Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Cowboy Hats For Party Wear

Among children and teenagers, parties with western themes have become extremely popular. Birthdays and start of the summer holidays are celebrated through these parties. They are parties full of casual fun. You can arrange the parties for both boys and girls and keep something for everyone to enjoy so that your child can invite his/her peers and classmates. The most important accessories are the sheriff's stars, bandanas, but above all the cowboy hat.
You can buy cowboy hats from most places including party supply stores, toy stores, and the websites of course. You can get them in almost everything starting from straw to foam. You will have enough to complement your theme and keep with the budget.
Young people enjoy dress up and a cowboy hat party is the perfect place for ropin', ridin', and cake eatin'! Moreover, they will be charged up if they are gifted with their very own cowboy party hats and make them an honorary deputy of the day. Personalize each kid's hat with his/her name on it or arrange for some fun activity by which the children can decorate his/her own hat.
Cowboy hats can be used to add a good dash of spark to the decorations at the parties. There are various ways to enliven and uplift the party mood through these hats. You can turn them upside down and fill them up with toffees and sweets for the kids to take home. You can also set a border with bandanas and fill the hats with chips and cookies. You can hang them from ceilings wrapped up in Christmas lights or keep them as centerpiece decorations.
If you can, send out the invitations by rolling them up in cowboy hats and add a note requesting the guests to wear cowboy hats.
Hats also serve a brilliant purpose in party games. Set up a few cowboy hats in a pyramid structure and ask the kids to knock them down with a ball or beanbags like ninepins. This kind of a game is both exciting, has a flavor of the Wild West and it is quiet. It also keeps in mind that no one is hurt. In another game, you can turn hats upside down and allow kids to toss beanbags inside them. The hats kept farthest off have the greatest points and will fetch more prizes.
Today, we don't normally associate a cowboy with proper gentlemanly manners but once upon a time there was a code of conduct, which they followed. For instance, the tipping of the hat to a lady is one of the commonest ways of expressing respect. But there are other lesser-known forms.
For a long time the cowboy hats stood as an indicator of the jagged west. Initially, the cowboy hats were supposed to protect the wearer from external harsh conditions. Animal skin was used to make them since materials like felt and straw were not readily available. Leather hats can be worn on regular basis since they are tough, adaptable and can weather the wind and rain.
The cowboy hat offers immense opportunities for fun filled activities. They are cheap and easily available and are restricted only by your imagination. A cowboy image is not complete without the cowboy hat and a Western themed party is definitely incomplete without it.

How to Make Party Hat Creations with Paper Plates

Inexpensive paper plates are the basic ingredient in how to make party hat creations for your kids party. If you have a unique party theme and can't find hats to match, just make
your own. The kids will enjoy the hand-on approach and you'll save a few dollars in the process.
Paper Plate Party Hat
Start with a quantity of inexpensive paper plates, the kind with the scalloped edge. The entire outer edge of the plate will form the band which goes around the child's head. The center of the plate will be colored, drawn on, or otherwise decorated
Start by just cutting out the headband part, leaving the circular interior portion of the plate flipped up to decorate. Simply stick on a picture which pertains to your party theme. This could be a Barbie picture, a race car, or
whatever. It's easy to copy pictures you find on the internet, or in children's coloring books, and let kids color them in.
Another easy paper plate hat design is a heart shape. Fold the plate in half and draw half a heart on it. Keep the plate folded and cut around the heart, leaving it connected to the scalloped band. Then just open the plate and bend the heart up. This same method could be used to make a pop-up birthday cake hat, castle hat, choo-choo train hat, kitty cat hat, you name it! Designs with symmetry work best.
Try cutting out the entire inside of the plate, and simply glue or staple on bits of tulle, ribbon, streamers or whatever around the edges. This works well for Easter bonnets or fancy dress-up party hats.
Another option is to cut out the inner circle of a paper plate. Staple a paper bowl to the paper plate. Decorate with silk flowers, fabric, tulle, felt, ribbons, markers. Add
ribbon or light elastic to opposite sides of the plate to secure on the head.
You can even take an intact paper plate, and decorate with a daisy, sunflower, sun, or ladybug design. Paint the plate in the desired color and let dry. Cut out flower petals, sun's rays, or ladybug spots in the appropriate colors and let kids construct the design of their choice. As always, run a knotted ribbon through a hole on either side of the plate to hold the "bonnet" on.
Paper Plate Crown
Place a 9 inch plate on a 10 3/4 inch paper plate and trace around it. Divide the 9 inch circle on the larger paper plate into 8 equal parts, like a pie. Start at the center and cut along each line 3 inches. Bend the triangle shapes up
like a crown. Paint and decorate with glitter or foil cut-outs.
Paper Plate Visor
Make a visor hat by cutting out the center of a paper plate to make a band to fit on the child's head. Then cut the round plate center into a half-circle and staple it to the band. Decorate as desired.
Paper plates aren't just for eating! Use these ideas to make one-of-a-kind kids party hats for your next kids party.
Copyright 2005 Kids Party Paradise All Rights Reserved

Gifts For Your Loved Ones

Gifts are the symbol of love, the affiliation, the kindness, the florence, the closeness no matter how far you are from your loved ones in distance but gifts keep you together.
The bond is much stronger than the rocks and the feelings are softer than the petals. Living far from your family, your loved ones do not mean you are separated.
On a mother's day when your mom feels she is alone, you being away from her, and some one at the door knocks, and on opening the door she finds a person carrying gift in his hand send by her son, there is no better moment she could think of. Joy of a father could be seen if a son or a daughter living abroad send gift to him on
Father's day and valentine thinks she is the most luckiest valentine on earth if she gets a gift on valentine day despite you being abroad and thousands miles away from her. The gaps created by the distances could be narrowed by the gifts. Pakistan is a country of great heritage and culture where relationships are given a great respect. Many Pakistanis work abroad living away from Pakistan but there is always home at back of their mind by sending gifts to their beloved ones.
There are several special occasion like, whether it's a Mother's Day, a Father's Day, Valentines Day, Eid, Birthday, Wedding but your are connect with your relatives by sending gifts to them.
Valentine's Day on this traditional day lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.
This day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. The rise of Internet popularity at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions. Millions of people use, every year, digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as e-cards, love coupons or printable greeting cards as well as sending gifts through couriers and other means of communications.
Mother's Day
"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie".
"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new"
"On Mother's Day I have written a poem for you. In the interest of poetic economy and truth, I have succeeded in concentrating my deepest feelings and beliefs into two perfectly crafted lines: You're my mother, I would have no other!"
"Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over".
Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love
Doesn't a mother deserve a gift from her children on this day? Think over what she did for you in your childhood, in the nights you were sick, at times you were down, and stood in front of you to take your every problem, your every difficulty, your every hard time on her own shoulders only because she loved you the most. Now on Mother's day, you can show your love to her by sending gifts her.
Father's Day
You can express your love and gratitude to your father, grand father, uncle or a person who is like your father living in Pakistan by sending gifts to Pakistan. The idea behind these cute and some attractive gifts on Father's Day is to say Thanks to your Father for all his care, sacrifices and affection for you. Fathers are :-
"F" aithful.
"A" lways there.
"T" rustworthy.
"H" onoring.
"E" ver-loving.
"R" ighteous.
"S" upportive.
A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be.
None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of such a Father who has not his equal in this world - so great, so good, so faultless. Try, all of you, to follow in his footsteps and don't be discouraged, for to be really in everything like him none of you, I am sure, will ever be. Try, therefore, to be like him in some points, and you will have acquired a great deal.

First Birthday Gift Baskets

There are many occasions in a newborn baby's early months to celebrate but none are quite as significant as the first birthday. The first night home from the hospital, christenings and first outfits are all worth celebrating but that first birthday is a milestone to remember and baby boy and baby girl gift baskets are great gift ideas to lavish the young one with practical and special gifts.
When shopping for a first birthday gift basket know how far the child has progressed in the first year and pick gift baskets accordingly. Some baby gift baskets are specially designed for newborns and have gifts that are more practical for parents including diaper cakes, baby wipes and burp cloths. But if the boy or girl celebrating their first birthday has shown early signs of development and progress then now is a good time to introduce them to plush toys including stuffed animals and teddy bears, soft books and clothing outfits.
At age one baby boys and girls are starting to discover the world around them after several months of napping and sleeping. They are curious to new sights and sounds and love to explore with their hands, feet and teeth. Choosing special baby gift baskets that are full of toys and accessories that encourage discovery are great for a baby celebrating his or her first birthday. Clutch toys, plush toys and soft toys including books and puzzles are all appropriate ideas for a one year old and will act as games and safe objects for him or her to chew on.
If the birthday boy or girl doesn't have a cuddly best friend already then now is a great time to provide them with a gift basket theme centering on teddy bears, monkeys and safari animals. These plush stuffed animal gifts form the centerpiece for many baby gift basket themes and are terrific clutch toys that keep their little hands and fingers occupied and provide them with a special friend to cuddle up with during naps. From traditional teddy bears and Curious George monkeys to exotic dragons and dinosaurs there are an amazing selection from which to choose when shopping for a baby's first friend.
Another practical and cool gift idea for a baby celebrating their first birthday is unique clothing outfits that reflect their budding personalities. Granted it's still too early to impose roles and expectations on the toddler but they will begin to demonstrate characteristics that will tip you off on what kind of outfits to buy. Maybe she will be into dress up and a gift basket with princess and ballerina outfits will provide hours of fun. Likewise maybe he is already showing an aptitude for athletics and a designer baby track suit or cute baseball outfit will delight and entertain him throughout any sporting season.

Have an Indiana Jones Party For Kids

With the recent release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Indiana Jones theme has become a popular birthday party request from kids these days. There are some kits you can find, but this article will provide you more ideas if you want to throw an Indy party.
To provide a theme for your party there are some basic elements: the plates/cups/napkins for the table, banners and other decorations, the cake, mylar balloons, pinatas, games to play, background music, goody bags and party hats. Here are some specific ideas for an Indiana Jones birthday party.
Plates/cups/napkins: These can get pretty expensive. If you can find the theme you want at Target, they will have the best prices on these items. To do the party economically, just get cake plates with the Indy theme, colored plastic cups and brown napkins. Even at a somewhat pricey party supply store, you can get 8 cake plates for less than $4. If you are serving food, use regular plastic or paper plates which hold more and are much less expensive than theme party plates. Party supply websites offer kits which have plates, cups, napkins, balloons, hats, etc... and this is a useful option though not the most economical way to go. The most bang for the buck will be to use decorated cake plates, but everything else "standard issue" but color coordinated.
Banners: A regular Happy Birthday banner will do or perhaps you can make one with your printer if you have banner software. You may be able to find a birthday banner for $1.00 at the dollar store.
Other decorations: One thing you can do to decorate a table is to get a package of plastic snakes and scatter them around the table. The party supply stores (like Diddams) have packs of snakes and other places like Target do as well. You could also find a wig form (styrofoam) and spray paint it gold for a table decoration. If you are able to find something ark-like, you could put your goody bags inside of it.
Mylar balloons: You can find mylar Indiana Jones balloons on Ebay or at a party store.
Pinatas: If you want a pinata, you may find these with the party theme kits online. There are Indiana Jones pinatas. Many pinatas these days are the pull string kind.
Games/events: One idea is to have a treasure hunt in the format of either follow-the-clues to treasure, or a scavenger hunt. If you have a sandbox, you could have a fossil dig with items you buried before the party. If you are having an indoor party, you could play Indiana Jones bingo with cards you make yourself. You can find Indiana Jones Bingo kits on Ebay which will give you an idea you could copy.
Goody bags: To avoid the total junk, try your local dollar store. Some of them have Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull activity books. You could also get a survival tool, with compass, flashlight and magnifyer (again at the dollar store). For obvious reasons, whips seem like a really bad idea for a party favor (you know kids will love them until someone gets hurt). Instead of whips, you can find some nice jump ropes that can stand in for a whip but aren't quite as dangerous.
Party hats: Instead of the traditionally cone shaped hat, you can find Indiana Jones paper hats. They are not that common, but they have been ordered from Toyhunt.com. You may be able to get them as part of a party pack from some online party sites.
Hat for Mom/Dad: You can find Indiana Jones hats pretty commonly right now. One was spotted at Diddams made of leather-look stiff cloth for $20. (Very stylish too!). Mom or Dad can dress up like Indy with a hat, a whip (or jump rope) and a bandana.
Cake: There are Indiana Jones cake kits available and Safeway (and other bakeries) sell the cakes made to order with the Indy decorations. The decoration is a holder for a large ball (about the size of a tennis ball) which rolls toward an Indiana Jones action figure. You can find these decorations on Ebay and Amazon. You could also use Indiana Jones actions figures or Lego kits as a cake decoration. With the Lego kits you (or your child) will have to put it together ahead of time, but it will be a fun toy to keep.
Music: Download the Indiana Jones movie music and play it on your ipod connected to a stereo if you have one (set it to continous mode). The Indian Jones theme music is very nice for setting the feeling of the party. You may be able to find an Indiana Jones movie music CD that you could play as well.
Put it all together and you will have a very fun Indiana Jones party! Your child is certain to get a few Indiana Jones Lego kits, adding to the fun.

Ideas For Party Planning - Tips on How to Have the Best Birthday Party Celebration

When it comes to throwing a children's birthday party, a lot of parents would do everything in their power to get the best ideas for party planning to organize a lovely event with plenty of entertainment and a unique theme. There are many ideas to choose from that you'll get quite confused on which to put into application. You must base your decision on the child's age and their preferences. When you have decided on the theme, move on with the list of guests, the invites, decorations and supplies required for the event.
You can check a lot of well-known birthday celebration ideas on Internet websites. Most of the ideas come from specialized websites that provide inspiration and a great approach to parties. You will learn how to plan, organize the budget and also make a list of the supplies. The most well-known ideas include themes such as circus, Sponge Bob, superheroes, safari, pirates, princess parties and much more. Such websites can really help you by significantly minimizing the pressure of the organization of the event.
Next on your party planning list should be the safety of the kids in the event. All of the supplies, food, drinks and forms of entertainment should match the children's age. The menu or food that you'll be serving to your guests is quite essential. You can purchase alcohol-free bubble champagne, order a birthday cake that matches the theme of the party and serve all kinds of drinks. Remember that kids can be thrilled to find out something fun even if they're just sitting by the table. The decorations should capture the interest of the visitors, and therefore, such decors should match the theme of the party.
Be creative enough when it comes to thinking about the activities and games. Keep in mind that music isn't enough to make the kids have a great time. Besides dancing, there should be party games, a clown and a couple of entertainers dressed up to match the party's theme. As one of the best ideas for party planning, you can always log on to the Internet to search for the best recommendations for the activities and games that you can have for the party. The important thing is that you'll be having fun with your child, and he or she will be appreciate your effort well.

John Deere Farm Birthday Party Ideas

Every little boy loves tractors! There is something about those big green machines. So, for this birthday GO Green! Invitations: Use a template of a simple tractor using green construction paper and outlining with a black marker. On a separate sheet of yellow paper, write the title "Our little Deere __ is turning __, so join us for some good old farm fun!" Plain white invitations can be made quite festive with the John Deere clip art or stickers. A picture of your child on a tractor would also be a wonderful invite and can be copied quite easily and cost effectively using a colour printer or at your local photo center.
The Venue: How about an outing? You could visit a petting zoo, a pumpkin patch, a pony riding center or a local farm. Your one step ahead if you already live on a farm! An old fashioned family bonfire is a wonderful back drop for this kind of event. No worries though, even if your a city slicker you can easily transform your home or backyard into a "farm house" worthy of a John Deere Birthday Party! Decorations: Green & Yellow of course! A wide range of John Deere licensed goods can be purchased through my website or your local party center. Throw in a barnyard feel with hay bails, saddles, scarecrows, pitch forks, cowboy hats and farm animals. Ask the kids to come in their finest denim farm clothes but provide them with a straw hat and bandanna when they arrive.
Activities: You can't have a John Deere Party without a tractor! So, if you don't have a real one for tractor rides, turn a regular old wagon into one with 2 large cardboard pieces, the tractor template, green paint and some imagination! The little ones will love their imaginary tractor rides. If your party is indoors or for some additional decoration, use a bunch of farm animal colouring sheets. Cover a full wall with butcher paper or large white paper roll. Make a farm scene by painting on some grass, a fence and blue sky. Have the kids colour the pictures and then cut and paste the pictures onto wall. Or you can even have the kids colour right onto the paper wall. The kids will have a blast decorating the life sized farm scene.
Games: Needle in a Haystack - Hide objects in a loose pile of hay. Use needles for older party guests and small toys for younger ones. Have them wear work gloves for safety. If you cannot get your hands on some hay you can use several bags of raffia or dried grass clippings. Young or Old, everyone loves a game of Horse Shoes - the younger the child, the closer the shot line. Do I Moo? - Attach an animal sticker or picture to each child's back. Each player must identify what kind of animal they are by asking "yes" or "no" questions. For example, "Can I fly?", "Am I pink?", etc. Catch a Pig - Grease up 1 pink balloon with baby oil for every player and place the whole bunch about 20 feet away from where the kids are lined up. On "GO" have them run and try to catch a pig and place it back in its pen. The pen can be any box or container. It is hilarious and not that easy! Have an area set up where you can practise your cowboy skills by roping some cattle. A simple rope works great as a lasso and a sawhorse from Dad's garage works great as an animal target. Chicken Egg Hunt - Reuse your plastic Easter Eggs by filling them with some neat toys, trinkets or candy and hiding them around the party yard or party room. Herding Cattle - Colour some black cow spots on white balloons.
Using a broom, the object is to swat 8-10 balloons from one side of the room to the other. Use a stopwatch to see who can herd the cows the fastest. Hoe Down - play some Country Music and form a square dancing line or have a line dancing lesson! Menu: A good, old, down home barbecue of hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, potato salad, watermelon and corn on the cob. Serve the snacks and salads out of mini galvanized buckets and fill a wheel barrow with ice to keep your drinks cold in. Have plenty of wooden picnic tables on hand for seating. The cake can be any shape or size but must have bright John Deere green coloured icing. Use a decopac set or simply use your childs favourite toy tractor for the center of the cake. Be sure to sit the tractor ontop of a mud or soil pile! A mud/soil pile is made by crumbling up some dark cookies. Corral the tractor and hill in with a pretzel stick fence.
Loot Bags: All kids love to dress up - a cowboy hat, a bandanna and a pair of kids work gloves would be the perfect gifts to take home with them. You can also purchase John Deere stickers, toy tractors, launchers & keychains for plastic lootbags. Plastic farm animals and candy eggs would be a great addition! All farms have gardens so why not provide each guest with a small pot and a few easy growing seeds like bean, radish or sunflower and have them "sow their seeds." They can take their plant home and watch it grow.

Birthday Party Candles For Life's Celebration

People burn candles for the most fundamental reason: to have or to give a source of light. Perhaps there was a power shortage and the people of the 21st century rely again on candles "to shed light in the darkness". Looking back as far as 3000 BC, history will tell that it was the Cretans together with the Egyptians who were the pioneers in producing candles out of beeswax. Colza oil, rapeseed oil and even the oil coming from sperm whales known as spermaceti are all used for candle-making.
Religion is probably the very first thing that could be closely associated with candles. People burn candles as part of their expression of faith. Candles are burnt during vigils, in times of a stormy weather, when asking for special petitions or wishes and also a form of thanksgiving and remembrance for the faithful departed.
Nowadays, candles are not just seen at churches, cathedrals, monasteries, temples and other places of worship. They could be found adorning the center table of one's living room, as an accent on your bedroom's side table, a perfect, eye-catching centerpiece at the dining table or an added piece of decoration in the bathroom.
Now of course, let's not forget that candles are most particularly present during birthday celebrations, and where else could they be most visible but on the top of the birthday cake standing proudly and brightly. And would you believe that the real reason why candles are put on a birthday cake is to somehow measure the strength of the celebrator? That is, on how he or she can blow really hard and well just to ensure that all burning candles will expire.
Birthday party candles are one those party needs that you shouldn't be missing and shouldn't be regarded so plainly. Candles after all are symbolical most especially the part when the birthday celebrator will make the ceremonial blowing of candles after silently making a wish for one's self. It is highly regarded that candles play an important part in the possibility of having one's wishes granted.
Party candles normally come in the same elongated, usually thin shapes, but in various colors and designs. There are also some candles shaped as numbers so that in case the celebrator is way past 30 already, the family and friends of the celebrator will not worry on getting a cake big enough to accommodate 30 candles.
Now ever heard of candles for the athletic types? Well, there is what you call sports parties that cater to people who are either keen into sports or simply just want to attend parties of this type. A sports party for any kind of game always turned out to be a spectacular one and one of the sports party supplies that should not be missed are the sports candles who will somehow provide the "softer part" of the party no matter how tough or manly rugged your choice of sports is. First birthday party candles will surely lit up not only the big birthday cake you're thinking of giving your child, but as well as the smile in your child's face and eyes.
Now, theme party candles would also add color to one's party as they would rightfully blend with the party's atmosphere. Specialty stores located in most department stores always have available stocks for such special types of candles, and one could always place an order. Just provide the necessary specifications and expect to have candles that will suit well your party. The same thing also goes for character party candles that can be considered as the perfect choice for those kids celebrating their growing up years. You could bet that with all those fun characters from popular companies/brands such as Looney Tunes, Pixtar and--whose child will not appreciate--Disney, kids would surely have a grand time partying.
Lastly, for the new set of parents who would like to treat their firstborn to a memorable birthday party, careful planning and wise decision making are needed to guarantee that your eldest child will have a party that he or she could tell and retell to future friends and cherish as he or she grow up.

Fun Kid Birthday Party Ideas - Creative Themes

Theme parties are always great fun for any child's birthday party.
Does your child have a favorite movie, book, TV show, favorite character, or maybe your child likes animals or has a favorite sport or past time. Well how about using one of your child's favorites as the theme for their birthday party.
Planning Your Party
If your child is old enough, sit down with them and ask what kind of theme they'd like for their party. Then, keeping your budget in mind, as well as space limitations and preparation time, choose a theme and start making plans.
Once you've decided on a theme for your child's birthday party, you'll find that everything begins to fall right in place.
Kid Birthday Party Invitations
You and your child will have lots of fun putting together a creative invitation for their party.
When wording your invitation, try getting into your theme and have some fun. Use words and phrases that fit your theme.
If you're having a Princess birthday party, you might make it a "Royal Invitation from the King and Queen."
For a Pirate birthday party, write your invitation on a piece of brown paper bag crumpled up to look like old parchment. Draw a map to your house and have "X" mark the spot. Then write something like this, "Aaarrrhh, we be celebratin the birthday of Captain (your child's first and last name) and ye be invited."
Interactive invitations are lots of fun and help to get your invited guests involved in your theme right away.
For a Dinosaur birthday party you can send along a small box with a small plastic dinosaur "buried" in glacial ice (wrapped in cotton). Then the recipient can "dig up" the dinosaur.
For a Princess birthday party you could have your invitation rolled up, tied with a purple ribbon and hand delivered by someone in appropriate costume.
Be creative and have fun with your invitation. Remember, it's the first impression your guests will have of your up-coming party. Get them excited so they can hardly wait!
Kid Birthday Party Decorating Ideas
With your theme in mind, you can keep your decorations simple by using balloons and streamers and by putting pictures on your walls that you've cut from magazines.
Or you can be a little more creative by turning your living room into your theme location.
For a Dinosaur birthday party put blue and white helium filled balloons on your ceiling to form a sky with clouds. Then hang dark brown, light brown, green and orange streamers from the ceiling to the floor to make a jungle. Wrap some of the streamers together to make your jungle thicker.
For a Princess birthday party create a special throne using a chair and decorating it with bright red and purple balloons and streamers. And maybe even use a colorful pillow.
Again, be creative and have fun.
Kid Birthday Party Game Ideas
Most party games can be slightly modified to fit your theme. For a Blue's Clues birthday party Pin the Tail on the Donkey can become "pin the tail on Blue."
For a Princess party, Musical Chairs becomes "The Royal Musical Ball" and you can play appropriate music.
And speaking of music, music that is appropriate to your theme is perfect to use during your games. Simply start a game when your music starts. You can easily find CDs for most movies and TV shows.
Kid Birthday Cakes
There are a lot of great recipes available for theme birthday cakes, or you can easily pick up a frosted cake then add "edible cake toppers" for your theme.
Using edible cake toppers is a great way to create a colorful, professional looking theme cake for your child's birthday.
Kid Birthday Party Food Ideas
If you're serving food or snacks, keep your theme in mind and be creative.

For a Princess birthday party, serve finger sandwiches, candy sushi, royal colored jelly beans, grapes, sparkling apple or grape juice or a "royal punch."
For an Incredibles birthday party, label your food. Ketchup becomes "super sauce", carrot sticks become "energy sticks" and you can even have a mini "hero sandwich."
If you're using an underwater theme like Finding Nemo, serve "peanut butter & jellyfish" sandwiches, Gold Fish crackers and "tuna fish" sandwiches.
Be Creative
Even with a limited budget you can be creative and come up with lots of fun kid birthday party ideas... Put just a little effort into your plans and your child will fondly remember this birthday party for years to come.
And don't forget to take lots of pictures and shoot lots of video of everyone having fun.

Teen Birthday Cake Ideas - A Perfect Package For Your Sweet Sixteener

For a teenage girl, it is only a delightful experience to be given a sweet sixteen birthday party! This is the time which marks the start of the development of her sense of independence as she begins her journey of getting absorbed into the adult world.
For today, the sweet sixteen birthday party is kind of extravagant and elaborate. Due to the term "sweet sixteen", most teens today think of none other than but a candy themed birthday celebration.
With this, the color schemes to be adopted could be the pastel ones such as the light pink or blue. Apart from all these, the teen birthday cake idea that has to be adopted should be something that could create a statement.
As your daughter would prefer a candy themed party, candy canes may be used to highlight the design of the birthday celebration. They may be glued together so that a heart shape is formed. The personalized candies and chocolate bars mark a wonderful decoration.
Another teen birthday cake idea that maybe considered is the tropical design. Of course the theme of the event should also bear the connection of the tropical design. If you'd rather adopt this, the venue may be decorated with palm trees, some bright colors, and the tiki lamps too. You may serve the guests with daiquiris and non-alcoholic pina coladas. The party would be best if it is held in a backyard, beach, or park.
If your sweet sixteener would rather have a casual celebration, a bowling alley or skating rink may be rented where snack bars and other arcades may be available for easy access. The traditional blowing of the teen birthday cake and the singing of the happy birthday song may be devoted with a little time whereas majority of the time in the event is dedicated to enjoying the available amenities and activities.
Theme parks are also fun especially when her birthday falls on a summer month. Usually, the theme parks pose discounts in the afternoon.
Moreover, whatever kind of party your child wants to push through, it is the role of the teen birthday cake idea to adjust to the party theme. It needs to get coordinated with the actual theme because it would serve as a miniature of the event.
There are shops that specialize in these teen birthday cake ideas and you could let them take care of the best cake you want your daughter to enjoy.

Kid Birthday Cake Idea Collection - Cake Decorating Without Fear

Our kid birthday cake idea collection makes cake decorating fun and fearless. You don't have to be a pastry chef to create a professional quality cake for your child's birthday or other special event. Learn unique and easy cake decorating ideas to make spectacular homemade cakes.
PARTY CAKE CONCEPT AND DESIGN
The most important kid birthday cake idea is choosing a cake concept which fits with your party theme. You can start with a simple sheet cake topped with small toys or figures, or piece the cake itself to form a unique design.
For example, a Construction Party cake could be topped with tiny toy dumptrucks and bulldozers pushing a chocolate chip mountain. Or, the cake itself could be cut, pieced and frosted to look like a dump truck.
For a Train Party, set a miniature choo-choo train on licorice tracks atop your cake, or line up several brightly colored frosted loaf cakes to form train cars.
For a Luau party, a simple round or sheet cake can be festooned with a silk flower lei, or form a string of cupcakes in a circle and adorn each one with silk or frosting flowers. Connect with a licorice string to make a cupcake "lei".
Baking cakes in an oven-safe glass bowl or in a special 3D sports ball pan is great for making any kind of perfectly round ball cake, or the dress part of a Barbie doll cake. A wonder mold cake pan makes small single serving doll cakes and other cute creations!
Think of the design you'd like to make and what shapes you need to make it - round, sheet, loaf, cupcakes, or a combination.
Peruse cake decorating books for a kid birthday cake idea which fits your needs. Many books provide templates forcutting and piecing cakes to create any number of popular designs. You decide just how simple or challenging your cake will be.
For a no-fuss kid birthday cake idea, apply an edible cake art image to the top of a frosted cake. Many popular themes and copyrighted images such as Disney are available to provide a professional looking cake design.
Themed cake pans are another popular cake decorating option. They provide the shape and visual design to follow for an impressive finished cake. Popular TV and cartoons characters are well represented in cake pans, as well as teddy bears, butterflies, pirates, Tigger,Mickey Mouse, and lots more.
FROSTING CHOICES
Homemade Frosting - Dig up that famous family recipe or check out one of the many online recipe sites and make your cake frosting from scratch. Be sure to plan ahead how much of each color will be needed for both basic foundation and decorative trim.
Canned and Tube Frostings - Easiest and quickest, prepared canned frostings are available in grocery stores in the baking aisle with the cake mixes. They generally come in white, chocolate, and a handful of other popular flavors. Keep a few ready-to-use tube frostings on hand in various basic colors to add the finishing touches.
Fondant Frosting - Gaining in popularity in this country in recent years, fondant frosting gives a beautiful smooth finish to your cake decorating creation. Fondant can be rolled out and draped over a cake, poured on as a glaze, or sculpted into shapes. It is easily tinted, and can be flavored as well. Ready-made fondant is available through party supply outlets. There are also many recipes online for homemade fondant.
CAKE DECORATING WITH CANDY AND SMALL TOYS
Cookies, candies, and other materials can be used for special and impressive effects. Frosted sugar cones can serve as the fins on a space ship cake or the turrets on a castle cake. Make a surprise cake filling with jello.
A wide variety of plastic stand-ups or cake toppers are available in craft stores. Or, simply use a toy which fits in with the party theme as a cake topper and give it to the party child when the party is over. Action figures, small dolls, animals and cartoon characters all make good choices.
Add cool candy accents with M & M's, licorice pieces, licorice whips, animal crackers, oreo cookies, paper umbrellas, pretzel sticks, tootsie rolls, jimmies, gummies such as worms, bears, etc, gumdrops, mini marshmallows, colored coconut, jellybeans.
THE LATEST CAKE DECORATING FADS!
There are many novel choices for placing the finishing touches on your party cake. Dress it up in style with one or more of these unique special effects:
Spray Color Mist - is a fun addition to your baking repertoire. Frost your cake white, then spray on edible color from an aerosol can. Available in many colors, it can be used with stencils to make unique designs, as a highlight to whipped topping - even on your child's mashed potatoes!
Luster Dusts - are an edible food safe "dust" which can be used on any frosting recipe that dries hard and firm to the touch. Brush it on white frosting for a metallic-like glossy sheen or layer it for interesting color effects.
Cake Stampers - can be used along with brush-on color for fondant icing. Simply stamp shapes and designs into the finished fondant and tint with brush-on color.
Cake Stencils - Place stencil on iced cake and sprinkle edible glitter, confetti sprinkles, or use spray-on color mist.
Edible Color Markers - These unique markers are used just like an ink marker. Draw fun designs on cakes, cookies, fondant frosting, even cheese, fruit slices and bread. Decorating marker kits are available for children.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Creative Birthday Cakes are Easy to Make

The first mistake many bakers make is to overlook where the best ideas come from. If the birthday boy or girl is a child, just spend a few minutes in that child's company. You will have no doubt what this child's special interests are!
If the birthday guest of honor is a teen or an adult, you may have to do some investigative work, unless of course this teen or adult is part of your family or a good friend. Not only children love birthday cakes that depict their passions. Just remember if the cake is for an older child or a teen to stay away from childish decorations.
Creating a birthday cake centered on a theme is a pocketbook friendly way to dazzle everyone with a wonderfully imaginative cake.
You probably already have all or most of what you'd want to turn a sheet cake into a fun day at the beach. A little blue food coloring for the icing ocean, some crushed graham crackers mixed with powdered sugar for the beach, and you're off to a great start!
While you'd want to smooth buttercream on the birthday cake first, the blue frosting can be applied in frothy peaks to form the waves. Then you could use some of your left over white icing to add white caps.
Or if you'd like a glassy smooth ocean, use blue gel. Whether your sea is glassy calm or swept with waves, remember to include a curvy shoreline when you apply the blue gel or icing.
Now for the fun part - it's time to decorate the scene! Those miniature cocktail umbrellas at the supermarket make perfect beach umbrellas. Pieces of gum or fruit tape can provide the beach towels or blankets underneath them. Plastic figures from a craft store can bring the beach cake to life with people, dolphins, and palm trees.
Or if you enjoy modeling, whip up a batch of gum paste and go to town - or the beach that is! As you may have gathered, this can be a really fun type of birthday cake to create with kids.
For a super easy, yet brilliant, birthday cake take a cue from professional bakers and use a character or novelty cake mold! You'll find them in all kinds of shapes from cartoon and movie characters to ships and guitars.
And here's another easy birthday cake idea: Since young children love puns, see if you can work one into the birthday message. A Big Bird cake, made simply from a mold, that carries your message: Happy Bird-Day will send the pre-school crowd into fits of giggles over this crafty word play.
Now, it's your turn! Consider the birthday gal or guy's interests, and start brainstorming!
If you prefer a traditional, two layer round cake for your birthday cake, be sure to serve the birthday cake on a cake plate not a dinner plate. This will prevent it from sinking into the plate's depression.
Here's one more birthday cake tip: Consider using a cake design that is usually relegated to weddings: the tier or stacked cake. This will really wow the birthday gal or guy, as well as the guests.
Tier and stacked birthday cakes can be elegant, fancy, whimsical or just plain fun, like a Cat-in-the-Hat or topsy-turvy birthday cake for example. And as always, keep the birthday guest of honor's interests and tastes in mind when designing your creative birthday cake!