Although I was not in search of a plus size, I was looking for a long gown for my daughter whom wanted a full length dress on her 6 foot four frame with 4 inch heels. I found an awesome handmade place on ebay. They are out of England and hand make each dress. With shipping we paid 79.00. You need to order quickly though, it does take 4-6 weeks to get the dress made and sent. Go to ebay, type in prom dresses, and then narrow search to plus sizes and you will find it quickly. Good Luck. Princess, I can promise you that no one will remember what you wore to your prom, but your actions will be remembered forever! Kick up your heels and make some great memories! ... View related article.
As the mother of seven, four of which are girls, I have thrown more than my share of parties. Each of my girls have very different ideas, hobbies, and passions. So the party themes are varied as well. Please keep in mind that I do not pick a theme on short notice and I am always looking for new and different ideas. Planning and fore thought make for the most successful parties. The longer you have to plan, the cheaper the event. The following ten ideas have been tried and have all been repeated by others in our area. The greatest flatter is when someone else host a party with your original theme.
Prom Night Raid the closets of your family and friends for old prom, bridesmaids, formals, and gowns. Thrift stores often have them for a few dollars. It is best to have at least three or four per girl. Various sizes and styles make for a more exciting fashion show. You will also need a great deal of safety pins and hundreds of bobby pins. When the girls arrive let them go crazy trying on all the dresses. Some will require privacy to change. Once the gowns have been selected, the hair salon opens. Let the girls do each others hair. Once the hair is in place which generally takes an hour, make up is applied. I highly suggest that you not have heels for the girls to wear. Someone can get hurt. Plus the tennis shoes they have on, add to the look.
You could have a limo take the girls to a movie or a restaurant once the proper look has been achieved. But a limo is not needed. Everyone looks and stares at the girls in their finery. The girls will love the attention. Wraps, boas, and old mink stoles add to the glamor.
When you arrive back home, let the girls do a fashion show to strut their stuff. Dancing is often done after the show. One year, we even had corsages for all of them. They all had a flower to take home as a keep sake.
Backwards Party The girls are greeted at the door with a good-bye and thanks for attending the party. All clothes must be turned wrong side out or worn backwards. The dining room chairs are placed on the table, and the tablecloth is on the floor under the table. The cake and plates are on the floor. The girls eat the ice cream and cake first and then sing happy birthday. Gifts are opened next. Make sure the birthday girl thanks each person before she opens the gift. Games are played. Do immature younger games, but play them backwards. After games, the girls will change into their pajamas, backwards or course. While the girls watch a movie, fix them breakfast food. Served under the table of course.
In the morning, serve chips and soda pop for breakfast. Added bonus, you do not have to deal with the sugar rush, their parents do. When it is time to leave. Welcome the girls with a hello and how wonderful they look. Since you have not seen them in forever.
We write the invitation backwards to get the party started right.
Cooking Night I write on cheap rolling pins from the dollar store for the invitations. Tie ribbons on the ends for flair. I collect ugly aprons from thrift stores and garage sales for this event. I also collect paper chef hats. When the kids arrive, have them each make their own pizza dough. It will need time to rise. While the dough is getting ready have several bowls of white icing ready. Let the kids use food coloring to make several different colors with the white icing. Make sure each child gets to make a color. Have at least three cupcakes per child made before the party begins.
Now let the kids pat out the dough, make crust, apply sauce, cheese, and toppings for their very own creation. They will use three times the amount of cheese that is needed, so stock up or explain that less is more. While the pizza pies are cooking, have them decorate their cupcakes.
After the pizzas have been admired and eaten, the real fun begins. Take number 10 cans with lids, have each child measure out the cream, sugar, and mix in a three pound coffee can with lid. Insert the three can into the ten can. Add ice, and salt. The kids will then spend the next hour to hour and a half rolling the cans back and forth to make ice cream. Driveway or uncarpeted room is perfect for this.
The ice cream and cupcakes are the highlight of the event.
Scavenger Hunt and It Only Gets Bigger Party We do this together as one party, but only one can prove to be as awesome as well. When the kids arrive they draw a number. We have team 1 and team 2. Each group will need an adult chaperon. Each team starts with a pen. They go from one house to another in your neighborhood asking for something bigger. But they can only trade up once at a single house. For example: they trade the pen for a comb, the comb for a brush, the brush for a stuffed animal, the animal for a roll of paper towels, the towels, for a bucket, etc. The teams have one hour to get the biggest item. It will amaze you at how much fun the neighbors have helping and what they trade for. One team brought back an old ten speed bike and the other a two wheeled cart. The winning team must serve the losing team ice cream and cake. Let the kids rest and open gifts. Now it is off to the mall. Once again, teams are drawn. Each team is given a list of 50 things that they need to scavenger for. The lists must be the same items and one paper sack to hold their items. Each team has an adult chaperon. They can ask people walking in the mall, people working in stores, etc. Each team has an hour to collect the most items. The bags are collected and it is the perfect time to watch a movie at the mall or go home to watch a movie. The items are counted in front of all the kids when you arrive home and a winner is declared. The winners must make the popcorn, chips, and drinks for the losing team.
Items on the list can include a paper clip, green stamp, a milk jug lid, straight pin, gas receipt, stamp, Q-tip, etc. Make sure the items are small and hard to find.
Jewelry Party This party theme is a huge hit with the pre teen set. I buy any and all beads, craft jewelry, old unique jewelry for the pieces, costume jewelry pieces, and craft sets. I only buy at thrift stores, garage sales, and the after Christmas sales for this items. Cross stitch yarn is a must and can be bought on clearance at all fabric stores. The girls make necklaces, bracelets, and rings for themselves and for the birthday girl. Friendship bracelets take hours to make and the girls can watch movies while they make their unique color designs.
Spa Day Party Collect shower caps for this event. Most hotels will give you a dozen if you ask nicely. The things you will needs on hand are: cotton balls, nail polish in many colors, cuticle sticks, nail polish remover, cucumber, oatmeal, honey, bath salts, nail files, scented lotions, dish soap, small bowls, and large pans for soaking feet, flip flops, and fabric strips. Pour dish soap is small bowls for the girls to soak their fingernails in. Have them do this at the table so they can talk together as they soak. Show them how to correct and push back their cuticles. Have them paint each others finger nails.
Cake and ice cream before you soak their feet in bath salts. The birthday girl can open gifts in front of them as they soak. Now it is time to fill their toes with cotton balls and paint their own toe nails. Scented lotions should be applied now.
Flip flops can be purchased in September from Old Navy, Gap, Rue 21, etc. for 50 cents to a dollar. Buy most in your daughters size and a few larger and smaller. Have the girls make designer flip flops in their school colors. Have them cut stripes of fabric and tie knots to make a personal pair for each to wear and show off their pretty toe nails.
Pajamas are now put on and the shower caps are dawned. Have the girls make their own facial cream. I use oatmeal and honey. As the girls get comfortable for a movie, have them each lay down and put cucumbers on their eyes. This reduces puffy eyes and makes the girls tired. They laugh and talk for a few minutes and by twenty minutes they are fighting not to go to sleep.
Time for them to put on their facial masks and watch a movie. Twenty to thirty minutes later, let them wash the dried mask off. They can do each others hair as they finish the movie. In the morning, rave about how wonderful they all look.
Art Party Messy, fun, and the kids get to make their own creations. I buy ugly long sleeve men's shirts at garage sales for the kids to wear over their clothes. Have four or five art projects ready. Sidewalk chalk gets a great mural started on your driveway and starts their creative juices flowing. We have painted flower pots, birdhouses, wooden bins, piggy banks, and even glass vases. Whatever you can find that all match and are not expensive. Brushes can be bought at the dollar store. In April you can find plain sweatshirts for a dollar at Wal-Mart. Buy them in various sizes and try to get them all the same color. Iron double sided instant hem on the back of a floral fabric that matches the sweatshirt before the party. Letter stencils will help the girls draw and cut out their own names in the fabric. After you have ironed their names on the sweatshirts, have the girls use puff paint to outline the letters. Hint: the girls must use the puff paint on the shirts in a place where the shirts will not be moved till in the morning. It takes several hours for the puff paint to dry.
Buy flat sheets at garage sales. They become perfect canvases for the kids to paint on.
Finger painting is also fun.
Buy face paint at costume shops and mass merchandisers after Halloween. After the girls have painted their own portrait for the birthday girl as a keep sake, have them go crazy painting their own faces, and each others. They will laugh till they cry.
Make the World a Better Place Party When the kids arrive have them draw numbers for two different teams. Explain to them that they are going to make the world a better place in the next few hours. Ask each one to think of one way that they could make the world a better place. Have them write it down on a piece of paper and collect them. Explain that helping others can be fun and make them feel better about themselves. To prove it, they are going to see which team can collect the most canned goods to feed those less fortunate. The winning team will get a prize. As the teams are getting ready to leave with a chaperone, that has an empty trunk for all the food they collect, dare them to take it a step further. Tell them that you are not sure if they can do two things at once. Show them a single plastic shopping bag and ask them if they know what it is made out of. Some will be surprised to find out it is made of plastic or oil and even both sometimes. Explain to them that those bags that their groceries come home in, are filling up our dumps and hurting the environment. Dare them to see which team can collect the most bags as well.
Find a local food bank ahead of time that the kids can give the food to. Set up a time for them to meet you. Have them praise the kids and tell them how many people they will feed with the food they collected. If your party starts at 2. The kids should collect from 2:30 to 3:30. Set up a 4 o'clock appointment for the kids to help deliver the food. The arrange for the kids to take all the plastic bags to a recycling center. If one is not available or open at that time. Have them take then to a not-for-profit resale shop to be reused.
Be sure that the kids know the name of the food bank they are collecting for. You can even print a small flyer with the name of the food bank on it and ask for people to help their cause. You can get 10 on a single piece of paper for them to hand out at the door.
After the teams have collected and delivered their good deeds it is back to the birthday girls house. They will all be hungry and tired. After cake and food, read the ways they can help the world, that they wrote when they arrived. Tell them how proud you are of them and all that they have done.
We have made fleece blankets for nursing homes with the knot ties, drawn get well cards for those at the hospital, letters to soldiers over seas, and once we collected money for a local child with cancer. They raised over a hundred dollars going door to door in an hour. You would have though it was a million by the look of pride on their faces.
70's Party Go to older persons garage sales and old thrift stores for the clothes. The uglier the better. It is disco time. You can not have enough polyester. Large wigs are a great hit. Have them watch John Travolta shake his stuff in Saturday Night Fever. Teach them how to do the hustle. Dance to the Bee Gees and Donna Summers. It is a laid back theme that the kids love.
Costume Party Have the kids come in costume, no matter what time of the year. Each one has a sports uniform, old Halloween costume, dance recital costume, or parents old clothes to wear. When they arrive have each one state exactly whom they are in costume of. It cannot be just a foot ball player, it must be a specific player. The other kids must call them by their characters name from that point on, plus they must talk, act, and do what their character would do at all times. Then take them out for a fun evening. Go out to dinner, a movie, miniature golf, etc. They must stay in character the whole evening. Accents are a perfect addition to the charade. The kids will get tons of attention where ever they go. It is a winner every time.
These ideas can be done easily and cheaply if planned in advance. My children must have their theme by their half birthdays each year. It is their day and it should be celebrated. To make it more memorable, take tons of pictures. Plus, make sure all siblings are not a part of the event. A sitter or grandparent can take them during the party. Make your child feel like the only person in the world that day. Give them all of your attention. That is the best gift of all. Don't worry if it is not perfect. Accidents will happen, something will break, and your carpet is going to get stained. Just smile at your child and remember that they are what is important. The other things can be replaced, but your child can not. Now, let's party!
With a family of nine to feed, I always felt like all I did was cook. If I was not cooking a meal, then someone needed a snack, and it was a constant battle to keep everyone full and happy with 9 different schedules to work around. But, we have never had a weight problems for any of us.
Then my husband stopped being a U.S.Marine and he gained 40 pounds in a few months. He was not running 10 miles a day anymore and he was still consuming the same amount of calories. He decided to take the EAS challenge to lose the weight.
Basically you eat every three hours. You eat a portion of meat, carbs, veggie the same size as your fist. He lost the weight in 6 weeks. Yes, all forty pounds in 6 weeks and he ate all the time. It keeps your metabolism up and burning calories at all times. He ate a protein bar or drank a shake if he could not sit down and eat when at work.
So, I decided to cut out all snacks at our house and we all eat every three hours. I cook tons of meals up in advance and preportion them for all the kids. All they have to do is pop their plate in the microwave and they are good to go. I put their names on their plates, so they do not eat someone elses. They each eat five meals a day. I replace the carbs with fruit on the kids plates on two of their meals. So, my children are always getting five veggiees a day and fruit. That is something few moms get done each day.
It is also great when everyone has a different schedule on any given day. We do sit down together for dinner each evening and talk about our days as a family.
I will tell you at first I was shocked at how high our food bill was. I had to buy alot of vegtables and fruit. But, then I quickly learned it was cheaper to buy all the veggies, than the snacks we had in the house.
Plus, you do not buy pre packaged items anymore. No more mac and cheese, hamburger helper, etc.
All nine of us are in great shape and at our ideal weight. We do not eat suger now at all. No more cheese on all the veggies and I rarely use butter or even need to have bread in the house. It does take time to get into the new habit. But, it has been worth it for us. I know all my kids are healthy.
As the mother of seven and a married woman, I can tell you that our household has tried many different ways to pay expenses. When my husband was in college and as a U.S. Marine, I paid all the bills. When I decided to be a stay at home mom for a few years, he paid all the bills. We often disagreed on how money was spent. He wastes money on fast food and I have a problem with shoes. So, we decided that we would open a household account. Each week, we both put equal amounts into it to cover our household expenses. The house payment, water, electric, sewer, phone, taxes, insurances, groceries, and internet. What is left of our checks is our own personal money. I pay for Christmas presents, he pays for vacations. He uses his extra money to play the stock market. I use mine on various different things. This system works very well for us. Plus, the kids quickly realized, that if I said no. Dad could say yes, and use his own money to give them for whatever that just have to have that week or vice versa. I can not say a word about his money and he can not say a word about mine. We rarely argue over money isses now. This system works very well for us.
It is okay to have yours, mine , and ours. As a woman, my husband would describe as you have your wife. I am controlling, often forget to say please, and I never admit fault. He fell in love with me anyway. He learned how to make me compromise without ever letting me give up my issues. He asks what I suggest we do? He constantly thanks me for all that I do. He makes me want to improve myself. He lets me think that most things are my idea. He kills me with kindness. He has also mastered the key to kiddingly offering me tit for tat. He will rub my back, if I get the car tagged. He will take the kids to school if I will write out the checks for the bills.
You married her for your reasons and she said yes for hers. Can you remember that time before you became man and wife? Rekindle that flame. Chances are, she is not seeing what you say as a compromise, but as an ultimatum. Unfortunately, you can not start again, but you can decide to go down a different path together. Hopefully, you will do it with joined hands.
Mother of seven here. Each child at our home cleans their room and has one chore that lasts a year. Be it dishes, trash, laundry, pets, etc......depending on their age. Your senior year is no chore year. We do not give allowances.
Each child was taught how to clean their room. We started slow with 5 minutes on the timer and worked from there. Be very specific with each task. Please put all your shoes in the closet. Please place your books on the shelves. Put your crayons on your desk. It worked very well for us.
We did have one that decided to stop cleaning their room at age 10. First we took the fun stuff away from his room and after 2 weeks of not cleaning their room, we took everything out of their room. I mean everything. His clothes, furniture, everything. He was left a lightbulb, a sleeping bag, and a pillow. I placed one set of clean clothes that I picked out each morning at his door. After a week, he got to move it all back himself. He is fifteen now and I can tell you he probably has the neatest bedroom in the house.
As far as my hubby goes. It is simple. He does everything from the hip and above and I do everything from the hip and lower. The actual countertops changes each month since it is hip height. Yes, i have to clean the floors and pick up a great deal more, but I do not work nearly as many hours as my husband. And windows, lightbulbs, cabinets, ceiling fans, china cabinets, and all the pictures on the walls are things I hate to clean anyway. So it works well for us.
I cook all meals and he does all outdoor stuff. And yes, cars are outside stuff. I love not putting gas in the cars.
It works at our house, I hope you find away that works for you!
Take a poster board and write the following, using candy bars in the letter. You can hot glue the candy bars to the poster board. You are such a Lifesaver! I wanted to go with you to the _______ or homecoming. Most Goobers would never make my Starburst. Your MOUNDS of stars from the MILKY WAY made me SNICKER. I look forward to your next TWIX, be it NOW OR LATER.
Thank you for all the kind words. I am not a picture taker. I can not operate a regular camera, so a digital would be out of the question. I would gladly volunteer to have a friend take pictures this year of our Christmas mess. I will tell you all now, that we lost all of our black oak trees in the front yard from a wind storn caused by Hurricane Ike three weeks ago, so you will not get to see our snowflake lights. I could have her take pictures of the six tree stumps we have had burning in our front yard for nine days though. Somehow, I do not think it will have the same effect! :)
Again, thank you for all the wonderful compliments. If I waited for the kids to compliment me, without wanting something in return, I would be waiting a very long time. A decade, score, or era might be a good time line!
I am the mother of seven and I spend a hundred dollars a week on groceries. We have meat five times a week. I am big into coupons. I went to the store today and my total was $98.12 after coupons, I paid $ 12.03.
I ask people I know for the coupons they arent going to use and I belong to several free coupon groups on yahoo. I also email companies about the products I use and they send me coupons. Yes, It takes time to sort and time to shop, but it is a game for me.
Milk and butcher meat are the two things I do not have coupons for, so I shop smart. I do not look at the price per pound on meat, but the price for the servings I need. I also talk to all the butchers at our three grocery stores and they have helped me alot. One store reduces their meat on Friday mornings on items that have not sold that week. I got 8 t-bone steaks for 8.00 a few weeks back. One store had spiral cut ham for .79 cent s a pound. Linit of two. I was buying two hams a day every day for a week. The most I paid was 3.74 a ham.
Yes, I buy all of the lost leaders each week and I have a huge pantry for it. Cereal here has been 88 cents a box for general mills and I have dollar off coupons, so they are free. My husband thinks I am crazy at times. He just shakes his head when one of the kids told him we had 63 boxes of cereal in the pantry.
I emailed Hiland Diary here a few months back when milk hit the 3.25 a gallon mark. I explained that I loved their products, but was going to have to start buying a cheaper brand. They sent me coupons for 6 free gallons of milk and 4 free quarts of ice cream. I was thrilled.
I also belong to several freebie sites and I sign up for every free sample I can find on the internet. I have not had to buy shampoo, toothpaste, or razors in years.
I grow my own herbs and I buy produce at farmers markets here. Friends also give us their extra vegtables from their gardens. I in turn make them deleious desserts and bakery items as thank yous.
We are lucky. My husband makes a good living and I am retired now. But, I hate spending money on food. It is fun to see how much I can get for the least amount of money. It is cheap entertainment. It gives me pride when one of my kids tells their friends parents that THEIR mom once bought 113 items at the store and she paid $2.48 for all of it. I carry the receipt in my wallet, as proof.
You have to have space and a freezer to buy all the bargins when they are on sale. You also have to be aware of how much you will use before the expiration date. Remember when Peter Pan was trying to make a comeback from their recall? Peter Pan was on sale here for .69 a jar. I knew we went through 2 jars a week, so I bought 114 jars. If I bought Peter Pan now at 2.49 a jar, it would cost me $284.39. I paid $78.66. I saved $205.73!!! It is worth it.
Baby number 5 was younger than the others in his class in our clan and had some of the same problems at school. He was not disruptive, but he did whispers to others at his table and was not good at listening to all that the teacher had to say. He heard the beginning of her instruction and then winged the rest. I went to school with him and spent the day after the teacher told me about the situation. For us, it was an easy fix. Our son was bored beyond belief. The teacher repeated everything over and over. With the teachers permission , I sent a book of flags and a ream of blank paper to school with him. When his work was done . he simply opned up the flag book and drew one of the different countries flags on the page. Each day he would bring home the flags and we would write the name of the country on it and look it up on a map. I saved all 115 different flags he drew. It kept him quiet and not bored. Plus, he learned many flags and countries.
We never had a problem on the bus.
You might suggest to your teacher to have your child moved to the front of the classroom. That way they have no one to talk to and they are not easily distracted. ... View related article.
As the mother of seven, four of which are girls, I have thrown more than my share of parties. Each of my girls have very different ideas, hobbies, and passions. So the party themes are varied as well. Please keep in mind that I do not pick a theme on short notice and I am always looking for new and different ideas. Planning and fore thought make for the most successful parties. The longer you have to plan, the cheaper the event. The following ten ideas have been tried and have all been repeated by others in our area. The greatest flatter is when someone else host a party with your original theme.
Prom Night Raid the closets of your family and friends for old prom, bridesmaids, formals, and gowns. Thrift stores often have them for a few dollars. It is best to have at least three or four per girl. Various sizes and styles make for a more exciting fashion show. You will also need a great deal of safety pins and hundreds of bobby pins. When the girls arrive let them go crazy trying on all the dresses. Some will require privacy to change. Once the gowns have been selected, the hair salon opens. Let the girls do each others hair. Once the hair is in place which generally takes an hour, make up is applied. I highly suggest that you not have heels for the girls to wear. Someone can get hurt. Plus the tennis shoes they have on, add to the look.
You could have a limo take the girls to a movie or a restaurant once the proper look has been achieved. But a limo is not needed. Everyone looks and stares at the girls in their finery. The girls will love the attention. Wraps, boas, and old mink stoles add to the glamor.
When you arrive back home, let the girls do a fashion show to strut their stuff. Dancing is often done after the show. One year, we even had corsages for all of them. They all had a flower to take home as a keep sake.
Backwards Party The girls are greeted at the door with a good-bye and thanks for attending the party. All clothes must be turned wrong side out or worn backwards. The dining room chairs are placed on the table, and the tablecloth is on the floor under the table. The cake and plates are on the floor. The girls eat the ice cream and cake first and then sing happy birthday. Gifts are opened next. Make sure the birthday girl thanks each person before she opens the gift. Games are played. Do immature younger games, but play them backwards. After games, the girls will change into their pajamas, backwards or course. While the girls watch a movie, fix them breakfast food. Served under the table of course.
In the morning, serve chips and soda pop for breakfast. Added bonus, you do not have to deal with the sugar rush, their parents do. When it is time to leave. Welcome the girls with a hello and how wonderful they look. Since you have not seen them in forever.
We write the invitation backwards to get the party started right.
Cooking Night I write on cheap rolling pins from the dollar store for the invitations. Tie ribbons on the ends for flair. I collect ugly aprons from thrift stores and garage sales for this event. I also collect paper chef hats. When the kids arrive, have them each make their own pizza dough. It will need time to rise. While the dough is getting ready have several bowls of white icing ready. Let the kids use food coloring to make several different colors with the white icing. Make sure each child gets to make a color. Have at least three cupcakes per child made before the party begins.
Now let the kids pat out the dough, make crust, apply sauce, cheese, and toppings for their very own creation. They will use three times the amount of cheese that is needed, so stock up or explain that less is more. While the pizza pies are cooking, have them decorate their cupcakes.
After the pizzas have been admired and eaten, the real fun begins. Take number 10 cans with lids, have each child measure out the cream, sugar, and mix in a three pound coffee can with lid. Insert the three can into the ten can. Add ice, and salt. The kids will then spend the next hour to hour and a half rolling the cans back and forth to make ice cream. Driveway or uncarpeted room is perfect for this.
The ice cream and cupcakes are the highlight of the event.
Scavenger Hunt and It Only Gets Bigger Party We do this together as one party, but only one can prove to be as awesome as well. When the kids arrive they draw a number. We have team 1 and team 2. Each group will need an adult chaperon. Each team starts with a pen. They go from one house to another in your neighborhood asking for something bigger. But they can only trade up once at a single house. For example: they trade the pen for a comb, the comb for a brush, the brush for a stuffed animal, the animal for a roll of paper towels, the towels, for a bucket, etc. The teams have one hour to get the biggest item. It will amaze you at how much fun the neighbors have helping and what they trade for. One team brought back an old ten speed bike and the other a two wheeled cart. The winning team must serve the losing team ice cream and cake. Let the kids rest and open gifts. Now it is off to the mall. Once again, teams are drawn. Each team is given a list of 50 things that they need to scavenger for. The lists must be the same items and one paper sack to hold their items. Each team has an adult chaperon. They can ask people walking in the mall, people working in stores, etc. Each team has an hour to collect the most items. The bags are collected and it is the perfect time to watch a movie at the mall or go home to watch a movie. The items are counted in front of all the kids when you arrive home and a winner is declared. The winners must make the popcorn, chips, and drinks for the losing team.
Items on the list can include a paper clip, green stamp, a milk jug lid, straight pin, gas receipt, stamp, Q-tip, etc. Make sure the items are small and hard to find.
Jewelry Party This party theme is a huge hit with the pre teen set. I buy any and all beads, craft jewelry, old unique jewelry for the pieces, costume jewelry pieces, and craft sets. I only buy at thrift stores, garage sales, and the after Christmas sales for this items. Cross stitch yarn is a must and can be bought on clearance at all fabric stores. The girls make necklaces, bracelets, and rings for themselves and for the birthday girl. Friendship bracelets take hours to make and the girls can watch movies while they make their unique color designs.
Spa Day Party Collect shower caps for this event. Most hotels will give you a dozen if you ask nicely. The things you will needs on hand are: cotton balls, nail polish in many colors, cuticle sticks, nail polish remover, cucumber, oatmeal, honey, bath salts, nail files, scented lotions, dish soap, small bowls, and large pans for soaking feet, flip flops, and fabric strips. Pour dish soap is small bowls for the girls to soak their fingernails in. Have them do this at the table so they can talk together as they soak. Show them how to correct and push back their cuticles. Have them paint each others finger nails.
Cake and ice cream before you soak their feet in bath salts. The birthday girl can open gifts in front of them as they soak. Now it is time to fill their toes with cotton balls and paint their own toe nails. Scented lotions should be applied now.
Flip flops can be purchased in September from Old Navy, Gap, Rue 21, etc. for 50 cents to a dollar. Buy most in your daughters size and a few larger and smaller. Have the girls make designer flip flops in their school colors. Have them cut stripes of fabric and tie knots to make a personal pair for each to wear and show off their pretty toe nails.
Pajamas are now put on and the shower caps are dawned. Have the girls make their own facial cream. I use oatmeal and honey. As the girls get comfortable for a movie, have them each lay down and put cucumbers on their eyes. This reduces puffy eyes and makes the girls tired. They laugh and talk for a few minutes and by twenty minutes they are fighting not to go to sleep.
Time for them to put on their facial masks and watch a movie. Twenty to thirty minutes later, let them wash the dried mask off. They can do each others hair as they finish the movie. In the morning, rave about how wonderful they all look.
Art Party Messy, fun, and the kids get to make their own creations. I buy ugly long sleeve men's shirts at garage sales for the kids to wear over their clothes. Have four or five art projects ready. Sidewalk chalk gets a great mural started on your driveway and starts their creative juices flowing. We have painted flower pots, birdhouses, wooden bins, piggy banks, and even glass vases. Whatever you can find that all match and are not expensive. Brushes can be bought at the dollar store. In April you can find plain sweatshirts for a dollar at Wal-Mart. Buy them in various sizes and try to get them all the same color. Iron double sided instant hem on the back of a floral fabric that matches the sweatshirt before the party. Letter stencils will help the girls draw and cut out their own names in the fabric. After you have ironed their names on the sweatshirts, have the girls use puff paint to outline the letters. Hint: the girls must use the puff paint on the shirts in a place where the shirts will not be moved till in the morning. It takes several hours for the puff paint to dry.
Buy flat sheets at garage sales. They become perfect canvases for the kids to paint on.
Finger painting is also fun.
Buy face paint at costume shops and mass merchandisers after Halloween. After the girls have painted their own portrait for the birthday girl as a keep sake, have them go crazy painting their own faces, and each others. They will laugh till they cry.
Make the World a Better Place Party When the kids arrive have them draw numbers for two different teams. Explain to them that they are going to make the world a better place in the next few hours. Ask each one to think of one way that they could make the world a better place. Have them write it down on a piece of paper and collect them. Explain that helping others can be fun and make them feel better about themselves. To prove it, they are going to see which team can collect the most canned goods to feed those less fortunate. The winning team will get a prize. As the teams are getting ready to leave with a chaperone, that has an empty trunk for all the food they collect, dare them to take it a step further. Tell them that you are not sure if they can do two things at once. Show them a single plastic shopping bag and ask them if they know what it is made out of. Some will be surprised to find out it is made of plastic or oil and even both sometimes. Explain to them that those bags that their groceries come home in, are filling up our dumps and hurting the environment. Dare them to see which team can collect the most bags as well.
Find a local food bank ahead of time that the kids can give the food to. Set up a time for them to meet you. Have them praise the kids and tell them how many people they will feed with the food they collected. If your party starts at 2. The kids should collect from 2:30 to 3:30. Set up a 4 o'clock appointment for the kids to help deliver the food. The arrange for the kids to take all the plastic bags to a recycling center. If one is not available or open at that time. Have them take then to a not-for-profit resale shop to be reused.
Be sure that the kids know the name of the food bank they are collecting for. You can even print a small flyer with the name of the food bank on it and ask for people to help their cause. You can get 10 on a single piece of paper for them to hand out at the door.
After the teams have collected and delivered their good deeds it is back to the birthday girls house. They will all be hungry and tired. After cake and food, read the ways they can help the world, that they wrote when they arrived. Tell them how proud you are of them and all that they have done.
We have made fleece blankets for nursing homes with the knot ties, drawn get well cards for those at the hospital, letters to soldiers over seas, and once we collected money for a local child with cancer. They raised over a hundred dollars going door to door in an hour. You would have though it was a million by the look of pride on their faces.
70's Party Go to older persons garage sales and old thrift stores for the clothes. The uglier the better. It is disco time. You can not have enough polyester. Large wigs are a great hit. Have them watch John Travolta shake his stuff in Saturday Night Fever. Teach them how to do the hustle. Dance to the Bee Gees and Donna Summers. It is a laid back theme that the kids love.
Costume Party Have the kids come in costume, no matter what time of the year. Each one has a sports uniform, old Halloween costume, dance recital costume, or parents old clothes to wear. When they arrive have each one state exactly whom they are in costume of. It cannot be just a foot ball player, it must be a specific player. The other kids must call them by their characters name from that point on, plus they must talk, act, and do what their character would do at all times. Then take them out for a fun evening. Go out to dinner, a movie, miniature golf, etc. They must stay in character the whole evening. Accents are a perfect addition to the charade. The kids will get tons of attention where ever they go. It is a winner every time.
These ideas can be done easily and cheaply if planned in advance. My children must have their theme by their half birthdays each year. It is their day and it should be celebrated. To make it more memorable, take tons of pictures. Plus, make sure all siblings are not a part of the event. A sitter or grandparent can take them during the party. Make your child feel like the only person in the world that day. Give them all of your attention. That is the best gift of all. Don't worry if it is not perfect. Accidents will happen, something will break, and your carpet is going to get stained. Just smile at your child and remember that they are what is important. The other things can be replaced, but your child can not. Now, let's party!
