Well, Labor Day is almost here and the kids are ready to head back to school…they may even already be back. Well, even if that is the case, there is still time to have a proper farewell to summer!

A great theme to use for your party supplies is Beach Balls.

Invite your kids’ friends and even their families over for a seasonal send-off fit for summer’s majesty! Use dusty yellow, orange, and red colors for any table ware, and place Citronella candles and perhaps Tiki torches to keep the bugs away!

Throw the party outdoors with a proper cookout! Invite the kids to catch fireflies, have a water balloon fight, run through the sprinklers, serve ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. Other games can include a Tug O’ War, Limbo Fun, and wacky relay races, such as a sack race and/or three-legged race, and a Treasure Hunt in a sandbox would be added fun. Hang a sheet between two trees and show a movie as the late afternoon turns to evening.

Send the kids home with a beachball, plastic sunglasses, jars full of fireflies, and an old fashioned swirly pop for the kids’ to fondly remember those lazy, hazy, dazy days of summer…

• Farewell to Summer Cakes
• Sailboat Cake
• Day Care Party Conundrum
• A Prince at a Princess Party

If you are looking for candy to have at your kid’s next party and want to order it off of the Internet, you must check out CandyCrate: whether you are looking for nostalgic favorites like Pez and gumballs or a large assortment of bulk candy, this is an excellent resource in both price and service. Another fun aspect of the site, is they have a “Fun Facts” section with candy trivia. This may even work as a party game/activity for your next party.

One of the BEST ways to decorate a party table is to have wrapped candy scattered all around the table. Having different types will keep the kids interested looking and trying all of the various types.

CandyUSA is also another excellent candy resource for your party. It has all sorts of facts on your favorite candies from Candy Canes to Candy Bars. Also, if you are planning a seasonal party and want to include a candy craft, this is also an excellent resource. As an example, for Valentine’s Day, there is a Gift Box that is sure to please. Also, a ton of fun facts for th holiday as well.

M&Ms, PEZ, and Hershey’s are worth checking out for your party planning.

Look at the cool Hershey’s Chocolate BBQ Grill Cake (right)

Remember Dum Dum Drops, NECCO, and those infamous Wafers?

If you want to personalize your chocolate bar wraps for your birthday party, check out WhimsyWraps.com. They are quite cute. Of course, you can always customize them yourself!

SweetFactory also has its products on-line these days for your ordering convenience as well.

Also, be sure to check out Dylan’s Candy Bar ~ not only another great resource for party candy, but also a destination when visiting NYC!

OK, time for my daily Reese’s PB Cup! These sites have me totally craving a chocolate treat!

• Initial Parties
• Chocolate Thoughts
• Crayola
• Chocolate Bar Invitations

Amount of Time: 10 -20 hours
Budget: $150 to $350
Age Group: 4 to 7 years old
Number of Guests: Up to 10 guests

Indoors/Outdoors: Either will work. Outdoors will be better if you are planning to do the fossil dig!

Special Notes: This is a darling party to have for kids as they are fascinated with dinos. There are also many fun activities you can do with the kids that are not only fun, but also educational. If you make the fossils and have the “dig” this will be quite interesting for them. This party theme can also be done for a range of budgets as well ~ depending on which activities you choose and how many kids you invite, of course.

Birthday in a Box has a VERY cute dinosaur pattern, especially for the younger crowd.

Or check out the Dinosaur Party Supplies at Celebrate Express for a more ferocious look.

Invitations:
Using heavy card stock, cut out dino footprints and write all of the party information on the footprint. You can either mail them in large colored envelopes (have your children draw a dino on the envelope.) or hand-deliver them attached with a dino coloring book to begin to build the party excitement.

Decorations:
Use large appliance boxes to cut out large dinos as decorations for the party room. You can cut out and decorate several types, including T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, etc.
Make a “Dino Crossing” sign as a welcome for the party guests. Also, cut out large Dino footprints and place them along the front pathway and entrance into the party house.
Most party stores will have dino-themed tableware, but you could also mix it up with solid colors that you decide upon. Another option: buy a plain white tablecloth and stencil dinos on it. Then, provide crayons at the party table and have the kids add to the scene as well.
Green, Orange, and Brown balloons and streamers would be a good color scheme for a Dino party.
Cover your party table with Dino confetti, small Dino bones, and Dino gummy candies.
Give a jungle effect by bunching large household plants together and/or hanging green streamers together to give the affect of entering into a jungle.
Play a Dino-Rock CD for atmosphere.

Crafts:
With the fossils the kids find during their fossil dig, have them paint and decorate the fossils to take home with them.
Have the kids make Dino Masks to wear at the party.
Lay out a long sheet of butcher paper and have available paint, markers, crayons, and each kid can create a Dino party scene. This banner can then be used as a party decoration.
Enjoy coloring Dino pictures as the kids enter or put together small Dino puzzles.

Games/Activities:
Hire a facepainter or a teenager to paint small dino footprints on the kids’ faces.
Using a child’s sandbox, and have a “Dino Dig” where the kids can dig up fossils. You can make these using a Plaster of Paris kit. The kids will find this quite cool.
Enjoy a “Dino Walk.” Have the kids walk on numbered dino footprints while music is playing. Once the music stops, call out a number and the kid on the lucky spot wins a prize!
Have a Dino Bean Bag Toss. Make a T-Rex with a large open mouth and have the kids try and toss the bags into the mouth.
Hide Dino Eggs all over the yard and/or the house, and have the kids find the eggs. The one who finds the most wins a prize.
Play Dino Charades.
Break a Dino piñata.
Play “Stick the Horn on the Triceratops.” Using poster board draw a big Triceratops, but missing the horn. You know how to play this game.
Make a real live erupting volcano. Do this project on your lawn for little clean up.

Menu:
Serve chicken nuggets in the shape of Dinos, with dipping sauces.
Crackers may also come in Dino shapes,such as Ritz. Cut out cheese slices in the shape of Dinos for the kids to have with their crackers.
Pretzel Sticks can be Dino Bones.
Serve chocolate pudding with gummy Dinos in the mix~ like “Dinos Stuck In the Mud.”
Enjoy Rocky Road Ice Cream as a side to the party cake.
Serve “Red Lava” punch ~ something like Hawaiian Punch.

Cake:
Coolest Dinosaur Cake Ideas has some great cakes to make and serve.

Goody Bags:
Hand-stencil dinos onto plain brown bags using brown, orange, and green paint (or whatever colors you decide upon) and place little dino sponges, dino gummies, dino notepads, pencils, erasers, and stickers, little dino figurines, Pop Rock Candies, Dino Pez, etc.
Make paper-mache dino eggs and fill them with the little goodies as a take-home surprise.

A Dino Favor Box is also a good choice!

• Dinosaur Candle Holder
• Little People Party
• Williams Sonoma
• Forums -Cannot have Sweet 16/dance-Prom combo same night

Strawberries are at their peak…perhaps you are building a kids’ party theme around this beautiful summer fruit…or maybe you are having a family party and want to spotlight this wonderful treat for the little ones…if so, enjoy a look below!

Delectable Strawberry Foodie Ideas:

Little sandwiches cut into fun shapes filled with strawberry jam and cream cheese.

Strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce.

Strawberry Shortcake Snake…so CUTE!

Strawberry Smoothies.

Strawberry Ice Cream with Strawberry Cake.

Make sugar cookies, and have the kids frost them with pink frosting and top with a strawberry.

For Strawberry Goodies:

Of course bubbles, and if you can find them scented like strawberries even better.

Strawberry-Scented Bubble Bath.

Strawberry Gummy Candies.

Sheet of Strawberry Scratch and Sniff Stickers.

• Pink Party Foods
• Strawberry Berry Theme!
• Forums -Together or Separate Parties
• Fanciful Eloise of The Plaza

A good summer party idea…a camp out!

This theme works especially well with children between the ages 8 to 12 and, of course, during the summer!

Here are some fun activities to pass the evening:

Enjoy a proper cookout…end the evening with smores.

Have a water balloon fight.

Tell scary ghost stories before going to bed…pass around a flashlight which the storyteller will use while he tells his tale.

Play flashlight tag.

Pitch the tents together.

Get a telescope and gaze at the stars awhile. Could teach a fun astronomy lesson in the process.

Make tye-dyed t-shirts.

Blow bubbles and gaze your flashlights on them…cool effects everyone is sure to love.

Make luminary bags with your guests to light their paths to their tents.

Take a long hike/walk through your neighborhood…even better if you have woods or a park nearby.

Have a sing-a-long around the campfire. Does anyone play guitar?

Provide bug jars and catch fireflies.

Favors can include: Flashlights, tye dyed t-shirts, little knapsack filled with camping stuff, i.e. bug spray, glow and the dark stickers, water guns, glow bracelets, little plastic animals that you would find in the woods…ideas are endless…

As you can see, overnight camping parties are a fabulous theme. Kids love them and you will too given the variety of activities that can easily fill the night.

One cautionary note, and this is true of any sleepover, make sure to get the contact information of the parents when they drop their kids off. Some kids are ready to spend the night away from home and others are not. In case someone wants to go home or gets sick, etc….make sure to have the parents’ contact details on hand to make that important call.

Happy trails to you…

• Camp Out Invites
• Those Groovy 60s
• Forums -gross out party
• Your Kid is Sick for Her Party…What To Do?

Well, it’s the “Dog Days” of summer I imagine most people are off at the beach or enjoying some respite before the Autumn madness kicks in of heading back to school, coordinating after school activities, and, of course, all of those looming holidays! And for good cause…it’s hot out there.

Well, if you have a party planned and it is over-the-top hot where you live, here are some ideas to keep it cool:

• Find a shady spot at the park for the venue.
• Water always works, either a water balloon fight with a slip and slide at home or an actual pool party or trip to a water park would be excellent choices.
• Take your party to an air conditioned venue, such as a bowling alley, Children’s Museum, etc.
• Schedule your party late in the afternoon when it is cooling off. This is particularly a good idea if kids are a bit older and you don’t have to worry about naps.
• Serve cool treats, such as fresh fruit, frozen fruit sticks, ice cream, popsicles, etc.
• Plan more crafts rather than run around activities to keep kids from overheating.

Happy Chill’n at your upcoming party!

• Quick Tip: Coolers Keep Food Warm!
• Cool Birthday Treats
• Pre-Prom Party Tips
• Forums -Can I link to my website when I post?

Kids who are a bit zany and within the age range of 7 to 10 years old will love the idea of a Backwards Bash! Although it seems easy, it may require more thought than the normal forward party planning you normally do. Don’t be surprised if you find you are thinking a lot about this mixed-up theme. Still, here are some ideas to get you started!

This is also a really unique party that can be done on a small budget. Although it does not require a great deal of money, it is likely to be a favorite party as it is so wacky and fun!

Send out “Thank You” cards for the invitations. Or, on a regular invitation, use mirror image, so the wording appears backwards. Ask everyone to wear that clothes backwards, and/or inside out.

Greet everyone with “Goodbye! Thanks very much!”

Start the party, by giving out the goody bags! These could include a T-shirt with the letters of the guests or the party t-shirt spelled backwards.

Spell out “Happy Birthday” on the cake backwards!

Play “Pin the Donkey on the Tail.”

Play “Guess how many candies are in the jar?” The person who is furthest away from the actual number, Wins!

Have a limbo competition, but rather than going under the pole, have everyone jump over the pole!

Have a scavenger hunt with the list of items spelled backwards.

Have relay races and an obstacle course where the kids have to run backwards.

Play Backwards Charades. Place a picture on the designated person, and have the group act out the charade.

Serve upside down cupcakes with the candle sticking through the cupcake holder.

Have the kids sing Happy Birthday Backwards. Use trick candles!

Serve soda cans upside down with a straw poking through the bottom.

When guests depart, make sure to say, “Hello! Long time no see!”

Send an invitation as the thank you note!

• Farewell To Summer
• Breakfast Birthday Food
• Bowling Favors
• Funny Dinner Party