Thursday, May 21, 2009
Fun and Frugal Party Ideas
During tough economic times, we have to seek out unconventional forms of entertainment. Here are four fun and frugal party ideas for you and your kids. They could involve just you and your clan or the whole neighborhood, while simultaneously staying within a friendly budget.
First, you could have a smoothie party, where you let your kids fill the blender with whatever fruits or even veggies that they desire. Then, you can pour the smoothies into colorful little cups from your cupboards or some cheap paper ones from the store. If your kids are old enough, you could even use special ones from your china cabinet for a non-traditional tea party of sorts. Your kids can even name their particular smoothie creations, like the Spider-man mania smoothie (strawberries, blueberries, ice, and apple juice with a licorice straw) or the Hello Kitty sensation (frozen strawberries and vanilla ice cream).
Another inexpensive option for little kids is a choose-your-own coloring page party. With so many fun sites to choose from on-line, your kids can pick their favorite TV or movie characters and print pages from the computer within seconds. You can post them up on the fridge and conclude the time with a video featuring the newly colored protagonists. If you want to be super edgy, you could even bring out the paints for a splashing good time. My kids tend to move straight from the traditional paintbrush option to full-fledged body painting, so my safe preference is with the crayons. Totally up to you though.
With so much heat upon us lately in the Inland Empire, a third solution could be an outdoor water party. Since I'm not one of those blessed with a fabulous in-ground pool, I have to invent other ways to keep my kids cool. We recently unrolled our slip-and-slide from the garage; the kids slipped and slid while we washed the cars out front. You can even get the family dog in on the fun by bathing her as well. Water balloons are likewise a total hit with the kids, as are water guns and inflatable or hard-framed pools. The perfect ending for this particular festivity must include fruit-flavored popsicles or other delectable ice cream treats.
The fourth thrifty option is a craft party, full of creative projects for the kids. You can pile up the scissors, craft paper, glue sticks, and markers to make Dad that early Father's Day pop-up card. Likewise, you could make cards ahead of time for Grandma's upcoming birthday or anniversary. Other simple paper crafts include home-made picture frames for the upcoming graduates in your life or paper snowflakes to imagine you're somewhere cooler than here.
Whatever party theme you choose for the coming weeks, it will surely be a blast as long as you're there with your party hat on and some fun dance music. This week, McDonald's is giving out a great kid's music CD full of fun pop music with their Happy Meals. We've been rocking out at our own kid party in the car on the way to school.
First, you could have a smoothie party, where you let your kids fill the blender with whatever fruits or even veggies that they desire. Then, you can pour the smoothies into colorful little cups from your cupboards or some cheap paper ones from the store. If your kids are old enough, you could even use special ones from your china cabinet for a non-traditional tea party of sorts. Your kids can even name their particular smoothie creations, like the Spider-man mania smoothie (strawberries, blueberries, ice, and apple juice with a licorice straw) or the Hello Kitty sensation (frozen strawberries and vanilla ice cream).
Another inexpensive option for little kids is a choose-your-own coloring page party. With so many fun sites to choose from on-line, your kids can pick their favorite TV or movie characters and print pages from the computer within seconds. You can post them up on the fridge and conclude the time with a video featuring the newly colored protagonists. If you want to be super edgy, you could even bring out the paints for a splashing good time. My kids tend to move straight from the traditional paintbrush option to full-fledged body painting, so my safe preference is with the crayons. Totally up to you though.
With so much heat upon us lately in the Inland Empire, a third solution could be an outdoor water party. Since I'm not one of those blessed with a fabulous in-ground pool, I have to invent other ways to keep my kids cool. We recently unrolled our slip-and-slide from the garage; the kids slipped and slid while we washed the cars out front. You can even get the family dog in on the fun by bathing her as well. Water balloons are likewise a total hit with the kids, as are water guns and inflatable or hard-framed pools. The perfect ending for this particular festivity must include fruit-flavored popsicles or other delectable ice cream treats.
The fourth thrifty option is a craft party, full of creative projects for the kids. You can pile up the scissors, craft paper, glue sticks, and markers to make Dad that early Father's Day pop-up card. Likewise, you could make cards ahead of time for Grandma's upcoming birthday or anniversary. Other simple paper crafts include home-made picture frames for the upcoming graduates in your life or paper snowflakes to imagine you're somewhere cooler than here.
Whatever party theme you choose for the coming weeks, it will surely be a blast as long as you're there with your party hat on and some fun dance music. This week, McDonald's is giving out a great kid's music CD full of fun pop music with their Happy Meals. We've been rocking out at our own kid party in the car on the way to school.
