If you are looking for an idea as to how to incorporate a “time capsule” present into your child’s first birthday party that will be at the beach, why not buy a large plastic bottle, one that could supposedly be thrown into the ocean to perhaps be found by a stranger on the other side of the sea, and fill it with all of those memories from baby’s first year, as well as the current events of the day, etc.

The container will go well with the venue of your party; you could pretend like you are throwing it off and into the sea. Of course, don’t actually do this, but when your child opens it years later when he is 18 or so, you can relate his first birthday party theme to him while you provide him his time capsule.

The crazy cast of characters is on the big screen this summer with the much-anticipated release of The Simpsons! Yes, they’re back! The tweens & young teens might enjoy getting together and spoofing their own Simpsons’ party…a great idea would include going on a movie outing to see the show. To get into the Simpsons mood either before or after the show, try a few of these ideas:
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Peppers and Pollywogs will give away stuff every week…all free, all the time!

Whether it is tattoos for a cool goody, tutus for your li’l princess, rock’n music to match your party theme…Peppers and Pollywogs is giving it away.

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The cupcake craze has swept the world of kids’ parties, and Wilton has thrown a new twist into the cake mix: a GIANT cupcake pan! OK, technically it isn’t a bunch of small cupcakes to decorate and frost, it’s an actual cake. So, if you love the look and shape of a cupcake and you always wanted to make one the size of a cake, Wilton’s got it covered!

Also check out Not Martha … what a great looking cupcake cake.

I ordered about 15 Mylar balloons for my child’s birthday from an online wholesale company.  The balloons cost between 50 cents to about $1.70 each.  Most of the balloons I ordered were oversized ocean-themed  balloons (dolphin, shark, swordfish, mermaid, etc.) 

I then bought a small helium tank to blow them up at home.  You can also go to a party store and have them blow them up for 50 cents for the small ones and $1 for the large ones.  If you have to store blow them up, that is about $1 for the small mylar balloons and $2.70 for the large ones.  Much better than the $2-$3 for a small one and the $8-$10 for the large ones when you buy them all at the store. 

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There are many ways to organize a treasure hunt for kids at the next party from the ages of 2 and up. For some ideas, have a look below:

If you can, get sets of plastic Easter eggs and place the clues on bright colored paper — for the small ones place pictures on the clues and they have to find that picture to find their next clue. For the older kids, write riddles that lead them to different spots to find the next clue. A general rule of thumb is that you should have as many clues as the age of the child … so if the child is 7 years old, you use 7 clues.

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So, the Muggles have arrived and the party is getting underway…time for a crafty concoction to get the Potter fun started.

Here are ideas and resources for crafts to get the first class at Hogwarts’ School underway: Read the rest of this entry »