Happy Autumn To You!
Happy Autumn to You! The kids are back in school, the apple trees are ready for picking, the nights are chilling...it's that time of year again. You may find your kids' parties move indoors...we've got you covered with fun ideas. Still, a nature walk outdoors this time of year is full of delightful discoveries and an easy plan to pull together too.
Lisa has been out and about promoting her book "Dear
Peppers and Pollywogs..." from interviews on kids' parties to showcasing an oceanic party plan and beyond, it's been a blast all over the country. Check out this clip from Seattle's Northwest Afternoon TV Show...it's a true hoot!
Finally, Card Central now not only has 14 artists and 80 designs, but also is offering card fulfillment too. Customize your card and we will print and ship them to you in three business days. Check out the great designs ~ many on offer for the Autumnal season too!
Enjoy fall and take some inspiration from our kids' party ideas this season!
Autumn Fun Already?
 Well, it may be 95 degrees outside, but I am already receiving party questions regarding the upcoming fall season! This is not a plan for a Halloween party, but rather for the traditional season of fall. If your kid is having a party in early to mid-October, this is an excellent theme.
For invitations, Cut out leaf shapes or autumn harvest shapes and either place them on card stock and include all of the information inside. Paint/Decorate mini-pumpkins for crafts that the kids can take home as favors.
For activities, bob for Apples, have a Pumpkin Roll Contest, or divide the kids into two teams and provide a pumpkin to each team. Have the kids roll it to one end and back and pass it along to the next person.Throw a Hula Hoop around a large pumpkin.
If you have bales of hay, have the kids jump over the bales of hay as an obstacle relay race or Enjoy a Hay Ride if at a farm.
An outdoors scavenger hunt is a popular idea for this time of year.
Comprehensive party plans and menu ideas for this theme can be found
here.
Back To Nature!
If your kid is particularly fond of the woods! A Back To Nature party is easy
to put together at the last minute, can accommodate anywhere from a few kids to
many, and is quite budget-friendly.
The main activity will be a nature hike. Have the kids explore
and find rocks, nuts, twigs, leaves, They can record their findings in small notebooks
with pencils. If some kids are interested in sketching, encourage them to draw trees
and animals that they find along the path. An easy keepsake is a rock or twig that
they may find. Practice being quiet and listening to the woods come alive. Birds,
squirrels, the rustling of the trees, perhaps some wind will all begin to palsy
their tune to tickle your ears!
With older kids, enjoy a scavenger hunt. Make a design on the ground using birdseed.
This can be anything that they kids want to design, but afterwards the birds and
squirrels will be able to get their fill as they prepare for winter!
Take trail mix along for a hearty snack and
plenty of water bottles too!
[more ...]
Sponsor Tip: Musical Party
 Children of all ages dream of becoming superstars. So, whether you’re planning a
party for a toddler or a preteen, a celebration that’s geared around music is sure
to be a hit! Play Name That Tune (one child is the DJ,
everyone else in one of two teams. Have the DJ play a few bars of a familiar
song. If a team knows the song, they should ring the bell and say the song name)
They're Playing Our Song! (Invite the kids to take turns
lip-synching the words to their favorite songs, and have the group vote on who's
the most convincing artist!) or Song Charades (kids take
turns using actions (no words) to depict a popular song title. The first child to
guess the song name acts out the next title.)
Turn a room in your home into a discotheque! Decorate it with
star-shaped balloons,
colorful streamers,
and big musical notes cut out from black construction paper. Hang stars on the walls,
and write your guests’ names on the stars; place a larger star with the guest of
honor’s name on it in the middle of the other stars, and head it with the message
“The Star of Our Show.”
Choose
musical party favors
for your guests based on their ages. For younger children, consider giving out mini
tambourines, recorders, and bubble trumpets. Older children will likely enjoy favor
items such as magic microphones, star-shaped cookie cutters, directors’ clapboards,
maracas, candy, and personalized bag tags.
About the Sponsor: Birthday in a Box offers a wide variety
of children’s party supplies including
basic partyware,
decorations,
party favors and
personalized items in
over 100 party themes featuring everything from
licensed characters to
baby shower designs!
A Mall Scavenger Hunt
 This is a great idea for a 13 year old’s party. Dividing them into two teams to
complete the scavenger hunt would be fun as the kids can work together to find the
stuff.
Provide kids with one clue at a time, let them go out and find it, coming back to
get the next clue. The clues can be anything you want. Give them a set amount of
money, and then provide the clues. These can range from: find a farm animal, an
item that says “whatever” on it, etc. Also, you can tell the kids to not let the
items be “junky” as these will be the “goodies” that are taken home at the end.
So, they want to get the nicest thing for the least amount of money. A further incentive
being that the team with the most amount of money left over will get to keep their
change.
You could also give the kids a list of things that are free in the shops. For example,
a business card, a job application, a plastic bag from the store, etc. For this
portion of the hunt, you could provide this list to the teams, and the first one
back to the table with the “free” stuff, would win something special, i.e. lip balms
or something that you can hand out to every member of the team.
If you are thinking about asking them to do something, you could have them ask an
employee where the bathroom is in the mall or where the food court is. Even funnier,
have them ask these questions to employees in stores obviously close to the bathroom
or food court. You could also have them sing a song in the mall together (since
they may be shy as individuals) or skip down the center of the malls with arms entwined.
Silly stuff like that would be fun and could be done together.
[more...]
A Hotel Birthday Party
 Hotels may serve as a good overnight destination for a slumber party, especially
if you don’t want your house all messed by a group of pre-teen boys and/or girls.
If you decide to take a group pf kids to a hotel overnight, it will be a thrill
for kids from the ages of 9 to 14. This can be especially popular venue if your
child wants a swim party, and their birthday falls in the middle of winter!
Also, in the invitation make it clear where the overnight slumber party will
take place and make sure to have the parents’ contact information readily
available. Swimming will wear the kids out, and so when they return to the room,
you can provide dinner (make it easy and order pizza!) and there
can be the traditional birthday candles and cake.
Hotel parties will be fun, as it is quite sophisticated to go to a hotel for a party
with your friends. Keep close watch, have fun, and enjoy!
[more...]
Q: Will Halloween Overshadow Baby's First Birthday?
 When your child’s birthday lands on or close to Halloween, it is almost inevitable
to have a Halloween themed party, or even an “Autumn” themed party. if you have
only a few little ones attending, your child will not be overwhelmed. Most often,
one year olds are dressed in a little soft pumpkin outfit as their costume…so, I
don’t think that will be too much to take in. Yet, sensitivity to “Is this holiday
overshadowing the birthday celebration” is quite good, however, as in future times
your kid may want to do something totally different off of Halloween and you will
be ready for it!
[more...]
|
