also typed up a letter, titled to each Glamour Girl inviting them to a special day at the "Walker Shopping Plaza". It stated.... You are invited to attend an awesome night of fun to celebrate the 12th birthday of Samantha Walker. We will go shopping at the Walker Shopping Mall, take a trip to Sam's Beauty Salon, and partake in a Diva Fashion Show and relax at the Movies. We will have lots of fun, so we hope you can join us. DECORATIONS: I setup the family room as the DIVA Celebration area. Her main colors were purple and magenta pink, so I used those color streamers and ran them from four corners or our central fan. I hung stars that I decorated with signs that I printed out, which said Samantha's Diva Celebration and stickers of teen celebrity’s (Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Orlando Bloom, which I got from a teen magazine). I hung them in that room. I placed several balloons together to make a balloon cluster to hang down from the fan. I also hung teen celebrity posters all around that room. (I also got the posters from magazines such as Tiger Beat, Bop, M, etc.) We then placed helium balloons in that room and let them float around. the balloons made it look really festive. I put a sign on the front door that said 'Welcome to the Walker Shopping Plaza, Mall is open to Samantha and her Glamour Girls only" I placed the Glamour Girl, Happy Birthday sign in the dining room, along with the matching tablecloth and a shopping spree centerpiece in the middle of the table. I ran more streamers and hung one more balloon cluster. My dinette table I placed a magenta tablecloth, hung more streamers, and a large star. The walls had signs stating "Samantha's DIVA Birthday Celebration". SHOPPING STORES: I wanted the girls to enjoy a fun shopping experience, so I set up four shops. I printed signs for each shop and made up prices for each item in the stores. The girl's were given individual shopping bags that I customized with each of their names. I placed a baggie of fake money, which they could use to make their purchases with. Also, at each shop the birthday Diva received a special gift. Sam's Jewelry Store: they were able to purchase birthstone rings, necklaces, bracelet craft kits(to be used at craft time). (Items were purchased from Oriental Trading) (Sam's special gift was, a daughter charm, toe rings and a charm watch) Sam's Pet Shop: Samantha’s favorite animal is a kitten so, I made sure that this tore only adopted out her favorite pet! Girls could adopt a stuffed animal kitten and I created an adoption certificate for them on my computer. They named their kitten, I gave the kittens their fake immunizations, and they signed their certificates, as the new parents. They were then able to create bows for their kittens with ribbons I cut. The kittens even had a charm attached that each girl could put on their charm bracelet. (Kittens purchased at Target for $1 each). (Sam's special gift at this shop was a Bratz Catz) SW's Knick Knacks Etc.: This shop had Flip Flop marabou pens, (my stepdaughter loves flip flops), funky color hair extensions (to be used later), photo calendars, funky socks, Glow necklaces and glitter body powder. (These items were purchased from Target and Oriental Trading) (Sam's special gift at this shop was a purse that said DIVA on it with the movie DVD "Sleepover" and DIVA hairclips" Samantha's Sweet Shop: This shop had sugar cookies with gummy lips on them. Ice Cream Cone cupcakes(really cute), candy shaped soaps, lip gloss in candy flavors such as Reese Peanut Butter cups, Bubble Yum(purchased from Wal-Mart) (Sam's special gift at this shop was, all different lip gloss and other lotions, all themed as candy, purchased from Wal-Mart). ARRIVAL: My sister's, my two friends and my mother-in-law, all agreed to help patron each store and salon (details to some). I welcomed the girls and crowned my stepdaughter the Birthday Diva (I made a sash for her that said "Birthday Diva" and purchased a tiara that said "Birthday Girl" on it. The winner received a box that had earrings in it. I then told them it was time to shop!!! They each received their bag and money. I split them in to three groups (they pulled numbers) and they rotated each shop to make their purchases. Each store patron really got into the whole role and made their shopping experience so much fun. Then it was off to the FOOD COURT: The girls paid for (with their fake money of course) pizza, soda and chips. Having them pay for their food made it seem more real to the girls. As the girls ate and talked, we set up for the second round of fun. SALON TIME: We replaced all the stores with a salon station. We had a Hair Station: where my friend who does wonderful hairdo's, did each girl's hair and added the funky hair extensions the girls had purchased earlier. She added Glitter spray as well. Nail Station: My mother-in-law and sister painted the girls nails and added nail decals. Facial and Make-up: My other sister and friend gave each girl a facial (easy, we used a facial cloth and real cucumbers for their eyes) and they put eye shadow, blush and lip gloss on each girl. After they were all through, they looked like GLAMOUR Girls!!!! We then told them to prepare for the fashion show. We had the Karaoke machine setup and my friend and I MCed the fashion show. Each girl was introduced and came out with a boa and did their best model impressions. It was soooo funny. After they all finished they came out together to finish the show. After the fashion show, they sat down and made their bracelets, from the craft kits they received earlier. We then cut the cake, opened gifts. Then we played pass the parcel, with forfeits. This was new to the girls and they loved it. (Thanks again for this idea) Each girl who got out did some silly task, such as, sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Flap your arms like a chicken, etc. and they received candy and stickers. The last girls who unwrapped the parcel received a necklace and earring set. As we cleaned up, the girl's song karaoke together and then I popped some popcorn and they watched a movie. My husband is going to create a video for each girl as well. Even though I was REALLY tired. They had a blast!!!
I had a Lincoln Navigator Limo pick the girls up from school on Friday. They had a complete makeover: nails, hair & make-up. Each girl won a title: Best Hair, Best Make-Up, Best Diva Attire, Best Sports Attire, Best Leading Actress, Best Animated Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Diva Attitude, Best All Around, Cutest, Miss Congeniality, Most Glamorous – I made sashes from wide white ribbon, glitter glue in hot pink, purple & blue with glitter flowers attached. Each girl also received a plastic tiara. Take a large piece of butcher paper and write "Happy Birthday (your child's name)!" on top. Then, help the birthday girl lay down on the paper and trace her body. Lay the paper on the floor. I provided crayons, markers, stencils, stickers, glue, glitter, ribbons, and colored tissue, scraps of fabric, feathers or buttons for designing a "groovy" outfit for the birthday girl. The girls include messages with their names. After the party, fold the banner and save it for a rainy day. Don't forget to take a picture of it with all the kids for your photo album! (3) Creating dolled-up designer outfits – I printed out paper dolls off the Internet and the girls made designer outfits using glitter glue. They then voted "survivor" style on the best design. The winner received a hot pink feather boa. They played playing Memory-abilia – I collected 20 small, theme-related items (ring, barrette, bracelet, watch, temporary tattoo, nail polish, etc.). Set them on a tray in front of everyone for 30-40 seconds while players try to memorize as many items as possible. When time's up, pass out paper and pencils. I gave the girls a couple of minutes to write down as many items as they could remember. Whoever listed the most correct, won. We actually ended with a tie and we had a tiebreaker (whoever guessed the # closest to the # I had chosen). The winner received a pedicure gift set. Upstairs where the girls would be up most of the night, I set up an "anytime" buffet with potato chips & dip, nachos & salsa, candy bowl, Chex ® mix, veggie tray and dip, cookies, various sandwiches and a cooler full of their favorite sodas and juices. They even took 2 breaks to come downstairs to make their own floats and to toast the birthday girl yet again with sparkling cider. GOODY-BAGS: I purchased printed gift bag w/marabou trim and put sequin slap bracelets, colorful rhinestone rings, deluxe body jewels, roll-on body glitter, stretchy flower toe ring, glitter nail decals, lipstick candy, red wax lips, jewel sucker rings, neon marabou gel pens, plush spotted coin purse key chains, lip gloss, nail polish, hair clips, eye shadow, nail files, smelly candles, and shower gel in them. You could also add autograph book, metallic diva sunglasses, travel size bottles of shampoo, & conditioner. My daughter had a blast and so did all of her girlfriends. Myself and the other adults that went had a marvelous time as well.
We purchased American Girl grin pins (small buttons with cool pictures/positive sayings) I stuffed the pins in balloons & blew them up (1 pin per balloon). We had 10 balloons per child and they had to break the balloons to get the pins. They could use any body part to break them except their feet. This was hilarious to watch! Then they spent time trading pins with each other. Also had a treasure hunt that they followed clues throughout the house and yard and ended up in a sandy area where they dug up a plastic box filled with their goodie bags CRAFT: I used glass ketchup bottles & filled them with bubble bath and topped with a cork. The girls decorated the outside with gems, trims, beads, etc. Then added a cool label with their name on it that I made for them on the computer. (Bubble bath from dollar store, corks & decorations from craft store)
After we are done, we will go to blockbusters and rent a couple of movies. When we get home we will open presents and eat "Sundae Cake"- which is: Everyone gets a bowl of ice cream and they put whatever they want on it. Then, they put a candle in it and viola! Sundae Cake. After we eat we will watch movies until it is time to go to bed. Day 2- we will wake up and eat, then we will spend 1/4 of the day doing crafts. Then we will take my mom's camcorder and make a video. We will do Karaoke and do a news report. It will make you laugh until you cry and will be a great souvenir. Then we will play a game where everyone gets 6 pieces of paper. They write a funny thing to do on each, and put them in a hat. Then the girls pick a piece out of the hat and have to do it. They can pick a partner or go solo. This is also fun to videotape. Then we will do a quest where there is 2 teams and they have to complete the questions on the list, first team to complete wins. Day 3- we give out the goody bags and they go home. Goody Bags- Make up, jewelry, accessories, CD's, whatever you choose to put in there. :) Hope you have fun!:)
As the guests arrived they "checked in" by signing a poster that now hangs in my room. My brother, the bellman, took their bags into the playroom, which was our room for the night. then my parents took our dinner orders which we selected from a menu that I had made on Microsoft Works a week before. While we waited for our food we organized the talent show, which was thrown into the party for no other reason then to occupy our short attention spans. We split into our own groups and one person even preformed solo, the talent show was a great way to break the ice between my friends from inside and outside of school, everyone hung out with other people and had a great time. We didn't perform though until after dinner, My parents and my brother served us our different meals, it was great because there were a lot of choices on the menu so no one ate something they didn't like (just make sure that the "chefs" have a copy of the menu, mine didn't and we had a few mix ups with side orders). After dinner and before desert we had the talent show, it was a great hit, there were a bunch of comedy skits and a few dances (make sure to have a variety of CDs, a CD player wigs, silly hats, and inflatable instruments and things on hand). When we sat down for cake everyone was still laughing and the pictures are still priceless. After dinner we watched a movie and "room service" brought us popcorn. Nail polish, lip balm and other things we were into at the time. In the thank you notes I attached the person's picture from the talent show, they had a great time laughing at them with their parents. I turned thirteen in September and people are still talking about that party, it was my favorite party ever because it was my most original and that's what makes it memorable.
Have bubble bath in birthday packs so they can have a bubble bath in the Jacuzzi tub in suite. Next morning, breakfast in private room of restaurant before checking out.
Pottery Painting Party
Pottery painting parties at a local pottery place are all the rage. Many pottery places allow you to rent a private room for the birthday party where the kids get to make and take their own personalized bowl or plate. They normally ask that you bring your own food and decorations, but again it depends on the local place so call them directly for details. When they are done, each child can have their creation fired in the kiln for a permanent souvenir from the party.
Since the pottery painting establishments can be a bit expensive, you could consider getting some of the Activ-Clay which is a type of clay that doesn't need to be fired in a kiln. Kids can make their own clay creations and let them dry overnight. Then paint them the next morning to take home as their souvenir. Be sure to buy enough clay and painting supplies for everyone attending the party.
Tropical Pool Party
Add a splash of fun to your daughter's birthday by throwing a summer beach or pool party. Even if you don't happen to have a backyard pool, there are still possibilities. For example, some local pools or neighborhood associations will allow groups to reserve the entire swimming pool area for a short period of time. They provide a lifeguard and staff who keep an eye on the kids and run games such as water ring tosses. In addition, they may have a party room that is adjacent to the changing areas/restrooms where you can set-up decorations, snacks and cake.
Whether you throw the party in your backyard or in another pool location, find some fun summer-themed invitations shaped like flip-flops, beach balls, or tropical flowers (or make your own from card stock). Add a clever saying about how you'll be diving right in for a fun party. Decorate the event area with inflatable palm trees, beach balls, hibiscus flowers and give each child a lei when they arrive at the birthday celebration. Have lots of pool games to keep the kids entertained. Try floating object or rubber duck races, pool diving for non-floating objects, relay races, water ring tosses, etc. For birthday party favors, how about beach ball shaped decorated sugar cookies, beach towels, cheap flip flops or a goodie basket or bag filled with sunscreen, SPF lip balm and candies.
Glamour or Spa Sleepover Party
What child and her friends wouldn't like being glamour girls for the day? You can either host this type of party in your own home or consider one of the many local salons or cosmetology schools that host kids birthday parties.
The girls can get their hair done in updo's, have make-up applied and get their nails painted. If you have this party at home, consider hiring a couple high school girls to help with the make-overs. Be sure to have lots of fun and sparkly hair accessories, make-up and finger nail polishes. Buy lots of q-tips and make-up applicator sponges to avoid cross-contamination. Also, have curling and flat irons to help with the hair styling. Consider some colorful boas, fun jewelry, cheap sparkly handbags and even temporary tattoos. Either have the girls bring one of their own dresses or borrow some fun dresses and high heeled shoes from your adult friends or go to a local Salvation Army to get some dress-up clothes.
Set-up a black runway strip with rope lights and streamers so that after the girl's are all glammed up, you can have a little runway show. Play some music and have them strut their stuff to show off their new look. Be sure to take lots of pictures!
For the food, go with more upscale (but inexpensive) food like pastas, salads, fruit, and sparkling juice in plastic champagne glasses. Make a cake that is shaped like a purse or a tube of lipstick to tie in with the overall party theme.
http://www.wildthingsscience.com/birthday_programs.htm
http://www.utahvalley.com/events/details.aspx?ID=2100
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/wild-things-science-and-animal-explorations-llp-84100
(look on the side of the page and choose anything that you need for parties)
These are some ideas I found online for my 12th birthday:
- Go to a hotel and spend the night
- Masquerade
- Cooking Party
have each group of girls cook a dish for the meal. The dishes can be
from around the world like nachos, spagetti, mango smoothies, etc. At
the end, they had a great dinner. The party favors can be personalized
aprons with each girls name on them.
· Shopping Mall Scavenger Hunt:
Then reconven at the food court. To save some money go after lunch and before dinner and bring cupcakes for everyone (you could also just bring a cake). After they eat, each girl receives another list and $10. On the list are specific things they have to get at certain stores with the money they were given. For example, buy a $1 rock candy stick at the candy store; buy something for $2-$3 at Bath and Body Works; buy something at Limited Too/Justice under $5. The items that they purchased could be their goody bag gifts. The pictures can be later developed and sent out with thank you cards as a memory of the party. By the way, the party invitations would be fake "credit cards" that are self laminated.
Notes:
Remember don't have a scheduled planned because tweens like to do more things on their own.
This is eccentric in a party as girls grow up.
More Ideas:
For my 12th birthday bash, I had a Movie Madness Sleep Over! This isn't your ordinary sleepover; it's a sleepover for the stars! INVITATIONS: Trace on cardboard the shape of an Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, etc. and write the information on the back. This is what I put: You are cordially invited to YOUR NAME HERE's Awards! Where: The Red Carpet (YOUR HOUSE HERE) When: YOUR DATE AND TIME HERE Please Bring: A sleeping bag, pillow, or anything else you want to bring (or whatever else you want to put as a necessity on your invitation) R.S.V.P.: DATE HERE AND PHONE# HERE Hope to see you there! Food: I had the regular pizza and the regular cake. I ordered my cake from a baker but you can bake your own for a lot cheaper. On my cake, I had yellow frosting spotlights, to make it a movie themed cake. I also had a Snack Bar, which you will read about soon. DECORATIONS: I had the sleepover in my basement and in my basement; there are rows of poles separating it in half. I purchased cheap red fabric and hung the fabric up, creating two openings. Over each opening, I put a sign that said either THEATER 1 or THEATER 2. When you got "in" the theater, I had the signs read EXIT. I also put up black, silver, yellow/gold, and red balloons. I had a long table covered in the same red fabric. I put a sign that said SNACK BAR and I put out a long array of snacks, popcorn, chips + dips, cookies, and sandwiches in the shapes of stars. I also found a way to make tuxedos out of napkins to hold the forks, knives, and spoons, all plastic of course. THE PARTY: I had my guests arrive at about 5:30. They all played a game called "Tangled Up". I had a different color yarn ball for each guest. On one end of the yarn ball, I attached a piece of paper with each guest's name on it. I wound the yarn around furniture and tangled it up with the other yarn. My friends had to untangle their yarn to get to their goody bags. The first person to untangle their yarn ball got a pack of starry stickers, but you can make it anything like lip-gloss, a bracelet, etc. We then set up our sleeping bags in the "theater" and we went to eat pizza and cake. We then played lots of fun games like Flashlight Hide-N-Seek, a Fashion Show, Sooo Embarrassing (where people tell their most embarrassing moment and people rate it from 1-10), and many others. Then, we opened presents. We settled into our sleeping bags and watched Mean Girls and The Princess Diaries. MORNING: In the morning, we had doughnuts and waffles. Before the girls left, I had an awards ceremony. Each girl got an award, whether it was "Most Likely To Model PJs" or "Giggliest Giggler". Everyone went home with an award. GOODY BAGS: For the goody bags, we had small things, like small notebooks, candy, and hand lotion. We also had gift certificates to the movies, which really fit the theme. I hope you have a fun Movie Madness Birthday, just like I did! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
INVITATION- you can either buy cool stationary and write the invitations, or you can just type and print them. Here's what they should say: The Celeb (Birthday Girl's Name) is turning 12 and she is hosting her party at the (her last name) Theater. The address is (your address. We will party on (party date) from (time guests should arrive) to (time guests should leave) the next morning. Please bring a pillow sleeping bag and any other sleepover gear. Call the theater at (your phone number) to RSVP. Thanks and hope to see you there!" DECORATIONS- Party City has a whole section dedicated to Hollywood/Movie Star decorations but if that's out of the budget here's some other ideas: use black and gold streamers and balloons to decorate the house cut out stars (from poster board one per guest) and on each with a Sharpie write the guest's name and their years of life (ex. 1997-present) then line them up leading to your house (on a sidewalk or driveway or even up the yard) to imitate Hollywood's Walk of Fame. You can also have a piece of green poster board (about the size of a street sign) that says "Hollywood BLVD" either on the door to the house or on your mailbox. A red carpet (just a long strip of red fabric) leading from the entrance to the main party room should complete the Hollywood look. ACTIVITIES- As guests are arriving hand each of them a special VIP tag (a business card- sized piece of paper either with a safety pin or some type of necklace attached) and have out art supplies for them to decorate with. They should already have the name of the guest on it and the guests can decorate with cool stickers. Also have a few "teen magazines" out (think Tiger Beat or Pop star) and scissors so each guest can cut out a picture of their fave Hollywood star and use that as their I.D. picture. DINNER- Sometime in between the games would be a good time to have dinner. Dinner should be served buffet-style. A "waiter" (a parent or older sibling) can take drink orders (water milk or sparkling cider). The food should be a shrimp platter (if the girls like seafood), fruit kabobs a veggie platter and finger sandwiches (PB&J ham and cheese turkey and cheese). The drinks can even be served in fancy glasses if you're willing to take the risk of them breaking. CAKE- for the Hollywood cake you'll need to prepare 1 and 1/2 circular cakes. (They don’t need to be large) It's easiest just to prepare 2 then ice the unused 1/2 separately (as a treat for the parents maybe). Place the 1/2 cake on top of the whole so that one side is twice as high. The higher side will be the Hollywood Hill. Cover the cake in light green icing. Using icing (or glue if they're not to be eaten) attach a toothpick to candy letters to spell "HOLLYWOOD". Then stick the letters on the "hill" part of the cake. On the lower side write (with any color icing squeezed out of a tube) "Happy Birthday (birthday girl's name)!" GAMES- "Fake Talent Show"- Have everyone write down (on two separate slips of paper) 2 ridiculous fake talents (examples- "do 3 somersaults in a row while singing a Hannah Montana song"). Then hold (and film) a talent show in which each guest draws 2 slips of paper and must attempt to perform them. "Makeovers"- All preteen girls love makeovers. Have the girls get into pairs of 2 or 3 and each one of them gets a makeover. Don't forget to take Before and After shots of all the girls! "Photo Shoot"- Now that all the girls have beautifully made-up faces it's time for a photo shoot! Set up a backdrop (could just be an oddly-printed sheet) and set up some big fans around the backdrop. Also have a big bin full of costumes (what can you find in your closet moms?) and weird props. Then give each girl a chance to be a Hollywood model and take lots of pictures! "Scavenger Hunt"- print out a picture of two very famous actors or Disney Channel stars that all the kids would recognize (e.g. Zac Efron Miley Cyrus) then cut each picture into puzzle pieces (9 is a good number). Split the kids into 2 teams. Then send the kids on a scavenger hunt in which they find clues to the next clue and with each clue there is a puzzle piece. The clues can be hidden all around the neighborhood or simply around the yard. One your team has found the last clue they must put the pieces together and tell the adult host who the star is. First team that puts the puzzle together and guesses the star wins the game. "Never-Before-Seen Movie"- Split the kids into 2 teams. (Maybe the same teams from the scavenger hunt?) Then have each team draw out of a bag the title of a movie. (Beforehand write several titles down and put them in a bag. these titles should be weird and funny such as The Attack of the Green Gummy bears) Each team then has 30 minutes to plan assign characters practice etc. Then have each team act out the movie (it should only be about 10 minutes per team) and videos tape it. "Movie"- After the kids are tired out from all the fun games it's time to relax and watch a movie. Set up the movie-watching room as a movie theater. (Black curtains hung around TV lots of seating) Pick a fun appropriate movie that the kids will like and then they can watch it. After that it should be about time to go to bed so the girls can go to the room they'll be sleeping in and talk until they fall asleep. COSTUMES- Costumes are not necessary but are sometimes fun. If you'd like you can have each girl dress up as her favorite movie character or actress. PARTY SNACKS- Have a small table (like a card table) set up near the movie theater to be the Concession Stand. Stock it with small Ziploc bags of popcorn individually wrapped (or small boxes of) candy and mini cans of soda for the girls to enjoy during the movie. BREAKFAST- for breakfast the next morning, prepare cinnamon rolls juice and fruit. FAVORS- The main favor should be a DVD (plain DVDs are fairly inexpensive) that has the fake talent show the before and after makeover shots the pictures from the photo shoot and the fake movies. (If you can’t load all this before the guests leave just include a note in the goodie bag telling them they'll receive the DVD ASAP) Also include a couple small party trinkets (lip gloss nail polish etc.) and some candy. (Either a large candy bar like a Hershey's or an assortment of small individually wrapped candies)and put them all in a small goodie bag (found at Dollar Tree). I hope you have as much fun having this party as I had planning it!"
For my daughter's 5th birthday, we went all out but stayed in! She wanted to do Build A Bear" but I like to do birthday parties at home. So we combined the two and held a "Sorta Sleepover" which included having her guests stuff their own new bedtime pals! Here was what we did: The invitation: Using scrapbook supplies I cut out a paper doll and added purple printed pajamas using white puff paint to outline the shirt and pants and tiny buttons glued down the front. I used googly eyes and made the dolls look like our intended guests with similar skin color paper googly eyes and the right colored hair. I even drew in glasses for one of the guests! I also glued on bunny slippers I printed out. Then I created a folded 5X7ish sized card cut to look like a sleeping bag. I used rickrack ribbon along one edge as a zipper had the top edge folded down and had a pillow cut out and glued on the inside. There was a small piece of Velcro holding the sleeping bag closed and the doll inside. The pillow said "______'s 5th Birthday!" The outside of the sleeping bag said "You're Invited to a 'Sorta Sleepover'!" The inside left side read: "You'll need your sleeping bag and your pillow too!/ _____ is having a Pajama Party and inviting you!/ You're invited for an exciting pillow fight / And everything else except spending the night!/ Games cake and a new special Friend -/ But the sleepover part is what's pretend! The inside right (under the pillow) said: "_____'s 5th Birthday is a "Sorta Sleepover! Date:______ /Time: 5:00pm (in time to have dinner here!) until 8:00pm (in time to go to bed at home!)/RSVP: _______/Please wear your favorite pajamas and slippers and bring a sleeping bag or blanket and pillow!" Note that I forgot to say where! So I added a sticker teddy bear holding a printed love blanket that had the address and directions to our house listed on it. These were mailed and I printed out return address labels that had 5 counting sheep jumping across the top with our address underneath and for the guest's addresses I used a clipart moon wearing a PJ hat. These invitations turned out so cute that we took pictures of all of the "guests" in and out of their sleeping bags before mailing them out! Decorations: We kept the decorations simple since we knew the main event would be pricier. We used bright purple green pink and turquoise solid table clothes napkins plates balloons etc. We had lullaby music playing as the girls arrived. A friend had rented two children's height long tables and chairs for a party earlier in the day so we set these up in the living room to keep the kids all together for the activities and eating. We used the basement to lay out the girls' sleeping bags (or blankets) for the games. Activities/Games: A) On arrival the girls decorated a pillowcase with fabric markers on which we had ironed on a picture that said "Sweet Dreams and Best Wishes ______!" B) Each girl picked a present out of a basket containing a necklace I had made earlier (each necklace was different in color combination for use later the necklace was ribbon with pony beads on either side of a pastel star 9 for $0.99 from the Christmas ornaments at Wal-Mart). C) We recited the poem "Star Light/Star Bright" and then played the song "When you wish upon a star" and I had someone carry out a covered basket that had a gold Mylar star balloon attached and floating above. I had all of the girls wish for something to help them sleep and when they opened there eyes there were all of the unstuffed sheep (purchased on Ebay for about $6 each) each wearing a necklace that matched one the girls' were wearing to identify whose was whose. D) I had set up five stations for the sheep stuffing with signs and adult manning each station - 1 Stuffing and Fluffing (stuffing box bowl of hearts to add) 2 Splish Splash (toy bath tub blow-dryer to blow off extra fuzz lavender spritzer) 3 Name that Sheep! (Small office supply tags with an added mini cow bell - girls decorated with markers with their sheep's name one side and their name on the other side) 4 Adoption (measuring tape for height postage scale for weight Papa at the computer entering info and printing little forms for each girl that said Adoption Certificate/ (sheep's name) is hereby adopted by (girl's name) on (date) for the occasion of (birthday girl's name)'s birthday! There were also spaces for height and weight to be entered. 5 Sheep Need Sleep Too! (Photo opp on my daughter new bed - she moved out of a toddler bed for her 5th birthday present from us read a story "When Sheep Sleep" and received a sheep sized sleeping bag made from $1 store fleece blankets to use for the sheep and for goody bags. E) We then ate Breakfast for Dinner (see below). F) After eating the girls trooped down to their sleeping bags where we played a slipper relay (all girls put their slippers in a pile divide in teams and race to get their own from the pile and put them on); musical sleeping bags (could also use pillows for this instead as the sleeping bags proved a bit slippery!) used the song Mr. Sandman and Goodnight Sweetheart; flashlight limbo used the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight; and a pillow fight freeze dance used the song Dancing in the Dark. G) After games we came up and had cake (see below) and opened presents I followed a tip from another submission for this one and set up to chairs by the presents. Each child held their present until their name was called and they went and sat next to my daughter while she opened their gift. We got cute pics of the birthday girl with each child individually this way and she hugged each friend and said thanks etc. right away. I personally don't believe in saving presents for after because I feel like this is how kids learn to be gracious and also because the children giving the presents often don't understand why their gift isn't opened or feel like it wasn't wanted if they don't see it get opened.(Sorry for the soap box speech but the two chair method worked really well!) Costumes: All of the girls wore their pajamas as did many of my daughter's dolls and stuffed animals. My neighbor her teenage daughter who helped at the party and I also wore our pajamas! Party Snacks: We served breakfast pancake bar with toppings of butter fruit and syrup; bacon; sausage bread rolls; mandarin oranges; and different juices. We also had sugar cookie Zzzzs and Teddy Grahams. Cake: My mom who makes fantastic realistic cakes made a replica of _____'s new bed using graham crackers dipped in white chocolate for a headboard and fondant to make the quilt. Favors: The girls went home with their Sheep and sleeping bag for the sheep as well as prizes from the games (everyone got all of the prizes) toothbrushes (5 for $1 at the $1 store); bath poufs and body wash (8 for $5.99 at Big Lots); and lip gloss rings (4 for $1 at the $1 store). In addition we passed out To Go brown lunch bags with a banana mini cereal box apple juice box napkin and spoon for each girl to have breakfast in the morning since they weren't spending the night. After the party we printed Thank You notes with a photo of everyone with their sheep on ____'s new bed using a Wal-Mart photo card with purple polka dots on a green background and then added a personal message to each card. We also sent out a slideshow of the photos taken at the party using Snap fish. This birthday turned out to be very special and too cute! My daughter and her friends are still talking about it. All told it probably cost the same as going to the mall store to make a stuffed animal but the girls got a greater variety of activities as well as the food etc. that going to the store would not have had. "
As guests arrive, have them place their gifts for the birthday girl on the Gifts Table. Make sure the table is set up prettily, and by a couch so the girls have a place to sit for present time. Also, have each guest sign a little note to the birthday girl in the Guest Book. Have everyone come dressed in a fancy dress loaded with as much dramatic jewelry and makeup as they want. Have the dinning room table set up so it looks like a fancy restaurant. Print out fake menus with choices of food, and pick an adult like the Dad, to be a waiter. Have the birthday girl at the head of the table of course! Have everyone seated, and then give the girls some time to pick what they want off the menu for dinner. Have the water come back in, and take drink orders, then dinner orders. (Have all the choices pre-cooked and re-heat able.) Serve the food. Everyone eats. After dinner, lead everyone to the Gift Area. Seat everyone and open presents. Have the birthday girl say, Now I have a gift for you all!, and let her personally hand out the goodie bags. OR, if you want it a little more extravagant, you can have the gifts in little fake plastic serving lidded platters, all lined up on a side table. (Make sure each individual gift platter, has each girls name taped to it.) Have the girl clap her hands, and have the waiter one by one, present each girl with her goody bag, by gallantly lifting the cover and bowing. It's very fun, and funny that way! But which ever the birthday girl wants is good. Give everyone a minute or two to open their favors and chat a bit. The Magnificent Manicures is the manicure station. Have a square or round card table with a pretty tablecloth and glitter. Cover that with a clear plastic tablecloth. Set up a bucket of water, a hand scrub, hand towels, cotton balls, nail polish remover, files, nail decals and a many assorted colors of nail polish. Now, lead group #1 to Magnificent Manicures station. They don't need to really be supervised for that, it pretty much explains itself! Let each girl chatter as they like and paint their fingernails. You can place a sheet of directions, like: 1.File nails 2. Paint nails (Ask a friend if you need help!) 3. Add decal. 4. Let them dry! When Group #1 is done at the manicure station and chillin’ in the relaxation area, lead the girls of Group #2 to Magnificent Manicures station. After those girls are waiting for their nails to dry, let everyone mingle for a bit. After everyone's nails are dry and they've had enough of just sitting, lead everyone into the kitchen table, for some cake time! Have the kitchen table set up more fun. With funky, glitzy colors in the fancy dinning room area. Have the Chef bring out the cake, light the candles, and have everyone sing Happy Birthday. Have the birthday girl blow out the candles, and get the first slice of cake. Seat everyone at the cake table, and enjoy. Now it's time for a game! Set up pre-made Bed Bugs. It's just colorful flat-bottomed glass decor rocks found at craft stores with mini googly eyes glued on. Have as many as you can afford to buy! Have an adult hide them around the room in tricky hiding places. Turn the lights out so the room is dark. See if the girls can collect all the bugs! Take turns giving each girl a flashlight, and let her try to find as many bugs as she can in 1 minute. When her minute is up, have the clock person yell, SWITCH! Have the girl run back, throw her bugs into a box with their name on it, and hand the flashlight to the next player. They then do the same thing. In the end, let each girl take home her box of bugs she found. Talley up how many bugs each girl collected. Give the girl who found the most bugs a prize, and each person a piece of candy for participating. This game is fun, and good for a little last minute energy wear-out! Have a room set up with a couch, or a bunch of floor pillows in front of the T.V. Have the birthday girl pick what age-appropriate movie to watch. Make sure she picks a secondary one, just incase someone’s not allowed to watch it, or has seen it so many times that it most likely wont hole their attention. Also, set up a kitchen counter with many flavors of ice cream, drizzles, and toppings. Have cute little plastic parfait glasses, and spoons. Line all the girls up, and let them go down the line, making they're own uniquely delicious concoction. Prop up T.V trays in the Movie Room, and let the girls enjoy their sundaes while they watch the movie. Have each girl get her own little tray with a single pink rose in a skinny vase. When everyone's finished eating have them pack their stuff, and play a board game or two while waiting for their parents to arrive. Make sure they have their party favors, and that the birthday girl thanks each guest for coming. This party any girl is sure to enjoy!
CRAFT #1 which was making your own goodie bag. If you can sew a straight line it is very cheap to get some fabric and cut a 12x24 rectangle, fold the short sides in 2 inches and sew so a string could fit through each tube like end, then fold the whole thing in half and sew up the sides, turn inside out and voila- a draw string bag and have the girls thread the strings thru themselves so they can say they made their own bag. I taped the yarn to a stick and let each girl thread the stick thru one side and then the other and tie in a knot. If you do not like to sew then just get bags from the store- fabric ones and fabric paint so they can decorate or more inexpensively paper ones and stickers or markers. CRAFT #2 was tissue paper flowers. Precut squares of tissue paper and stack 5 or 6 together and fan fold, wrap a green pipe cleaner in the center and then gently pull up and separate the layers of tissue paper making flowers. CRAFT #3 from the craft store what ever is on sale, we've done this party for 3 years- it is such a hit they keep requesting it. Either paint a 99cent box, place foam stickers on a door hanger, decorate a visor, flip flops. Next it is GAME #1 where I tie a donut to a string for each girl and they have to eat it with their hands behind their backs. (Use chocolate and glazed donuts, have a few other things/ flavors if any one can’t have a certain donut) CRAFT #4 is stuff a pillow. I get a bag of pillow stuffing and fabric from the store- we have used fabric with little sheep on it for counting sheep when they sleep, hearts are always popular, and teddy bears. I am not much of a sewer but with the right sides together sew a 9x12 rectangle leaving 3 or 4 inches open but make sure you sew the part right by the opening back and forth so it doesn't split. Right side out it and then let the girls stuff their own pillows as full or soft as they like. Then just sew them closed. Game #2 is truth or dare. I take a piece of cardboard 8 x11” and cut off a 1x8 inch piece making one end pointy like an arrow. Punch a hole in the center and a hole in the center of the big piece. Put one of those brass tabs thru both leaving spinning room. You may need to tape the underside of the bent tabs to bottom of the cardboard from underneath to make sure the thing sticks up enough so the arrow can spin. Then divide the top into Truth, Dare and Spin Again. Then I made up two bags of questions- this ensures the appropriateness of any questions. You can use dares such as "Charades; you cannot speak until you can get someone to guess who you are pretending to be" and it could be Brittany Spears to their classroom teacher. Or pretend to eat an ice cream cone. Or run to the bathroom and wash your hands while singing twinkle twinkle little star. For the Truths I put things like would you rather be the oldest or youngest in your family and why? Or would you like brothers or sisters better or what flavor is the best jellybean, what's your favorite color, is it the same for hair as for a dress. The main point is no question should embarrass anyone. Paper mache? We then bought spray tie-dye kits (oriental trading) and provided each of the girls with a T-Shirt (hobby lobby). I also got some fabric paints and paint sets for them. Wow, were the shirts colorful. For their party favor bags we had purchased some white canvas bags with a handle (hobby lobby $2). They then decorated their bags. They were all dry by the next day. I did provide each parent a 3x5 card with washing instructions. We then had a designer competition. I provided each girl with some newspapers, aluminum foil, paper clips, rubber bands, and clothespins. They had to create their own designer outfit. They were hysterical. While we were all glamorous in our makeup and new designer duds, we blind folded each girl (one at time) and placed bright red lipstick on them. They then had to kiss a poster of a cute guy. The one who was the closest won the poster. They wanted to do this again and again. `We had cake and ice cream and did presents. Our local grocery store has a wonderful bakery and she decorated a cake in the theme colors and had some plastic picks placed strategically like purses, lip stick, shoes, etc. It was getting pretty late so I decided to have them sit in a circle and we blind folded each girl and played pass the slipper. Each girl had to try to identify her own slipper by feel or smell. We played a couple of games of Piggly Wiggly. By now I had some starting to droop so we plugged in some movies (Mean Girls and Crossroads) and settled in our sleeping bags. Of course we had Teen Magazines everywhere. Periodically the girls would look at them. Their party favor bags consisted of toe rings, diary with feather boa pen, a rubber ball with bright streamers attached, jewelry (I went to an outlet Claire's store and purchased 10 items for $5), their T-Shirts, Canvas Bags, Margarita Glass, Nail Decals, Perfume, Lip Gloss, Body Glitter, I had several disposable cameras lying around so the girls could take pictures. I can't wait to get them developed. We had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, OJ, blueberry muffins, and waffles for breakfast. Of course we drank our OJ from our fancy glasses again. We took each girl home by noon the next day. I had some other ideas up my sleeve but I didn't need them. Thanks to this website for all the great ideas. It was a very memorable evening for everyone!
Then I bought colorful vases at the dollar store. I bought cheap flowers from grocery stores, and then used those together as centerpieces for the tables. GOODY BAGS- I bought plain beige and pink, paper bags, that had handles on them, then I put a candy bar in each one. I also put a few candies in each one, a lip stick, a sheet of stickers, and the last thing I put inside, was a certificate. A certificate for each girl so that they could come back to MARYS RESTURAUNT, when ever they wanted for free.
I also typed up a letter, titled to each Glamour Girl inviting them to a special day at the "Walker Shopping Plaza". It stated.... You are invited to attend an awesome night of fun to celebrate the 12th birthday of Samantha Walker. We will go shopping at the Walker Shopping Mall, take a trip to Sam's Beauty Salon, and partake in a Diva Fashion Show and relax at the Movies. We will have lots of fun, so we hope you can join us. DECORATIONS: I setup the family room as the DIVA Celebration area. Her main colors were purple and magenta pink, so I used those color streamers and ran them from four corners or our central fan. I hung stars that I decorated with signs that I printed out, which said Samantha's Diva Celebration and stickers of teen celebrity’s (Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Orlando Bloom, which I got from a teen magazine). I hung them in that room. I placed several balloons together to make a balloon cluster to hang down from the fan. I also hung teen celebrity posters all around that room. (I also got the posters from magazines such as Tiger Beat, Bop, M, etc.) We then placed helium balloons in that room and let them float around. the balloons made it look really festive. I put a sign on the front door that said 'Welcome to the Walker Shopping Plaza, Mall is open to Samantha and her Glamour Girls only" I placed the Glamour Girl, Happy Birthday sign in the dining room, along with the matching tablecloth and a shopping spree centerpiece in the middle of the table. I ran more streamers and hung one more balloon cluster. My dinette table I placed a magenta tablecloth, hung more streamers, and a large star. The walls had signs stating "Samantha's DIVA Birthday Celebration". SHOPPING STORES: I wanted the girls to enjoy a fun shopping experience, so I set up four shops. I printed signs for each shop and made up prices for each item in the stores. The girl's were given individual shopping bags that I customized with each of their names. I placed a baggie of fake money, which they could use to make their purchases with. Also, at each shop the birthday Diva received a special gift. Sam's Jewelry Store: they were able to purchase birthstone rings, necklaces, bracelet craft kits(to be used at craft time). (Items were purchased from Oriental Trading) (Sam's special gift was, a daughter charm, toe rings and a charm watch) Sam's Pet Shop: Samantha’s favorite animal is a kitten so, I made sure that this tore only adopted out her favorite pet! Girls could adopt a stuffed animal kitten and I created an adoption certificate for them on my computer. They named their kitten, I gave the kittens their fake immunizations, and they signed their certificates, as the new parents. They were then able to create bows for their kittens with ribbons I cut. The kittens even had a charm attached that each girl could put on their charm bracelet. (Kittens purchased at Target for $1 each). (Sam's special gift at this shop was a Bratz Catz) SW's Knick Knacks Etc.: This shop had Flip Flop marabou pens, (my stepdaughter loves flip flops), funky color hair extensions (to be used later), photo calendars, funky socks, Glow necklaces and glitter body powder. (These items were purchased from Target and Oriental Trading) (Sam's special gift at this shop was a purse that said DIVA on it with the movie DVD "Sleepover" and DIVA hairclips" Samantha's Sweet Shop: This shop had sugar cookies with gummy lips on them. Ice Cream Cone cupcakes(really cute), candy shaped soaps, lip gloss in candy flavors such as Reese Peanut Butter cups, Bubble Yum(purchased from Wal-Mart) (Sam's special gift at this shop was, all different lip gloss and other lotions, all themed as candy, purchased from Wal-Mart). ARRIVAL: My sister's, my two friends and my mother-in-law, all agreed to help patron each store and salon (details to some). I welcomed the girls and crowned my stepdaughter the Birthday Diva (I made a sash for her that said "Birthday Diva" and purchased a tiara that said "Birthday Girl" on it. The winner received a box that had earrings in it. I then told them it was time to shop!!! They each received their bag and money. I split them in to three groups (they pulled numbers) and they rotated each shop to make their purchases. Each store patron really got into the whole role and made their shopping experience so much fun. Then it was off to the FOOD COURT: The girls paid for (with their fake money of course) pizza, soda and chips. Having them pay for their food made it seem more real to the girls. As the girls ate and talked, we set up for the second round of fun. SALON TIME: We replaced all the stores with a salon station. We had a Hair Station: where my friend who does wonderful hairdo's, did each girl's hair and added the funky hair extensions the girls had purchased earlier. She added Glitter spray as well. Nail Station: My mother-in-law and sister painted the girls nails and added nail decals. Facial and Make-up: My other sister and friend gave each girl a facial (easy, we used a facial cloth and real cucumbers for their eyes) and they put eye shadow, blush and lip gloss on each girl. After they were all through, they looked like GLAMOUR Girls!!!! We then told them to prepare for the fashion show. We had the Karaoke machine setup and my friend and I MCed the fashion show. Each girl was introduced and came out with a boa and did their best model impressions. It was soooo funny. After they all finished they came out together to finish the show. After the fashion show, they sat down and made their bracelets, from the craft kits they received earlier. We then cut the cake, opened gifts. Then we played pass the parcel, with forfeits. This was new to the girls and they loved it. (Thanks again for this idea) Each girl who got out did some silly task, such as, sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Flap your arms like a chicken, etc. and they received candy and stickers. The last girls who unwrapped the parcel received a necklace and earring set. As we cleaned up, the girl's song karaoke together and then I popped some popcorn and they watched a movie. My husband is going to create a video for each girl as well. Even though I was REALLY tired. They had a blast!!!
I had a Lincoln Navigator Limo pick the girls up from school on Friday. They had a complete makeover: nails, hair & make-up. Each girl won a title: Best Hair, Best Make-Up, Best Diva Attire, Best Sports Attire, Best Leading Actress, Best Animated Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Diva Attitude, Best All Around, Cutest, Miss Congeniality, Most Glamorous – I made sashes from wide white ribbon, glitter glue in hot pink, purple & blue with glitter flowers attached. Each girl also received a plastic tiara. Take a large piece of butcher paper and write "Happy Birthday (your child's name)!" on top. Then, help the birthday girl lay down on the paper and trace her body. Lay the paper on the floor. I provided crayons, markers, stencils, stickers, glue, glitter, ribbons, and colored tissue, scraps of fabric, feathers or buttons for designing a "groovy" outfit for the birthday girl. The girls include messages with their names. After the party, fold the banner and save it for a rainy day. Don't forget to take a picture of it with all the kids for your photo album! (3) Creating dolled-up designer outfits – I printed out paper dolls off the Internet and the girls made designer outfits using glitter glue. They then voted "survivor" style on the best design. The winner received a hot pink feather boa. They played playing Memory-abilia – I collected 20 small, theme-related items (ring, barrette, bracelet, watch, temporary tattoo, nail polish, etc.). Set them on a tray in front of everyone for 30-40 seconds while players try to memorize as many items as possible. When time's up, pass out paper and pencils. I gave the girls a couple of minutes to write down as many items as they could remember. Whoever listed the most correct, won. We actually ended with a tie and we had a tiebreaker (whoever guessed the # closest to the # I had chosen). The winner received a pedicure gift set. Upstairs where the girls would be up most of the night, I set up an "anytime" buffet with potato chips & dip, nachos & salsa, candy bowl, Chex ® mix, veggie tray and dip, cookies, various sandwiches and a cooler full of their favorite sodas and juices. They even took 2 breaks to come downstairs to make their own floats and to toast the birthday girl yet again with sparkling cider. GOODY-BAGS: I purchased printed gift bag w/marabou trim and put sequin slap bracelets, colorful rhinestone rings, deluxe body jewels, roll-on body glitter, stretchy flower toe ring, glitter nail decals, lipstick candy, red wax lips, jewel sucker rings, neon marabou gel pens, plush spotted coin purse key chains, lip gloss, nail polish, hair clips, eye shadow, nail files, smelly candles, and shower gel in them. You could also add autograph book, metallic diva sunglasses, travel size bottles of shampoo, & conditioner. My daughter had a blast and so did all of her girlfriends. Myself and the other adults that went had a marvelous time as well.
We purchased American Girl grin pins (small buttons with cool pictures/positive sayings) I stuffed the pins in balloons & blew them up (1 pin per balloon). We had 10 balloons per child and they had to break the balloons to get the pins. They could use any body part to break them except their feet. This was hilarious to watch! Then they spent time trading pins with each other. Also had a treasure hunt that they followed clues throughout the house and yard and ended up in a sandy area where they dug up a plastic box filled with their goodie bags CRAFT: I used glass ketchup bottles & filled them with bubble bath and topped with a cork. The girls decorated the outside with gems, trims, beads, etc. Then added a cool label with their name on it that I made for them on the computer. (Bubble bath from dollar store, corks & decorations from craft store)
After we are done, we will go to blockbusters and rent a couple of movies. When we get home we will open presents and eat "Sundae Cake"- which is: Everyone gets a bowl of ice cream and they put whatever they want on it. Then, they put a candle in it and viola! Sundae Cake. After we eat we will watch movies until it is time to go to bed. Day 2- we will wake up and eat, then we will spend 1/4 of the day doing crafts. Then we will take my mom's camcorder and make a video. We will do Karaoke and do a news report. It will make you laugh until you cry and will be a great souvenir. Then we will play a game where everyone gets 6 pieces of paper. They write a funny thing to do on each, and put them in a hat. Then the girls pick a piece out of the hat and have to do it. They can pick a partner or go solo. This is also fun to videotape. Then we will do a quest where there is 2 teams and they have to complete the questions on the list, first team to complete wins. Day 3- we give out the goody bags and they go home. Goody Bags- Make up, jewelry, accessories, CD's, whatever you choose to put in there. :) Hope you have fun!:)
As the guests arrived they "checked in" by signing a poster that now hangs in my room. My brother, the bellman, took their bags into the playroom, which was our room for the night. then my parents took our dinner orders which we selected from a menu that I had made on Microsoft Works a week before. While we waited for our food we organized the talent show, which was thrown into the party for no other reason then to occupy our short attention spans. We split into our own groups and one person even preformed solo, the talent show was a great way to break the ice between my friends from inside and outside of school, everyone hung out with other people and had a great time. We didn't perform though until after dinner, My parents and my brother served us our different meals, it was great because there were a lot of choices on the menu so no one ate something they didn't like (just make sure that the "chefs" have a copy of the menu, mine didn't and we had a few mix ups with side orders). After dinner and before desert we had the talent show, it was a great hit, there were a bunch of comedy skits and a few dances (make sure to have a variety of CDs, a CD player wigs, silly hats, and inflatable instruments and things on hand). When we sat down for cake everyone was still laughing and the pictures are still priceless. After dinner we watched a movie and "room service" brought us popcorn. Nail polish, lip balm and other things we were into at the time. In the thank you notes I attached the person's picture from the talent show, they had a great time laughing at them with their parents. I turned thirteen in September and people are still talking about that party, it was my favorite party ever because it was my most original and that's what makes it memorable.
Have bubble bath in birthday packs so they can have a bubble bath in the Jacuzzi tub in suite. Next morning, breakfast in private room of restaurant before checking out.
Pottery Painting Party
Pottery painting parties at a local pottery place are all the rage. Many pottery places allow you to rent a private room for the birthday party where the kids get to make and take their own personalized bowl or plate. They normally ask that you bring your own food and decorations, but again it depends on the local place so call them directly for details. When they are done, each child can have their creation fired in the kiln for a permanent souvenir from the party.
Since the pottery painting establishments can be a bit expensive, you could consider getting some of the Activ-Clay which is a type of clay that doesn't need to be fired in a kiln. Kids can make their own clay creations and let them dry overnight. Then paint them the next morning to take home as their souvenir. Be sure to buy enough clay and painting supplies for everyone attending the party.
Tropical Pool Party
Add a splash of fun to your daughter's birthday by throwing a summer beach or pool party. Even if you don't happen to have a backyard pool, there are still possibilities. For example, some local pools or neighborhood associations will allow groups to reserve the entire swimming pool area for a short period of time. They provide a lifeguard and staff who keep an eye on the kids and run games such as water ring tosses. In addition, they may have a party room that is adjacent to the changing areas/restrooms where you can set-up decorations, snacks and cake.
Whether you throw the party in your backyard or in another pool location, find some fun summer-themed invitations shaped like flip-flops, beach balls, or tropical flowers (or make your own from card stock). Add a clever saying about how you'll be diving right in for a fun party. Decorate the event area with inflatable palm trees, beach balls, hibiscus flowers and give each child a lei when they arrive at the birthday celebration. Have lots of pool games to keep the kids entertained. Try floating object or rubber duck races, pool diving for non-floating objects, relay races, water ring tosses, etc. For birthday party favors, how about beach ball shaped decorated sugar cookies, beach towels, cheap flip flops or a goodie basket or bag filled with sunscreen, SPF lip balm and candies.
Glamour or Spa Sleepover Party
What child and her friends wouldn't like being glamour girls for the day? You can either host this type of party in your own home or consider one of the many local salons or cosmetology schools that host kids birthday parties.
The girls can get their hair done in updo's, have make-up applied and get their nails painted. If you have this party at home, consider hiring a couple high school girls to help with the make-overs. Be sure to have lots of fun and sparkly hair accessories, make-up and finger nail polishes. Buy lots of q-tips and make-up applicator sponges to avoid cross-contamination. Also, have curling and flat irons to help with the hair styling. Consider some colorful boas, fun jewelry, cheap sparkly handbags and even temporary tattoos. Either have the girls bring one of their own dresses or borrow some fun dresses and high heeled shoes from your adult friends or go to a local Salvation Army to get some dress-up clothes.
Set-up a black runway strip with rope lights and streamers so that after the girl's are all glammed up, you can have a little runway show. Play some music and have them strut their stuff to show off their new look. Be sure to take lots of pictures!
For the food, go with more upscale (but inexpensive) food like pastas, salads, fruit, and sparkling juice in plastic champagne glasses. Make a cake that is shaped like a purse or a tube of lipstick to tie in with the overall party theme.