Category — Children
Kids Party Invitations
Kids Party Invitations: Creative ideas for your child’s birthday party
Why spend the money on those boring kids’ party invitations that everyone uses when you can make your own!
Scrapbook stores are the perfect place to go when you want to make your own party invitations. All you have to do is visit a scrapbook supply store and your creativity will spark with ideas.
Handmade party invitations are not only fun and easy to make, but they are personal. Your kids will love making their own invitations to hand out to all their friends.
Start with the basics: blank 3”x5” or 4”x6” cards. You can find these in any scrapbook store. They usually come packaged with blank envelopes. Next, browse the aisles and buy stickers, punches, markers, and whatever other fun things you see to make your child’s birthday party invitation in the following themes:
SPORTS
Use soccer, football, basketball or baseball stickers or page sets. Create a fun sports theme on the front and include the party information inside the card.
CHARACTERS
If your kids love animated characters, such as Elmo, Rugrats or Lazy Town, use these to create character-themed party invitations. Include bright borders and sticker confetti to add flare to the card covers.
PRINCESS
What girl doesn’t want to be a princess? Use crown stickers, pink and purple confetti stickers, and heart punches to create pretty, princess invitations.
TEA PARTY
You can find cute teacup page sets and use these to create pretty invitations. If you want to get really fancy, trace a teacup template around the outside of your blank cards first. Then cut the cards to make them look like teacups. You might even include a fancy napkin inside the card.
Click here for more ideas on creating an awesome childrens party
February 24, 2008 No Comments
How to Host a Superb Kid Birthday Party!
How to Host a Superb Kid Birthday Party!
by: Martyn Purdy
How do you plan a children’s birthday party… and still remain sane?
Relax, don’t panic and keep it as simple as possible is the answer.
Kids don’t care if the room has been vacuumed and cleaned. Think about it for a moment, kid’s will make the tidiest of room’s look like a disaster zone within minutes of turning up. They won’t care whether the table napkins match or what time it is!… all they will want to do is have fun, play games and eat lots of goodies!
So, what’s the best way to ensure that your child’s birthday party is one to remember? (at least until the next party invitation arrives!)
Firstly, take a little time to think about the party theme. Will it be an outing to the local burger house, a trip to an amusement park or will you have a theme party at home. With sufficient forward planning, you won’t be losing any sleep worrying about the party.
Make a list of who is coming to the party? The general rule of thumb is to invite as many guests as you feel comfortable catering for.
Ask the birthday child what they would like to do. Don’t be tempted to pressure them into having the sort of party YOU would like… it is their special day after all! Once you have decided on a theme, then the party activities to keep the kids happy become a priority. Many traditional games can be adapted to fit just about any party theme.
If the party is to at the local restaurant, go along and speak to the manager to agree the food menu and leave the rest to them. An outing to the amusement park or zoo may require additional party planning, with transport being just one item needing consideration. Many of these venues have party facilities available so all you need to provide is the children and a credit card to pay the bill.
If the party is to be at home, then selecting a theme can be fun. Whether it’s Pirates, Finding Nemo or Dora the Explorer… this is your opportunity to get creative!
With so many character theme party goods available, the choice is endless. If you’re planning to hold the party outdoors, it would be a good idea to have at least one room inside your home decorated, in case of rain. Try to limit the party activities to pre-designated party areas (as much as possible), so you are able to relax and enjoy the party without worrying about the mess being made.
Ok, it’s now time to get ready for the party! You’ve decided on the party theme and how many guests will be invited… Now the preparations and fun begin!
Don’t forget to keep your birthday kid involved whenever possible. Get them to suggest party game ideas, then choose the decorations and food together. Feeling relaxed? Hope so, because organizing a kid birthday party should be fun for everyone!
Allocate a budget for the party and decide whether you hire a professional entertainer or enlist the help of friends and neighbors? Don’t be afraid to ask a friend to help clear empty dishes, run a game or two and even take the some party photos.
Set a time for the party. Two or three hours should be plenty of time. If the children are under 5 years old, then one and half hours should be time enough. One great tip is to hold a toddler party in the morning, as youngsters tend to get a bit “cranky” when they get tired!
Plan your party games in 15-20 minute intervals. If you find the kids are happy playing a particular game let them carry on… why spoil their fun? On the other hand plan more activities than you think you will need. Some games may be greeted with a “groan” and you may well need to play another game sooner than you expected.
Send out your birthday party invitations 2 to 3 weeks in advance of the party date, then make a follow-up confirmation phone calls after about a week. People tend to be very busy nowadays and a small invitation can get easily forgotten, usually under a mountain of junk-mail!
Don’t spend more time or energy than necessary on things that don’t really matter. When organising the party food keep snacks plain and simple. Remember that kids love eating food with their fingers and your party day could be a great day to let them do just that!
Buy an undecorated cake from your local baker and decorate it yourself, making a terrific party theme cake… or get the bakers to make a completely finished themed birthday cake!
Finally, imagine that the big day is here and your first guest arrives for your child’s birthday party. Stay calm, keep a good sense of humor and enjoy the precious party time with your guests. Above all, keep the party flowing and let the children set the pace.
You will look back afterwards, when flicking through your fabulous party photo’s, with the immortal words… “It was well worth the effort”
About The Author
Martyn Purdy is the creator of a popular kid birthday party website. Find a wealth of party themes, games, treats and our party planner at http://www.captain-kid-birthday-parties.com.
February 18, 2008 No Comments
Design Tips for a Great Kids Birthday Cake
Design Tips for a Great Kids Birthday Cake
by: Stephen Houlihan
These days, you can probably buy just about any style of child’s birthday cake already made. But there is nothing like the sense of satisfaction from making that special cake just for your child – after all, they have each birthday only once!
There’s also the benefit of being able to control what ingredients are actually used in making the cake. Apart from producing a healthier cake, you can also cater for any allergies that your child or his/her friends may have.
Once you have decided to make the cake yourself, here are some tips to help you:
1. Don’t worry if you failed Art 101 dismally. Remember that kids don’t expect you to turn out a design worthy of da Vinci. Often they are more interested in the number (and color) of pieces of candy on top of the cake than the actual design itself.
2. In selecting a design for the cake, there are two main options: a specific design (such as a favorite character from a TV program), or a more generic theme (such as a train or an animal). Whichever you choose, remember that it will be much easier if you only cut the cake to the basic shape you want, and use the icing to create the detail of the design. Trying to make the Eiffel Tower out of cut pieces of sponge cake is a definite no-no!
3. The actual cake recipe should be kept simple, such as a basic sponge cake. Remember, the icing and candy decorations will give the cake plenty of flavor, and a plain cake recipe will appeal to a wider range of kids’ tastes.
4. Be especially careful to cater for any allergies. Even if you are not aware of any allergies amongst the party attendees, it is best to avoid using any products containing nuts. Read the packages of the cake ingredients carefully.
5. It is best to make the cake the day before the party. Apart from making the day of the party less stressful, you will find that the cake will be easier to cut. If the cake is too fresh, crumbs tend to stick to the icing and can make the cut pieces look pretty messy.
6. When choosing the icing, think about how messy it will be to eat – your friends won’t be too pleased with you if their kids end up with permanently-stained clothes from your brightly-colored strawberry icing!
7. When actually making the icing, you may have to tweak the recipe to allow for the weather. For hot climates, you may have to add more icing powder/sugar to thicken it up; for cold days, you don’t want the icing to set as hard as rock.
8. If you are going to use an icing decorating bag and tips to draw your design on the cake, have a practice first on a plate. You’ll surprise yourself with what you can do!
9. If you are totally artistically challenged, there are many companies who supply ready-made decorations that you can use on the cake. You can even buy a lot of these over the internet, and you can find a list of some major suppliers at www.cakemagician.com/suppliers.htm.
Finally, remember to HAVE FUN when you make the cake! It may seem quite a lot of effort, but the happy smile on your child’s face when they see the cake will reward you immensely.
About The Author
Stephen Houlihan is a father of three children, for whom he has made many cakes over the years. He comes from a family of cake decorators who have won many awards. Further ideas and tips can be found at http://www.cakemagician.com.
February 18, 2008 No Comments
Child Party Planner – 9 Steps To A Successful Party
Child Party Planner – 9 Steps To A Successful Party
by: Mike Dougherty
Why rush around at the last minute?
By following the 9 steps we’ve outlined, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you’ll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you’ll have a successful party.
Give Yourself Plenty Of Time
If at all possible, start putting together your child party several months in advance. This will give you plenty of time to put everything together without having to run all over the place at the last minute until you’re worn out, stressed out and find yourself saying “I’ll be glad when this is over with.”
Your Party Date And Time
Since it may not be practical to hold your child’s birthday party celebration on their actual birth date, you need to consider a few things before deciding on the date of their party.
Make sure your party date won’t conflict with any holidays or other events.
Also consider the best time of the day for your party. After lunch will mean you won’t have to serve food other than snacks, cake and ice cream.
Your Birthday Party Theme
One of the most popular ways to celebrate a child’s birthday is with a theme related to something your child enjoys. A movie, a TV show, a sport, hobby, general interest, or a favorite character like a Disney character.
If your child likes Barbie, choose a Barbie theme, if your child liked the movie Shrek, you can base an entire birthday on the Shrek theme.
This is the perfect time to let your child become involved in planning their party.
We encourage you to spend some quality time with your child discussing which theme they are most interested in. But be sure you agree with their choice before proceeding. Your child will only be thinking about which theme will be the most fun, while you need to also consider what may or may not be practical. And once you and your child have decided on a kid birthday party theme, everything else will fall into place…
Your Kid Birthday Party Guest List
When considering your kid party planning, experts advise you should invite one guest for every year of your child’s age. This keeps your party manageable. Other considerations include your kid birthday party budget and the location of your party.
But the question of how many guests you should invite to your birthday party can only be answered by you and your child… I suggest you mainly consider your budget and your party location… If you’re comfortable with a house full of 20 kids for your child’s 8th birthday, then go for it!
Your Kid Birthday Party Location
You may want to control your child’s birthday party by holding the celebration in your home and/or backyard. Or you may want to consider having your party at another location like a local restaurant (where they do most of the clean-up) or a local park, amusement part, zoo or some other fun location. To keep your child party planning manageable, call any locations your considering in advance… You don’t want to hear “we’re all booked up on that date.”
Kid Birthday Party Invitations
Once you and your child have decided on a theme, your party date, time, location and guest list, you can create or purchase invitations involving your theme.
If you’d like to create your own party invitations, this is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your child… Talk with them about putting together a creative invitation that will tell all their invited guests how much fun their birthday party is going to be.
Kid Birthday Party Food And Drinks
The first thing that comes to mind when you say “birthday Party” is a birthday cake.
For other snacks and treats, keep your kid birthday party theme in mind.
Kid Birthday Party Games And Activities
Put together some games and activities to keep your party guests busy and having lots of fun. You’ll also want to have some quiet games, puzzles and other activities designed to wind your party down so your guests will go home a little less excited.
Thank You Notes
A day or so after your kid birthday party, sit down with your child and send out thank you notes to each of your guests. This will help to teach your child responsibility and how to thank their friends for being kind enough to bring them a gift or birthday card.
By following the 9 steps I’ve outlined here, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you’ll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you’ll have a successful party your child will love.
About The Author
Mike Dougherty, “Grandpa Mike” has years worth of experience putting together birthday parties for his two children and his two grandchildren. For more kid birthday party tips and information go to http://fun-kid-birthday-parties.com
February 17, 2008 No Comments
Face Painting Is Gaining Popularity For Parties And Events
Face Painting Is Gaining Popularity For Parties And Events
by: Cynthia Kaloust
Face painting is the new rave in party entertainment. Over the past decade, face painting has gained popularity and become a more sophisticated art form. Event planners are receiving an increase in requests than previous years and having to find face painters to accommodate the demand. New technologies for developing skin safe paints with vibrant colors and glitters are propelling the industry by allowing face painters to create an immense array of amazing designs. As an emerging art form and entertainment form, new face painters are popping up everywhere.
Traditionally face painting was created for cultural meaningful events such as tribal wars, gatherings etc. In modern society, face painting has emerged in sporting events, theatre, and creative expression. Face painting is a fun and creative way for artists and their clients to express themselves. Children and adults enjoy the process. Expressing your inner personality through the artist can be exciting and fulfilling. Face painting allows you to escape, to transform, to venture into another aspect of yourself. Although this is unconscious, it explains the lure of face painting. Transforming yourself into a cat, lion, alien, rabbit, monster, and butterfly allows the painted to enhance themselves, to express themselves in a way they are not able to do by themselves.
Hiring a face painter for your event can be an excellent complement to other activities or by itself. People will enjoy watching the artist paint and others will enjoy looking at theresults. Hiring a talented artist will add flair to your party.Imagine a variety of creatures mingling within the party, adding entertainment and discussion topics. Its fun for everyone: those whose faces are painted and those who get to look at those whose faces are painted. If your event is a children’s’ party, it is a great form of entertainment. If you are having an adult event, face painting can be just as exciting. Artists can really get carried away with the creativity when working on adults.
There are many things to consider when hiring a face painter. First of all you want to hire someone you feel comfortable with.Ultimately this person will be face painting your children, family, friends and guests so make sure to speak with the face painter to get a feel for them. Look at their work. You want to hire someone appropriate for your event. If you are having a party with many small children, you want to hire someone who uses FDA approved face paint. In addition, you want to make sure they do cheek art and know how to work with small children. Small children (3 and under) have difficulty sitting for long periods of time, so cheek art is usually appropriate for them. If your party is for older kids who can sit for longer periods of time, make sure the face painter can accommodate larger face painting designs such as full face and half face masks. Thirdly, you want to make sure the face painter has experience. Check their references.
Ask the company how many faces per hour they can paint. Is it cheek art or full face art? Remember, the number of faces they paint per hour divided by the hourly rate is what you pay per face. At this point you will have to measure their art work with their hourly rate. Some face painters charge less, but their quality is low. Others charge more because they create a higher quality design. You will have to decide what is important to you. Remember, “You get what you pay for”. This is always true. The ultimate goal at most events is that you want your guests to be entertained and want them to remember your event. If you keep this in mind when hiring you have a better chance of choosing the best face painter for your party.
You will want to hire someone that will entertain with their art and who will help make your event memorable. The only way a good face painter can do that is by making your guests feel good and creating an awesome face design that will leave everyone with lasting impressions.
About The Author
Cynthia Kaloust is a freelance writer with several successful e-books to her name. About three days a week she can be found painting faces at parties/events or other celebrations. She is the founder of http://www.wepaintfaces.com.
Learn to do it yourself with EASY FACE PAINTING
February 17, 2008 No Comments
Kids Birthday Cakes – Turn Them Into Theme Cakes
Kids Birthday Cakes – How to Easily Turn Them Into Theme Cakes
by: Cristy Smith
Kids birthday cakes can create wonder and amazement. It is just plain fun to watch a child’s expression when they see a birthday cake that has been made to look like their favorite character or theme. A cake that has been made especially for them with care and creativity. There are several ways you can create themed kids birthday cakes. Depending on your skill level, some may be more appealing to you than others. Here are some different ways you can make terrific looking theme cakes.
The most obvious way is to use a specially shaped cake pan. There are several specially shaped pans to match most of the themes that are currently popular. This will enable you to bake a cake in the exact shape that you need so that all you have to do is decorate the cake. It is possible though that your child may want a unique party theme for which there is no specially shaped cake pan available. In this instance you are going to have to find another alternative.
One alternative is to create the character yourself by baking an ordinary sheet cake and drawing the character or shape that you want on the cake with icing. Then cut away the cake from the outline of your character. Since you are drawing on your cake with icing, you are free to wipe it off and start over as many times as you need to until you are satisfied with your image. The cut away pieces can also be used to help create your shape or add dimension to areas of your cake.
Yet another way that you can create fantastic looking kids birthday cakes is to use cake toppers or edible cake art images to match your party theme. Cake toppers are usually made from plastic and can be set on top of your cake. When you are finished with your cake, they are often times reusable and can be used on another cake. Edible cake art images are also placed on top of the cake, but are as the name indicates “edible” so they do not need to be removed from the cake prior to eating it. Both of these alternatives can be used with sheet cakes or round cakes and are probably the easiest alternative. However, they will still give you that great looking cake that will be sure to bring amazement and delight to all of the kids at your party.
No matter which method you choose, kids will be thrilled that you made them a special cake to match their party theme or favorite character. The excitement of the birthday child when he or she sees the cake will be worth the extra effort you put forth in making those themed kids birthday cakes.
About The Author
Cristy Smith is co-creator of a birthday cake decorating website that is packed full of creative and fantastic looking cakes and explains how each one was made. Visit http://www.easy-birthday-cakes.com for lots of great ideas for making kids birthday cakes that children will love.
February 17, 2008 No Comments
Birthday Party Fun: Goodie Bag Alternatives
Birthday Party Fun: Goodie Bag Alternatives
by: Deborah Shelton
If you’re looking for alternatives to pricey goodie bags, here are a few ideas that will make your guests–and wallet–happy.
Any Fun Party:
Take Polaroid photos of each guest with the birthday child, and decorate cardboard picture frames, or make frames with popsicle sticks.
Dance Party:
Let the birthday child create a mix CD of favorite music. Burn copies for everybody (and play it at the party too!).
Hawaiian Party:
Decorate inexpensive plastic sunglasses with artificial flowers. String together more artificial flowers for one-of- a-kind leis.
Royal Party:
Decorate paper crowns and make scepters from wooden dowels and plastic jewels.
Sleepover Party:
Decorate plastic light-switch plates with stickers. Allow your young guests to embellish white pillowcases with fabric paints for a take-home sleepy surprise.
Spring or Garden Party:
Paint flower pots and include a pack of flower seeds for children to grow at home.
Survivor Party:
Send the children on a scavenger hunt equipped with compasses and trail mixes that they can make before the hunt. The compass will become a new favorite gadget, and the trail mix is a lot healthier that candy treats.
Tea Party:
Let the girls decorate straw hats with artificial flowers, which they can wear for the party, and later take home. Complete the party with candy necklaces.
Have fun!
About The Author
Deborah Shelton the author of “The Five Minute Parent: Fun & Fast Activities for You and Your Little Ones.” Visit Deborah’s website for more family-friendly ideas: http://www.fiveminuteparent.com/. Subscribe to The Five Minute Parent email newsletter.
February 17, 2008 No Comments
Ten Easy Steps to Great Kid Party Food
Ten Easy Steps to Great Kid Party Food
by: Patricia B. Jensen
This simple guide to kid party food turns your kids party into a fun food fest.
Learn what turns kids on when it comes to party fare, and how to make it quick, easy, and impressive.
Ten Easy Steps to Great Kids Party Food will show you how to think like a kid when it comes to celebratory snacking!
1. Make in Advance – Do as much food preparation prior to your party as possible. A variety of kid party food can be made ahead and stored for the big day, such as popcorn balls, jello jigglers, and snack mixes in ziploc bags.
2. Keep it Simple and Fresh – Kids really do know what’s good for them, and will often gravitate to simple healthy foods first. Provide lots of natural choices such as vegetables with cream cheese based dips and salsas, fresh fruit fondue or chocolate dipped strawberries. Bugs on a log (cream-cheese filled celery, topped with raisins), and fish in the stream (cream-cheese filled celery, topped with goldfish crackers) are great healthy options too.
3. Try Quick Favorites – Tried-and-true kid party foods have stood the test of time and many a child’s fickle taste buds. Stick with the originals you can whip up quick, such as pigs in a blanket, nachos, and microwave s’mores.
4. Color and Create – The more colorful it is, the better it will taste! At least kids seem to think so! Let kids color and decorate their own cookies or cupcakes using assorted frostings and food colorings, sprinkles, mini M & M’s, chocolate morsels, gummies, etc.
5. Smooth & Creamy – Arm yourself with a crushed ice maker or blender and you’re ready to try any of these refreshing combinations: smoothies, snow cones, ice cream sodas or milk shakes. Another “smooth and creamy” alternative is to have kids make their own ice cream sundaes or layer fruit and yogurt for easy parfaits.
6. Crisp & Crunchy – Don’t be a slave to unhealthy snacks. Crisp and crunchy goes way beyond potato chips! Experiment with whole wheat crackers, sweet cereals, peanuts (always check for allergies), pretzels, and crunchy snack mixes combining raisins, coconut and other dried fruits for sweetness.
7. Vary Ingredients – Just imagine the many unique sandwiches that can be made just by using different kinds of bread such as English muffins, tacos, pitas, small deli rolls, or tortilla wraps. They same goes for the sweets. Try fruit pops, pudding, cupcakes or mini donuts instead of the traditional cake and ice cream dessert.
8. Proper Presentation – Serve drinks in fancy plastic cocktail glasses, or colorful cups for toddlers. Serve dip in a hollowed-out pumpkin, squash or round bread. Serve chips, pretzels and munchies in themed containers such as disposable foil pie plates for a cowboy party, Chinese noodle boxes for a karate party.
9. Surprise Them! – Kids love surprises and food is no exception. Imagine their delight when they bite into a hamburger with taco filling, or a slice of cake with jello filling. Try hiding a jellybean surprise inside a cupcake, or add a small container of dry ice (with holes punched in it) to your party punch to make a bubbling brew!
10. Stash an Extra Supply – It’s always wise to keep some extra snacks on hand for surprise guests. Siblings may show up uninvited and tax your food reserves, so be prepared!
Copyright 2005 Kids Party Paradise. All Rights Reserved.
About The Author
Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.
For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog.
February 17, 2008 No Comments
