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 Opening Presents To open presents or not to open presents……that is the question. And if you open them……when do you do it?
Honestly, this is a tough one. But here goes and these are just my personal thoughts based on going to many many birthday parties and hosting them myself.
For kids younger than Kindergarten age, I’m not sure that it’s necessary. For those kids it can take a really long time even if there are only a few. Most of the time, the kids don’t even know what present they brought and so it’s just not as effective. For those age kids, they can get a bit overwhelmed with even 2 presents but the first one may be something they want to sit down and play with right then. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be much nicer to have the luxury of saying…..”no problem…..we’ll just open the rest of these later.” Plus, if you are trying to have a relatively short birthday party this can lengthen if unnecessarily. BUT, if there is a child who really wants to see your child open his or her present, by all means at the end of the party, pull that one out and open it up right then and there.
Now, for kids Kindergarten and older. Most parents have learned at this point that having a smaller party is better. I’m not one of those but my husband is pushing me towards it! So, let’s start with the small parties. I for sure think you need to open the presents at this age as the kids who come to the party are just as excited about this as your child will be and it can be built into the schedule of the party. If the party is a longer one, let that be an activity during a lul in the scheduled events. While pizza is cooking is the perfect time!
If you are nuts like I am and have a huge party, I couldn’t bear the thought of my daughter opening all her presents during the party. We had 26 kids to come. There were a few who asked when we were opening the presents and for those that were really interested in seeing her open the presents, we did it after most of the kids had gone home and they could sit down in a small group and enjoy it more.
The biggest thing to remember is to assign someone else besides yourself to be in charge of writing down who each present is from. I know Miss Manners says that if you open a present while the giver is sitting there with you, there is no need to send a thank you note. But I just think it’s nicer for the kids to start off early letting their friends know how much they appreciate them. So, no matter if you open the presents during the party or not, it’s good to have a record of who gave what. And it needs to be someone else who is in charge of the list since you will be busy doing other things!
 Kids Making Playdough
Making playdough can be a rewarding activity for kids of many ages no matter if it’s at home or during a party. I make playdough with my kids all the time. They love working with the dough. I just make sure to plan the activity on a day that I don’t care if my kitchen gets messed up!!!
Following are some recipes that I’ve accumulated. My favorite is recipe #1. I would recommend you try them all and see which one works best for you. All the recipes for the playdough are very similar. Only slight variations but as with baking, slight variations will make very different playdough.
Play Dough Recipe #1
Directions:
Mix together dry ingredients:
2 Cups White Flour
1 Cup Salt
4 tsp Cream of Tarter
To 2 Cups of Boiling Water, add:
4 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1 tsp Food Coloring
Pour liquids into the dry ingredients and stir well. When slightly cooled, knead for a few minutes until smooth.
Hint: Use and electric mixer and it’s sooo easy. If you are doing it by hand and the kids are helping, you might choose to put the food coloring into the dough after it is kneaded. And the better or more concentrated the food coloring is, the brighter the color of play dough you will get.
Play Dough Recipe #2
Directions:
Mix together:
1 Cup Salt
3 Cups Flour
4 tsp Cream of Tarter
2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1 1/4 Cup Boiling Water
Food Coloring
Makes 4 small plastic containers of Play Dough
Play Dough Recipe #3
Directions:
Mix Together in Saucepan,
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Salt
1 Tbsp Cooking Oil
3 tsp Cream of Tarter
2 1/4 Cups Water
Cook above over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes until batter is like mashed potatoes. Pull of stove and let cool. Add food coloring into the mixer or add later when the kids can knead it in.
Be sure and keep the playdough in an airtight container or a plastic storage bag and your playdough can last up to a month!
 Greeting Guests No matter what age of child you have it is never too early to start teaching them good party host/hostess manners. Please be courteous to your guests. They will feel more welcomed and the party will start off much better…..I promise. I know that it’s effort because you will be scrambling doing last minute prep things but as soon as those little guests arrive, it’s important to stop and greet them. AND if you can wrangle your child it’s more important for them to greet their own friends. After all the guests came to see the birthday girl or boy.
 Saying Good Bye It’s equally important for your child to say thank you after receiving or opening gifts and to say good bye when guest are leaving and say thanks for coming. This may seem so trivial to some of you reading this but these little details are often either forgotten or allowed to be slipped under the rug. Don’t let these proper manners go by the wayside.
No matter if your child is 3 or if they are 15, it’s never a bad idea to take 30 seconds the morning of a party to go through guest etiquette.
Photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Princess Party Food As you all know, kids with full tummies are happy kids. Or at least it is one of the elements to keeping them happy. So, the most important thing is to feed them things that they will and want to eat!
Mask any sandwich in an interesting design and kids will eat them. For a Princess Party, cut your sandwiches in a crown design. These were cut with a cookie cutter in the shape of a crown. There were two choices: a cheese sandwich and then a peanut butter sandwich.
In addition to the sandwiches, the Princess Hostess served platters of fruit and cut veggies. That always keeps the moms happy. And it’s very easy to cut up and have prepared ahead of time!
Resources: If you put in a google search “Princess Crown Cookie Cutter” you will come up with many results for the cookie cutter that was used here.
Photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
A great way to start a birthday party is by providing an activity to start the party. This gets the kids comfortable doing something they LOVE to do and keeps them busy while other guests arrive. We have two coloring pages that have flowers on them for you to print off and make copies for your guests to color.
If these don’t strike your fancy, there is tons of free flower clip art online that you can look for to print off for the kids to color.
To See Templates:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Flower Clip Art 1
Flower Clip Art 2
 Wagon Gift Gathering One of the most often forgotten elements to planning a birthday party is where you will gather and display gifts when they start arriving. I for one seem to always forget or it’s completely an afterthought. But you really want to figure this out and make it obvious to guests as they arrive. As you are greeting the kids and parents, it’s good not to look like a chicken with your head cut off.
A great way to gather gifts is in a wagon. This particular party was at a park and the hostess brought the wagon to gather gifts. Then getting home with the gifts at the end of the party was as easy as picking up the handle of the wagon and walking down the street.
 Custom Envelope For that extra touch to your hand made invitations, finish it off with this hand made envelope.
Resources: Heavy Stock Scrap Booking Paper and glue stick found at craft stores like Michaels.
Directions for Project: How to Make Your Own Envelope
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Custom Envelope Template
 Invitation Etiquette There is nothing more important for a young child than to receive mail. It really doesn’t matter what kind of mail it is and it doesn’t matter if they can read yet or not.
So, what do you do when you are sending an invitation to a child and their sibling is welcome? Well, it is very important to make some kind of notation somewhere so that the mom doesn’t have to wonder or contact you to ask that uncomfortable questions if little Gary is invited to come!
 Envelope Address Etiquette These are two examples of good ways to invite siblings. The above photo shows the inside of an invitation where the following words were simply included…”Siblings Welcome!” The below photo is the back of an envelope and states “P.S. Harris is welcome too!” For me either works. There may be even other creative ways to let recipients know that siblings are welcome.
The big thing I want to impress upon you here is to state it somewhere. Please don’t put your guest in the uncomfortable position of having to ask. It’s just good Etiquette in filling out the invitation for your child’s birthday party invitation.
 Hand Sanitizer When planning your child’s birthday party, it’s important to think about a lot of details that aren’t party of the creative process. A big one is the need to keep everyone healthy. The last thing you want is for a bug to pass through all your party guests. With the flu as contagious as it is, you should do your part as a hostess to keep the germs at bay.
A big way to assist in eliminating germs is to provide a hand sanitizer at a couple of strategic locations around the food table. Kids often eat with their hands and it’s a good idea for everyone to lube up before and after they eat.
Photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Kids Party Food Food is always a tough thing with kids. Is someone alergic to peanuts, do the parents let them eat pizza, will they be hungry? It’s always tough.
There are some simple food plates that you can prepare for a birthday party for kids that will always be a hit. The party that these plates were served at was in the middle of the afternoon and the kids still ate!
First let’s talk fruit plates. Fruit can be prepared ahead of time and easily refrigerated prior to the party. Everything you see here is perfect. Grapes, orange slices, strawberries are all great. You could also do any kind of berry…..blueberries, blackberries. Apples and pears are a little tougher but with a lemon bath, they could be done as it will slow the browning process.
 Birthday Party Food Sandwiches….basically any sandwich cut in a shape is popular amongst kids. Be creative with your shapes and use cookie cutters to follow the theme of your party. That is if you can. If not, the kids don’t really care. As long as the crust is cut off and it’s in a cool shape they will eat almost anything! It’s really funny.
Great sandwich toppings: Cream Cheese and cucumber, cream cheese and strawberries, egg salad, chicken salad, pb&j (of course), mayo & tomato….pick a couple of these and you will be good to go in preparing the food for your kid’s birthday party.
Top photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Extra Place Settings When planning your birthday party it’s always a good idea to plan for the unknown…..if you can think of what those unexpected things might be.
One of them would be that guests show up that didn’t respond or originally thought that they wouldn’t be able to come. When it’s a kids party the last thing you want is for one of the children to feel left out.
Have a couple of extra chairs off to the side of your table and in the center of the table have extra napkins and forks in a tin or basket. We all have extra holders of some sort around. This is not only good for those extra guests but also a life savor for those children who drop their fork on the floor or spill a drink and napkins are needed fast to clean up the mess.
The point I’m trying to help out with this idea is that you can never plan too many details. If you have the time and brainpower, it’s always good to try and think of unexpected happenings.
Resources: Plain or colorful tins, baskets or bowls. Found at any dime, party or craft store.
 Pig Party Nose Idea Template These were a hoot! Instead of the kids wearing hats, they wore these pig noses. A little laborious to make but so worth it!
Resources: Heavy Stock Scrap Booking Paper and glue stick found at craft stores like Michaels.
Directions for Project: Pig Birthday Party Nose Favor Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Pig Party Nose Template
View our video on How To Create your Own Pig Nose.
Image taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Pig Party Invitation Template What child wouldn’t love to play with this adorable pig party invitation? Took some time to make but I believe that the invitation sets the mood for any party!
Resources: Heavy Stock Scrap Booking Paper and glue stick found at craft stores like Michaels.
Directions for Project: Pig Birthday Party Invitation Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Pig Party Invitation Template
Image taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Pig Face Party Hat Template So cute. I only made one of these hats for the birthday boy. It was my son’s first birthday party. They could be made for each child as a favor as well.
Resources: Felt, Scrap Booking Paper and Pipe Cleaners found at craft stores like Michaels. Small elastic for chin strap found at fabric stores.
Directions for Project: Pig Face Party Hat Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Pig Face Party Hat Template
Image taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Princess Crown Invitation Template A crown invitation can be used for a Princess Party, A Queen of Hearts Party or any party wanting a royal touch.
Resources: We used plain invitation paper and envelop to match that can be found at many stationery stores. Embellishments were done with stones found at Michaels or other hobby or craft shops. Sequins could even be used to allow for easier mailing.
Directions for Project: Invitation Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Princess Crown Invitation Template
Image taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Princess Crown Template This template was used to cut out crowns that were slipped on straws for a fun drink embellishment. Very simple and effective.
Resources: Heavy Stock Scrap Booking paper found at any store selling scrap book supplies.
Directions for Project: Princess Party Idea Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Princess Crown Template
Image taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Knights Templar Cross Template Below is a template for the Knights Templar Cross. We used the template to make Knight Tunics. We gave the tunics as party favors to the little boys who came to my daughters Queen of Hearts birthday party.
Resources: Yardage of Felt found at any fabric store. Double Sided Red Satin Ribbon 1″ wide. We bought online. Cross made from Inkjet Dark T-Shirt Transfer Paper found at office supply stores.
Directions for Project: Knights Templar Cross Tunic Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Knights Templar Cross Template
 Party Hat Template Do you want to make your own Birthday Party Hat for the birthday boy or girl? Or do you plan to make party hats for each of the party goers? This simple hat template is easy to cut out and put together and with additional embellishments can look great. Or make the hats out of a fancy paper and then you wouldn’t have to do anything else but put them together.
Directions:
- Use Template to cut out hat.
- Cut slits on each side edge of hat where indicated on template to fold it together.
- Cut slits on either side at bottom and where indicated to attach elastic cord.
- Tie on or wrap elastic around and cut to length needed for going under a child’s chin.
Note: If I am making many hats, I tend to cut corners like taping the hats together and cutting a little hole to tie the chin strap on. If I’m only making one for the birthday girl/boy, I will tend to make it right.
Resources: Template for the Hat, Plain hats can be made out of one sheet of heavy scrap booking paper found at many craft and scrap booking supply stores. Or use a heavy duty scrap booking paper with a fancy design for a simple hat.
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Birthday Party Hat Template
Photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
 Fire Truck Invitation Template Make these Fire Truck Invitations for a Fire Truck Birthday Party. See Resources for a link to detailed instructions on making your own Fire Truck Party Invitations.
Resources: Sheet foam for parts came from Michaels. Brads can be found at any store selling scrap booking supplies. Directions for Project: Fire Truck Party Invitation Directions
To See Template:
Click below link through 2 screens.
Fire Truck Invitation Template
Photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.
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