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Mission Possible – Spy Birthday Party

| Article, Birthday Party, Party Planning, Theme Parties | February 11, 2012

Mission Possible – Spy Birthday Party

For the little spy master or mistress in your life the idea of a spy themed birthday may be the absolute best gift you could give. It is an even better gift if you take the time to carefully plan an evening and event that every guest, especially your child will remember for a long time to come. There are many great themes upon which you can expand and build your Master Spy party for girls or guys and make it the most talked about birthday party of the birthday party season.

Begin by establishing a particular theme or plot for the party. Are you going to make the party a mission based party where there is an objective or are you going to set up a spy training camp? Either makes for excellent themes but really must be decided in advance. If you are going with the objective you need to have an objective that is challenging but not too terribly difficult. You could set up a scavenger hunt sort of objective where each item lends a clue to the next item and a riddle to solve to get there and the first team to the final objective wins spiffy new goodies for their bags of spy tricks.

For the training camp you can have a little more creative fun. You can set up an optical course and play memory games. You can have coded messages that each guest must decipher as one of the activities. You can incorporate this into a mission later in the festivities or leave it as a separate activity or use it both times with a different cipher for each message to make things a little more interesting.

Goody bags for a party with this theme can be a ton of fun. You can put in a mini camera, binoculars, sunglasses, water guns, notepads and pens (for deciphering codes of course), and an ID badge for each with a photo slot in which you will put their photos before they leave. This is a party that can be a lot of fun without breaking the budget. Decorations should be what you would expect in a spy headquarters or training academy. Most of us can draw them or print them from online. Some excellent examples would be targets for target practice, code ciphers, a briefcase or two, folders with “Top Secret” stamped on them, and a few building schematics tacked onto a bulletin board for an authentic feeling.

Food for a party like this doesn’t have to be elaborate. Kids love pizza so pizza and pop are excellent choices with cake and ice cream to follow. If pizza isn’t your thing think kid friendly with easy clean up when planning the menu. If you want to be really cruel you can make the mission about finding the stash of presents (you will have to hide all the presents as they arrive however in order to make this work) but it is a fun game to play and the idea of a spy mission birthday party is often appealing to both girls and boys.

When planning your spy themed birthday party be sure to make it fun and challenging but not over the heads of the age group for which you are planning. You want everyone to leave happy and to have had a lot of fun. Most importantly you want your birthday boy or girl happy so keep his or her wishes in mind and let her add input when planning the party.

 

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Star Wars Birthday Party

| Article, Birthday Party | January 27, 2012

Star Wars Birthday Party

Even though there hasn’t been a recent film release, Star Wars remains a popular favorite among fans new and old. Kids of all ages from 2 to 52 find the world that was created by Star Wars creator George Lucas to be an infinitely fascinating world in which to allow their imagination and fantasies to take flight in that galaxy far, far away. If your special birthday girl or boy is a fan of these films this is the can’t miss party theme to add to your perfect birthday party list.

There are many ways you can go that will bring the theme to light in a way that allows everyone to have fun. First of all, you could have a classic Star Wars event with the original Episodes (IV, V, and VI) showing one after the other throughout the party. This is perfect for an overnight or all day sort of party as it allows breaks in between the showings and plenty of time to incorporate some serious snack making or pizza ordering without interfering with the DVDs being played in the back ground.

If you want to take things a step further you can also have your guests come dressed as their favorite Star Wars characters from all six films. If you are truly adventurous you can do a back-to-back showing of all six films though this makes for a very long weekend sort of event. Perfect if your birthday falls on around a 3-day weekend such as Labor Day or Memorial Day. Otherwise it’s a great idea but you may want to break it up into two years’ worth of celebrations.

If you are friends or your child’s friends are a creative bunch you can have a session where guests speculate and create tall tales about what happens between Episodes III and IV as well as what happens to favorite characters after Episode VI. This is a lot of fun and creates a sort of role-playing atmosphere for the party that can be a huge amount of fun.

If this isn’t enough activity and you want a little something to wear the kids (big or small) out you might want to invite your guests to a Jedi training academy of sorts. Set up an obstacle course for everyone to follow and a series of exercises similar to what Luke went through in The Empire Strikes Back. The winner can get some Star Wars themed award for giggles and a little added entertainment.

Most bakeries are likely to have a great form cake on hand or in inventory for Star Wars because the theme remains so popular. If not however. There are great cake ideas online that work beautifully for a Star Wars theme with home made birthday cakes. It’s really great if you can try one of these because it will be something a little different from what everyone else who does a Star Wars themed party will have. Of course you could always go with a background of stars and the original Star Wars logo painted in yellow. Simple and yet completely appropriate.

If a Star Wars themed birthday party is anywhere on your wish list for your birthday or your child or significant other’s birthday by all means make your best effort to make this a fun and memorable event. May the Force be with you.

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Over the Hill Birthday Party Ideas

| Article, Birthday Party | January 27, 2012

Over the Hill Birthday Party Ideas

While there are many people who treat the 40th and 50th birthday as a time to mourn there are others who elect to use this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate. Life goes on and there is no better way to celebrate that fact than with friends and family. An “Over the Hill” birthday should be one that brings together both in a roaring fashion. Hopefully some of the ideas below will get your wheels turning for a grand plan for your own over the hill birthday celebration or that of someone you love.

My favorite idea for a great Over the Hill birthday party bash is a roast. You see them on television all the time. They are irreverent and quite hilarious. This only works if you have the type of friends and family to pull this off and not be offended by the things being said but can be a ton of fun with the right audience. Have a great meal and allow all the guests, who are interested at any rate, to get up and deliver their ‘toast’ to the guest of honor. If you want a night of laughs this is definitely the way to celebrate your life and the friends you have (at least those that you had yesterday anyway).

You could do an AFI sort of theme in which you have films or slides showing of various events throughout the guest of honor’s life. This is a great way to pay tribute to someone that has meant a great deal to you when planning a birthday bash to be remembered. Have a red carpet sort of theme and allow guests to pay sincere tribute to the birthday girl or boy by extolling their virtues. This is another great celebration that is a lot more sentimental in nature than a roast but along the same lines when it comes to decoration and meal planning.

For another funny over the hill birthday party idea look to the past. If your birthday girl or boy is a relic you can give the party an Old West or Gold Rush theme. A party such as this can be a great deal of fun to plan and even more fun to attend. Set up a Wild West saloon and have everyone come dressed for occasion. This is a great photo op for most and if you plan things well the theme can be one that will go down in memory by every guest, especially, the guest of honor. Be sure to keep the drinks flowing and make the food portable (finger food is almost always a good plan for adult birthday parties unless they involve plenty of space for sitting down to dine).

Of course there is the standard Grim Reaper type of over the hill birthday party. There are things of course you can do to make your party stand out from all the rest but that will require a creative spark and knowledge of the guest of honor to pull off well. Use what you have to work with in order to create the perfect celebration of life or death in the new century. Of course if you are truly brave you can make it an out of this world experience and go with the black but give the party a supernatural theme. The sky is the limit when celebrating milestone birthdays and nothing is too outrageous depending on the personality of the guest of honor. Just remember that over the hill doesn’t mean not long for this world and life, at all stages, should be celebrated and honored.

A great over the hill party can be had for the cost of very careful planning and a great group of friends and family in order to help pull things off. If you are lost for inspiration hopefully the ideas mentioned above will help at least point you in the right direction if not solve your party planning woes.

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Camping Birthday Party Ideas

| Article, Birthday Party | January 27, 2012

Camping Birthday Party Ideas

While girls dream of parties with “jammies” and pillow fights little boys often dream of sleepovers that are held beneath the stars. There are many ways this can be incorporated into a birthday theme for your little man’s big day. No matter what age, there is something that boys find fascinating about sleeping in the great outdoors and a camping birthday party is a great way to do this, even if the great outdoors go no further than your own back yard.

A favorite theme among those holding camping birthday parties is that of a trail ride. With this you can bring your gear along with you, ride horses, cook, eat, and sleep under the stars. If you don’t have a trail ride, horses, or long trails in the wilderness nearby don’t despair. With a Dutch oven, an open fire, a few sticks, and little bit of imagination you can have your very own cowboy camp out birthday bash celebration. Don’t forget the fixin’s for some s’mores while you’re making plans and be sure to have a camera handy as you create an unforgettably fun birthday bash and camping party for that special guy in your life. Be sure to include a few tall tales to share around the campfire. Now might be a great time to brush up on your Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill stories.

A military camping birthday party is another great camping party idea. Right now boys need good solid heroes and the military is a great place to find them. If you have friends or family that are serving over seas this might be a great way to help your little guy bring them closer to home for an evening and could be the best birthday memory he’ll ever have. Set up pup tents, visit your local military supply or surplus store for MREs (meals ready to eat), have everyone wearing their favorite camouflage, and have an army green face painting contest before bed time.

A safari camping theme is another great theme for a terrific camping birthday party. Begin by having everyone dress appropriately for a day underneath the hot African sun, khakis, and an appropriate hat work well. Create a safari pack (goody bag) for all the kids including really chip binoculars, a net for catching stray bugs (really great for lightening bugs at night), safari themed stickers, and a picture frame that is worthy of a fearless safari adventurer (you’ll definitely want to send them home with photos of their safari attire). Set up camp for the evening and serve animal crackers for dessert. You can populate the tent with stuffed animals of favorite safari animals and supplement the adventure with a trip to the zoo for even grander effect and more fun.

If none of these are getting you very excited you could always go with a Rocky Mountain sort of theme for your camping birthday party. Be sure to have plenty of stuffed black bears and have everyone wear red flannel and denim. This is a great and fun sort of adventure for the little men in your life and a great fun party idea. It also presents a few wonderful photo ops for souvenirs and your very own memory book. Have the tents pitched in the backyard and the grill should be set up to feed your hungry mountaineers. If you are fortunate enough to have a creek on your property or live very near one you could even have your ‘adventurers’ go panning for gold.

A camping birthday party presents endless opportunities to put your imagination to work creating a new and wonderful theme. Even if the weather, for some odd reason, doesn’t want to cooperate you can bring your great outdoor adventure inside and still have a grand time. If you live in an apartment or an area in which you are uncomfortable having a camp out, there’s no reason you can’t have a wonderful camp “in”.

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A Pirate of a Birthday Party

| Article, Birthday Party | January 24, 2012

A Pirate of a Birthday Party

Pirates have for a very long time been a source of great fascination for children. This is why a pirate themed birthday party can be one of the most interesting and entertaining party ideas on the planet if you are willing to pay careful time and attention to the planning process. There are things you will need, of course, in order to pull the pirate’s party off without a hitch and the most important is a lot of patience and the ability to organize well, plan for contingencies, and be flexible when the big event finally arrives. If you can do all these things with style and grace then a pirate’s life really may be for ye.

Set the stage with the invitations. A great idea to use for the invites is a pirate’s map. Let “X” mark the spot, give the date and time and remind everyone to dress in their pirate’s best (make a costume contest a part of the festivities). This lets everyone know the theme ahead of time as well as the fact that they should show up dressed for the occasion. I suggest making a cute rhyme in a pirate’s voice to go along with the invitation. Something like

Ho ho hum and a bottle of rum Our good lad “name” turns nine So come ye to the Weatherly’s And have a mighty fine time.

For decorations you will want to make the party room or the exterior of the house, wherever you are actually having the party look as much like a pirate’s ship as possible. It really is best if this sort of party can be had outdoors in order to provide great places for burying treasure and hiding stuff. If that isn’t possible however, you’ll just have to get creative inside the home.

Party games for a good pirate party are almost limitless. You can begin by handing a clue and explaining that there is a treasure map that has been divided into four pieces. The first clue will take you to the first piece, which will then have another clue that will lead you to the next piece until you find all four pieces. This buys a little time for getting things ready for snacks, cake, ice cream or other adventures that may occur later and gives the kids an objective. Once they have all the pieces you can tell the story of the lost treasure and then allow the kids to go on a massive hunt for the treasure. You could of course have teams with two different treasure chests if you want to make it a competition or race though both teams will win their treasure in the end. You could also, for younger kids, have a nice rousing game of pin the peg – leg on the pirate or a game of walking the plank if you have a swimming pool and are certain everyone can swim (though swim trunks are highly encouraged for this rather than pirate’s costumes) and there is an adult waiting at the bottom just in case.

Whether or not it’s a pirate’s life for you, chances are quite good that throwing an excellent pirate themed birthday bash will make you the mom of your little one’s dreams – at least for a day and will give the neighborhood and, of course, all your guests something to talk about until the next great event takes place.

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