Christmas Birthday Celebration

Your family can make a new tradition for your Christmas celebration.

The night before Christmas bake a birthday cake and let the kids decorate it for Jesus.

In the morning after everyone is up, unwrap your presents as normal. After all the Christmas presents are opened, place one candle on the cake and light it.

Everyone can now sing happy birthday to Jesus and thank him for the wonderful presets and for the day to celebrate his birth.

Bowling Party

Most people don't think about this, but bowling is pretty cheap and if you check with your local bowling alley, they probably provide a group discount for parties.

Invite all your friends along and have some fun.

Balloon Frenzy

Want to have some fun at your next party?

Get a large bag of balloons.

You will want at least 2 for every person participating.

Now cut a 10" piece of string or yarn for each balloon.

Blow up each balloon and tie a string to each balloon.

Now when you are ready have each participant remove their shoes and socks, then tie a balloon to each leg at the ankle.

Send everyone out to a grassy area and announce that the game will begin.

The object of the game is for each of the participants to pop their opponents balloons while at the same time trying to protect their own.

Each participant that has both of their balloons popped will not be allowed to participate anymore.

The last person with a balloon unpopped is the winner.

If it is a really hot day, and your area permits, have a little fun and fill the balloons with water.

Birthday Party Planning

You have a birthday for a child coming up, but you have no idea where to start for the party.

First of all don't forget that the party is for your child and not you. Most of the decisions should be made by the birthday child, with this being said you will have a much more successful party.

If you are on a budget, pre-select acceptable items for your child to choose from. I usually pick the items for the treat bags and they are a surprise to all.

For the most successful party, start planning about a month or so ahead of time. I sometimes start as much as 2 months early so that I have plenty of time to pick up prizes and treats when they are on sale. It also helps financially not to have a bunch of expenses all at once.

First, choose a theme. It can be anything that your child loves. Don't worry about how crazy it sounds, it will be fun!

Select how many children you would like to have attend. I typically invite twice as many as I would like to attend and about 1/2 show up giving me the correct amount. Remember though that if you hold your party at an entertainment center instead of your house that you will have a higher attendance percentage.

Try to send out the invitations about 2 weeks in advance.

Sit down with your child and select a menu. It does not have to be real fancy and it does not have to be a full meal. You can narrow it down to a few choices and let your child make the final decision.

Just before the party, if you are having it at your house, clean up and prepare. Remove any valuables and set up the boundaries of where kids are allowed and not allowed.

Don't be afraid to ask another parent to help you. I usually have a parent who doesn't have anything to do for the hour or so that the party takes and we usually have fun catching up.

If you are planning an out door party, don't forget to plan an alternative location and plan in case of bad weather. It does occasionally rain on parties! Games that you set up for outdoors may not work indoors.

A week or a few days before the party, assemble your goody bags. I always make up a few extra just in case an unexpected arrival shows up.

String Along

It is always hard to try to find something fun and unique to entertain kids at a party.

This great tip will keep them busy for a long time if you are really creative with stringing some yarn around your yard.

To start with, grab a different colored skein of yarn for each guest.

To create your maze you will work backwards

Place a prize in a location outside.

Now take a color of yarn and tie it off to the present.

Unravel the yarn around the yard. Wrap it around trees and obstacles until you have a spider web maze of yarn.

Select a beginning point for the game and cut the yarn marking it with the person's name.

Repeat this for each guest, criss crossing yarn.

Now when everyone is ready give them their end of yard with a stick. They will have to follow the yarn winding it onto the stick to find their prize.

Birthday Tree

When you are out shopping during the holidays, you sometimes find colorful Christmas style trees. This year for fun I picked up a smaller white tree from a clearance sale. It is being dubbed the Birthday tree.

About a month before each birthday the tree can be decorated with things that the birthday person likes or birthday style ornaments. You can then place their presents underneath the tree before their birthday.

When it is time for the party you already have one decoration up and it feels a lot like Christmas when you pull the presents out for unwrapping.

Budgeting for Birthday Parties

Your kids want anything and everything under the sun for their birthday party. They just don't seem to understand that you are not made of money.

The next time that you are planning a party, sit down with your child and give them a budget. However big or small, this is what you have to work with for the party.

For the planning, decide where they want to have the party, what types of favors they want to use, and any games or prizes that they may want to pick out.

Shop around with the birthday child and let them see how much everything costs. Pick out some resources and check for discounts or sales.

Make a list with the prices and let your child know what they can afford and what they cannot afford.

With all the information put together, they can now have a party that they can proudly say that they planned and that you can afford.

Mystery Bag Party Game

A fun game for your childs next party is so simple and you can do it with things around the house. You can use the words "Happy Birthday", your childs name, or even the name of something from the theme of the party.

Find enough paper bags so that you have one bag for each letter in the name. Search the house and place an item that starts with the letter on the bag inside the bag. Fold over the top and tape it closed.

At the party give each child a piece of paper with each letter listed down one side and a pencil, pen, or marker. Let the the guests take each bag one at a time and pass them around. They can feel the bags and try to guess what is inside. They can then write their answers onto the page.

The one with the most correct number of guesses wins!