Sesame Street Party - Fun with Oscar and Big Bird!

Sesame Street has been on TV for ever – a lot of young adults grew up with it and plenty of kids watch it now. A great educational and entertaining show, it is based around several recurring characters with particular types of personalities that teach children different things. A Sesame Street party is a great idea for a younger children’s fancy dress party since there are a lot of great characters to dress up as.

Invitation cards should not be a problem, with packs readily available at stationery or department stores. Food can also be varied and of your own choice, except that you should be sure to include cookies for the cookie monster and Ernie. As props, you can rent some puppets and costumes of Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird to use around the party room. You can make a cardboard cut out green street sign with Sesame Street written on it just like in the show. Put one in the foyer leading to the living room or just outside the door, or even both.

Find colored pictures of Sesame Street characters online and print them out. Cut these out and paste or hang them around the room and in the bathroom your guests will use. Add Sesame Street merchandise that is easily available in stores and games themed around the show. Kids will love and remember the great Sesame Street party especially if you can dress up as Big Bird and go around talking to or playing with them or handing around the food.

With a bit of creative flair, you can plan a Sesame Street party that your little ones and their friends will thoroughly enjoy. The variety of characters on Sesame Street means that the only limits are your budget and your imagination.

Spider Man Party - The New Web Walking Superhero

Spiderman is one of the world’s most popular superheroes. With the release of the third installment of the hugely popular movie series, Spidermania is here to stay. A favorite with people young and old, many have memories of reading the classic comic strip and wondering what Spidey would get up to next. On that note, a Spiderman theme makes for a fun party, and not just for the tiny tots. Spiderman theme parties can be hugely successful, whether for kids or as a Halloween theme for adults.

As a backdrop for a Spiderman party, you can make a “web” out of silk thread. As an alternative, ready-made artificial spiders’ web is readily available from costume shops; some even stock glow-in-the-dark webs. This makes for a great atmosphere and great photo opportunities.

Make sure that everything, including drinks, is in red and blue. This can be done by adding food color and for alcoholic drinks, blue Curacao. Another idea is to use cut outs of Spiderman around the house. There is plenty of Spiderman merchandise available at party shops and department stores, such as soap, candles, paper lanterns, etc. Use these to spice up your Spiderman party.

For a children’s party, a variety of games can be tweaked to suit the Spiderman party theme. Alternatively, coming up with a few of your own games – preferably active ones – isn’t too hard with a theme like Spiderman.

With a bit of flair, organizing a Spiderman party is a breeze. Use the ideas above and let your imagination run wild; your party guests will surely thank you.

Shark Tales Party Theme for a Kids Birthday at the Pool or Beach

The success of Shark Tale, the movie, starring greats like Robert DeNiro and Will Smith has made this flick a favorite for both adults and kids. Having a Shark Tales party is a great way to bring the theme to life.

Turn off all the lights and put in a blue lamp that makes the whole room look like its underwater. Bring in some planters with tall leafy plants in them. Beg, borrow, steal or simply use the ones in your garden. Surround these with sea pebbles or any smooth round stones. If you have any seashells, you can place them on tables and next to the bathroom sink. Add a fish bowl or two if you can get one.

For a Shark Tales party use a lot of seafood snacks (it’s a fish eat fish world out there) such as shrimp cocktails, fish hors d’oeuvres or simply fish fingers if it’s a kiddy party. Use a cookie cutter mold shaped like a fish for making cookies for the kids or the base for a hors d’oeuvre out of flour or bread slices. Bake or deep fry the base before adding the topping, which could be minced fish.

Invites are easily available at any department or stationery store. If it’s a fancy dress party, you can rent costumes to dress like a sea creature. If not, you can dress for the beach in a colorful shirt and shorts or skirt. Add a bubble machine at the front door to greet your guests as they come in. Hang up a pair of flippers just over the front or bathroom door and suspend a snorkeling mask from a hook or door frame. Go ahead and swim with the Sharks!

Teens and Kids Pajama Party - Secrets, Snacks and Sleepovers

You’re never too old for a pajama party! Giggling with the gang, snacking on chips, ice cream and junk food you’d never ordinarily top up on; good memories from a more innocent time. For any teen or adult who wants to have their friends over for a sleepover, it can be a great idea to plan for a successful night of fun.

One important aspect of any slumber party is choosing what to watch. Younger partygoers might like to watch movies, or a show they all like. For older partygoers, nothing is quite as much fun as watching the old sitcoms we all grew up with. They’re a great way to reminisce and bring back memories.

Make sure there are plenty of snacks for midnight kitchen raids. You know you are going to get those hunger pangs so it’s a good idea to plan ahead and have some great party snacks ready. Make up platters of snacks with chips and dip and chocolate cake. These are absolute favorites for any pajama party guest.

Pick out a pretty set of pajamas for yourself so you don’t look like a mismatched mess. And don’t forget the beauty products so you and your guests can enjoy a night of pampering each other.

A pajama party is a great way to have fun and catch up on all the gossip with friends. More importantly, you can relax, enjoy the company of your friends and reminisce about your younger days.

Murder Mystery Party - Hosting a Frightfully Good Night

Murder mysteries are one of the highest selling genres of books in the market. The thrill of suspense and partial knowledge entraps many teens and adults. Agatha Christie is the world’s highest selling novelists on the strength of her numerous murder mysteries in print. The most famous detective is known the world over – Sherlock Holmes, of course. Turning this classic genre into a murder mystery party is sure to be popular with both teenagers and adults.

The atmosphere and decorations for the murder mystery party depend on the location of the murder. Ideas include a cruise ship, casino, jungle or castle. Simple effects with lighting, props, streamers and artificial cobwebs can really contribute to the atmosphere.

Any good murder mystery party needs good characters. With the party invitations, send out a character description for each guest. This way they can organize a costume, and act the part when they arrive. The role of ‘murderer’ also has to be assigned once guests arrive, preferably in a discrete but random manner (for example finding a sticker on the back of their place-card). The ‘murder’ has to take place early on in the evening; the victim can be a murder mystery party guest, or even a blow-up doll with fake blood-stains!!

Games played during the night should revolve around gathering clues to solve the murder. ’20 Questions’ and ‘Never Ever’ both work well. Other games can be tweaked to fit the theme.

Executed well, a murder mystery party can be loads of fun for both teenagers and adults. The ideas above are just a start. Being creative with characters and setting will only add to the success of your party.

Free Baby Shower Games

Finding decent free baby shower games to use at your next baby shower is can be difficult to do. The first thing you should do is look back at the last baby shower you attended and take ideas from that. The next step is to use the internet to find more games that you can use. Many people simply use Google or some other search engine and type in "free baby shower games" and see what comes up. While this can be a good resource another great resource it to search in some of the social book marking sites such as del.icio.us or technorati.com and see what comes up.

Since these social book marking sites are posted to by average internet users these usually are great ways to find games that many other people are sharing with others. Look for those items that have been book marked by multiple people and given good ratings. Those should be the first ones you look at since many have recommended them to you. If it does not look like the first one that comes up is right for you or your guests go on to the next. It will take a little work and some time, but in the end you should be able to find a few sites that have some great free games.

Once you have found a site with some free baby shower games you have to make sure you read through them very well and print them out if you can as well. Many of the free games online are of very low quality and either look really bad or are nor usable at all. Too many times I have seen people just searching for the games and putting them together without checking them and being embarrassed in front of the crowd.

If you are short on time and need to get some great baby shower games I would suggest looking into some of the low cost packages you can find online. While they are not free they are usually guaranteed to be high quality and usable right away.

Baby Shower Clipart

When you throw a baby shower, it's really great to get a nice theme going. I find the easiest way to do this is to find some baby shower clipart that looks great, but isn't too complicated.

I take the clipart and then print it out in various sizes for how I want to use it. I can drop it off at the cake decorator's so that she can make me a cake with that pattern. Then, I email a copy to my husband's work so that he can print out a few copies in a larger format. These become cut outs that I place on the walls... almost like a logo.

There are so many ways to use it... print on a brown paper and you can wrap coffee cups, print on regular or colored paper and then use scrapbooking die cuts to fancy up the edges for a doily effect, or, resize the clipart to small, convert it to a gray and print a repeating pattern on the paper which can even be used to wrap small presents, or as placemats, even origami!

Some people might shy away from clipart because they don't think of it, or they think it's too much work. If you find the clipart in a clipart book that will be too much work and it won't look good because you'll have to use a photocopier to resize it and then the quality degrades.

The type of clipart that I use is important for all of the different effects that I'm creating. It needs to be a vector drawing for sure, as non-vector drawings are bitmaps that don't resize nicely... they'll just get all bumpy and not look good. Also, I'm drawn to simply line art because if it's too complex sometimes it doesn't look as good in the different sizes. It's also good if it's a single color, usually black, because then I can change it to whatever I want quite easily just using simple graphics software. Just remember, simple is better, is cleaner, and usually creates a more sophisicated look.

Baby shower clipart is easy to find and use. Just be creative!

Baby Shower Invites

Personally made baby shower invites are great when you are planning a baby shower for a unique person. Your guest of honor will truly appreciate the effort and will make a huge impact on your guests as well.

Making your own baby shower invites is not as hard as you might think and there are several options that you can consider. There are many kits available or you can create the entire note by hand.

If you are really creative, you can even make the paper for your baby shower invites. This option is for the more crafty type person and is certainly not necessary for the person who doesn't have the time or the talent.

If you are planning a special party for someone who is truly one-of-a-kind you might want to make your own baby shower invites. These crafty projects aren't nearly as difficult as they appear and you are sure to make a great impact on those you invite as well as the guest of honor.

There are a number of options that you can consider when you make your own baby shower invites. You can make the entire note by hand or you can choose from any number of kits available on the market. As someone who hosts a lot of parties I can attest that both approaches are fun and pretty simple.

You may want to really put heart and soul into the project and make your own baby shower invites with paper that you make from scratch. This is no easy task and is the one approach that I really do not recommend. I save this kind of craft for the professional. It is no way for a novice to begin.

Some people opt to buy special stationary for the invites as well. Using letter stationary is a great idea for someone who wants to put a new spin on inviting people to a baby shower or special occasion.

The kits are perfect for the novice and this is exactly where I got my start. When you make your own baby shower invites from a kit you are very likely to enjoy the whole experience. What I like about the process is it provides step-by-step instructions but still leaves you plenty of room to improvise.

Using your creativity is what makes the whole product extra special. You can put a lot of the guest of honor's personality into the project and you can take a number of approaches to personalizing the invites when you make your own baby shower invites. The options for creativity are vast when you use a kit.

However, the options for creativity are endless when you make your own baby shower invites from an original design. The great thing about this approach is that it is pretty much error-free. You can make your own baby shower invites that are of any shape and size and you can make ones specific to the person getting the invite.

This allows you to make personal notes to some of the guest that you normally would not be able to do if you work from a kit or from pre-made invites. When you make your own baby shower invites you are sure to send the message that you are really putting everything you have into the event.

Free Baby Shower Invitations

So you have volunteered to hold a baby shower for your girlfriend, co-worker or relative and you are determined to do a great job. One of the first things you will need to do is send out invitations to the guests. This is probably one of the most important parts of the whole process because you will want them to be impressed with the way your invitations look.

This is not somewhere you will want to cut corners, but if you don't have an unlimited budget like Paris Hilton, don't worry. You can still design a beautiful invitation without breaking the bank...but be prepared to spend some time!

One way to do this is to create a card template using Microsoft Word or whatever word-processing software you have on your computer. The easiest way to do this is probably to search for something like "free Microsoft Word card templates" or "free Microsoft Word invitation templates" on the Internet. You should find lots of choices, and Microsoft itself offers free templates.

The next step is to find a nice picture to put on the front of the invitation card. You can use the free clip art that is built into Microsoft Word itself. Go to the Insert menu, choose Picture and then Clip Art. You can also find tons of sites on the Internet that offer some good quality images for free.

Once you've found some pictures that you're happy with, you just insert them into the card template, and then choose a beautiful font from your word processing software, like the "Brush Script" font, and voila, you have a lovely baby shower invitation that will impress your guests!

You can then either print the cards yourself on proper card stock using a color printer, or, if you want better quality, you can get them printed at a print shop relatively inexpensively.

Survivor Theme Party - Don't Get Voted Off!

The first major American reality TV show and one of the most profitable at the time, the Survivor series has always been popular. If you love reality TV shows and are a Survivor fan, this is the ultimate TV party to have. The contestants on the show are left on a remote island and have to do some nasty stuff as they compete for survival in the game. Why don’t you give your guests a little taste of this at your Survivor party?

Make sure that you incorporate lots of party games that have a strong competitive streak and invite people who enjoy a little healthy competition. Individual challenges that involve slime, dirt and other delights are also fun. You can dress in the basic khaki and tees survival gear type clothing and ask your guests to come ready for adventure too. Serve only the very basic snacks and make sure people have to fight to get some. Do the party outdoors and have a barbeque – and you could even let your guests “catch” and cook their own food (such as a bucket of fish or shrimp), on a first in, first served basis.

You can add on touches like a rough rope and wood swing from a tree or a tire so people can relax after a good game. Put in an over-sized inflatable pool to give a real outdoorsy, wet and wild feel to your party. And most important – be competitive! A well-planned Survivor Party can be great fun, and a wonderful way for friends and family members alike to bond.

First Communion a Religious Celebration with Friends and Family

The sacrosanct ceremony of the first communion is one of great importance to every young boy and girl of Roman Catholic heritage. While some Protestant and Lutheran denominations also follow this ritual, it is more prevalent and associated with the Roman Catholic Church, being celebrated with greater pomp and fervor by this group. The word is a layman’s term for the child’s first consumption of the sacrament of the Eucharist, at around 7 or 8 years of age.

Classic methods are the best when getting ready for a first communion party. Traditionally, white is worn by girls, along with a veiled headdress and long or short white gloves. This symbolizes purity. Boys also wear special clothes that day and many families spend extravagantly on clothes for this day. Wearing a special gown or outfit that was worn by a mother, father, or sibling can be equally special.

Gifts to the child are conventional, and usually religious in nature such as rosary beads or prayer books. Invite the whole family and close friends since this is always a family event. You can organise a party at home, or even go out for a meal afterwards. Make sure you get lots of photos – with your family dressed up in their best clothes you can just click away!

Your child’s first communion is a wonderful occasion to share with your family and close friends. With a few simple tips you can turn it into something that will be remembered many years on.

21st Birthday - Time to Party Hard!

So you’re turning 21. You’re an adult now. You could drive and marry and now you can do another adult thing – have a beer. It’s the beginning of a new phase in your life. No more fake IDs torn up by disbelieving bouncers or cynical bartenders. The party’s only just starting and you know it. A word of caution before you begin to plan your big day – make sure that any under age party guests do not get access to alcohol at your party or you could be in serious trouble. Also ensure that you or your guests are not driving home after consuming alcohol that night.

OK, now let’s get back to planning a 21th birthday party. Make sure there are plenty of drinks and snacks to go around, get a big shiny disco ball, some great music and make space for dancing. A good drink idea is to have a big punch bowl and fill it up with potent liquid. Another drinking idea is to have jelly shooters, which are basically flavoured jell-o with half vodka, half water in the mix. You can pick a wild theme like 70’s flower children or slick 21st century urban club scene – the wilder the better! Make it even more fun by giving away small prizes for the best and worst dressed!

Remember to invite plenty of guests, because you only turn 21 once. Your 21st birthday is an occasion you’ll look back on fondly in the years to come.

Hostess Gifts - Selecting A Gift That Will Garner Appreciation, Not Dust

It’s only good manners to bring something when you’re a guest in someone’s home. Manners and good breeding aside though, buying that gift, especially if you don’t know your host very well, can be daunting. Here are some tips to keep in mind in order to give a gift that will end up in use, not in the back of a dark cupboard.

• Purchase Something Your Host Wants or Will Like

Duh, right? Believe it or not, most people buy others things they want themselves. We’re all guilty of it. If I have to buy a gift for someone who is not a book lover, I panic. Unless you want to have your gift propping up a wobbly table, take into consideration your host. Is there anything he or she has told you they enjoy, or particularly want?

• But What If I Don’t Know What My Host Wants or Enjoys?

Of course, there are situations where you really don’t know your host. Whether you’ve met them only once or twice, or never before, there are a few items you can rely on in a pinch. If your host entertains often, serving trays are always appreciated. If you fear your host may have too many trays already, consider a wooden cheese tray. One can never have too many wooden cheese trays, right?

• Wine

Wine is another old standby, but before you think you’re saved and run out to the liquor store, check to ensure your host drinks. The last thing you need is to hand a recovering alcoholic a bottle of wine. If you already know your host occasionally indulges, but aren’t sure what kind of wine they like, consider your favourites. Telling your host that you purchased your very favourite wine for them is a touching gesture, regardless of whether or not they like that particular vintage.

• Make a Basket

Blessed are the creative, in my opinion. If you have even the slightest bit of creativity inside you, consider creating a gift basket. Fill the gift basket with your favourite bath products, some wine, a candle, or anything else you can come up with! If you live in a rainy climate, even a compact umbrella will be a unique addition to the basket!

If you’re not creative yourself, hire a basket specialist or purchase a pre-made basket from your local department or drug store.

• Stay Away From Food

Many people suggest giving chocolate or cheese trays. If you don’t know your host very, very well, stay away from giving food. A box of chocolates sounds sweet (no pun intended), but if your host is on a diet, is a diabetic or a vegan, they won’t appreciate your gift. Your host could have dietary restrictions you don’t know about, so until you’ve had the oh-so-important “are you allergic to anything” conversation, it’s a good idea to steer clear of food.

• Gift Cards

Some people think gift cards are impersonal. I think they’re genius. There’s nothing like picking out something nice and not paying a dime for it. Spas, shoe stores, coffee shops, clothing stores, bookstores, hardware stores and iTunes are some great ideas for gift cards. If they host parties often, you could even get them a murder mystery game gift certificate for their next gathering! For Shot In The Dark Mysteries gift certificates, email mysterymaiden@shotinthedarkmysteries.com. Tuck your gift certificate into a nice greeting card and you have a nice gift!

• Deliver your Gift in a Decorative Box

Whatever your gift, put it inside a decorative box. Not only will it make your gift look nice, your host can also use it later for a photo box, or something else.

Remember, good manners cost nothing. Honour your good breeding by putting a bit of thought into a gift for your host. If you pick the right item, you’ll be sure to receive an invitation to the next bash!

First Birthday Party Ideas - Creating A Wonderful Memory For Your Child

Generally, parents are the most excited beings in the world when it comes to witnessing their child having the first birthday party ever. The baby's first birthday is one big reason as to why there is the need for a celebration.

But of course since the baby is not yet capable of logical and comprehensive thinking, he or she does not yet understand everything that you've planned. It is more of your own celebration as well as your family's and friends'. The baby may not yet understand all the commotions but he or she could at least feel the excitement that flutters around.

However, you need to exert all of your effort to mark a memorable event for the sake of your baby. You have to ensure that you keep some memories like photos and other significant materials so that when the time that he or she grows older, there is something to look back to. He or she would also remember the people who helped out in the pushing through of the celebration.

Here are some ways to cater to a long-term memory keepsake which you may want to consider.

1. Choose a first birthday cake idea that would showcase the transition of your baby. There are lots of first birthday cake ideas as offered by many birthday party specialty shops. You could even have a party planner so that the memory would really be worth looking back.

2. Collect pictures and place them in photo albums. You could create a scrapbook or save them in CDs or DVDs. Capture several photos of the moment and take a video footage. It would be nice to look back at these pictures and watch the videos every once in a while.

3. Save some birthday party keepsakes like the tissue, invitations, and the likes. These things would put together the puzzle for your child.

Aside from all these things, the first birthday cake idea would surely emphasize the theme of the celebration. As your child looks back on this occasion several years after, he or she would fondly instill in his mind the fun, excitement, and laughter of celebrating his first year birthday with the people who loved him or her most.

Kid Birthday Cakes - Are You Ready For Success?

What's the most popular event at any kid birthday party?

Here's a hint

At your child's party everyone gathers around it.

Here's another hint

It's colorful, covered in yummy icing and has candles on top.

You guessed -- it's your child's birthday cake.

So if your child's birthday cake is the most important event at your child's party, that means the cake you put together has to be really special.

Oh the pressure

Because your kid birthday cakes are so important, you have to give yourself at least a little time to think about what kind of cake your child will like. If this is your child's first birthday cake, you don't need to be as concerned about what your one year old will like, but you should match your cake to your party theme.

Imagine just the right cake

Now let's take a look at how you can easily put together a cake that will make everyone say "wow!" and one that you and your child will happily remember for years to come.

In today's hurry up world it may be tempting to just pull out the check book or plastic card and buy a professionally decorated cake.

But that can be darn right expensive and it keeps you from having the real pleasure of lovingly putting together something for your child from your own heart. And that's more important than any cake your money can buy.

So before you give-in to the temptation to just buy your way out of this one, consider the following.

You can easily compromise by picking up a ready-made cake with basic decoration, then you can add your own cake toppers and/or edible cake art images that match your theme. And by adding these fun decorations you're putting together your child's birthday cake.

Your child will love their cake and you'll enjoy creating just the right look for their cake.

You can discover a huge selection of fun cake toppers and edible cake art images for your kid birthday cakes that will match a wide variety of themes by visiting a popular online party store. For more information, just follow the link at the end of this article.

Decorations for kid birthday cakes like cake toppers can also be used as toys or collectibles long after the cake is gone. And that's a nice, money saving plus.

If you're not familiar with edible cake art images, these are very easy to use. You simply place your selection flat on top of your cake and in a short time the edges will blend right into your frosting. These images are colorful and are produced by professionals so the end result will look just like a professional decorated your cake.

So give yourself a little time, decide on your child's birthday theme, go online and choose a cake topper and/or the edible cake art image that fits your theme, pick up a ready-made cake and you've got yourself a winner.

Imagine the look on everyone's face, especially your child's face when you bring out their special cake with it's candles glowing above the colorful frosting and that fun cake topper and edible art.

And you can be so proud that you put it all together. You created your child's special event - a birthday cake you can be proud of and one your child will really love.

The most popular event at any birthday party is the cake. And your kid birthday cakes will be a big hit with just a little planning and a fun bit of creativity.

Now just what kind of cake do you think your child will really enjoy?

Do You Make These Five Mistakes Hosting Your Afternoon Tea Party?

An afternoon tea party owes its roots to Anna Russell, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford, who began a simple event with friends in the 1840's. The idea caught on with more royalty and soon even the working class held tea parties across London. These tea parties are still very popular today across the world and carry proper, formal traditions.

Having your own tea party is a great way to connect with friends, family and neighbors. However, you can be easily embarrassed if you don't watch out for five common mistakes. When you hold your tea party, do you make these five mistakes?

Invitations: What Not to Say
If you want your guests to arrive prepared, make sure their invitation states that they are invited for an afternoon tea party. Don't put down the wrong date or the wrong time. Don't invite your guests for a cup of coffee. A tea party serves tea. It may seem silly to point this out, but you would be amazed how easy people get off track.

Timing: When Not to Schedule the Tea Party
Don't schedule the tea party in the morning or evening, or even the early afternoon. Depending on the region, afternoon tea is served from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Henry James wrote, "There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as an afternoon tea." Make sure to schedule the party at an afternoon time that will give your guests a chance to take a break during a busy day and socialize with each other.

What Not to Drink
Don't serve coffee, lemonade, wine, beer or other drinks at your tea party. You would be surprised how often an afternoon tea party is planned without thought to the beverage that will be served, the tea. Since there are different tastes, offer your guests a wide range of black teas from around the world. Make sure that you have enough tea to go around; don't be embarrassed by not having enough to drink. Keep your guests' tea cups full of tea, your trays filled with delectable treats, and be a gracious hostess.

What Not to Eat
Don't serve pizza, popcorn, cotton candy, spaghetti or other entrees at your tea party. Traditionally, a full Afternoon Tea serves very light, delicious and small treats, like tea sandwiches, cookies, scones, cucumber slices, and even sardines. An afternoon tea party should include a variety of bite-size, dainty sandwiches with the crusts removed, a variety of home made cakes and pastries, freshly baked scones with whipped cream and jam.

What Not to Use
Don't set out styrofoam or paper cups and expect to please your guests. And if you have a motley collection of tea cups, keep them in the cupboard. An afternoon tea is a formal affair, so it's time to put out your finest china, shined silverware and best linens. If you would like a memorable tea party, when you invite your girlfriends, ask them to bring their favorite tea cup and saucer.

Steer clear of these five mistakes and your guests will have a pleasant time at your party. Lastly, don't get caught up so much in the details that you forget to have fun. An afternoon tea party is a social event for you to bond with your friends. Make sure to drink deeply of the gift of your relationships.

Make Your Girl's Birthday Party A Celebration Fitting For A Princess

If you are a parent of a little girl who believes she is a princess, the best time to indulge her royal fantasy is to treat her like one during her birthday. If you decide to have your girl become a little princess on her birthday then, here are several birthday party ideas to put together.

Set the stage for your princess' court

1. You can have a castle decorated with balloons and streamers painted in pastel colors

2. Cover the chairs to be used for the party with swatches of pink fabrics. It may depend on the favorite colors of your little girl. Tie a large bow across the backs of the chairs using tulle.

3. Set the party table with table clothes colored pastel yellow with matching pink napkins. It will make a pretty picture to bind the napkins with a ribbon bow of yellow color.

4. In your "royal invitation" tell your little girl's guests to don their prettiest dresses

Activities for the princess celebrant and her royal guests during the party

1. As each of your little princess' guests arrive, give them a little feather boa to wound around their shoulders. You can also give them colorful plastic jewelries that you can purchase at some party shops.

2. You can begin the birthday party with a handicraft activity. Purchase some solid colored, cone party hats and an array of assorted gems, feathers and confetti that can be stuck on the hats. Have the girls create their own hats with these.

3. You can have several variations of parlor games played in the princesses' version, like "Pass the frog" for "hot potato", "Pin the shoe" and "Princess May I?", a rather royal twist on the game, "Mother, May I?"

4. Have a piñata filled with chocolate golden coins and other princess treasures and designed with rainbow colors. During the party, the princess can release the treasures inside to eat or take home.

5. For food and refreshments, it is best to be consistent by decorating and shaping the sandwiches, cookies and jellies into hearts and stars. Lemonade is a preferable drink and as a finale, a Cake with a Princess Castle.

Baby Shower Gift Ideas - Look For Practical Items

There is absolutely no dearth of choices as far as baby shower gift ideas are concerned. However, you need to base your decision on the practicality and usefulness of the baby shower gifts and you should make sure that the gifts selected by you would be useful to the parents-to-be as soon as the baby is born. Given below are a few common and time-tested baby shower gift ideas.

Baby Clothes

There are several items of clothing that are required by a baby as soon as it enters this world. You can select many practical items such as undershirts, sleepers, blankets, diapers, socks etc. However, you must select only such types that are easy to put on and remove from the baby. There shouldn’t be many buttons or snaps as these can be annoying at times for parents.

Baby Health Items

Since the health of the baby is of paramount importance, baby shower gift ideas in the field of health products would be ideal. You have a large choice in this field as you can find many such items in the stores. Such gifts include baby wipes, baby powder, q-tips, lotion, baby safety pins, scissors, nail file, baby thermometer, diapers and diaper bags, and hydrogen peroxide used to clean the umbilical cord.

Baby Feeding Items

One of the most practical baby shower gift ideas is to give baby feeding products. There are many such items to choose from, such as feeding spoon, bottles, bibs, baby formula, bottle holders, bottlebrush set, bottle sterilizers, breast pump, tipper cup, nipples, baby burp towels, bathrobes and plastic baby dishes. You should include plenty of similar brushes if you are including a bottle brush set. The feeding items could also include emergency baby food or formula supplies.

Bath Products

You should also consider bath products as baby shower gift ideas because they would be very useful baby shower gifts. Some of these items could include towels with hoods, baby lotions, soaps, shampoos, baby brushes, bath toys, washcloths, anti skid bathtubs, baby bath supports, etc. When you choose bath toys, you should make sure that you should only choose those toys that are appropriate for the age of the baby.

Baby Room Products

The other great baby shower gift ideas include baby room products. In this category, you can look for items such as wall pictures, stuffed animals, nursery lamp, dresser, changing table, piggy bank, bouncy seats, furniture, picture frame, ceramic items with the baby’s initials and gift certificates. You can also look for various types of toys that might be of interest to the baby.

The pregnancy of the mother-to-be needs to be celebrated as it is an important phase in the lives of the parents-to-be. Baby shower is such an occasion when the friends and relatives are invited to be a part of the pregnancy celebrations and they bring with them baby shower gifts for expressing their happiness and congratulating the expectant mother. You should try to devise unique baby shower gift ideas so that the gifts that you give are useful to the parents as well as to the baby. They will always remember you when they use your gifts.

Baby Shower Gift Ideas - Look For Practical Items

There is absolutely no dearth of choices as far as baby shower gift ideas are concerned. However, you need to base your decision on the practicality and usefulness of the baby shower gifts and you should make sure that the gifts selected by you would be useful to the parents-to-be as soon as the baby is born. Given below are a few common and time-tested baby shower gift ideas.

Baby Clothes

There are several items of clothing that are required by a baby as soon as it enters this world. You can select many practical items such as undershirts, sleepers, blankets, diapers, socks etc. However, you must select only such types that are easy to put on and remove from the baby. There shouldn’t be many buttons or snaps as these can be annoying at times for parents.

Baby Health Items

Since the health of the baby is of paramount importance, baby shower gift ideas in the field of health products would be ideal. You have a large choice in this field as you can find many such items in the stores. Such gifts include baby wipes, baby powder, q-tips, lotion, baby safety pins, scissors, nail file, baby thermometer, diapers and diaper bags, and hydrogen peroxide used to clean the umbilical cord.

Baby Feeding Items

One of the most practical baby shower gift ideas is to give baby feeding products. There are many such items to choose from, such as feeding spoon, bottles, bibs, baby formula, bottle holders, bottlebrush set, bottle sterilizers, breast pump, tipper cup, nipples, baby burp towels, bathrobes and plastic baby dishes. You should include plenty of similar brushes if you are including a bottle brush set. The feeding items could also include emergency baby food or formula supplies.

Bath Products

You should also consider bath products as baby shower gift ideas because they would be very useful baby shower gifts. Some of these items could include towels with hoods, baby lotions, soaps, shampoos, baby brushes, bath toys, washcloths, anti skid bathtubs, baby bath supports, etc. When you choose bath toys, you should make sure that you should only choose those toys that are appropriate for the age of the baby.

Baby Room Products

The other great baby shower gift ideas include baby room products. In this category, you can look for items such as wall pictures, stuffed animals, nursery lamp, dresser, changing table, piggy bank, bouncy seats, furniture, picture frame, ceramic items with the baby’s initials and gift certificates. You can also look for various types of toys that might be of interest to the baby.

The pregnancy of the mother-to-be needs to be celebrated as it is an important phase in the lives of the parents-to-be. Baby shower is such an occasion when the friends and relatives are invited to be a part of the pregnancy celebrations and they bring with them baby shower gifts for expressing their happiness and congratulating the expectant mother. You should try to devise unique baby shower gift ideas so that the gifts that you give are useful to the parents as well as to the baby. They will always remember you when they use your gifts.

Some Fun Cat in the Hat Party Games

Here are a couple of Cat in the Hat party games that can make any themed party fun and they are just as interesting as the Cat in the Hat.

The first game is called ‘Alibi’. In this game you choose two players to play the children who were left alone at home on that rainy day when the cat in the hat came. Their mother has come back home and the kids have to concoct a watertight alibi to explain what they were doing while she was gone.

Have the two players leave the room for ten minutes so they can get their stories straight and then call one of them back into the room and question the player about what happened. Then call out the other player and question that person about what happened when the cat in the hat was at the house. The point is to try and make the second player say something that doesn’t match what the other player says happened. If you can’t after five minutes of questioning both earn a point and you pick another two players to concoct their alibi’s. Anyone who manages to make it through the game with points wins and gets a treat.

The second game is called ‘Sardines’. This is a fun sort of hide-and-seek game for the kids. Pick someone to play the cat in the hat. You can give him/her a funny hat to go with the part if you like. Then have everyone else group up in pairs. Pick one pair to run off and hide while the rest of the players close their eyes and count to thirty. Then have the cat in the hat count an additional thirty while the rest of the paired players run off to look for the hidden pair of kids. The pairs that find the hidden kids must squeeze themselves into the hiding place with them.

So after a while you can imagine that the hiding space gets a bit crowded, but the paired groups aren’t allowed to hide anywhere except with the first hidden pair if they can find them. Meanwhile the Cat in the Hat will be set on the loose after he or she finishes counting and everyone must try to avoid him/her. Any pair tagged by the cat is out and the game ends when the cat finds everyone’s hiding place.

That's So Raven Party Games

A, That’s So Raven party will be a great theme for any girl who watches the television show. You’ll want to add some interest to the party with a couple of fun party games too.

The first game can be a simple True or False Trivia Game about That’s So Raven. The website has lots of information you can use for questions. Think about questions geared towards stuff the party guests are likely to know, such as the name of the star who plays Raven, and what happened in so and so episode.

To make the game more interesting you can have the group separate into two teams and make them face each other. At the end of the group place two chairs (make them sturdy) and label one the true chair and one the false chair. You will act as the game host and ask the true/false questions of each pair of players who are facing each other. Do this one pair at a time. When you finish asking the question about That's So Raven the pair must run towards the two chairs at the end of the group and sit in the one that correlates to the correct answer. Sometimes they both head for the same chair leading to a bit of a scramble. However that doesn’t mean that’s the right chair and the person who has to sit in the other chair may just end up getting the point for the right answer! After you tally points the two players head to the end of their group’s lines and the next two players move forward.

The next game is just a fun word game called, “Traveler’s Alphabet’ to test the noodles of your guests at this That's So Raven party. Have the players sit in a circle. Each player will take turns asking the person to their left two questions, ‘Where are you going?’ and ‘What will you do when you get there?’ The first person to be asked these questions must reply to each with only words that begin with the letter A. If they succeed in doing this without tripping up or taking more than ten seconds they get to ask the next person to their left the same two questions, to which this person must reply with only words that begin with the letter ‘B’ and so on. For example, “Where are you going?’, ‘Barbados’, “What will you do when you get there?” ‘Baffle Barbadian Boys.”

If you trip up you are out of the game and the circle gets smaller, this lasts until only one person is left the winner. Give them a prize that fits the That's So Raven theme.

Betty Boop Party Games

The Betty Boop party needs a couple of games that work for both the younger audience and the adult party.

For the first game we suggest for a Betty Boop party is a fun and easy, well maybe not so easy attempt at making a Pyramid. You’ll need at least six players. This game gets goofier with older players and the more players at the party. You can only usually get about maximum a twenty one person pyramid going before those on the bottom start getting really squished.

Remember when organizing the pyramid you should put the largest people on the bottom to act as the support. As the pyramid gets higher you’ll put smaller and smaller people on until the lightest person is placed on the top. You can call the lightest person, Betty Boop, to fit the party theme.

To make the pyramid a little easier to handle have everyone lie down instead of getting on their hands and knees. So for a pyramid of six people the bottom row of three people would lie on the grass, then the second row of two people would lie on top the three person base and the lightest top person would lie on top of the second row. Make sure you have enough room for a pyramid at the Betty Boop party to limit chances of accident.

The next game for the Betty Boop Party is a fun word game called, ‘Initial Answers’. You can assign personas to each of the guests if you like that correspond with some of the old time cartoon characters that starred with Betty Boop or just let guests use their own name. You start by asking the guests one at a time a simple question like, “What is your favorite food?” The guest has to answer with two words that begin with their intials. So Bob Deel might answer, ‘Boysenberry Donuts.’

If a player messes up or takes longer than five seconds to answer they become the question asker for the next round.

Under the Sea Kids Party Games

The Under the Sea Kids Party is often lots of fun for the kids and the parents at the party. You’ll need a couple of good games to keep everyone active and involved in the party.

The first game we recommend for the Under the Sea party is called, ‘Observation’. Its kind of a quick game but its fun and you’ll get trick your guests a little bit while you are at it. Have one of the adult or kid guests put on a variety of under the sea related clothes and accents. This must be done in a separate room so the other guests can’t see what’s going on! The clothes can be anything from a mermaid costume, to an eye patch, seashell necklace and captains hat. Then give them a tray filled with marine related items such as seashells, driftwood, etc.

Meanwhile the guests will be seated and given pieces of paper and pens/pencils. You’ll bring out the tray bearer and tell everyone to observe closely. Most people and kids will automatically assume they are supposed to remember what’s on the tray, but when you have the tray bearer leave you’ll tell them that you’ll be asking questions about the person holding the tray at the Under the Sea Party, not what’s on the tray! The winner is the person who gets the most questions right.

The second game that fits the Under the Sea party theme is a relay race called, ‘Fish Pool Relay’. For this game you’ll need to draw a chalk circle and make up three groups of 10 paper fish. Each group of ten should be a different color so you can assign teams and you can make the fish very simple oval shapes cut from construction paper. Also each team will need one paper fan.

Scatter the colored fish around the outside of the colored circle. Then have each of the three Under the Sea party teams line up equidistance from the circle and each other, say ten feet distance. Give the first person in each group a fan and at your ‘go’ have them run forward and try to fan as many of their assigned fish as they can into the circle. Each player has 15 seconds to fan then they must run back and give the paper fan to the next person in line. The winners are the group that manages to get all their colored fish fanned into the circle first.

Animal Party Games for the Kids

Animal party games can get a little out of hand if you are having the party inside, so make sure to move outside when taking part in these two suggested games!

‘Nose Ball’ is a fun race that all the kids will really get into. Everyone in the race pretends to be an animal of their choice and the must push a ping pong ball to the finish line with their nose. Why? Because as animal they can’t use their hands!

You’ll need enough ping pong balls for everyone in the animal party race to have one and you’ll need to set up a start line and a finish line with masking tape, string or a chalk line. The guests may have a little trouble keeping in a straight line with Nose Ball so you’ll want to space everyone fairly far apart. Don’t forget to take lots of pictures with the camera.

‘Farmyard Frolic’ is a game that can give the adults at the animal party a chance to rest. Have the party divide into groups of three or four. Each group must pick their own animal to pretend to be and the adult in the group gets to be the team leader. Before the party started you should have hidden a variety of special objects around the house and made a list of them. Make copies of this list so you can give one to each group.

Next have the team leaders sit in the animal party area while the groups of animals go off on their search. When an ‘animal’ has found one of the objects they must make the sound that their chosen animal makes, for example, if the chosen animal is a cow then the team player must moo. They do this until their team leader gets up and goes to retrieve the object from the player. The player cannot bring the object to the team leader; the team leader must go to the player, get the object and return to the couch. At the end of the hunt the team with the most objects wins. Hint: if you make the objects toys, games or candy then everyone wins at the animal party.

Fun Batman Party Games

Batman party games can be a great way to keep up the theme of the party. Here are a couple of great games that fit well with the winged crusader’s party plans.

The first game is often called ‘J’accuse’ but you can change the name to fit the Batman party theme. Perhaps something like ‘Gotham City Trial’ will fit better. Pick one person to be the accused at the trial and send them out of the room. Then gather everyone together and have the ‘witnesses’ make fake accusations of crimes the accused committed in Gotham City. Samples can be, ‘He collaborated with the Joker to steal my Doll from Batman.’ Or ‘She raided the Gotham City bank to get my allowance.’ Make sure to write down this list of accusations so you don’t forget and send for the accused to come back into the room.

Then read off the list of accusations to the accused at the Batman party and then tell them they must try to guess who made what accusation based on what was said. As soon as the accused gets one matched correctly they will be released and the person who was found out must be the next accused and is sent out of the room.

The next Batman party game, called ‘Zoom Bat mobile’ is fun for the kids while being a sit down game so the adults can get a chance to relax a bit. Have everyone sit in a circle. Tell them that the group is going to help the bat mobile get going so batman can stop villains. You’ll start the car by saying zoom and everyone else will keep it going by repeating zoom person to person around the circle. Then you’ll try and get the car into second gear by trying to pass the word along a little bit faster and a little bit faster. To stop the bat mobile any person can stick out their arms and yell ‘Eek!’ when the zoom gets to them. As soon as this happens though the bat mobile has to go into reverse. So the person, who just said zoom, must say it again and the person before that and so on until the bat mobile gets going at high speeds again.

Anybody can stop the bat mobile at any time. The only rule is that it automatically has to go into reverse. You’ll find the kids at the Batman party really get into the game and start having a lot of fun playing around with the imaginary bat mobile they got started.

Bat Mitzvah Party Games

Bat Mitzvah Party Games should be a mixture of active games for the kids and fun but sit-down games for the adults. I have a couple of great examples for you to use at your next Bat Mitzvah Celebration.

The first Bat Mitzvah game is called, ‘Word Association’ it’s a sit-down game and you’ve probably heard about it being used by doctors and therapists, but you can just use it for a fun activity that can just keep going until you run out of words. Besides you may just learn a little about your guests thought processes.

There are two ways you can play this fun Bat Mitzvah game. You can be the one to call out the words and your player replies with the first word they associate with it. Or for larger groups you can start with a word and the person to your left will call out the first word they associate with that word and the person to their left will call out the word they associate with that word and so on until the word gets back to you. This is just an interesting way to see how much difference there can be between the first word you give out and the words that are associated with it.

The next game is a standing game called, ‘Pass the Bat Mitzvah Parcel’. For it you’ll need music, a good prize and several bags or socks. Place the prize in one bag and place that bag into another and another until you have many layers for your parcel. The bigger your party's group the more layers you are going to need to make it fun.

Have everyone stand in a circle and give the wrapped parcel to one person. Then start the music and have them begin passing the parcel around the group. As soon as you stop the music the person holding the parcel gets to take off a layer. Then start the music up again. Keep this pattern up until the last layer is removed by the lucky winner of the Bat Mitzvah parcel.

Barbie Party Games for a Festive Event

Barbie Party Games should help those at the party, whether it’s a sleepover, or just a birthday party or both feel relaxed and happy. Here are a couple of good games to try.

My first suggestion for the Barbie party is called ‘Tell a Truth’. It’s a variation on the True or Dare game, without the unpleasant dares. You’ll need a ball of yarn. Tell each of those playing the game to cut of a piece of string for themselves, as large or small as they like. Then when everyone has their string you’ll reveal what its for. Each person must tell some truthful story or factoid about themselves as they wind the string around their index finger.

Those that have taken lots of string will probably end up revealing a bit more about themselves than they would like, but that’s part of the fun of your friendly barbie party. They’ll quickly find that its hard to talk slowly and wind fast if they intend to cheat a little bit. And if anyone stops to think they have to stop winding yarn too. As soon as the yarn runs out they stop talking.

The second barbie party game is called, ‘Newspaper Barbie Dress’. Have the party divide into two or three groups. Give each of them the task of creating a fancy dress out of newspapers that Barbie would wear to show to the rest of the party group. You’ll need for each group; two newspapers and lots of safety pins. This should be enough to create a nice dress.

Each group gets ten minutes to make the Barbie dress. They’ll have to use one of their own members to model the dress for the rest of the party group. At the end each model comes out and shows off their newest fashion piece and the rest of the party votes on which group has the best Barbie party dress.

Construction Party Games for the Kids

Construction party games can rowdy and fun for the guests attending this party. Here are a couple of ideas.

The first construction party game is called ‘Noises Off’. For this funny game you’ll need to give each of the kids a piece of paper and a pencil. But if none of the children are able to write yet you can play by just having them yell out their guesses. Players take turns going behind a couch or a sheet hung up in the room and making construction and regular noises. The rest of the group listens intently and tries to guess what piece of machinery, animal or person even the player is imitating. Then they write it down and you tell the player to pick a new noise or they yell out their answers and the person with the correct answer gets to go behind the sheet and make a new noise for the rest of the group to guess.

The second construction party game is called ‘word builders’. You’ll need to do a little preparation for this game before the party starts. Get 46 large white cards or pieces of paper. You can use 8 ½ by 11 inch sheets of paper if you like and write one letter of the alphabet on each sheet so you have separate sets of sheets with the entire alphabet. So you’ll have two sheets with a large letter ‘A’ on them and two sheets with a large letter ‘B’ and so on.

Next divide the party into two teams of 12 players. Give each player 2 sheets, with the exception of one player who will get one sheet in each group. Make sure you have enough room in the party area for each group to spell out words.

To start you call out a simple word related to the construction party theme and each group will begin scrambling to form that word by getting in the proper order. Not every player will be used each time, and each player has been assigned to the two letters they are given so no one can trade. The first group that forms the word wins a point for that round.

Tinkerbell Party Games for the Kids

The Tinkerbell Party will be a delight for the kids but make sure you have a couple of games waiting in the wings so to speak to help keep the kids interested in the party and hopefully use up any excess energy from the excitement of party atmosphere.

The first tinkerbell party game we suggest is called, ‘Cats and Fairies.’ You’ll need at least five players for the game, but can have as many as fifty or more. Choose one person to be the Cat and everyone else will be fairies. This is a tag game so you’ll need lots of room to run-say outside? Have the fairies stand on one side of the party area and the cat on the other side. You should put down a chalk line or some tape on opposite sides of the area so the fairies will be able to tell when they’ve reached safety.

When you yell, ‘run’ all the fairies have to try and run to safety on the opposite side of the area. The cat will run from this safe area towards the tinkerbell fairies and try to grab one. Then after a moment you’ll yell ‘run’ again and the fairies will try and make it back to safety on the other side of the area.

By the way this is a magic cat and any fairies he/she catches is turned into a fairy trap. So caught fairies get to stay in the game as traps and must try to grab passing fairies and hold them so the cat can come catch them. If a tinkerbell fairy is able to get out of the trap before the cat comes he/she can continue to run for safety.

The second game is called ‘Fairy Harvest’. The tinkerbell party fairies are harvesting fruits in the form of ping pong balls, but they are too small to carry the fruits so they need the wind to help blow their harvest into collection baskets. You’ll need ping pong balls, a long table and a couple of baskets. The point of the game is to blow the ping pong balls from one side of the table to the other with your breathe and into the waiting baskets on the ground or attached to the underside of the opposite end of the table.

Those who get the most ping pong balls into their baskets in a certain amount of time win. Give the winners a prize that fits with the Tinkerbell party theme.

Fun Adult Party Games

Adult party games can be a little goofier and a little more risqué so have some fun with the following two games we suggest for your party.

The first game for the adult party is a fun romp called ‘Feeding Time’. Have all the women at the party sit in a row of chairs on the opposite side of the party area. They should each have a baby bottle filled with something to drink (you can use milk or alcohol for these adult babies) and each should have a bib.

Place an equal number of men on the opposite side of the adult party area. At your ‘go’ each of the men should run to their partner and get into her lap. The women will tie a bib about the man’s neck and start feeding him from the bottle. The man can cling on to the woman but he’s not aloud to touch the bottle with his hands. Once the bottle is empty the woman unties the bib and both run back to the men’s starting place. The winning couple is the first one across the finish line.

Our second suggestion is more of a fun pastime than an actual adult party game. ‘Body painting’ can be made a little competitive if you give an award at the end of the painting session for the most artistic or most risqué body art. You’ll need to spread out some newspapers or a floor cloth to keep paint from coloring the carpet and you’ll also need body paints or face crayons, brushes and some water.

Have the guests get into groups of three and arrange themselves so they can paint on each other’s body. They can paint anywhere on the body as long as their painting partners are okay with it. At the end have everyone admire each other’s body art. This is definitely a game reserved for those adult parties so keep the kids out of it!

Two American Hero Party Games

Here are a couple of American Hero Party Games that you can use to keep the kids interested in the party and they just happen to fit with the party theme!

‘Famous Last Words’ is a fun word game that the kids can play around the table at your American Heroes party. You can make it competitive or non-competitive based on how funny or accurate the last words they come up with are. Compile a list of American Heroes and some Villains on slips of paper. Mix it up in a hat or basket and have each of the kids take turns drawing from the hat. Give them all a few moments to compose the famous last words for the hero or villain that they draw. Place some paper and pencils on the table so they can write down the last words in case they need to. Then have everyone read aloud, in turn their famous last words. You can have the kids act out a scene with it too if you like. Everyone votes on the best last words to decide winners.

The next game is called ‘Reporter’. You or one of the kids has to pretend to be an American Hero that everyone recognizes. And everyone else at the party gets to ask them three questions during an open ‘interview’. Hand out plenty of paper and pencils so the ‘reporters’ can all take notes.

The first reporter to figure out who the American Hero is should call out their name. If it’s wrong the person playing the hero will shake their head no and that ‘reporter’ is out of the game. If it’s right the person should acknowledge it and give the reporter their prize. You can make the game a little nicer by not kicking the reporters who guess wrong out of the game, but just telling them they are wrong and they can’t ask anymore questions but can listen to other’s questions and keep trying to figure out who the hero is. You can also keep this game going by having each of the guests take turns being an American Hero.

Bob the Builder Party Games

Bob the Builder Party Games can be lots of fun for the kids at the party but also interesting for the adults. Here are a couple of game ideas that I’ve come up with for you to use.

The first game is called ‘Block Builder’. It’s a simple scavenger hunt game that will keep the kids hunting around the party area for up to twenty minutes and it fits very well with the Bob the Builder party theme. For it you’ll need lots of large Lego blocks. Or any blocks that connect to each other. Before the party, be sure to hide the blocks all over the party area so the kids have to go hunting for them. At the party you can send kids off in small groups of two or three or just by themselves, but the point is to hunt all over and try to find as many Lego blocks as they can. The kids with the largest set of connected Legos are the winner and you can give them a special prize; everyone can play with the blocks.

The second game is called, ‘All lies’. It doesn’t quite fit with the Bob the Builder theme but it’s a fun word game to play while sitting around the Bob the Builder party table. All the players have to speak only in lies. So players take turns asking each other questions and the response has to be the opposite of what the speaker intends. So very simply you can ask someone if they like Bob the Builder and they have to say ‘no they don’t’.

This game is much harder to keep up than most realize. You can actually keep it going during the entire party so everyone has to speak to each other by saying the opposite of what they mean. The person who can keep it up longest gets a prize. Make the prize fit with the Bob the Builder theme.

Barney Party Games for the Little Ones

Barney party games are probably going to need to be geared towards toddlers and preschoolers. To that end I’ve got a couple of good games to keep the wee ones interested.

The first barney party game is called, ‘Tissue Tournament’. Get everyone to stand or sit in a circle and give everyone a fun straw. You’ll start off by showing the guests that they can hold a tissue to their straw by inhaling through it and letting the suction pull the tissue against the straw’s end. Next you’ll tell everyone that you are all going to try to pass the tissue around the circle with your straws, without letting the tissue fall to the floor. Hopefully you’ll be sitting next to an adult with whom you’ll be able to demonstrate passing the tissue to. This way the kids can get a good idea how it works. This is just a fun activity and if the tissue does fall to the ground have the guest who dropped it just pick it up and resume passing the tissue around the circle with their straw.

‘Name Ripple’ is another fun activity that you can use to help the kids get to know each other at your Barney party. This game involves saying someone’s name while performing a physical motion. Get everyone to stand in a circle, an arm’s length apart from each other.

Then you’ll start the Barney party game by saying one of the guests name’s and performing a physical motion that you associate with that name. For example, yelling Ralph and jumping forward in a pouncing motion. Then the person to your left will repeat this motion and the next person and the next until it gets to the person named, Ralph. Ralph will pick someone else’s name and perform a different motion and the new motion will be repeated until the ‘name ripple’ gets to the person named. Keep doing this until everyone at the Barney party is named.

Bob the Builder Party Games

Bob the Builder Party Games can be lots of fun for the kids at the party but also interesting for the adults. Here are a couple of game ideas that I’ve come up with for you to use.

The first game is called ‘Block Builder’. It’s a simple scavenger hunt game that will keep the kids hunting around the party area for up to twenty minutes and it fits very well with the Bob the Builder party theme. For it you’ll need lots of large Lego blocks. Or any blocks that connect to each other. Before the party, be sure to hide the blocks all over the party area so the kids have to go hunting for them. At the party you can send kids off in small groups of two or three or just by themselves, but the point is to hunt all over and try to find as many Lego blocks as they can. The kids with the largest set of connected Legos are the winner and you can give them a special prize; everyone can play with the blocks.

The second game is called, ‘All lies’. It doesn’t quite fit with the Bob the Builder theme but it’s a fun word game to play while sitting around the Bob the Builder party table. All the players have to speak only in lies. So players take turns asking each other questions and the response has to be the opposite of what the speaker intends. So very simply you can ask someone if they like Bob the Builder and they have to say ‘no they don’t’.

This game is much harder to keep up than most realize. You can actually keep it going during the entire party so everyone has to speak to each other by saying the opposite of what they mean. The person who can keep it up longest gets a prize. Make the prize fit with the Bob the Builder theme.

Care Bears Party Games That Fill the Heart

Care Bears Party Games can be great fun for the kids and even fun for the adults who just happen to attend the party too! Here are a couple of suggestions for your next Care Bears Party.

The first game is called, ‘Last and First’. This is a word game that you can play with older children or more advanced younger kids. Pick out a word category. If you want you can write the names of a bunch of Care bears down and put them in a hat. Then draw the categories from that hat. Have everyone sit in a circle and start the game by calling out a word that relates to the category. So if the category happens to be ‘happy’ then you would call out ‘puppies’ or something that’s related to happiness or causes happiness. Then the person to the left of you would call out another word related to the category and so on.

Anyone who takes more than ten seconds to think of a word must either drop out of the game or pick a new care bears category from the hat. This just depends on how you want to play the game. If you opt to have people drop out who can’t think of a word or choose a word that’s all ready been said then the game ends when there is only one person left who can think of words that fall into the chosen category.

The second game is called ‘emotional mime.’ This is a great game for the care bears party because all the care bears have to do with a different feeling. Keep the hat filled with care bear names for this one. Have each player take turns miming the emotion that corresponds with a care bear that they draw from the hat. The rest of the group must try to guess the emotion that the player is miming. The person who guesses correctly gets a point and gets to get up and pick another care bear name to mime. When you run out of names to mime tally up the points and give a prize to the person at this care bears party with the most points.

100th Birthday Party Games

100th birthday parties are often large community occasions so the 100th Birthday Party Games should involve those cross generational guests. Why not try a game of Charades that is tailored to the personal history of the guest of honor?

Before the 100th birthday party write up a biography of his or her life and then distribute it to the guests. Allow those playing the game to depict a different part of that life story for the others to guess. Most of these will be easy enough for youngsters to guess or act out. It will be a fun way to highlight those parts of the biography that may not be well known to all attending. Also the biography will help to fill in those gaps which may not be common knowledge among all who attend. The effort will be educational since the children will study many of these eras during their history classes at school. The biography and the charades are sure to spawn conversations that might not otherwise occur. A guessing game can also be linked to the guest of honor's biography.

Make an accompanying timeline of the person's major life events--birth year, anniversary, graduation, military service etc.--and then compile a list of world events that correspond to those personal milestones at the 100th Birthday party. Print these without the year in which they occurred and in jumbled, rather than chronological, order. Ask the guests to write down which world events occurred in the year of each life event. Later on in the party collect the answers and ""grade"" the pop history quiz. Award prizes relevant to the century marking birthday like a replica of a newspaper, magazine, or store catalogue from that month and year. spark lively discussions.

Remember, use lots of century specific paper party goods to celebrate this very special 100th birthday!

30th Birthday Party Games

The big ""three-zero"" is cause for fear to some who hesitate to leave youth behind so its important that the 30th Birthday Party Games send a message that even aging people can still have fun. With that in mind, plus the fact that some youngsters may be invited to the party, why not revitalize fond childhood memories by playing popular games from earlier times?

30th birthday party games like Twenty Questions and Musical Chairs top the list of nostalgic games that never loose their appeal. Put an adult tone to twenty questions by limiting the words to be guessed. For example favorite drinks, trucks, footballs teams or computer programming languages may make a more interesting version of the game. The 30th birthday game proceeds as each participant gives only the hint that his chosen word is either an animal, mineral, or abstract concept and wins if no one is able to guess after at most twenty questions about the word are asked and answered by either ""yes"" or ""no"". Then look for harder categories still like internal combustion engines as apposed to electrical inductance motors, or peregrine falcon as apposed to chicken.

Musical chairs can take on a more evolved nature when Mozart or Merle is played instead of Pop Goes the Weasel at your 30th birthday party. Add a real twist by inviting an entertainer who specializes in playing the part of a living statue and have him dress as a chair. The first to sit in the arms of a living chair will get the party off to a howling start. This type of act is especially affective at a larger gathering in which the gag isn't immediately seen by all who attend.

The 30th birthday is an emotional midpoint in the active life of an individual and it's best to pull out all the stops for this elaborate party.

40th Birthday Party Games

Often jokesters want to celebrate a 40th birthday with a basic black mourning theme but why not put a different spin on things with an upbeat selection of 40th Birthday Party Games. Unfortunately, the 40th birthday party is probably one of the first for which careful attention to special diets must be given by the hostess.

The good news though is that by the time a person has reached his 40th birthday he often has managed to accumulate a pretty good supply of games and/or athletic equipment. This will probably make it a cinch to organize a round-robin tournament of one kind or another. Let's say billiards, darts, table tennis or chess would make a good start to such a list. Hopefully, these will be games familiar to the guests making this fairly serious competition.

Be sure to indicate the nature of the 40th birthday party games on the invitations since some seasoned players will want to bring their own paddles, cues, darts or other pertinent equipment. Also it will be best to print off score sheets since round-robin is a fairly complex and confusing tournament style which is designed to allow all contestants to play each other in separate matches. These score sheets are arranged in a grid with the players names listed vertically to left of the sheets and their corresponding letter or number ordered horizontally. Overlapping points along lines and columns indicate match order. To the far right then are columns listing ""wins"", ""points for"", ""points against"" and ""standing"". Each player must keep his own scorecard and in general the winner of the tournament is the winner of the most matches. In the event of a tie a tie breaker match can be held in the 40th birthday game. The round-robin may be a very long process so it's important to allow enough time and start promptly.

50th Birthday Party Games

The first fifty years are just for practice and 50th Birthday Party Games can be a testimonial to the life lessons learned thus far. Guessing games based on trivia from the guest of honor's lifetime would be a perfect way to highlight these lessons learned along the way.

Create just the right set of questions that will focus on historic events and popular culture that are of particular interest to the invited guests. Give a lot of energy to researching long before the 50th birthday party so that the guest of honor is pleased to shine in his or her particular area of expertise. For instance, if that person's favorite musical tastes tended toward the British Invasion of the 1960's ask lots of questions that will dust competition from the younger guests. It will have a tendency to stack the deck but what better gift is there than ensuring a 50th birthday win?

Another possible way to accomplish the same end would be to create a word 50th birthday party game that utilizes areas of the guest of honor's special knowledge. Hangman can be played using the medical term ""cyanotic"" that the nurse would guess right off the bat. A plant that is very familiar to a botanist albeit somewhat obscure to the others in the crowd would do the trick. Use of a term like ""gusset"" will be very familiar to the seamstress but of little if any familiarity to the attorney. Throw in a few terms or questions from recent news events, movies and television so that everyone has a few wins. It gets boring to loose all the time!

Decorate with vivacious colors and themed paper party goods. Keep things fun and the food scrumptious so that the 50th birthday party sends the message that the best is yet to come in life.

Bar Mitzvah Party Games

Celebrate your Bar Mitzvah with some great games. Here are a couple of our own suggestions.

This first game is called, ‘pan-tapping’ but you can also do a variation with ‘hand-clapping’ for the Bar Mitzvah. The point is to get the player to perform an action the rest of the group has decided on by just indicating it with slower or faster clapping sounds.

Choose someone to be it. Send this person out of the room or the Bar Mitzvah party area. When this person is gone, get the rest of the party group together and you should all decide on something for the ‘it’ person to do. The task can be anything from eating an apple to kissing someone on the cheek. Then have the person return to the party. Here’s the key; no one can talk to the person in order to give them a clue about what they need to do. Everyone must either clap their hands in unison to indicate how close the ‘it’ person is to completing their task. Start by clapping slowly then speed up your rhythm as the person gets closer to their required task. If they start to get off track just slow down your clapping. Then you can really break out into applause the ‘it’ person figures out what they are supposed to do and completes the task.

The next Bar Mitzvah game is a contest of balance and skill called ‘Tip the Orange’. You’ll need plenty of oranges, and spoons. Have two guests pair up to face off in this contest. You’ll need a little room for the two to move around in. Each contestant gets one orange and one spoon. They start off facing each other and balancing their orange on their spoon. They can hold their spoon with either hand or foot or other appendage, but they can’t let the orange fall to the ground. The object of the game is to try and tip your opponent’s orange off their spoon without losing your own orange.

First person to lose their orange is out and another match is held with different players. If both happen to lose their oranges at the same time then the match is restaged. There will be a lot of competition to win this Bar Mitzvah game.