Friday, January 9, 2009

Birthday Party Planning

Annie catching snowflakes on her tongue last month when it snowed.

Tomorrow we are holding a birthday party for Ann Marie. Her birthday is the next week but we will not be around to do a party then so ...

I am planning to do an old fashioned kid party here at the house. We invited her whole school class. Kindergarten is the only year I do that. Most of our birthday parties are confined to family and neighbors and are mostly just cake and ice cream with a few presents. I try to keep it simple to minimize stress and cost.

Annie wanted a Tinkerbell party this year. So we bought all Tinkerbell plates and cups and invites. She says I am to make a white cake with white frosting and to do my best to draw Tinkerbell on it. "Just try your best Mom. Can you do that?" she says. Now I have done a Cinderella cake before but only with detailed instructions from Wilton and a preformed pan to guide me. I am still working on how I will work Tink onto this cake. 

For games we will do some old favorites with a Tink twist. Instead of pin the tail on the donkey, I am making a life size drawing of Annie as a fairy. I will have her lie down on butcher paper and trace her in pencil. Then I will "do my best" to draw her in a Tink sideways pose. I have paper wings that each kid will be given. They will try to pin the wings on the Annie Fairy. I have done this in the past with pin the crown on the princess. I like this game because I keep the butcher paper and it gives me an easily storable record of how big my child was on their birthday that year.

We will also be playing a game inspired by the Tinkerbell movie. The kids will search the backyard for "lost things" that we have hid back there. We have buttons, safety pins, beads, and tongue depressors. When they find a lost thing, they bring it to Annie who acts like Tink by decoding what prize the lost thing can get them. 

We will also have a pinata because ... well they are fun, Annie wanted one, and I really need to get rid of the last of our Halloween candy. If we have extra time, we will also play name that tune with disney songs and maybe a round of musical chairs. Those were always two of my favorites when I was little.

So what are your favorite kid party games? I would love some ideas for tomorrow or the future.