Somewhere Over the Rainbow Party Theme

One of my favorite cousins is planning a party for her little girl's 4th birthday. Her daughter has requested a "Wizard of Oz" theme.

Since I live for opportunites to brainstorm overly themey kid party ideas, I have jumped on this opportunity to supply her with some unsolicited party planning tips. So, strap on your seatbelts, here we go:

Invitations
It's pretty easy to find rainbow printer paper at office supply stores, Wal-Mart, and Target. Even easier, an evite might do the trick!

Here's a sample wording idea to give either invite that "Oz" touch:

Calling All Munchkins!
Follow the yellow brick road to _____'s 4th Birthday!
at the Emerald City
123 Main Street
Sometown, MA 01234
RSVP to the Great and Mysterious Oz at
emailaddress@email.com or 781-555-5555.

Or, search for "wizard of oz invitations" at ebay and etsy for some adorable custom invites.

Party Supplies

Make your own using rainbow-colored decorations and red glittery confetti, or buy decorations at the local party store (they're easy to find).

Alternatively, you can order online at places like http://www.birthdayexpress.com/.

Click here for Birthday Express coupon codes.

Be warned, if you order from them, you will receive enough catalogues in the future to kill 10 redwood trees!

Activities

• Rainbow Pinata: Quick, easy, affordable fun. Who doesn't love a pinata?
• Craft: Decorate wands, make lion masks out of paper plates, or make lollipop scarecrows.
• Coloring Pages: Click here for free Wizard of Oz coloring pages.
• Games: Limbo under the wicked witch's broom, play the magic wand goes round and round (instead of a ball, pass a sparkly good witch wand), or freeze dance to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" or "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Ambiance

• Music: Use Grooveshark or Playlist to create a Wizard of Oz playlist, or play the movie on your tv.
• BUBBLES! It would be pretty cool to rent or borrow a bubble machine to place outside your front door when the guests arrive (in honor of Glinda the Good Witch, of course).
• Costumes: If you have 'em, wear 'em! If you don't, they are pretty cheap and easy to find, as they are very popular at Halloween. Check e-bay and your local party store or thrift shop.

Cake

We bought this rainbow cupcake pull-apart cake from our local Shaws for Chicky's 5th birthday. It was a big hit and easy to serve. For a Wizard of Oz flare, eliminate the party hats and add some figurines or tiny ruby slippers.

Here's a link to some homemade Wizard of Oz cake ideas.

Or, you can check out your local supermarket. I am pretty sure I have seen a pretty cute Dorothy cake in the sample books.

Favor Ideas

• Swirly large Lollipop Guild-style pops.
• Sparkly wands (check the Christmas Tree Shops, as they regularly have them there for very affordable prices).
• Bubbles
• Little baskets (Toto style) filled with treats (e.g., Wizard of Oz stickers, little stuffed dogs, Wizard of Oz fruit snacks, rainbow anything, etc.).

Best wishes for an Ozalicious party! Send the birthday girl our best!

A Fire Fighter Fourth for Fresh

Freshy has been loving fire fighters ever since they visited his preschool a few months back. It was his idea to have a party at the fire station!

I felt silly, but called the local fire department to ask if it would be possible to bring the kids by to climb on a truck, or even to take some pics with one. The generous Lieutenant invited us all down for a behind the scenes tour. It was fantastic (and FREE, except for a small donation that they didn't even ask for)!

The fire fighters taught us about fire safety and also gave us a full run down of each of the rooms and vehicles.

Each of the kids got to slide down the pole (1/2 way)!

After the party we had a pinata and cake at our house. Not only was this a fun and affordable party, we all learned a lot, too!


Thank you, Windham Fire Department and Fire Fighter Pat!

Five Tips for a Super Affordable Superhero Birthday Party

Freshy loves Batman, Spider Man, Super Man, and many other heroes. He could not choose between them when it came time to throw his 3rd birthday party, so we went with a generic superhero theme. We threw a small house party that was both affordable and tons of fun for the kids. Here are some tips that made our party a "super" success.

Tips:

1. Create an invitation that is shaped like a superhero logo or typed up like a newspaper headline. Use creative wording to get your guests in the spirit. Ours said "Holy cake and icecream, Batman! Freshy is turning 3! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to report to Superhero Headquarters for a party." For extra fun you can add the following caveat "Superhero costumes optional." Most of the kids came to our party in old Halloween costumes, superhero pajamas, and really creative homemade numbers. Even some of the adults got in on the action:



Super Auntie and A Man



2. Download superhero theme songs to play at your party (e.g., Batman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman, The Incredibles, etc.). This really brought the party to life and set the atmosphere when guests arrived.


3. For decorations, use posterboard to create comic book-style text star bursts (e.g., pow, bam, boom, zap, and kablam) and hang them around the house or party room. The Minis enjoyed creating these decorations and were very proud to show them off at the party.


4. Create a list of missions (an agenda for the party) to hang on the wall for guests to see when they arrive. This was a big hit at Freshy's party, and it helped keep the party rolling. I used military times, and worded everything to sound like a mission (e.g., the activity coloring sheets was worded "help the superheroes locate their missing colors."). I ended the list with "Collect a reward for completing the missions. Great work supereheroes!"


5. Play some super games! We had a Mr. Freeze dance contest, played pass the kryptonite (we used a glow stick), and pin the webs on Spiderman (store bought). I also had coloring sheets (printed for free off of the internet) for the kids to color while we waited for guests to arrive. The grande finale was a Batman pinata (I told the kids that Batman's evil twin had "captured the energy bits" and he needed their help to free them).

Happy 3rd Birthday, Master Freshy Pants! SMOOCH! Love you to the moon & back!

Five Tips for a Fabulous & Affordable Dress-up Tea Party

There's nothing I love more than planning a party, and one of the most fun (and also most affordable) parties I've ever planned was Chicky's 3rd birthday dress-up tea party. Here are five tips for planning your own outrageously fun and adorable dress-up tea party, without breaking the bank:

1. Make or order custom invitations.

I am anti-store-bought-write-in invites. I like the invitation to show how special and unique the party is going to be, and to offer a glimpse of the fun to come. I almost always order custom invites or make them myself.

My two favorite sites for good deals on custom invites are http://www.ebay.com/ and http://www.etsy.com/.

Here is an example of a cute invite I found on ebay (similar to the invite I used for Chicky's party): Click to view Suit Me to a Tea found on ebay for $1.25/invite.

Here's a link with cute ideas for homemade tea party invites that look like this:

TIP: Use scraps from old birthday, Easter, and Valentine's Day cards to cut the tea pots!

2. Keep the food simple and pretty.

Instead of cucumber tea sandwiches and scones, I opted for these kid friendly alternatives:

• Heart-shaped peanut butter and jelly, fluffernutter, and jelly sandwiches.
  TIP: Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter, or order a Love Bites sandwich cutter/sealer at http://www.mominventors.com/.
• Sugar cookies (we made dairy-free frosted butterfly cookies)
• Fruit salad (yummy, yummy!)
• In lieu of tea, serve apple juice, grape juice, or punch

3. Use household items to create a beautiful decor.

A fancy table is all that is needed for a tea party. I used a hand-me-down pink floral table cloth. If you don't have one laying around, check e-bay or thrift shops for something in a girly color or lace. A $2 pack of paper doilies can also add to the look. To further decorate the table buy or cut some fresh flowers to place in the center or to scatter in mini vases or other fun containers. Rather than spend $50 on party store paper goods, use stuff from around the house to achieve a fancy feel and save a lot of money. Then, just add the food and a tea set (toy or real) and the look is complete.

4. Add some girly fun with crafts and dress-up activities.

• Put out a bin of dress-up clothes that can be either your own child's princess costumes, fairy wings, tiaras, and feather boas, or your own old high heels, costume jewelry, scarves, etc. In the wording of the invite suggest that the guests wear their favorite dress-up clothes.
• Serve the tea! The "tea party" itself was the biggest hit at Chicky's party. The girls loved sipping tea and passing each other cookies and sandwiches.
• Paint wooden jewelry boxes--I found small wooden boxes with a heart cut-out frame at Michael's for $1. I set up a low table with sponges and various pastel-colored paints.
• Make beaded necklaces and bracelets.

5. Make a tea bag-shaped party favor bag.
Buy white paper bags (lunch bag size) and fold the sides over and the top down and staple. Add a piece of yarn or string, and a tag to hang off the end. Write each child's name on the tag. Pre-assemble the craft kits and place in the bag as their favors.