My daughter's 4th birthday party in next month. We have her parties at our house, invite family and friends, and of course friend's kids. So it is definetly an "adult kid party". Everyone always has fun, the adults mingle and have adult beverages, the kids play, enjoy kid snacks and drinks, there is lunch, cake, presents, and goody bags.
So far we have done hotdog/hamburger lunches, which is fine, grandma makes her famous macaroni salad, it's easy for the grandparents to contribute a side dish etc. This is where I am looking for some inspiration- I really want to break away from the same thing we have done the last 3 years.
Any ideas for something to serve in a setting like this? So far we have come up with...pizza. Help?
Also, does anyone have a creative party favor idea. Most of the kids are boys, so I hate to get too girly, I usually do some fun goody bags, but I feel like I would rather do even 1 nice favor rather than a "bag-o-junk". (My friend made capes out of felt this summer for her son's party- SO cute and my girls still wear them!!! Feel free to crib that idea- but I obviously can't)
Thanks a lot ladies!!!
For the favors, the kids could decorate their own cookies. you and your girls could bake the cookies together. Get cute celophane bags that they take them home in. it will keep the kids busy.
Or they string candy necklaces. I am sure boys don't mind candy necklaces.
Make a huge pot of spaghetti...and throw some garlic bread on the grill to warm quickly! Spaghetti is loved by all ages even your little 18 month old and is much less expensive then pizza. Pasta Salads, and potato salads can still be provided by your family and friends. Regular garden salads with different dressings and maybe some salsa. Food that is still quick, easy, and can still be served on a paper plate!!! Good luck. ~S.~
Taco bars are always fun and easy, plus also convenient for people to contribute sides to! Also, kabobs for adults, but may be a little bit dangerous for the kids.
Party favor wise I have no idea, but post what you pick because I am having a fourth birthday party in March and some ideas would be great!
Hi there
not sure where you reside, but if in the city (or not) your favorite Taqueria can cater..or you can pick up the food (as my friends did)who hosted a birthday party where they had grilled chicken/steak,beans, rice and tortillas... and of course salsa..add chips and gaucamole too if you like.. it was buffet style and we made our own plates of food.. was good and most people seemed to really enjoy themselves. The food came in those large aluminum trays so was easy cleanup..
not to mention, for the adults, you could do tecate' beers with lime, or coronas.. have a pinata for the kids...
As for favors... I did beach towels on year... oh I know it's NOT summer.. but nowadays, what kid doesn't like their own towel.. and there are many to choose from.. like spongebob... and other characters..
or a mini art kit.. add a pack of crayons, coloring book, colored pens.. even some bubbles.. they also have those MINI etch-A-sketchers at target... those are always fun and good in a car for long trips..
best of luck
Check your local Michaels craft store - they had some "Kids Art' calendars that included ones with different coloring pages for each month, others that had blank pages for the kids to do their own art each month, and they were $1 each (I bought a bunch as favors for my daughters' b-day party last month - that coupled with the boxes of 8 washable markers that I scored from Target for 50 cents each and I had what I thought was a pretty fun and practical and not junky party favor for $1.50/each!)
Or try some simple craft projects - like make photo frames from craft sticks for kids to decorate, take photos of the kids so they have a photo to put in the frame.
I have a girl and boy 2 yrs apart- so I have co-ed parties. To try to fit a birthday theme for both sexes I like to find movies with which to center a theme. Once I did a Peter Pan party. My girl dressed up as tinkerbell and my boy was a pirate. Guest were encouraged to come as any character. My eldest dressed as wendy and wore her pajamas.
We always start the party by kids making their own favor bags. I get free grocery brown sacks at Rayleys (with the handles). If they don't have handles I staple on ribbon handles ahead of time.
I print up a stack of theme free coloring sheets from the internet(in this case peter pan), and put them on a long table with markers , crayons, glue sticks. The kids decorate them and put their name on their bags.There is also crepe paper streamers in rolls on the table, they can use it to decorate the bag too, and to cover up and store printing on the bags. I like to have the crafts and games be the take home goodies. For this party we had a treasure hunt. We made 'crocodile creek' by stapling an ocean blue sheet of fabric into a corner, leaving room for hubby to squat behind. The kids each got a turn fishing at crocodile swamp and getting a crocodile squirt gun on thier line (with a clothespin on the end of the pole string). The last child (birthday kid)got also a paper clue on his pole...to walk the plank (boards put on bricks out in the yard)to the skull Island...an area decorated with my plastic skeleton from halloween...where the kids had to stomp on black balloons (cannon balls) to find the next clue inside one of them. That next clue lead them to another part of the yard,where they were to find the bucket filled with paper pirate hats (or a craft station to make them). Another stop had eye patches. Another stop had tinkerbell's fairy dust ( pixie stix - 5 of them wrapped in sparkly tulle). Another stop was the den, again 'crocodile creek" where they were to play hot "crock" potatoe. We stuffed a green sock (crocodile), with a kitchen timer.We had the movie soundtrack and played the song "never smile at a crocodile" in the background while they sat in a circle and passed him around. The last player left took the crock home and also read the next clue.(we gave each contestant a chocolate coin too). The final destination was a big basket we put in a hole in the yard. In the basket we placed the loot (gold coins inside brown lunch sacks, the tops cut ragged,and tied off with cord to look like loot bags. Each child had a name on a bag, there was "One Eye Jack" "Peg Leg Paul" and 'lindsey longbeard". Inside the sacks were gold choc coins, Hersheys 'treasure' candy, rolos, any candy wrapped in gold or silver foil. Plastic rings, etc.
So, at the end, their home made goodie bag was filled with their treasure hunt goodies and crafts they made along the way. Because we spent so much time preparing other things, we simply had pizza brought in. Because all the guests were dressed up,(including us) we had the cutest pics. many adults were talking like pirates. ARR! If was a lot of fun.
Another idea is a Mexican party with a taco bar. Borrow people's crocks pots. Have one with beans or chili. One with spicy hamburger. One with tortillas surrounded with foil. one with nacho 'liquid' cheese.
Put out a huge bowl of tortilla chips. sides of sour cream, salsa,lettuce, etc. make virgin strawberry magaritas for the kids. Pass out sombreros to take home for favors, and pin the tail on the burro. Beat up a pinata. Play Marty Robbins Cd's Use deep red, green, white , bright orange and yellow colors on cake and in streamers. Play The Three Cabaeros animated cartoon for the kids, or walt disney's Zorro for older kids? (I've never seen it.)
A picasso party could have the kids making artwork, paintings, clay figures, drawings, etc and having italian dinner -spagetties and such. favors could be decorating an apron (use sharpies instead of paint so they can use them as soon as they are decorated)a little metal bucket (find mini metal paint buckets at Orchard)with a nice big paintbrush, sets of paints, glue,rulers, a kneaded art eraser, colored pencils, fancy edge sissors and other supplies.
Once we had a Ratatoulle party. We did the 'make your own favot sack'. we played the movie sound track. Each child was given a chef hat (I attached grey mouse ears made out of felt) and we placed mouse wiskers and pink noses outlined in black on their faces with eyeliner. We cooked mini pizzas,(the kids made them on pita breads or mini pizza bobolies),we made leaning towers of piza with hard spagetti and mini marshmallows for the joints, They each cut up soft cooked carrots with plastic knifes, and dumped them into the pot of (already cooked)soup. (we ate soup, garlic bread, pizza, salad) They also made cookies. Going home, their goodie bags had their chef hats, their aprons, a wood spoon, a mini spatula, a mini rolling pin, some raw sugar cookie dough to use a home, and also I found a printable fun workbook online in a ratatoulle theme and made one for each of them.(they also have ratatoule cookbooks at amazon.com). We took a pic of all the mice together before they started cooking(o: and the finale was for the kids to watch the movie while the adults relaxed. If I spend a lot of money on favors i keep the guest list small. I found the spatulas and aprons at dollar tree and the paper chef hats at Boswells/pleasanton, mini rolling pins at Ross.
ps..the soundrack cd's can be given to the bday child- or given away as a door prize before everyone leaves- pick a name out of a hat.
