Thursday, September 4, 2014

Ripped from the pages of Pinterest, a.k.a. our Frozen Birthday Party



I will freely admit that I give birthday parties grudgingly.  They are a lot of work, and I am always hoping that the girls will lose interest, or we can divert their attention to some other sort of special gathering/outing and not go through the hassle of putting together a party.

Last year, I succeeded.....we had just a couple of Ellie's friends over for an all day playdate instead of a party and I told Carina that she was having her party at school.  Ha!  I knew I wasn't going to get away with that this year.

Anyway, after much debate, Ellie angling for an American Girl party and Carina for a Batman party we settled on a theme they could both agree on...Frozen.

The girls' birthdays are 2 1/2 weeks apart, so we do a big joint party.  This means a lot of kids.  In the past we've done parties at the park, at a rec center, etc.  This year we did it at the house...and by at the house I mean, on the grounds of the house....the goal was to keep just about everything outside.  The only things inside were the food table, in the sunroom directly adjacent to the outdoors, and the bathroom.

It's a little tricky to have parties for kids three years apart and keep everyone entertained, so I did a lot of Pinterest surfing to come up with activities I thought would work.....there is really no original thought in this party whatsoever, but for those of you looking to throw Frozen parties of your own, here's a compilation of what occurred.  Please remember, I'm no Elena Roussakis, I'm just a poor soul trying to survive a birthday party!

Food

Melted Snowman (mini Deer Park waters.  I ripped off the original labels and added these which
were created with PowerPoint), we also had 'Roarin' Waters' Capri Sun drinks.



Snowman Arms (pretzel sticks)
Snowman Noses/Reindeer Treats (Carrot Sticks)
Snowman Buttons (Blueberries)
Snowballs (Marshmallows.....I am somewhat shocked at how many marshmallows got eaten....)
Reindeer Poop (yeah, I went there, but there was a healthy dose of three years old present and three year olds seem to enjoy discussing poop, so we had poop, which was really chocolate covered raisins, so at least it was marginally healthy as opposed to the marshmallows)

We also had pizza for lunch and lo mien, which sounds weird, but it's a Chinese tradition - you always have noodles for your birthday, it symbolizes long life.

For dessert, ice cream cake (of course) and ICEE freeze pops.

Activities


Sven Ringtoss.  I got the idea here, and found a template here which my father in law used to make the ring toss.  Ellie and I made lame looking rings from pipe cleaners because I was afraid that regular rings would end up destroying the deer head.



Snowman slam.  I got the idea here, and this was a good one for Ellie to help with (she insisted that the top snowman have hair like Olaf).  For the snowballs I just used some styrofoam ball that you can get in the floral section of your craft store.  We did this outside, but I took a photo inside the night before.



Make your own necklaces.  I used this idea as he starting point, but I froze jewels (beads) and once they managed to get their jewels unfrozen we made necklaces from them.  The girls are trying to melt their ice cubes below......the kids soon learned they could just throw the ice cubes down on the ground to get them out faster.




Cornhole - This was the hubby's idea and he made it the day before.  The boys enjoyed trying trick shots and only one beanbag was harmed in the course of the game.



Insta-Snow - I saw this idea here, and ordered a couple containers from Amazon.  The stuff is really cool and the kids loved it.  I emptied/cleaned out our sand and water table and just put it in there.  At some point some kid (mine) decided that the snow would be better on the deck, the stuff is actually quite slick and the kids had a great time chucking it around and 'skating' until it became too much of a hazard and we swept it up.  I still have a bunch, so we'll definitely pull it out again.







Clean up the snow - Got the idea here.  Watching kids use chopsticks never gets old.



And the most popular activity by far:  Ice Block Racing.  I saw the idea here, and Andrew made the sleds as well as the blocks of ice.  We just made the blocks in our extra freezer.  Andrew lined a shoebox with a shopping bag and froze them one at a time.  It took a good day for each one, so you have to plan ahead for that one.







We also borrowed a small Little Tikes moon bounce from a friend...probably only hold five small children at a time, but it was great to fill in the gaps.

Decorations


Free printable banners that I added some text over, printed, laminated and cut out.



Snowflake window clings, which I don't have pictures of, but I got these.  They are easy, although a little more delicate/tricky to put up than I expected.

Snowflake doilies (ideally you wouldn't see a whole other room in the back, but since we were using the sunroom for the food, I wanted to make sure the kids didn't get into the rest of the room (where all my craft stuff is), so we set the table off to kind of block access and I hung the snowflakes to create kind of a visual separation too.  I originally saw the idea here, and found a how to here.







Goodie Bags 


(made with regular lunch bags, some twine, Lawn Fawn Milo's Alphas, MFT Fishtail STAX dies, and Stampendous jumbo cling snowflake stamps).



Stickers
Finger Light
Snowman/snowflake erasers
Bubbles
A refreezable ice cube
Each kid got a little package of reindeer poop

Phew!  It sounds like a lot of activities, but my goal was to have a bunch of stuff going on simultaneously to keep everyone occupied, especially since it was a drop off party.  Which sounds a little crazy right?  But the compound isn't really that big and 20 parents to go with 20 kids sounded like it was going to just be too many bodies.  We had a couple parents stay anyway, which was just fine.  If my sister (who took all the pictures) hadn't been in town I probably would have asked one of our babysitters to come and help for an extra set of hands.

All told 2 1/2 hours of a lot of fun, and two very happy girls at the end.



Worth it, yes, but I'm still looking for a way to get out of it next year.  ;)

28 comments:

  1. Miriam, this is just so cute! I love all of your games! SO much to do for the kids!!! I think you did a great job! And I love the 'some kid decided... mine...' LOL! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. where do i start? This is the coolest party ever - you put all your energies into making it so fun (whereas my parties are mostly just pretty, lol. And did you give me a shout-out? pffft.) i love the ice blocks - that is amazing!! Your whole party is like a carnival, there was so much going on! No wonder they had happy faces. Wtg, Miriam!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! Super Mama Miriam! Love each and everyone of your ideas- will have to come back to this if my either of my nieces have a Frozen party! ;) & YES *always* have noodles on your birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, Mim, I think you're wrong. I think you did give Elena a run for her money!! This party was FABBBBULOUS from start to finish!! You put a ton of research, thought, and execution into it and it really paid off. Those are some happy, happy kids who were never without something fun to do!! Thank you for sharing all the ideas and the beautiful photos of your sweet girls. (Is Chuckie Cheese still in business???) Hugs, Darnell

    ReplyDelete
  5. AWWW now that is the perfect party.. I think I want a Frozen party now.. heehee.. so many fun ideas.. very clever and a day she will always remember..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your girls are so cute! I just loved this post because you were brutally honest and I feel the same way about parties! But hey looking at your pics...girl you totally rocked this! I guess your girls are going to expect that high level of parting in the future!!! Start planning now...Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, you went all out! I am very impressed with all of the details for the party! The table looked awesome (isn't that your craft room??). It looks like they all had a blast--yeah!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow what a fun n creativity filled post, I am sure the kids had a lot of fun! I love those doily hangings :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wowsa! Don't even try to play it off like you can't throw parties because you nailed it! Such an amazing party and it shows in the girls' smiles:) Maybe we should do ice block races when the big girls get together this fall, lol! Good job, momma!

    ReplyDelete
  10. WOW what a fantastic party!! That Insta- Snow looks so fun, you did a fantastic job for not liking parties lol!! The girls will remember this party forever and that's something special!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a fun party!! You are a good mom! Look at those smiling faces at the end...all worth the hassle, right? Maybe not, lol!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow..what a fun party!!! I might have to do this with my preschool class, I just love it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Miriam! Totally AMAZING!!! Especially I LOVE the first photo! It is really great shot ever!

    ReplyDelete
  14. You are awesome - your girls and all your party attendees are SOOOOOO lucky that they got to be a part of this utter coolness!! You did yourself proud - it looks and sounds like SNOW much fun!! What creative, clever activities you came up with!! Way to go - YOU ROCK!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. **Momma of the Year**
    Love it, so many fun activities and I can appreciate all the work that went into it.
    pssstttt....I'd totally lose in the chopstick game...sigh...this japanese girl always asks for a fork :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh, this is fabulous, Miriam! So fun!! I especially love the "melted snowman" drinks! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow! So creative and so FUN! I'm sure the kids had a blast with all the activities! Loved looking at all the fab photos! And, your girls are so adorable! Happy Birthday to them!:-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Looks amazing! What a special party!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh, my! Good gracious! You are seriously insane, girl! And you didn't have any parents stay?! I don't envy you. I gave up on these long ago. I know Adina is going to ask why she never had any big, themed parties, when I've got pics to prove that Ezekiel did. I have no idea what I'm going to say. Hmmm? But you totally rocked this day for your cutie patooties, Miriam! You go!

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is such a cute party! I love it! We might have to copy this for Avery's birthday this year, she is in love with Frozen! Your girls are so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh my - how did you do it??? I've been totally busted after Ted's parties and they have looked nothing like this - lucky he doesn't know what his parties could have looked like (-:
    But seeing the girls' smiles in the last picture - they are sooo adorable - I guess you got the energy back in no time!!! Thanks for sharing it all - will come back when it's time to plan T's next party - not till Feb - phew (-:

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wow. I am tired just seeing all you did! An agree so much work. I hope each year that the parties get smaller. Such great ideas and looks like it was a success! Well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. WoW! I admire you even more Miriam!
    I can relate to everything you have said but boy oh boy you are quite the Master party planner!
    Bravo! and thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh wow! The party looks amazing! I think you get the mom of the year award! I'm sure they had the best time!

    ReplyDelete
  25. So fun! The girls look so very happy too! Love the poop! And your funny write up :). Honesty. Funny. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh me oh my! What a PARTY!! You are a GREAT Mama, Miriam! The smiles from Carina and Ellie say it all.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh my, Miriam!! Way to go Mama!!! Love all the ideas you collected and turned into your own! I always love reading party posts and this was a really great one. Your girls will remember this for quite some time!!

    ReplyDelete