Theme Party: A Spook-tacular Halloween

Boo-Hoo!!

Here's an entry of a spook-tacular celebration we had on halloween!

  

TRICK OR TREAT! We had a SPOOK-tacular Halloween celebration by organizing a howling good theme party. It was a Halloween to remember. The kids felt welcome with creepy crafts, ghoulish poems and games as well as haunt cuisine. Planning a Halloween party was much easier than most, because we already know our theme.

  

We developed our party around a specific theme, such as spiders and favourite monsters. The theme itself gave us many ideas on what to do and what we needed to get in the way of supplies. Typically, Halloween is equated to a spooky and ghoulish atmosphere, but that doesn't have to be the case. Especially when it comes to children's halloween parties, we would want to keep the decorations fun and cute, rather than gruesome. Of course, adult party ideas usually lean toward "the more gruesome and frightening, the better". Still, there are many options available where you can easily take it from one extreme to another.

The decorations that we chose was mild and fun, more for the children. Where else with adults, you are more likely to decorate a sinister flare. Mild and fun decorations ensure the little goblins a freighteningly goodtime and the planning was so easy we weren't spooked! 

 

We created a spooky ambience. Halloween's one of the best times to go all wacky on your decoration. We hung orange and black balloons in clusters at a corner with black ribbons attached. Spider webs were everywhere, up in the ceiling, chandeliers, corners, and there were big hairy spiders in some of the cobwebs. The tables were covered with creepy cloth and decorated with BOO!tiful decorations and felt halloween garlands. Black cutlery were rolled inside orange napkins and placed inside a bat napkin holder. Glow in the dark skeletons greeted the guests by the entrance. The lights were lowered to create eerie atmosphere. Halloween music set the mood.

This quaint old festival with its strange superstitions has become an occassion for social entertaining. In turn, Halloween food and recipes have become a much sought after item, and no Halloween party is a success without a properly planned menu.

Let the little ones help to prepare the food. Involve them with the cooking while they have fun learning. Much kids love to cook and want to help in the kitchen. They pretend to cook in the kitchen, make mud pies from the beach sand, and make bubble cakes in the bath tub! Kids do cooking activities all the time!

Here are reasons why you should do cooking activities with your kids.

1. Boost their self esteem. If your child needs a boost of self confidence, (and who doesn't!) cooking in the kitchen will do just that. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important and contributing to the family.

2. Create family time and bonding. Take time to cook with your kids and they will have memories that they, in turn, can pass on to their families. It may take a longer time to get the meal or snack done but the moments with your children will be priceless. (Just remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk).

3. Kids will be more apt to eat what they make. Perhaps, it is the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, but they will be more likely to eat whatever they had a hand in making.

4. They can help contribute to the family and they can feel the importance of helping. They are working together as a team, whether it is with a parent or with a sibling to get the job done.

5. Cooking teaches them planning, making choices, practice creativity and imagination. Kids cooking activities are a great way to express themselves and enjoy their creation.

  

  

Serving these creepy foods on the buffet line was a great way in creating a spooky setting for the Halloween party. Eyeball devilish eggs, chocolate mud cake topped with gummy worms, icy fingers floating in a green liquid are just the beginning of all the fun and creepy foods you can make. Kids fun Halloween recipes may include Graveyard Pudding, Mummy Dogs, Ghost Sandwich, Swamp Slime and all time favourite the Brainy Pudding.

 

Fabulous creepy creative Halloween craft ideas suitable for both kids and adults usually includes coloring pages, scrapbooking ideas, crossword puzzles, creepy fonts and graphics and much more. The children had just as much fun but they kept the chaos down to a minimum. Even the adults too contributed their best effort in solving puzzles and mazes.

 

 

The ghastly guests were kept occupied with halloween games such as the Eye Ball Relay, Mummy Wrap, Spider Web, Ghost Waiter and many more! Playing halloween games is a must with young children present. These games provided lots of laugh for both kids and adults, a perfect way to end a purrfect party!

Theme Birthday Party: Superhero

Calling all caped crusaders. It's time to celebrate superhero style! This superhero party is sure to be one event your little crime fighter will never forget!

 
A superhero party is sure to create super-duper fun! You can either create your party with a general super hero theme or focus on one character and build your party around that hero. Boys (and sometimes girls too!) love superheroes and whether it is Batman, Spiderman, Superman or Iron Man, a Superhero party theme is sure to be a blast!

A really super party starts with colorful decorations! Consider fun and simple ideas which include your favourite superheroes. If your party has a general super hero theme, then you may select your child's favorite superhero colors to use as a guide in decorating. If you are leaning toward a specific superhero, then you would want to select the colors most associated with that hero.

 

A party table set up has always been the best way to set the mood of a themed party. Figures of favourite superheroes with models of city towers would make the best centrepieces and make the party table look out of this world!

Superheroes posters are hung around the area. Cut out poster pictures make great superhero standees, which no doubt will excite the boys (and girls!). A life sized standee would create an extra fun at the entrance welcoming the superkids to the party.

 

A party table is never complete without the personalized items. The water bottles and chocolate bars, all wrapped with personalized superhero labels with fun names like Energy Bar and Super Booze just to give them a splash of the theme.

 

The personalized cupcake toppers were pictures of the all time favourite superheroes. Even simple cupcakes would be a great party hit with these toppers!

A personalized handmade superhero pennant banner would make a nice simple background for the party table as well as the cake cutting ceremony. The diamond shape would be the best design for the superhero party pennant banner.

The party table was then finalized with the ultimate superhero cake which combines all 3 most favourite superhero, Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Cutout star shaped fondant complemets the cake with the birthday boys' names. And the cupcakes were just simply hard for the kids to resist! They were all eyeing for their favourite superhero cupcake from the start!

 

 

Just by looking at the happy faces of the excited boys around me during the setup, has brought me great pleasure in helping them decorate the party table. Hope the superkids had as much fun as I did!

Theme Birthday Party: Moroccan Arabian Night

Remember the Enchanted Arabian Night we organized for a baby's 1st birthday celebration? This time we are featuring a similar one for a teen aged 10!

 

Let's rub the genie lamp, grab the magic carpet and take a ride into this mysterious and magical Moroccan Theme Party!

The overall color theme of this Arabian Night is created with rich and vibrant hues of purples, golds, turqoises, teals and reds. The look of a palace is created by draping fabric in these colors from the ceiling

and hanging them in doorways. Colourful sheer see-through fabric works best for an Arabian Night party. Persian rugs are scattered throughout the party area to replicate magic carpets. The theme table is covered using damask fabric in rich gold and deep purple tablecloths.

   

Genie bottles and lamps are placed throughout the party area to help add to the atmosphere. Oil lamps, incense, and hookahs bring in the authentic look. Touches of gold are used wherever on the tabletop, things such as genie lamp with the addition of golden jeweled goblet. Empty bottles or teapots decorated in gold paint can also double as 'magic lamps'. Gold crowns represents power & legitimacy of the royal empire.

A 2-tier novelty Arabian themed cake specially designed for the birthday princess with a genie lamp fondant figurine is a perfect centrepiece decor for the theme table. Opt for a different unique touch with mini cakes instead of the normal cupcakes. The mini cakes are shaped in forms of arabian cushions embellished with tassels and studs, topped with personalized toppers. Simply stunning!

 

The mood is then set with insence, oil lamps, and candles placed on every guests's tables and other areas of the party. Twinkle lights are hung for a romantic glow. Sitting areas are created using throw rugs, cushions and bean bag chairs around the party floor.

  

    

With tents, rugs, and beanbags, it creates a terrific luxury Arabian atmosphere. A much easier trick that does a lot to enhance the mood is to play a collection of the Middle Eastern music.

An Arabian Night theme party is all about the mysterious, exotic and sensual fun. Hire a henna artist or have a booth of floral tattoo. Hire belly dancers  to perform, or better yet, get your guests involved by participating in belly dancing lessons. Designate a 'magic carpet' dance area and decorate it with an assortment of persian rugs.

 

It's a smart strategy to have a few organized games planned at a party. Just be sure to consider the ages of the children when you select the suitability of the games. Then go ahead and have a howling good time! Arabian themed games include the Musical Magic Lamp, Pass the Scarab and a Scavenger Hunt, but the all time favourite is of course the Mummy Wrap! It has always been a hit!