A Presidential Birthday Party

A "President's Party” is a really fun and easy February birthday celebration, simply recycle your 4th o July decorations!

Invitations can be written parchment style paper using an olde English font. The top of the invitation can say:

We the people of the (your last name) House of (your town), in order to form a more perfect birthday, a birthday conceived in the notion that all kids should have fun and eat cake, would like to invite you to (child's name's) birthday and presidential gala!

Then include party info, calling your house the White House, and the name of your city followed by "D.C." Roll the invitation like a scroll, tie it with black ribbon and put it in a mailing tube.

Decorate the party area using cutout profiles of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. You can buy them at teaching supply stores or make your own by downloading templates from the internet. Use lots of 4th of July-type things -- red, white and blue streamers, bunting and American flags.

When guests arrive, invite them to the “Oval Office”, which is the party room. Have Lincoln Logs available for the kids to play with as the kids arrived, and play "Hail to the Chief" and other patriotic songs in the background.

Fun games include a hula hoop toss over Abe Lincoln's stovepipe hat, “Jump Across the Potomac” (a long jump game where you have two pieces of rope or streamers laid out parallel to each other and keep spacing them farther and father apart for the kids to try to jump across). You can also play a variation of musical chairs called “Musical Stars”. Make large stars from construction paper or cardboard and place on the floor. Play “Hail to the Chief” (or other patriotic music). When the music stops, the kids must sit on a star.

There are lots of “presidential” crafts the kids can make. Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin can be constructed with craft sticks and glue or you can make stovepipe hats from toilet paper or paper towel rolls and black construction paper. Check out craft stores for foam projects with a presidential theme, too. Older children might enjoy painting rocks with a patriotic theme. Provide medium-sized rocks with a fairly flat surface and red, white and blue paint. The rocks can be painted to resemble a flag, or the kids can use their imagination to create something patriotic.

Serve a “Presidential Luncheon” which can be the birthday child’s favorite foods – pizza, hot dogs, etc. Use red, white and blue table decorations. For the cake, you can make an American flag cake by using a rectangle cake with cool whip as frosting, then use strawberries for the stars and rows of blueberries for the stripes. Or, to honor George Washington, you can serve cherry pie, or a cake covered in cherries.

Goody bags can be filled with American flags, red, white and blue pencils, star and flag stickers, play money (because presidents' faces is on it). Check out patriotic supplies at orientaltrading.com for lots of ideas.

A Loving Family Valentine

Although Valentine’s Day is usually thought of as a “lovers” holiday, you can easily make Valentine's Day a family party to show your kids how much you love them. Before the party (either that afternoon or the weekend before), let the kids help decorate heart-shaped sugar cookies which can later be served for dessert at your party. This can be a yearly tradition and as your kids grow, they can give their cookies to friends. Be sure to take pictures each year so your children can see how their decorating skills improve as they grow.

On Valentine’s morning, present each of your children with a formal invitation to a “(Your Name) Family Valentine’s Party” Print the invitations on red paper and attach them to white doilies, you might want to attach the invite to a small box of Conversation Hearts, a silk rose or other Valentine treat.

For dinner, turn off the TV, put some classical music on the stereo and set the table with your finest linen, china and crystal (depending on the age of your kids, of course). Use flowers and candles on the table and maybe some red, white and pink balloons to make the atmosphere even more festive.

The menu should be kid-friendly -- make pizza in the shape of hearts or cut sandwiches with heart-shaped cutters. Serve sparkling grape juice and have a toast to the “most loving family”. Depending on your kids’ ages, you may ask everyone to say why they love their family.

After dinner, play games as a family. You can play Bingo using candy or hearts as markers, or “pin the heart on the cupid” (using cutouts from the party store).

“Steal My Heart” is fun game for school age kids. Fill a bowl with candy hearts and place it in the middle of a table where everyone can reach it. Give each family member a pair of chopsticks (you can use a rubber band and folded paper to bind the top of the chopsticks together for pre-schoolers). Set a timer for 5 minutes and let everyone dig in. The person who is able to remove the most candies wins.

Another great game is “Catch the Smile” Everyone sits in a circle, making sure they can see everyone else. Start the game by having the oldest person smile very widely, while all the other players must keep a straight face. The smiling person uses his or her hand to wipe the smile off their face and throw it to another player who has to catch the smile with his hand and put it on. The new person does the same thing, smiling widely to everyone before wiping off the smile and tossing it to the next person. The object is for the smiling person to get the non-smiling people to grin or smirk, then they are out. The last person not to smile is the winner. Usually the youngest players are the least successful at winning this game (they simply can't stop themselves from laughing), but they also tend to enjoy it the most.

With a little imagination and not too much cash, you can create a unique celebration that your family and friends will truly enjoy and remember for a long time. How PERFECT is that?

With a little imagination and not too much cash, you can create a unique celebration that your family and friends will truly enjoy and remember for a long time. How PERFECT is that?

For more party ideas, visit perfectpartysolutions.blogspot.com.