Winter birthday parties

HANNAH - posted on 02/20/2012

INDOOR SWIMMING . IT SHOULD BE FREE IF THERE ARE ANY INDOOR POOLS WERE YOUR LOCATED THEN GO GET PIZZA AFTERWORDS !

Sharon - posted on 08/09/2009

For the eight year old you could make it a theme....What about a slumber party/movie night where the kids dont sleep over? Everyone has to come over in the PJ's....Play lots of movies with popcorn, candy, nachos , hotdogs, pizza etc (items that you would find at a movie theater. Why not bake the birthday dessert while the kids are there? You can bake cupcakes and have the kids decorate their own and then eat them.

You could also have a sock contest....The kids have to bring over a pair of decorated socks and you have a contest of whose are the scariest, funniest and most creative. Maybe prizes could be little Oscars...Im sure you could find some cheap ones, then you could print out certificates and fill in their names as a keep sake.

As for the invites make them black and white, You can find some really cute clip art out there that have to do with movies. I always like to make up some cleaver poem to put on the invite. It makes everyone excited and looks like you put a lot of thought into it.

Good Luck!

Michelle - posted on 08/09/2009

something indoors abviously. there are places that have indoor trampolines and have a bday party room (bounce spectrum in metairie, LA is great.), or a "ball" theme for pince/princess, or a fall (think hayride) theme is casual but fun, or a penguins of madagascar (ice/snow) theme ... many more ideas out there for winter birthday parties. good luck!

Nicole - posted on 08/08/2009

i saw an ad where a child wanted to have a pool party and he too has a bday in winter.. the mom blew up (w/ helium) diff colors of blue balloons and tied them to things in the house to look like water and also used other color balloons to make fish. allow the kids to wear swim suits and such. it was very cute and a great idea for a winter birthday party.

Rebekah - posted on 08/07/2009

Great months for "fall" activities. Decorate with leaves!!! Do something on the invitations like "Fall into _____ Birthday Party". Have kids use crayons to make an imprint of leaves. Pumpkins - the pumpkin roll game or have them paint their own pumpkin. Rake up some leaves and let the kids jump in them! LOL Serve apple cider and caramel apples. Have kids come in costume for the October birthday(s) - you can theme it around Bible costumes, like animals for Noah's Ark or angels for Jacob's Ladder, etc. For November you can theme it around Thanksgiving, have kids come dressed as Indians or Pilgrims, etc...

Daniellebaker604 - posted on 08/07/2009

I dont know if you have a swimming pool /rec centre in your area, but i did this with my son a few years ago. We rented out the party room (some places actually just have tables next to the pool area etc) and had an indoor pool party! Theme was pirates and treasure hunt..which we encorporated into the water games and most of the parents took part as well ...which made it more fun! (id suggest a rule of having to have at least one parent with the child in the water unless another parent is willing to help two at a time for ages 7 and under)

Stephanie - posted on 08/07/2009

for girls how about a tea party with their friends and favorite dollies, or a board game night. or karaoke night.
for boys, superheros theme-- watch incredibles or other favorite superhero movie, wear costumes, make huge pillow pile to jump into, build pillow and cushion fort and have a stuffed animal fight-- heroes vs. villains. (My brothers and I used to do this all the time. Great fun!)

Tam - posted on 08/07/2009

My advice is to first set a budget! I don't know when it became popular to overplan and overspend (and yes,I have been guilty of it) but the kids just really want to spend time with their friends more than anything, so set your budget then go have fun!

There is a post on here of ideas for fairy party ideas. If you cannot find it I can see what I can do to help you, but sounds like it might be great for your girls, if you want to do a joint party.

If you're looking to do a fall-theme party, here are some simple and inexpensive ideas...

INVITES: Using fall-colored cardstock (reds, oranges, yellows, browns), fold in half, trace a leaf-shape so it will open (or even have just 1 layer). You could even let the older kids help cut them out. Print the party info inside. You can purchase packs of envelopes to fit the size at your local hobby store (Hobby Lobby or Michaels, etc.)

GAMES:

GUESS HOW MANY: As kids come in the door you could have a small table set up with a jar filled with caramel corn candy (or other fall-themed item) and have them guess how many. They'll be busy studying this for a few moments while the other guests trickle in. Will give them something to do while they wait.

POPCORN RELAY: Need: Popcorn, 4 serving/big bowls, 2 serving spoons of same size. NOTE: Can get a little messy, but it's fun! DO: Divide the kids into two teams. Put two full bowls of popcorn at one end and the empty bowls at starting point. Team members must race one at a time, get a spoonful of popcorn and bring it back to the empty bowl. The first team to fill their bowl wins (you might want to make sure the bowls at starting point are a bit smaller, as there will be spillage!)

PUMPKIN ROLLING: NEED: Two medium-sized or pie-sized pumpkins. DO: Divide the kids into two teams, start line about 20 ft or so from turn-around line. Each member would roll the pumpkin down to turn around line, turn it around and go back, tagging next person in line. First team to do this with all members wins.

PUMPKIN WALK: Like a cake walk, but maybe have a selection of mini pumpkins and gourds the kids could pick from to take home. Then as each person wins they get to choose which one they want. You could make the "steps" in leaf form or pumpkin form.

OTHER GAMES: Instead of pin the tale on the donkey you could do put the hat on the scarecrow. Or instead of hot potato you could do pass the pumpkin. Instead of musical chairs, get some small hale bales and play musical bales. Try to change traditional games like these into your theme.

CRAFTS: You could have them do a simple craft with a mini pumpkin (make a candle-holder for their Thanksgiving table if the kids are older and you have child-safe knives). They could do paper crafts (make a autumn card and envelope, make a thanksgiving placemat, etc.)

DECORATIONS: Your kids could help with this too. You could all go for a walk and find fall-related items (leaves, pine cones, acorns, etc.) and then use them to tuck into little spots around the house to decorate for fall. Makes great table centerpieces. You could even use a hollowed-out pumpkin to put the punch in, and put it right in the center of the table with the fall finds around it. The nice thing is that with the season you could leave some of it for your fall gatherings and the children will be pleased to show extended family members and friends how they helped mom decorate for Thanksgiving!

TREAT BAGS: If you like to do treat bags, you could include an apple for fall, leaf stickers, etc.



OR...YOU COULD DO ONE THAT WOULD FIT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER...BUTTERFLIES & BUGS Disney has a page for ideas full of this.
http://familyfun.go.com/parties/holiday/...

Leanne - posted on 08/06/2009

I have an 8 year old daughter and her birthday is in Dec so we have the same issue finding ideas for winter birthdays. This year she wants to have a spa party so we found a company that comes to your home and does mani/pedis and mini make over

Marta - posted on 08/06/2009

I generally let the kids play how they want but I also set up games like pin the tail on the donkey and a pinata that's attached by a strong string to a hockey stick (dad can hold the pinata up and away from himself). You can make the pinata yourself by blowing up a balloon and using paper mache to coat the balloon, once the mache dries you can pop the balloon (make sure you've left a small opening to put candy in) once you've popped the balloon glue a peice of cardboard over the hole then paint it in bright colours. It'll be easier to break than a store bought one but it only costs you a couple of bucks. For your 8 year old you could organize a sleepover with her 5 bffs and rent a pg or g rated movie and have a slumber party with fun games like truth or dare in a box, so that you can control the appropriateness of the questions and dares e.g. Truth: Do you have a crush on a boy in our class? Dare: Eat a sardine (or whatever little girls think is gross to eat) etc. This way you know that the game is age appropriate and innocent. I hope this helps.

Michelle - posted on 08/09/2009

something indoors abviously. there are places that have indoor trampolines and have a bday party room (bounce spectrum in metairie, LA is great.), or a "ball" theme for pince/princess, or a fall (think hayride) theme is casual but fun, or a penguins of madagascar (ice/snow) theme ... many more ideas out there for winter birthday parties. good luck!

Nicole - posted on 08/08/2009

i saw an ad where a child wanted to have a pool party and he too has a bday in winter.. the mom blew up (w/ helium) diff colors of blue balloons and tied them to things in the house to look like water and also used other color balloons to make fish. allow the kids to wear swim suits and such. it was very cute and a great idea for a winter birthday party.

Leanne - posted on 08/06/2009

I have an 8 year old daughter and her birthday is in Dec so we have the same issue finding ideas for winter birthdays. This year she wants to have a spa party so we found a company that comes to your home and does mani/pedis and mini make over