If you’ve got a daughter between the ages of 6 and 16 you probably know all too well what tomorrow is.  In fact, if your girls are anything like mine, chances are they’ve been counting down for months.  My daughter is such a huge High School Musical fan that we’re hosting a HSM2 premiere birthday party at our house tomorrow night.  9 eight-year-olds singing and dancing the night away with Troy and Gabriella.  Wish me luck.

Since there are so many of you with little High School Musical groupies in your house, I thought I’d post the file for the VIP lanyards I created for my daughter’s invitations.  Whether you’re hosting your own movie watching party or simply want have something fun for your girls to wear tomorrow night, these simple lanyards should add the perfect VIP touch.

To create them, simply print out the PDF file on heavy white cardstock.  Cut out the designs and then use a glue stick to hold the two sides of the tag together.  I deleted the birthday party text on the file so your girls could unleash their creativity and add their own designs within the yellow polka-dot border.  Once the glue has set, either laminate the tag or simply punch a hole right through the card stock with any standard hold punch.  To create the lanyard, simply add your favorite ribbon.  I found this darling, polka-dot ribbon at Wal Mart for under $2.  While you’re in in the craft aisle you may also want to pick up a small bag of adhesive-backed rhinestones (the kind girls use to decorate their cell phones and mp3 players).  My girls loved using them to embellish their tags.  Simple, cheap, and sure to please any High School Musical fan.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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My kids love birthday parties.  When they get an invitation at school they can’t wait to tear it open and post it proudly on the fridge.  I, however, am not such a fan.  Seeing that little card on the fridge means yet another last minute trip to Target to buy yet another shrink-wrapped something-or-other.  The older my kids get, the more often the invitations come.  After a while, it seemed like every other weekend I was spending another $20 on kid gifts and wrapping supplies. 

One Saturday last year, I forgot about a birthday party my daughter was invited to and had neglected to buy a present.  In a rush, I looked through my pantry and pulled out a simple stash of cupcake supplies.  I curled some ribbon around each item, threw them in a gift bag and tied a few balloons to the handles.  Much to my surprise, the mother of the birthday girl pulled me aside after the party and thanked me for not buying a toy.  She loved the idea of the baking set and said her daughter was thrilled to get it.  Having hosted several birthday parties myself, I totally understood what she was talking about.  From that point on, the baking set has become our standard birthday present. 

For the girls, we do a birthday cupcake kit like the one pictured.  Generally it includes a box of cake mix, frosting, cupcake liners, sprinkles, and candles.  I also include a small child-size apron (found at craft stores for around $2).  If I have time, I use printable t-shirt transfer paper to add their names to the apron (see download below). 

For the boys, we do ‘Totally Gross Chocolate Dirt Cups’ .  The gift bag includes the recipe (see download below), a wooden spoon (we add the boy’s name on the handle in goopy letters with brown and green permanent markers), 2 boxes of chocolate pudding mix, gummy worms, Oreos, and clear cups.

The gifts have been a huge hit at every party.  For some reason, the kids seem to love them…and so do the parents.  Of course, the greatest part about these gifts is that it’s easy to stock up.  When I see one of these particular items on sale or available at the dollar store, I grab a bunch and add them to my birthday stockpile.  When the invitations come in, I simply print out a recipe or an apron decal, make an apron or a spoon, and toss the rest in the gift bag.  In less than 10 minutes and for less than $10 I’ve got a customized birthday gift that’s sure to please.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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Why spend hundreds of dollars to rent an inflatable castle for your kid’s birthday when you can make a cardboard version for next to nothing? This great site has tons of how-to’s and inexpensive products to help you create some fantastic play places.

I read about this site on another blog and had to pass it on. Mr. McGroovy’s very affordable box rivets offer a quick any easy alternative to more traditional means of connecting cardboard. As a side benefit, his site is loaded with simple plans and creative ideas to make your next birthday party memorable. The site even offers tips on how to get appliance boxes for free from your local shops and dealers. Be sure to check out their customer testimonials area. It’s amazing to see what kind of creations their customers have come up with. My personal favorite is the huge pirate ship.

I haven’t tried the rivets yet, but from what I’ve read from the previous customers, they look like a great solution. I can’t wait to try them. Here’s the site link in case you’re interested.

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My son loves tools, so we opted for a construction-theme birthday party for his 5th birthday.   I created fun tool-belt style inviations for all of his buddies.  I found the cute stickers at my local craft store. 

When the boys arrived we gave them plastic hard hats.  I found them in the Bob the Builder section of the party store.  I also bought a 10 foot board at Lowe’s and had them cut it into 10 sections.  We sanded down the corners and had the boys color them with markers.  We predrilled tiny holes into the board and let the boys hammer real nails into their boards.  They loved it!

Next we brought the boys back upstairs and helped them make tool belts from craft foam and duct tape.  We stocked them with tool sets from the dollar store.  After that, we played Tool Time Bingo.  I had a big bag of real toys that corresponded to the tools on the boards.  I pulled out a real toy from the bag and had the kids find it on their boards.  They marked their squares with little silver washers. 

We finished the party with a construction break where the kids had lunches and cupcakes.  The boys left for home with their tool belts and tools, hard hats and their nail boards.  It was a great success.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Free file downloads associated with this post

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When my youngest daughter turned three, she begged for a slumber party. Our age limit for sleepovers is 8, so I had to get creative. We decided this princess pajama party was the next best thing.

The invitations were designed to look like little pillows. I printed the invite on white cardstock (you can find the file in the downloads section) and cropped them to look like small pillows. I used a cute polka-dot printed scrapbook paper to create the “pillowcase”. I cut the edge of the scrapbook paper with scalloped scissors to give it a cute edging. I cut the pillowcase paper about 1/3″ shorter than the length of the pillow paper to allow the pillow to stick out. The invitations requested that the attendees wear their pjs and bring a pillow.

While the girls were arriving at our house, I had them play with princess dolls in Emily’s room. When everyone arrived, we played a few very simple games. First we played musical pillows with a princess music box. Next I made a path of pillows all along the floor between Emily’s bed and the living room couch. The girls had a ball jumping from one pillow to the next and piling onto the bed and couch. After that, I put on a princess movie and let them all pile onto the couch with their pillows.

We bought a princess ice cream cake (sorry, I’m not much of a cake maker), opened presents and played dress-up until the Mom’s came. For a party favor, I made the girls matching princess pillowcases with their names on them. I bought inexpensive white pillowcases and used iron-on printer paper to make the decal. We also let the girls take home several pieces of dress-up jewlery that had been decorating the tables.

The girls had loads of fun and it was really simple and inexpensive. Just thought I’d pass it on.  You can find the free file download below.

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