Camp Mail

For kids going to camp, it’s often like going to a week long sleepover party. Yeah, there may be classes and sometimes the food isn’t so great, but there’s all that outdoor play, new friends to make, campfires, whispered exchanges after lights out, etc. Often camp counselors are young college age guys and gals that are way better than “parents.”

However, even for only a week long camp, some kids get a bit homesick and writing letters or receiving mail can be a help. I remember the tension of “mail call” and wondering if I was going to get anything or get too much! At our camp if someone got a lot of mail in one day they often had to do something silly like run around the dining hall while repeating some phrase at the top of their voice.

Letters to or from home might not have a lot of content, but can be fun anyway, so be prepared when your kid goes off to camp. First, provide writing paper, envelopes, pens or pencils and stamps for your child to take along. We have some cute Camp Writing Kits on our website – some are fold and seal; others are the more traditional kid style stationery and matching envelopes. Send your mail to camp early in the week so your son or daughter gets a letter early. Keep your message(s) light and upbeat. Don’t emphasize to a kid with a tendency to be homesick how much you miss him or her. (Or how much you’re enjoying them being gone!)

You might want to save those letters you get, too—they could be a nice treasure years later. Click here to read more!

Schools Out – Hurray!

At least that’s what the kids say. Sometimes the parents aren’t so positive, although with all that happens the last month, I usually found it a relief. Here in Kansas schools get out this week. I know in Washington state they go another month.

At the start of summer vacation kids usually are just so pleased to sleep in and play, play, play, that they’re pretty content. But it’s also fun to give them the anticipation of a party, say at the pool, or lake, or park.

Encourage your kids to plan the party themselves (of course, adults always have veto power over any ideas). Have the kids pick a theme—whether it’s a food theme (i.e. ice cream sundaes) or an activity theme (i.e. pool party)—decide on the guest list, the food, decorations, if any, and make or choose invitations. Fill-in party invitations are quick and easy, yet are another task to occupy the kids while they enter all the info. Of course, you’ll want to remind them, that part of party duties are the clean-up, too!

Need party ideas? Check out these sites:
more4kids.info
home.ivillage.com
wilton.com
healthy-kid-recipes.com

And here’s one with Slumber Party Ideas:
Summer.about.com Click here to read more!

Slime Time

Need a party idea for those elementary age kids, especially those ones who like icky slimy stuff? What about a Slime Party? One place you can buy slime is at Arsa Toys: SLY1130 -- Slinky Toys FunLabs Power Putty Slimes Kit (For Ages 8 and Up). There’s even a recipe to make your own slime here. Or for younger kids, Arsa has an appropriate snail game: Speedy Eddy.

And IBY has an invitation that fits the theme. It’s appropriately called Slime Time.

Party favors could include slug or snail themed items. I found a Snail Puzzle at The Jungle Store that would work well as a prize. I’ve seen slug candy, and there’s always gummy worms that would mix in well with this theme. A cake could be made to match the slime theme, too.

Click here to read more!

The goody bag

I remember the days of looking for inexpensive ideas to fill goody bags for my children’s birthday parties. I wish I’d had so many internet choices as we do now. One of my favorite places to shop these days is the Jungle Store. And I found out they had a whole goody bag section! So if you want some animal themed items check them out.

A good place to go in person is dollar stores and dollar sections in stores like Target.

Sometimes though instead of a good bag per se, it’s fun to do a craft project together and each child gets to take their craft home. Here are some fun ideas from Arsa Toys.

For Girls
-Bracelet Kit for $15 by Fashion Angels - Wrist Pix
-Fashion Angels has a jewelry kit to make all kinds of fun jewelry - Bead Party! Jewelry Workshop

For Boys
-Fast Car Race Cars Pull Back kit - only 3 cars come in this set for $15 – but what a cool project.

For Either
-When I was a kid we only got to do spin art at the county fair, but you can have your own machine for only 20 bucks! My Art Spinner - Alex
-Mask making using a small paper plate – adults may want to cut the eye holes – but then use miscellaneous craft items to decorate. If you need a good supply of craft material – check this out: Giant Art Jar - Alex
-Makit and Bakit Sparkling Decorations
-Foam Craft Workshop- Scratch Art

Some of the birthday invitations that have been ordered quite a bit lately on our site are related to science experiments--another fun activity at a party. I think this one is my favorite: Mad Scientist, but this one is fun, too: Slime Time Click here to read more!

Fill-In Thank Yous for Kids

It’s good to teach kids how to say thank you, but it can be painful for them to have to write a note. IBY has a cute and simple option – Fill-In Thank You Cards. http://www.iby.com/Fill-in-Items/Thank-You. They come 8 or 10 to a package. See some samples from our many themes below.

Princess Die Cut Thank You Fill-in
Trophy Die Cut Thank You Fill-in
Boy Circles Fill In
Ice Cream Stretchie Thank You Fill-in

Some of my coworkers wish they could use these, too… Click here to read more!

Fun birthday party idea

A friend just told me about a Puppy Party for young elementary age kids or preschoolers. The mom has ordered a variety of stuffed animal puppy dogs from The Jungle Store. Each child at the party will get to pick a puppy and name it. Mom has prepared “birth certificates” for these stuffed animals. Plus, as a craft the children will be making collars for their puppy. (The puppy picture is $8.)

I could see this being done with a variety of animals. And invitations that might compliment this party idea come in fill in variety and printables.
Poodle Fill-in
Girl Dog Die Cut Fill-in
Spot the Dog
Puppies and Kittens

Click here to read more!

Planning a Valentine’s Day Party?

Today’s offering is a collection of resources for you.

For Children

Valentine's Day Party Ideas and Party Games for Kids

Valentine Crafts for Kids

Valentine's Day Party For Kids

Valentine's Day Games and Activities – with printable resources

Valentine Party Games for Children

For Children, Teens and Adults

Valentine's Day Party Ideas for Kids, Teens and the Young At Heart

Games with a Valentine Spirit

Valentine Fun

Everything Valentine’s

And, if you need invitation ideas – click here for a selection of Valentine related Invitations. Click here to read more!

Beach party ideas

If you’re lucky enough to live near a beach in a warm climate, it’s always easy to plan a beach party. But if you live in a cold climate, you might want to warm up your winter with a beach scene of your own. Check out these resources for ideas.

Birthday Party Ideas has tons of beach party theme ideas

Surf Party Theme (For Adults)

Beach Party Ideas for Teens – beach not required

Beach Party food

And if you need invitations, here are some fun beach ones:

Beach Party Festival Fill-in

Beach Chair Die Cut Fill-in

Click here to read more!

Making a Splash! Pool party Ideas for kids and teens.

Have access to an indoor pool or live in a warm climate? Then plan a pool party!

Games
A fun pool party game is Marco Polo. Whoever is "it" has to swim around the pool with their eyes closed trying to tag other players. When "it" calls out Marco, everyone else has to yell "Polo." "It" tries to find people by sound.

Of course, there’s always Pool Volleyball and Pool Frisbee or races with floatable water toys. Here are some Game Resources for you, too.

Swimming Pool Games for large groups

More Swimming Games

Sharks & Minnows How To

Fun and Games for the Swimming Pool

Resources for pool themes and ideas

Kids Pool Party Ideas

Pool Party Ideas for Older Kids and Teens

Pool Party Ideas for Kids – this is aimed at summer parties, but many of the games and décor ideas could be used for an indoor pool

Pool Side Party Ideas - themes

Pool Birthday Party – tons of ideas

Here are some invitations that are great for pool parties, too.

Thanks to M Connors for the pool photo from morguefile.com!

Click here to read more!

New Year’s Eve Parties

Many New Year’s Eve Parties are more about drinking than anything, but they don’t have to be. I’ve been to a lot of family and children oriented parties. The smaller children often watched videos while older kids and adults played board games, card games, etc. And, of course, we had all kinds of snacks and beverages to keep us going until midnight. Once we saw the New Year in with noise makers (kids love wooden spoons and pans to bang on as well as horns, etc.), perhaps some fireworks, and New Year wishes and hugs, those driving home could go safely without having to worry about blood alcohol content. The next morning there aren’t hangovers either!

Check out these resources for more ideas:

New Year’s Eve Party Games from Party Games Central.

E-How has links to ideas for different types of partying for New Year’s Eve.

I-Village offers 4 Fun and Fresh New Year's Eve Party Themes.

Crayola has some kid focused ideas for coloring and crafts for New Year’s.

Party411 has New Year’s Eve party themes – scroll to bottom of page.

There’s a New Year’s Fun Guide at FamilyFun.

We have some fun party invitations for New Year's on our site, too. Click here to read more!

Christmas Party Games and Activities

White elephant gift exchange. At an annual department party for my husband’s work we did various types of exchanges. But the most awful gift (true white elephants – those items no one would really want) was one of the most fun. These items should either be something you have in your house or something that costs very little (thrift shops, dollar stores, discount stores are good sources). We always played the game by drawing numbers. Number 1 got to choose a package and open it. Number 2 could either steal number 1s or take a new package and open it. If number 2 steals number 1’s gift, number 1 chooses another gift. Gifts can only be stolen twice. After the last person has picked a gift, number 1 gets their chance to steal.

I've also seen this game played with nice gifts.

FOR ALL AGES

8 Christmas Party Games

40+ Christmas Party Games

20+ Christmas Games and Activities – especially appropriate for school parties

43 Christmas Party Games

Or what about sharing a Christmas Story? Here’s a site with lots of stories, plus links to more stories.

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS

3 Children’s Christmas Party Games

5 Children’s Christmas Party Games

“Ideas For Your Kids' Christmas Party” by John Lenaghan

Christmas Party Games for Kids 4-8

ESPECIALLY FOR TEENS

Christmas Party Games for Teens

ESPECIALLY FOR ADULTS

Christmas Party Games for Adults

These Christmas Party Games include Christmas Movie Trivia, The Bacon Factor, and more, plus Party Starters. Click here to read more!

Christmas Party Ideas

Want to invite friends to celebrate the season with you? You can make your time special by planning ahead. This article by Julie Henry “Christmas Party Ideas” has some great suggestions. So do these 2 articles by Coral Nafie: “Plan a Memorable Christmas Party” and “Gearing Up for Holiday Guests.” This article, “Christmas Dinner Party Ideas” by Susan Crowley, has a variety of ideas.

The Invitations

Want a unique wording for your Christmas party invitation? What about using a quote about Christmas? Or a quote may inspire what you want to say. Here are some Merry Christmas Quotations for you.

Ideas for Children

Or maybe you want to plan a party for kids. Here are a few resources:

“Christmas Party Ideas For Kids” includes Christmas party games and ideas for a classroom or home party.
“Planning Your Child's Christmas Party” by Kimberly L. Keith
Christmas Party Ideas for Kids

My best advice for any party, is do as much prep as you can ahead of time so that you can enjoy the party, too!

Later this week I'll blog on Christmas games and activities. Click here to read more!

Mixer games for children’s and teen parties

Preschoolers and early elementary age kids don’t usually need an icebreaker per se, but just need an activity where they can get involved and soon they’ll make friends. As they get older, or if they are in a group where they don’t know others, sometimes an ice breaker is needed. Be careful though when choosing your activity to think about what will not be offensive or embarrassing. I remember my teenage daughters being upset about activities that they were “made” to do. You don’t want anyone in tears.

Here are some resources for mixers or ice breakers:
Icebreaker Games for different age groups.

Icebreaker Games – I think the frozen Tshirt would be a great outdoor icebreaker

Ice Breakers – you have to scroll down to see the games after you click.

At Party Games Central, you can customize game lists by age, indoor or outdoors, type of party, etc. Click here to read more!

Thanksgiving Parties

Many of us celebrate Thanksgiving with family, but sometimes it’s nice to do a party, too. And, if you’re going to invite people who don’t know each other well, party games and activities can be fun mixers.

Here are some internet resources:

Thanksgiving Party Ideas from 123greetings.com

Be sure and scroll down as well as click on tabs to see all the offerings here.

Holiday Spot – Thanksgiving Party Ideas – check out the links, too.

How To Throw A Thanksgiving Party, Man Style

Kids often get to celebrate Thanksgiving at school or in clubs or church groups. Here are some resources specifically for kids parties:

Kid’s Thanksgiving Party Fun

Classroom Party Ideas

Kid’s Party Ideas

Crafts for Thanksgiving Classroom Parties

Thanksgiving Party Ideas for Kids from Holidaypartyideas.com – choose by age and/or by theme

Thanksgiving and Autumn Harvest Party

And if you need some invitations, check these out.

Click here to read more!

Elementary-aged Kid Birthday Parties

Wow, are there tons of possibilities for this age.

Hands on style are lots of fun. I remember my kids doing:
- Craft parties – making the craft is the main activity and taking the finished craft home can be instead of a goody bag.
- Build your own pizza parties – provide the pizza dough, sauce, cheeses and toppings and let them at it.
- Scavenger Hunts – in your back yard, a local park, or you can even hide items in your house.
- Fashion Show – provide lots of different dress-up clothes (check your closets for those out of style clothes you hung on to, visit garage sales and thrift shops for fun items), use a digital camera to take pictures of the models and the printed pictures can be take home gifts.
- Charades – have a basket of starter ideas and be prepared to explain this to children who have never played. Camera shots of the skits can be fun take home items.

Outside the house parties:
- Sports – swimming at a local pool (I found the high school pool had times you could schedule a birthday swim at a reasonable price), roller skating, ice skating, laser tag, bowling, etc.
- Movie – matinee prices or a discount theater to save you money, tell the kids upfront what you’ll pay for as far as treats (can do movie gift certificates) – just make sure you double-check movie times and, of course, pick an age appropriate movie. (I’ve heard horror stories of 8 year olds being taken to R movies!) Here are some fun invites for this theme.
- Video game parlor – Give tokens to the kids and tell them when they’re gone, they’re gone.
- Museums – check the museums in your area to see if they offer children’s birthday parties.
- What’s coming to town? Circus, carnival, dog show, air show, a fair? These can get expensive, so you may want to limit the attendance list to 2-3 friends.

More Ideas from the Internet
Buggy Birthday Party

Birthday Party Games Lady

Parties for School-Age Children

Boardman's Birthday Party Ideas

I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but it just is too good of a resource to not list again.
Birthday Party Ideas

Have a great time! Click here to read more!

Halloween Party Games

One of the Halloween parties I remember from when I was a kid, was a haunted barn. It was dark inside and our guides told us a story about a dead cat and put our hands in bowls. This is the cat’s eyes (peeled grapes), his guts (cold spaghetti), etc. I also do remember bobbing for apples, both in a tub of water or hanging from a string (which is nicer as no one gets wet), and wrapping someone in toilet paper to make them a mummy, but I really can’t remember much else.

So I did some web surfing and came up with a bunch of resources for Halloween party games.

Children’s Halloween Games

Classic Ghoulish Games – as stated, those classics.

Everything Halloween: Games – this says games, but they also include party theme ideas.

Great Adult Halloween Games

Halloween Party Games from 1 Halloween net

Halloween Party Games from Pumpkin nook

Halloween Party Games for Everyone! – this site has suggestions for all ages.

Kids' Halloween Party Games – many of these ideas are good for school parties. Click here to read more!

Halloween Costumes

Going to a costume party later this month? Or need a costume for your trick-or-treater? I thought I’d pull together some online resources for easy costuming alternatives from what’s in the discount and party stores (i.e. latest popular movie themes). And now would be the time to order to you get your costume in time!

Animal themed costumes


The Jungle Store has animal costumes and masks for all ages.



An inexpensive costume can be made by using a mask or face paint with a headband, sweats in the appropriate color and a tail. i.e. White clothing and the owl mask below would be quick and easy.








The Jungle Store’s costumes are not limited to animals. Check out these two!







Small kid themes


ArsaToys has some cute frilly girl costumes.

Costume Hub had some cute costumes for either boys or girls.








Adult costumes


Lingerie Diva has some fun adult costumes for women. Though some are very risqué and you should reserve for the bedroom! Warning: many images on this site are definitely R rated! Here’s some G rated examples.





The PhillyBurbs site has men's costumes organized by themes. Reading the reviews on the costumes is half the fun. As far as I can tell each costume has a link to a site where you can buy the costume if you desire. Here’s a sample costume.

If you’re into making your own, fabric stores have easy patterns. I’ve also found pieces and parts of costumes at thrift stores (SHOP EARLY) for costumes for myself and kids.

Have fun!

Click here to read more!

Murder, you wrote

Ever thought of writing your own murder mystery script for a party? Halloween is still almost a month away, so there’s time. Or it could be an unusual birthday party idea. Try this site for help on the “how to”s.

Of course, you can buy mystery party materials. This site looked interesting.
And this one was especially aimed at kids.

Here’s a helpful article: “Host a Murder Mystery Party for Your Tween or Teen.”

And I know you can also buy mystery jigsaw puzzles. You put the puzzle together to solve the mystery story that comes with the puzzle. If you can’t find them at local toy store or bookstore, try this site.

This fill-in invitation might work for a mystery party. Click here to read more!

Halloween or Harvest party?

Some parents are not comfortable with taking their children trick-or-treating, or are looking for alternative ideas to the witches and goblins, etc. of “All Hallowed Eve” on October 31st. Some adults may just want to try something different from the “same old, same old.”

Planning a party is an obvious solution, but it’s nice to have a source of ideas. We’ve gathered together some suggestions and resources for you here.

If you want guests to wear non-scary costumes, you can plan a theme based party that will gently guide your attendees. Ideas include:
- wild animals
- pets
- robots
- a specific movie or book theme (though be sure the villains in these stories aren’t too villainous looking)
- a good guys theme such as superheroes (no enemies welcome)
- a Biblical story (i.e. Noah and the ark – for kids; the Garden of Eden – for a risqué adult only part)
Of course, you’d want to carry your theme through with decorations, food, and party favors.

Teenage or adult parties could be different with these themes:
- masked ball – think of the 18th century Europe and their highly decorated face masks
famous historical or political figure costumes
- tree theme – have materials around for guests to decide what kind of tree they are (strong like an oak, ornamental like some flowering trees, etc.)
- for adults only – a wine tasting

Think outside. What’s fun to do in your area in the big outdoors? You may find community events or fall festivals where you want to invite a group to share in the excitement.

You can do breakfast events, too.

A few resources to check out:

15 Fun Fall and Harvest Outdoor Party Games for Children

Autumn Outdoor Entertaining

A Fall Harvest Party

Halloween Drop-In Party Ideas

Teen Parties: Setting the Rules

And don’t forget to get your invitations at IBY.com – Invitations by you! Here are some fall themed invitations we have available.

Click here to read more!