Tips
 1.
Mail invitations two weeks before the party date.
2. Plan a safe, comfortable place for the party where
the children can have fun, but will not hurt themselves
or your home. If planning an outdoor party be sure
to have a backup plan in case of bad weather.
3. Limit the party time to two hours or less for
children under six years of age. Up to three hours
is fine for older children.
4. Prepare more activities than you plan to use in
advance. Activities often take less time than planned
and you may want to keep the children busy.
5. Include the birthday child in preparations as
often as possible. Let him or her stuff the party
favor bags, make suggestions for games, help with
the decorations, set the table, and mail the invitations
- even if that only meansputting them in the mailbox.
Fun Activities
Dress Up
Make this a costume party by inviting your
guests to come dressed as magicians or fortune tellers!
If you have extra clothes or accessories, offer them
to those who come without costumes. Be sure to take
photos for intriguing party favors!
Magic Box
This game takes advance preparation, but
it’s lots of fun to play. Before the party, find a
small gift for each child, as well as several boxes
of varying sizes that will fit inside each other.
Put the best gift inside the smallest box, and wrap
it with special gift wrap. Put this gift in a slightly
larger box with a new prize, and wrap again. Continue
this process until you have wrapped enough boxes and
gifts for each guest to unwrap one. At the party,
seat your guests in a circle. Play some magical music
and tell the children to pass the magic box around
the circle as quickly as possible. When you stop the
music, the lucky player holding the box must say "Abra
Ca Dabra" before they are allowed to unwrap it.
(Don’t tell the kids there are other boxes inside).
Once a child has unwrapped a box, they must leave
the circle with their gift. Start the music again
and continue playing until each child has unwrapped
a gift in the magic box. The child to open the last
box is the winner of the magic prize!
Penny Magic
Pick 5 pennies with different dates and place them
in a top hat. Ask one of your guests to pick a penny
and look at the date, without telling what it is.
Pass the penny around so everyone knows the chosen
date. Quickly put the penny back into the hat and
shake up the pennies. Let your "Penny Magician"
(birthday child) reach into the hat and pull out the
chosen penny. The Penny Magician will know which penny
was chosen because copper absorbs heat, making the
penny that everyone has handled warmer than the rest.
Once everyone learns the secret penny magic, let each
child take a turn being the Penny Magician.
Hat Trick
Set a top hat in the middle of a large room and tell
the children to form a circle around it. Pass out
an equal number of playing cards to each guest and
take turns tossing the cards into the hat. (Adjust
distance to match the skill and patience level of
your guests.) Any player who gets a card in the hat
gets to continue tossing until they miss. The player
who tosses the most cards into the hat gets to start
the next round.
Magic Jelly Beans
Before the party, fill a large jar with red, black
and white jelly beans. (Remember to count the jelly
beans before putting them in the jar.) During the
party, write down each child’s guess of how many beans
they think are in the jar. At the end of the party,
gather everyone together and announce the actual number
of jelly beans in the jar.
The child with the most accurate guess wins the jar
of magic jelly beans!
Card Memory
Take a deck of cards and shuffle them well. Lay them
face down on the floor or a large table. Each player
takes a turn flipping two cards over. If they don’t
match, the player turns them back over and another
player takes a turn. If they do match, the player
keeps them and continues flipping until they are unable
to make a match. The object of this game is to find
as many matches as you can.
Sneaky Magician
Only a sneaky magician can outwit a gang of thieves!
Choose a child to be the Sneaky Magician, seat them
in a chair, and blindfold them. Place a special magical
item beneath the chair, (top hat, deck of cards, magic
eight ball, etc.) which the Magician must protect
from the thieves. Only one thief may try to steal
from the Magician at any given time. Since the Magician
is blindfolded he/she must listen closely for the
thief and touch them with their hands or feet before
they steal the magical item. A thief who is caught
becomes the next Magician. If the Magician does not
catch the thief, the magical item is replaced under
the chair so another thief can try.
Delectable
Treats
Queen of Tarts
Purchase frozen pastry dough at your grocery
store. Roll onto a lightly floured surface, cut into
3" circles, and press into tart pans. Chill while
preparing filling. To make the filling, beat 3 eggs
and blend in 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup chopped scallions,
1/2 teaspoon onion salt, a dash of nutmeg, and 1 1/4
cups grated Swiss cheese.
Spoon filling into tart shells. Cut tiny heart shapes
out of whole pimentos and place one on each tart.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until puffy and golden.
Serve warm.
Magic Rainbow Punch
Create a drink that’s as much fun to make as it is
to drink. Freeze several of your child’s favorite
Kool-Aid® flavors (berry, orange, lemon, lime, blue
raspberry, grape, etc.) in ice cube trays. Fill trays
half-full so more colored cubes will fit in each glass.
When it’s time to serve, place ice cubes in a large
bowl and let each child fill their glass (tall clear
cups work the best). Pour clear soda or juice over
the colored cubes. Your guests will love watching
as it turns into Magic Rainbow Punch.
Fantastic No-Bake Cake
Your guests are sure to be intrigued when you tell
them this cake was "baked" in the freezer!
You will need: 24 chocolate chip cookies, 3/4 cup
quick oats, 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1/2
gallon ice cream or frozen yogurt (one or two flavors),
and your child's favorite candies for decoration.
First, place the ice cream in the refrigerator to
soften. Meanwhile, put 16 cookies in a plastic bag
and crush well with a rolling pin. Put crushed cookies
in a bowl, add 1/2 cup quick oats, and stir in 1/4
melted butter. Press mixture evenly into the bottom
of a 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Scoop out half the
softened ice cream and spread evenly over the crust.
Crush the remaining cookies, and combine with the
remaining quick oats and melted butter. Spread mixture
over the first layer of ice cream. Then, add the second
layer of ice cream and decorate as desired. Freeze
until party time.
Adapt this cake to your party theme by making a magician's
top hat out of black construction paper, leaving the
top piece off. Make sure the hat’s diameter is larger
than the cake, so it fits around it without touching.
Before serving, place the hat over the cake, with
the brim up, as if you will be pulling the cake out
of the hat. (This also allows you to light the birthday
candles.) Tap the hat with a magic wand, and say "Abra
Ca Dabra!" before lifting the hat off the cake.
For extra fun, place a magic rabbit ice cream ball
(recipe below) on top!
Magic Rabbit Ice Cream Balls
Make a large ice cream ball for each of your guests.
Roll each ball in coconut flakes and set it on a flattened
cupcake wrapper. Use black jelly beans for the rabbit’s
eyes, and a red jelly bean for its nose. Cut out "ears"
from pink construction paper, or use halved sugar
cookies instead. Store them in the freezer until ready
to serve.
These treats are sure to disappear fast!
Decorating
Tips
Spread your tablecover on your party table. If your
child has any theme-related toys, you can add them
to the table for a more festive display.
Cut several one-to-two-foot-long pieces of curling
ribbon. Curl the ribbon by pulling it between your
thumb and the blade of your scissors. Lay the resulting
curls on your table for added color. Hang balloons
in bunches for the best effect. If you choose to fill
balloons with helium, wait until the party day to
ensure they float well!
 Use
balloons to mark the party spot; hang them on the
mailbox, near the front door, or tie them to the birthday
child's chair to mark the seat of honor.
Place balloons anywhere that strikes your fancy.
The more the better!
Gather six or eight streamers and attach them to
the ceiling in the center of the party room (or over
the table).
Use a light fixture over the table, if you have one,
as the center point for the streamers.
To create colorful two-tone streamers, put two differently
colored streamers back-to-back, twist as you walk
them to the wall, and attach at shoulder height.
 Smile
for the Camera!
Be sure to take lots of pictures. You and your child
will want to remember this special party. Polaroid
pictures work well as party favors because they capture
the fun instantly.
A helpful hint when using regular film: Order extra
prints and send them to the parents afterward. Remember,
it's not necessary to have everyone in each picture.
Focus on small groups and avoid posing all the photos.
Candids capture the laughter best! |
