...How did THAT happen???
Well, it did. And of course, there was a party. We RAN to the park, clucking like chickens for some reason (six year olds!) where we found paper bags and paints all set up for making paper bag hats. Top right, is Miss M digging into the paint for her hat. Paper Bag Hats are so easy and fun!
While the paint on the paper bag hats was drying, there was a scavenger hunt based on things the kids could find at the park.
The big boys had a go at some sort of hybrid sack race/three-legged race of their own.... Which worked out exactly as I suspected it would. BOMP!
Well, it did. And of course, there was a party. We RAN to the park, clucking like chickens for some reason (six year olds!) where we found paper bags and paints all set up for making paper bag hats. Top right, is Miss M digging into the paint for her hat. Paper Bag Hats are so easy and fun!
PAPER BAG HATS: Use a standard grocery bag, *carefully* turn it inside out (remove handles, if necessary), and sloppily roll the edges up to form the hat. Rolling too tightly makes the hat too big and crushes the paper, so make your rolls big and bunchy. Messiness is no problem with this project, and it doesn't have to be perfect. For really little kids, I've found that "pegging" the bag, (like we did the ankles of our jeans in the 90's, remember? We were super-bad!) works really well. Give the kids lots of colors to choose from, and make SURE the paint is washable! Go play some games while the paint dries and wear your creations proudly!
Top, right, you can see my son sneaking up on me to jam one on my head and the (blurry) result in bottom right. Bottom left are two much bigger boys (my son and his BFF) in their Minecraft inspired creations. If you have any computer geeks in your house, or are one yourself, you may recognize a Minecraft Pig and a Creeper painted on their hats/masks. Those two are h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s. and I'm pretty sure that they are the Mutt and Jeff of the 21st Century. Also in this collage is a cutie patootie from down the street playing with a hula hoop. I could just eat him up.
SCAVENGER HUNT: I made a quick trip to the park a few days before the party to see what could be found and took pictures (most of the kids aren't readers just yet), and photoshopped the pictures onto card stock (see bottom left image). Then, I just pasted the scavenger hunt cards onto treat bags, so that a.) the kids would have somewhere to out their "finds" and b.) so that the cards wouldn't be lost. The kids found as many things as they could, and brought the bags back to me for prizes/party favors (we returned the "finds" to the wild). I also had them write their names on the bag so they could keep it to fill with piñata candy and more party favors later.
Of course, the punch balloon favors were immediately blown up and (mostly) popped. Hey! It's not a party until the balloons pop!
And there was still time to play... And also get covered in paint! Hahaha! Sorry, mom... But it SHOULD come out in the wash.... In the same picture, you can see our painted hats drying on garden stakes. I had actually made sweet little coffee filter flower and streamers toppers for the garden stakes, knowing I wouldn't have a lot of time to decorate the park, and I figured I could just poke decorated stakes in the ground to gussy up the park a little (coffee filter flowers were based on the ones I made last year). That was easy, too. And, it made a durn good spot for the hats to dry!
There were healthy(ish) treats to be had, and these two partygoers had quite a rousing conversation about how delicious/disgusting tomatoes are. That sweet little boy was popping cherry tomatoes in his mouth like candy. I heart him.
You might notice the cupcakes, bottom left... Yes, they are UNfrosted... You'll see why in a minute. The cupcake stand, I threw together with some hot glue, candlesticks and serving platters/plates that I had on hand. I did this last year, too... Except that, LAST year, the hot glue separated easily after the party. This time, I think I might have used a little too much hot glue! HAHAHA! Cupcake Stand for LIFE!
After the kids made their hats, had a couple of sack races and played for a while, I started assembling the DIY CUPCAKE BAR. I thought it was a stroke of genius, and the kids LOVED it. So, no, the plain, unfrosted cupcakes didn't look so party-perfect on the cupcake stand.... But, I knew if I frosted them beforehand, the frosting would harden, and the toppings wouldn't stick.
DIY CUPCAKE BAR: If you want to try this at your next party, I HIGHLY recommend it! First, I filled two cupcake trays with different toppings (I used mini marshmallows, mini M&Ms, crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, gummy worms and different colored sprinkles). Then, I gave each kid a little cocktail spoon and told them they could top their cupcakes however they wanted, but to please take one only little spoon of each topping so that everyone could have what they wanted (gummy Worms being the exception... everyone got a gummy worm). I frosted each cupcake on the fly as I handed them out to the kids, and then the kids got to work on the toppings.
The sprinkles were flying, the gummies were slurped, crushed cookie bits raining down... SUPER FUN! It totally worked! But, I'm really glad that I covered the tables with parcel paper! GAH!
Of course, the BEST PART about decorating your own cupcake is EATING IT!
Look at those happy faces! I do believe my son was making a Minecraft cupcake, naturally (bottom right). Looks like a dirt block, reminiscent of his birthday cake last year.
And there was still time to play... And also get covered in paint! Hahaha! Sorry, mom... But it SHOULD come out in the wash.... In the same picture, you can see our painted hats drying on garden stakes. I had actually made sweet little coffee filter flower and streamers toppers for the garden stakes, knowing I wouldn't have a lot of time to decorate the park, and I figured I could just poke decorated stakes in the ground to gussy up the park a little (coffee filter flowers were based on the ones I made last year). That was easy, too. And, it made a durn good spot for the hats to dry!
The big boys had a go at some sort of hybrid sack race/three-legged race of their own.... Which worked out exactly as I suspected it would. BOMP!
My husband has a new camera (HE took all these photos, btw... I was kinda busy!) and got to playing with the filters. These are a little dark, but the ATTITUDE is totally visible. Oh.my.WORD. Is she six or sixTEEN???
I had also made a cake for the grown ups, but as it turned out, nearly everyone just dropped their kids off at the party (!) so I saved it for later and Miss M blew out her candle that night.
Happy Birthday, Baby. You are just my kinda girl.
