Birthday
Bonanza!
Carniv
time!al
games
, priz
tattoos es,
pa rt y
people
More than 60 awesome, easy ideas for your child’s
biggest and best bash
Kids won’t be able to
resist these Wacky Clown
Cupcakes (recipe, p. 64).
Photography by Jodi Pudge Produced and styled by Carolyn Souch/judyinc.com
Recipes and food styling by Lindsay Evans
46 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Think inside the box for
serving up carnival goodies,
such as popcorn, pretzels
and ice cream. Set up a
lemonade stand for little
partiers to wash it all down.
june 2011 Todaysparent.com 47
Birthday
Bonanza!
the invite
Include an “admit one”
ticket with each colourful
invitation for kids to get
into the party.
the loot
Have partiers decorate
paper bags to carry their
prizes from the day. Fill
jars with prizes, such as
rubber balls, kazoos or
penny candy. Kids love a
pick-your-own-prize table!
Forgo face paint
and stick on fake
tattoos instead!
Make your
own beanbags
using small
resealable bags
and dried
beans.
Don’t forget the
Doggies in a Blanket
(recipe, p. 64).
Activities
Carnival games are a blast! Set up such classics as the
beanbag toss, clothespin drop, three-legged race and
bowling. Give kids a ticket for each game they play to
cash in at the prize table before leaving!
Ryan and Laila choose their
own loot at the prize table.
june 2011 Todaysparent.com 49
Birthday
Bonanza!
Fairyted
enchan lle,
ty, tu
tea par ns
crow
the food
Please your fairies with
a garden tea party,
including cheese and
crackers, juice and
cupcakes they can
decorate themselves.
Be sure to have lots of
sprinkles on hand! Add
a touch of sweet Fairy
Berries, sophisticated
Fairy Sandwiches and
Fairy Dust Cake Pop
Wands for the final touch
(recipes, p. 64).
Milena (left) and Jada
share fairy tales.
Jada pours apple-juice tea.
activities
Create a whimsical woodland home fit for a fairy with a mosquito
net or fabric and large pillows. Kids can make their own fairy wands
adorned with glitter, ribbons and rhinestones. Or let them fashion
floral crowns using artificial vines and flowers from your local craft
or dollar store. Tinkerbell would be impressed!
50 Todaysparent.com june 2011
the loot
Loot bags are more
magical when they’re
made of tulle. Fill them
with pixie sticks,
bubbles, glitter
and shiny jewels.
Birthday
Bonanza!
Creepeyrs
crawl
s,
y worm
squirm bites
bug
Activities
Send little insect lovers
to inspect plastic bugs
in Mason jars, paint
terracotta flowerpots
and play pin the spots
on the ladybug.
Tiago goes bug-eyed as
he inspects a collection
of rare specimens.
52 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Christina paints her
flowerpot to fill later
with treats.
the invite
Send out invitations covered with plastic bugs that will
make their skin crawl!
the loot
Fill painted flowerpots with stone candies, gummi
worms and a magnifying glass for bug watching.
the food
Let the kids dig in to some real grub! Serve ants on a log
(sliced cucumber with cream cheese and raisins), snail
wraps (tightly wrapped tortillas cut into small pieces)
and stick bugs (thin pretzels dipped in chocolate).
Freeze gummi worms in ice cubes to cool off drinks —
watch the kids squirm with delight as the ice melts and
the worms float to the top! And try out these Spider and
Bug Bites and a Creepy Crawly Cake (recipes, p. 66).
54 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Birthday
Bonanza!
Ahoyy, !
mate
e,
treasur
buried treats
gnarly
Mattias (left), Parker and Josh
are a not-so-terrifying trio!
“Aaarrr, matey,” says
Parker the pirate.
56 Todaysparent.com june 2011
the food
Serve bone-shaped
sandwiches, black
licorice, red
strawberries and
a Swamp Island
Guacamole (p. 56).
And before you can
say “shiver me
timbers,” these Mini
Treasure Cupcakes
will be gone
(recipes, p. 64).
the loot
Let kids decorate
mini treasure chests
they can fill with
booty from a larger
chest (shown).
Activities
Test their pirate prowess with
a scavenger hunt for buried
or hidden treasure, an obstacle
course including “walk
the plank,” and tug-of-war.
58 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Birthday
s pac e
dinosaurs
h o l ly wo o d
decor
Bonanza!
food
222
loot
333
444
1 Cut out colourful spaceships,
planets and aliens, and glue to a
bright background.
2 Have a launching contest with
foam rockets.
3 Make mini-rocket-ship cookies
that little astronauts can decorate.
4 Kids can recreate the wonders of
space with these glow-in-the-dark
stars to stick on bedroom ceilings.
1 Pick up a “pinatasaurus” filled
with treats.
2 Kids will have a blast trying to
grab tiny dino eggs (marbles) with
dino chopsticks.
3 Serve prehistoric sandwiches
and fossils (yogurt-dipped
pretzels and candy rocks).
4 Kids can have their own
Jurassic Park with plastic pals.
1 Keep a clapboard on hand
for those birthday photo ops.
2 Let young idols shine with a
night of glamour and karaoke.
3 Star-shaped pizzas and
toppings will keep them on the
A-list. Serve ginger ale “bubbly”
in plastic wine glasses.
4 Give them the star treatment
with a mani-pedi set.
Find recipes on p. 66.
60 Todaysparent.com june 2011
foam rockets, dinosaur chopsticks, marbles, boa, emery board, tissue paper loot bag, plastic dinosaurs and glow-in-the-dark stars, treasure island toys, toronto
activit y
111
Birthday
be ach
dots
zoo
decor
Bonanza!
activit y
111
food
222
loot
333
444
1 Beach lanterns help set the
scene for a day of sand and sun.
2 Play a game of luau freeze
dancing with grass skirts.
3 Pour batter in ice cream cones,
bake, ice and decorate for a
summertime treat.
4 Send them home with a pail and
shovel filled with beachside
accessories, such as sunglasses.
1 Use dotted paper and round
cut-outs to make a pretty flower.
2 Toss balls into coloured bins for
points and prizes.
3 Decorate a round cake with
colourful candy drops in all sizes.
4 Fill a polka-dotted container
with beads and supplies for kids
to make their own jewellery.
1 Send out a monkey card asking
kids to come hang around.
2 Your tiny wildlife lovers will go
ape with these animal hats.
3 Decorate crispy treats with fruit,
icing and candies to look like their
favourite animals.
4 Budding zoologists will love
putting on a show with these
terrific finger puppets.
Find recipes on p. 66.
62 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Birthday
Bonanza!
recipe s
Carnival
Fairies
Pirates
Wacky Clown Cupcakes
Fairy Dust Cake
Pop Wands
Mini Treasure Cupcakes
Ice vanilla cupcakes with vanilla
frosting. Place a large white
marshmallow in centre of cupcake.
Use red, yellow and green candies
to create a ruffled collar around
base of the marshmallow. Using
icing as glue, poke in a red
cinnamon candy for the nose,
chocolate sprinkles for eyes and
a colourful cone-shaped candy
for a hat.
Doggies in a Blanket
Wrap hot dogs in store-bought puff
pastry squares. Bake in 350°F
(180°C) oven until golden and
crispy. Once cool enough to
handle, insert a Popsicle stick into
one end of the hot dog. Serve with
dipping bowls filled with ketchup
and mustard.
64 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Make round, star- or heart-shaped
cake pops (see directions at
Todaysparent.com/cakepops).
Dip in melted pink chocolate (found
at bulk food stores), then sprinkle
with tiny silver balls, colourful
sprinkles and sparkly crystal sugar.
Kids can make their own to take
home as a party favour!
Fairy Sandwiches
with Fairy Berries
Make tiny “fairy” pink and white
sandwiches. Fill with cucumber and
herb cream cheese and, using
cookie cutters, shape into hearts,
butterflies, dragonflies and stars.
Serve with Fairy Berries —
strawberries on a lollipop stick
dipped in melted pink chocolate
and crystal sugar.
Hollow out a little hole in top of
each mini chocolate cupcake.
Fill with a candy “treasure.”
Replace the tops, and ice with
black-tinted buttercream frosting.
Line the edges with red, yellow
and orange candy-covered
chocolates and black-and-white
licorice candy. Pile gold “coins”
and small silver candy balls on
cupcake tray for more treasure.
Stick a skull-and-crossbones flag
in each cupcake, and finish with a
thin flat chocolate-bar plank.
Swamp Island Guacamole
with Skull Chips and
Gnarly Finger Veggies
Fill a bowl with guacamole dip. Use
a skull-shaped cookie cutter to cut
out shapes from thin pita bread.
Brush with oil and bake at 350°F
(180°C) until golden. Serve these,
along with black nacho chips and
gnarly finger veggies (veggies cut
with a jagged knife) and dip. Top
with skull-and-crossbones flag.
Birthday
Bonanza!
recipe s
Bugs
Creepy Crawly Cake
Make an 8 in (20 cm) square
chocolate cake. Frost with
chocolate buttercream icing. Line
edges with green flat licorice to
create grass. Then create a dirt box
with flaky chocolate bars, gummi
worms and other creepy crawly
insect candies. You can also try
sprinkling cookie crumbs over top
for a truly soiled look.
Spider and Bug Bites
Ladybug Bites: Spread herb
cream cheese over a round cracker.
Arrange two cherry tomato halves
on top for ladybug wings. Place a
blueberry above the wings as the
head. Insert chives or pieces of
black licorice for antennas. You can
also use black-tinted cream cheese
mixture to pipe spots onto wings.
Hollywood
Blast Off! Sugar Cookies
Make sugar cookies in the shape of
rocket ships using a cookie cutter.
Decorate with red, blue or white
royal icing and candies like
gumdrops and silver balls. Make
sure there is one cookie for each
guest at the party!
Walk of Fame Pizzas
Create Walk of Fame Pizzas by
cutting store-bought pizza dough
into star shapes. Spread tomato
sauce to the edges of the pizza
dough. Use a star-shaped cookie
cutter to cut out stars of
mozzarella, salami, zucchini and
any other ingredients kids will like.
Place on top of sauce. Bake until
golden and bubbly. Serve one to
each star at the party!
Dino-wiches with Fossils
and Dino Eggs
Create dino- and bone-shaped
sandwiches using dinosaur- and
bone-shaped cookie cutters.
Fill some with cucumbers and
tomatoes for herbivores and some
with cheese and meat for
carnivores. Serve with fossils
(pretzels dipped in yogurt or white
chocolate) and dino eggs (mix of
jelly beans and candy-coated
chocolate eggs).
66 Todaysparent.com june 2011
Our readers share their favourite
birthday party ideas.
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space
Dinosaurs
Spider Bites: Spread herb cream
cheese over a black- or charcoalcoloured cracker. Place 3 stick
pretzels or crispy chow mein
noodles on each side of cracker.
Top with another black or charcoal
cracker. Using cream cheese as
glue, attach two small red candies
for eyes.
Butterfly Bites: Spread herb
cream cheese over a round cracker.
Arrange 2 blueberries down middle
of cracker for the body and then
attach 2 pretzels for the wings. Use
½ of a small green grape for the
head and 2 pieces of black string
licorice for antennas.
Beach
Ice Cream Cupcakes
Make Ice Cream Cupcakes by
baking cupcake batter in storebought ice cream cones. Using a
star-shaped tip, pipe vanilla,
chocolate or strawberry icing onto
cupcakes. Arrange little colourful
sand buckets and shovels on a
table and fill with sprinkles,
candies and chocolate sauce.
Allow guests to decorate their own
Ice Cream Cupcake. Alternatively,
top cupcakes with ice cream.
Serve immediately to each guest at
your party and, as above, allow
them to decorate their own.
Dots
Polka Dot Cake
Make an 8 in (20 cm) round layer
cake and ice entirely with pink-tinted
vanilla buttercream. Use pink, blue
and brown round candies as polka
dots over the top and sides of the
cake. Tie a polka dot ribbon around
the bottom edge of cake.
Zoo
Zany Zoo Rice Krispies Treats
Make Rice Krispies Treats in the
shape of zoo animals, such as
monkeys, bears, lions and
elephants, using cookie cutters.
Decorate with coloured royal icing
and little candies or cut-up fruit to
create animal faces.