Ice Age Birthday Party

When Landen turned 5, he really wanted an Ice Age/Mammoth birthday party. I searched and searched online for some ideas and there wasn't anything out there, so I came up with my own ideas and know they will help you plan your Ice Age Party.



For the invitation, I thought it would be fun to send some symbols that the guests had to "decode" to find out the party information. The invite read like this: Landen is turning 5 and he wanted to travel back to the Ice Age with Mammoths and Saber Tooth Tigers! Cavemen have inscribed Landen's party information inside the cave walls. We chipped away the rocks that held the important details. Use the information above to decode the message."

I made a chart with different symbols I found on the computer. Each symbol represented a different letter and then I just "spelled out" the parties details with the symbols. (For example a *stood for a "T" and so on).

For the games/activities:

I froze little "Ice Age" animals that I found at Target in ice. I filled Styrofoam cups with water, put the toy in the water and set the cups in the freezer. The kids had to use their handmade "spears" to free the animals. We made handmade spears from sticks and triangle rocks that the kids found on a "spear hunt". These "spears" were also used to "fight the Mammoth" (to wing at the pinata I made).

How to made the Mammoth pinata: I blew up a regular size balloon and covered it with strips of newspaper and homemade glue (I have basic pinata step by step directions on another post). I let that dry and popped the balloon. I painted the pinata brown and added a long nose with a paper towel roll and then added the tusks with just white construction paper. The ears were cut out of brown construction paper and added googly eyes. I wish I still had a picture on file for this, but I don't. I filled him with candy and little toys.


We also had an igloo/cave in the yard. We used white Styrofoam coolers that I found at a garage sale and stacked them up around the sides. We then used large sized paper to fill in the sides. The kids were able to write on the "igloo/cave" walls just like the cavemen did in the Ice Age.

For the cake, I made a 12" round cake for the base and then I made a "mountain" by chiseling a stack of 3 - 8" round cakes that were placed on top of the base. I frosted it all white except for a little "stream" of blue going down the mountain and spilling over the base. I then placed Ice Age characters around the cake.

I hope this helps you with an Ice Age Party!

Wizard of Oz Child's Birthday Party

Last year, Gabrielle turned 5 on November 29th and she really wanted a Wizard of Oz birthday party. She was Dorothy for Halloween and wanted her party to be the same theme. She wore her costume for the party and I dressed up as a scarecrow. I looked online for some party ideas for this theme, but there just wasn't much out there. So, I sat down and thought about it and came up with the perfect party idea! The kids will follow the Yellow Brick Road to earn a heart, brain, home and courage - just like in the movie!!!! I set up different stations/games around the house and at each one, the kids had to earn one of the things. To save money, I made most of the stuff on my own. This is what I did:

For "courage", like the Lion earned, I got plain badges at the craft store and wrote "courage" on them and spruced them up a little bit. At this station, the kids earned their "courage" by melting the witch. I had witch hats on the floor and put blocks of wood in them so the hat stood up and the kids had to throw rings around the hat to melt the witch. When they did this, their "Badge of Courage" was pinned to their shirts.

For the "heart", like Tin Man earned, I made big red hearts out of craft foam sheets. I then punched holes at the top so I could string red yard through it so they could hang around their necks, just like it happened to The Tin Man in the movie. He also had a clock on his heart so, I printed off the face of a clock and glued it on the middle of the red hearts. To earn the "heart", the kids had to stick 30 heart stickers around popsicle stick frames. (I used these frames to put a picture of the kids in for them to take home).

For the "brain", like the scarecrow earned, I made diplomas on the computer and rolled them up with some ribbon. Each one said: (Child's name) has successfully earned his/her "brain" on the Yellow Brick Road Journey at Gabrielle's 5th Birthday Party on (date). To earn their brain, they had a Wizard of Oz maze worksheet to do and they also had to guess how many Skittles were in a jar. I used Skittles because of the rainbow colors. (The winner got to take home the Skittles too).

For "home" like Dorothy wanted in the movie, this was the end of the party when it was time to go home. They got to take all their loot and things they earned back home with them.

I had some left over Halloween witch costume "stuff" (green nose, broom, hat, etc.) that I hid around the house. The kids had to be careful not to get caught by the witch, but when they saw "witch stuff" they needed to look around for a clue that would lead them to their next stop on the Yellow Brick Road.

I made her cake. I looked online for little figurines to put on her cake, but they were expensive so I printed off pictures of the characters online, laminated them and then glued them to a toothpick to stick in the cake. I frosted the entire cake green and then I used yellow fondant to create a yellow brick road. I used a toothpick to make the brick pattern in the fondant. I put little pink flowers around the rest of the cake for the flowers they fell asleep at in the movie.

I used yellow plastic tablecloths to make a yellow brick road all over the house. I taped them to the floor and drew a brick pattern on them with a black permanent marker. I also used every color of the rainbow in streamers to make a rainbow in the archway between the living room and dining room. This was my daughter's favorite thing! She loved it.

For the party favors, I got little baskets for each child. They carried these on their Yellow Brick Road journey and also to put all their goodies in from the party.

This party was a huge success and one that really stuck to the theme. I hope this helps you plan your little one's Wizard of Oz party! Happy Partying!!!

Under the Sea Birthday Birthday Party!

Planning a Little Mermaid or Under the Sea Party? Here are some ideas:

• Have a jar of goldfish crackers or shells sitting out and have the children and/or adults guess how many are in the jar. The one who comes the closest, wins the jar of goodies!



• Serve goldfish crackers in small fish bowls. Serve cheese with a fish cookie cutter and serve with boats (crackers).



• Make blue jello in clear plastic cups and when it is almost ready to set, stick a gummy fish in it and then put it back in the fridge to set the rest of the way.



• Party favors: Tackle Box: Use small plastic containers with lids for the box. Print labels that read "Tackle Box" to stick on the box. Fill with your party favors. A few ideas for party favors: water balloons, beach balls, individual packets of Goldfish crackers, water guns, fish stickers.



• Decorations: Put blue table cloths on the tables. Put sand and seashells in the middle of the tables. Use blue utensils, cups, plates and napkins. Use clear helium filled balloons to look like bubbles. Blue and green streamers look like seaweed. Rummage through your summer/beach toys and use all of that for decorations/games/table decor, etc.



• Food: Make PB & J/turkey/tuna fish sandwiches and cut them with a fish cookie cutter or splurge and buy the fish shaped bread.



• Pinata: Make your own pinata! Pinatas can be so expensive! I have been making my own since my kids were little. This way, I am always guaranteed to have a pinata to fit my theme! Making your own pinata saves you money and it is also a fun project that the entire family can get involved with. It is messy, but fun! For an Under the Sea party, I would make either a beach ball or an octopus! Get a "round" balloon for the beach ball or a regular balloon for the octopus. (I will post a step by step on how to make your own pinata). The basic supplies you need to make a pinata are: balloons, newspaper (cut into long strips) and flour and water. Blow up the balloon to the size you want and tie it. Then, mix flour and water to make a glue-like consistency. Then, take your newspaper strips one at a time and dip them in the flour/water mixture, take off any excess "glue" and then wrap in on the balloon (make sure you leave a small space at the "tie" of the balloon, without any newspaper, so you can fill the pinata there). You keep doing this until your balloon is fully covered. Once it is covered, let it dry and then repeat the same thing for at least 2 layers so it is sturdy enough to hold the goodies. (To dry it, I hang the balloon upside down on the laundry line with a clothes pin). It will take a few days to dry so make sure you are doing this ahead of time. Once it is dry, pop the balloon. It will shrivel up inside and then just take it out. Now, you can paint the outside whatever you want. For the beach ball, paint it with the beach ball pattern and for the octopus, paint it brown or gray and add eyes. For the tentacles, glue streamers at the base. To hang the pinata, make two small holes at the top and thread through string, fishing line or whatever else you have. When the paint is all dry, fill the pinata. Patch up the hole with tape or a piece of construction paper the same color of the pinata (I like to use clear packaging tape for this). Making your own pinata takes a little time and makes a bit of a mess, but the money you save and the memories you make doing it, is more than worth it!




• Games: Fishing Game - paint an appliance box blue and add some sea creatures on it. Have someone sit inside the box and have the kids throw their fishing pole over the box and catch a surprise. To make a fishing pole, just get a stick and tie some string and a clothes pin to the end so the surprise can be pinned on to it.

These are just some things we have done at our parties that I thought would be great to share with anyone else out there trying to throw a special party without breaking the bank!