Conference moira::parenting

    I am looking for a gift idea for my cousin.  She is 32 weeks pregnant,
    her membranes ruptured last Friday, and she is now bedridden in the
    hospital praying she does not go into labor. (FYI, she still has enough
    water to keep the baby "safe").
    
    I've thought of the obvious puzzle books etc, but I know you
    folks out there who have lived through this experience will have some
    great ideas!
    
    Thanks,
    Donna

    Has she already had her baby shower?  When this happened to my sister
    her's was for that weekend...a few of us brought in a cake some
    balloons and a few gifts just to cheer her up.  (Her sister in law 
    informed her she had ruined all of our planning and expenses! She 
    made her feel worse!)  She had a nice time and was really cheered up.
    They held off 8 days before an infection set in and they had to take 
    the baby...healthy just turned 2 nephew Sean.  She loves to read so 
    we brought her books and magazines.  Having lots of company helped 
    with the boredom too.  Susan was told that the fluid rejuvenates
    itself and they did give her (sean?) shots to help the lungs develop
    quicker.

    This is a second child, so a baby shower was not planned.  I did find
    lots of good ideas in the pre-term labor note, (a book on pre-term
    labor, etc.) 
    
    More ideas are welcome.
    
    Donna

When I ruptured my membrane at 28 weeks, I had my husband bring in my
cross-stitching so I could finish the second blanket (I was having twins).  If
she does any kind of craft, you could pick up a small kit.  They go quickly,
and are nice and portable so she'll be able to easily do something like that
while in bed.  Maybe a deck of cards would be nice if she knows variations
of solitaire (I know lots, and some use 2 decks, so provide a couple of decks).
Cross-word puzzles and brain teaser books are nice if she likes that sort of
thing.  Also, a pad of paper and pen is handy.  I used to write myself notes
about what I needed to tell people at work to do while I was gone, make lists
of things that I needed my husband to do, and, most important, write down the
times that I had contractions as they watch that very closely.

Hopefully, she'll hold out 7 or 8 weeks, but it is highly likely that she
will deliver within the first 2 weeks.  I'm sure they've already given her
steroids for the baby's lungs which will help immensely.  And 32-weekers do
very well. 

Best of luck to her and the baby.  I'm sure everything will turn out fine, but
she's going to be bored silly while she's in the hospital.

Re: 1

  Does she like to do crafts...

  I had a long stay in the hospital with my third pregnancy, when I 
say long I mean long!!! Premature labor at 25 weeks... everything
turned out great though.

  What I found helpful to fill my time was crafts like
latch hook, cross stitch, knitting, and reading novels.


Wishing your cousin all the best.

Carla

    Hi,
    I'm having a birthday party for my two year old this sunday
    and was wondering if anyone has any ideas for games ect?
    
    There will be around 10 children,2-6 years old.I'm having balloons
    delivered by someone in costume but I'm drawing a blank as far as
    what else to do.thanks for any ideas!!!
    
                        Barbara
    

    Games for two years old (and up)
    
    We played musical chairs with placemats on the floor (less dangerous).
    
    Bounce/pop the balloon - some girls did not like this one.  The kids
    would bounce on the partially (if you fill it too tight, it will pop
    too easy!) air filled balloon and the first one to pop it won.
    
    The Wonder Ball (goes round and round, to pass it quickly you are
    bound) while sitting in a circle.
    
    Doggie Doggie who has the bone (children sit in a circle - one goes
    into another room while the remaining children hide a "bone" under
    their lap).  The "dog" has three chances to find out who has his bone.
    If the child guesses - the holder is now the dog.  If not, he's the dog
    again (or your variation will be fine).
    
    How's that for starters???
    
    -sandy
    

    There is a party game played in Britain that I was not familiar with
    when I moved here from Texas. It is "Pass the Parcel".  It can be
    played with adults or children and is similar to musical chairs only 
    no one is 'out'.
    
    You sit in a circle and music is played while a parcel is passed around
    the circle. When the music stops, whoever is holding the parcel gets to 
    unwrap it and have what's inside.  The thing is that the parcel is
    wraped in layers and each layer has some small, inexpensive gift in it.
    So if the person running the music is clever, everyone in the circle
    will get to open the parcel at least once before the parcel is
    completely unwrapped.
    
    We played this at the Christmas party at the First Time Mothers group that
    I went to when I was on maternity leave. I got to open the parcel
    twice and got a plastic baby spoon and a small bar of chocholate. Some
    of the older babies enjoyed this because they got to help Mum unwrap 
    the parcel. The trick was to get them to stop unwraping!
    
    LaDonna

>>   I had a long stay in the hospital with my third pregnancy, when I 
>> say long I mean long!!! 
    
    Yes she does mean loooooooooooooong!!!!!!!
    
>>  What I found helpful to fill my time was crafts like
>> latch hook, cross stitch, knitting, and reading novels.

   WHAT!!!  You didn't list visits from close friends!!  Well, I never!!!
    
    
         :^)
         Chris D.

 Oh Yeah.... I forgot to mention, Visits from close friends are 
 the Most helpful!!!!!

 ;-} 

    I am attending a birthday party this weekend for my newphew who will be
    5 years old. This kid has lots of toys. I would welcome any
    suggestions!
    
    -clotelle

How's about a nice Disney video, or a KidsSong video?

McDonald gift certificate and a "special" t-shirt (personalized or a favorite
	sports team)

Gift certificate from the local theater (to cover the cost of the ticket and
popcorn)

And many times I've just given "plain ole green stuff" and let the kid buy
whatever he/she might want for.

Dottie

    This past Sunday I attended a "Baby Sprinkler" instead of a "shower"
    for my husband's cousin in New Bedford, Ma.  I thought it was a
    great idea, especially if you have a large family and lots of friends
    to invite. The idea is the "sprinkler" went from 1 - 8 PM. as an
    open house, and the guests showed up whenever during that time.
    Plus it wasn't limited to just women, they invited entire families.
    They had a cold buffet out and lots of deserts to munch on.
    
    This worked out great for my husband's family since they own a small
    family restaurant and his cousin who the shower was for, runs her own 
    business so between them they know tons of people. (Her wedding had 
    over 380 people invited.) Unfortunately, my husband threw out the 
    invitation but I will get a new copy if anyone is interested in the 
    poem that was written in it.
    

    I thought this was a very special which I saw at the Baby Sprinkler,
    it's called a "Magic Hanky" which is a bonnet for the babay.  You make 
    the bonnet  yourself for either a baby shower or christening out of a lace
    handkerchief. Here is the poem that goes along with it as well as
    the directions to make it.
    
    				THE Magic Hanky
    
    			I'm just a little hanky
    			As square as square can be,
    			But with a little stitch or two
    			They made a bonnet out of me.
    
    			I'll be worn from the hospital,
    			Or on the Christening Day,
    			Then I will be carefully be pressed
    			And neatly packed away.
    
    			For her wedding day, so we've been told,
    			Every well-dressed bride must
    			have something old.
    
    			So what could be so fitting
    			Then to little me,
    			A few stitches snipped and
    			Her wedding day hanky I'll be.
    
    			An if per chance, it is a boy
    			Someday he'll surely wed
    			So to his bride he can present
    			This hanky once worn
    			upon his head.		 
    
    Directions to make bonnet -  
    o Materials - White lace handkerchief, two pieces of white ribbon,
    		needle and white thread.
    o Fold over the lace on one end of the hanky. Stitch on either end
    	some satin ribbon for the ties.
    
    o On the opposite end from the folded side fold over the lace and
      	about an inch of the hanky. Gather it together so it looks like
    	a fan. Stitch at the bottom where it's folded together. Now
    	you have the bonnet.
                            
    - Pat K.
    o Add whatever you like to dress it up. 

    I am looking for someone who can do clown act/magic/puppets/juggling
    etc. for a birthday party for my daughter in Nashua on August 15.  The 
    age of the children attending is anywhere from 1 year to 10-12 years!
    So, I need somebody who can keep all age groups entertained.   Last
    year I had a clown (a DECie) who was great -- he did magic, juggling,
    animal balloons etc.
    				
    My DTN is 381-2864.  I prefer if you send me mail at ASD::KRISHNA.
    					Thanks
    						/Ritu
    

    I am looking for a function room for a birthday party.  I will have
    my own food -- don't need catering.   This room should be able to
    accomodate about 50-70 people and be close to exit 4 in Nashua.
    
    If you know of such a place and have phone numbers/addresses/contact
    person's name etc., please let me know.   My DTN is 381-2864 and my
    node is ASD::KRISHNA.
    			
    This is for August 15, 1992.  
    					Thanks
    						/Ritu
    

 My sister recently went to a 4th birthday party with her daughter (3.5 yrs), 
where part of the entertainment was pony rides.  The pony was at the party for 
an hour or so, long enough for the kids to get a ride, learn about the animal
and lose interest.

 I guess my niece really enjoyed it, as did the other children.  So, I am
considering having a pony for Christopher's 3rd birthday (late September). We 
live on a dead end street, so space is not an issue.

 I'm sure there must be parents out there who have done this. Would you kindly
share positive and negative experiences.  
			Thanks Laura

I am looking to rent or borrow a tent or canopy to use for providing some shade
at my daughter's second birthday.  I already called several rental places and 
the prices seems to be a little high.

If you have one or know of someone that would be willing to rent or lend a tent
please let me know.  The party will be on July 12th and we live in south Nashua.  
The tent size could be anything above 10X10ft.

Thanks in advance.

  --Cida
    DTN 381-0669
    DSSDEV::ZEEB

Somewhere in one of the versions of PARENTING I saw a recommendation for
someone who makes cakes.  Unfortunately, I am unable to find the note now.
If someone could either point me at the right location or simply provide
some new recommendations, I would be very appreciative.

    --Cida
      DTN 381-0669
      DSSDEV::ZEEB

    RE: .18 & .19
    
    	Gilly's Cafe in Harris Pond Park has both a tent to rent and makes
    great cakes.

    IMO, if you're going to pay to rent a tent try to find something
    inexpensive you can enjoy later....
    
    The first week of June Caldor, the Fair, Bradlees (you know all the
    major chain department stores) had a screened in tent for about $50. 
    They were 10 x something like 14feet.  My sister inlaw bought one for
    my father inlaw's birthday party, and is now using it to sit outside at
    night and watch TV. (compliments of an extention cord of course).  For
    our purposes it was wonderful to have the Barbq, the cake and NO
    insects!
    
    We will probably get one later in the season to use on our deck.
    
    As cakes go, I remember a chain of supermarkets I think it was
    Marketbasket that's in Northern MA and NH that had a wonderful bakery!
    I loved their whipped cream cakes!
    
    Lyn
    Lyn

    Okay parents, I've got some questions... my daughter will be turning 4 in
    August and her birthday falls within a few days of a local Children's
    Theater production of Alice in Wonderland.  
    
    I'm *thinking* about inviting some of her little friends (first party
    with friends instead of just family) to attend the play and then come
    to our house for cake and whatever.  
    
    If I invite her cousins (mandatory) and a few friends there will be
    about 12 kids (4 - 9).  I'm considering taking at least 2 chaparones
    with me and will have to include a couple of adults with cars big
    enough for us to transport all these kids to/from the theater.
    
    Do you think that this will work?  Should I wait until she's older? 
    Should I make an open invitation to the parents if they want to
    accompany their child?  
    
    Thanks for your advice!
    
     ^_^
    (>.<)
     ) ( Jeanne

    Depends on how well the kids will actually sit through a play.  I can't
    imagine too many of those under 6 being interested in sitting that
    long.  I know mine wouldn't do it.  Now cartoons is another story.  My
    kids will easily sit thru a feature length cartoon, but that didn't
    start until they were 4-5 years old.
    
    Your mileage will vary - depends on the kids.  The parents would be the
    best judge of that!
    
    -sandy
    

re .22

	If you decide to go ahead with this plan, be sure it's clear
whose tickets you will pay for (the actual invitees and perhaps the
chaperones) and who will be responsible for his/her own tickets.  For example,
if you invite a parent to be a chaperone and offer to pay for that parent's
ticket, that parent might decide to bring a spouse or another sibling along, 
and you might get stuck buying that ticket too if you don't properly set 
expectations up front.

	
Frank

    re .22
    Personally, I'd forget about Alice in Wonderland.  The general
    experience around our neighborhood is that regardless of what
    activities are planned for parties, they never run more than
    two hours.  After a couple of hours the kids are starting to
    get fairly restless, and the parents are exhausted from the
    constant attention and monitoring and activities.  My own
    opinion is that attending the play will place quite a bit of
    stress on you and the kids, as well as extend the entire
    birthday "event" out too long.

    re: .22
    
    When we did something like that for our kids' birthdays
    (especially Kat's), we didn't invite a large group of kids, only
    one or two close friends.  
    
    --bonnie

My rule of thumb was approximately 1 child invited per age of the birthday kid.
Especially if you're going to something like a theater.  In my opinion, if you
want to make this special for your daughter, it is best to sit next to her and
let her interact with you during the play.  If there are 12 kids (no matter
how many parents) that young, it is almost guaranteed to be chaotic and your
daughter might not end up feeling "special".

When the children of friendsof ours were very young (less than school age) they
used to throw a BIG party for everyone on their kids' birthdays.  Used it as a
general excuse for a bash.  The kids didn't seem to mind but when they got into
school, they wanted their own friends and not all these adults.

Cheryl

I'd also discourage an outing like that for kids that young, and second the 
advice that if you do, cut down the numbers.  "Special Events" seem to work 
better with older, smaller groups.

I'm curious though:

>My rule of thumb was approximately 1 child invited per age of the birthday kid.

I've heard of this many times, but it's never worked out that way for us.  In 
fact, it's almost reversed.  With my daughter, the ratio at her fifth birthday 
was about 2.5 (problem was two sets of friends, one from daycare and one from 
kindergarten); the ratio at her 12th birthday was 0.4.   When she was five she 
wanted to invite (it seemed) just about everybody she knew, while at twelve, 
she was more selective.  And I don't think it was just her; each year, she 
gets invited to fewer parties, and the parties, both the ones she gets invited 
to and the ones she doesn't (and believe me, they find out) are smaller.

Obviously we could have cut down on the size of the parties, but decided not 
to (and don't really regret it).  We HAVE structured the party to the number 
of guests, though.  For example, we endured one sleepover with about 11 
guests, and we told her if ya wanna have a sleepover, you have to invite 
less.  If you want to invite more, you have to have a different type of party.

With our son, the difference hasn't been quite so dramatic, but the trend has 
been the same.  The older he gets, the fewer parties he gets invited to, and 
the fewer he wants to invite.

Clay 

Clay,

Our experience has been much the same and I use the "rule" as a guideline only.
Especially when they were less than school age, a large number of little kids
tends to overwhelm everybody, including the birthday child.

We didn't follow this once for Mark and had a really big group (about 18 when 
he was 8 or so).  It was a disaster.  The kids were quickly out of control.  We
had two adults (my au pair and me) and I finally had to ignore most of them and
concentrate on the troublemakers.

But as you say, the birthdays started petering out around 10 yrs old.  I quit
having parties for them around that age.  Also, when they got older we did 
a bigger thing (like the cinema or whatever) with fewer kids (less cost).

Now they are teenagers (or almost for one of them) and they are not interested
in birthday parties but are into "boums"- a dance where they take of the whole
basement and play very loud music and smash chips and coke into the carpet
(-:  We've done one.  It will be awhile before we do another :-)

But I still think my "rule of thumb" was good up to about 7-8 yrs old.

Cheryl

    Hi, next weekend I'm having a birthday party for my daughter who will
    be turning 8.  We're having the party at a local pond in town (weather
    permitting) and I'm wondering if any of you readers out there have any
    suggestions for types of games to play outside of the water.  Although
    this is a "swim" bday party I don't expect the girls will be in the 
    water for 3 hours and I know of one girl that's coming who doesn't
    know how to swim.  Any ideas?
    
    Thanks in advance
    
    /deb

If it's permitted, you might consider letting them fish.  I remember
fishing at my cousin's birthday party when we were about 8 or 9.

I personally hate to fish but my kids, boy & girl, both enjoy it.  
Chances are you won't have to worry about them actually catching 
anything :-)

Frank

My husband and I are going to be godparents for our nephew in a couple of weeks.
We are planning to get him a savings bond but would also like to get him
something like a keepsake item.  Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

    silver mug or rattle with name & D.O.B. engraved on it
    
    silver bank
    
    common christening gifts in my family...and keepsakes forever
    

    May not fit the traditional definition of "keepsake", but some of the more
    'interesting' things we've done or received for christenings:
    
    	- complete set of current-year baseball cards (maybe someday will
    	help pay for his college education...;^)
    
    	- a regulation-size softball, autographed by everyone who attended
    	the christening (can you tell by now that his godfather is a
    	baseball coach???)
    
    	- newspapers from the day he was born (also from the day after,
    	which reports on the happenings on his day of birth)
    
    	- videotape of the newscast from the birth date. (can be added to
    	on each birthday...)
    
     

    My brother-in-law gave me a very cute crucifix and picture frame set.
    It is brass-tone (not pricey, but I'm sure you could find something
    similar in sterling), with a kneeling child saying a prayer on the
    crucifix and the same on one side of the frame.  On the side that
    accepts the photograph, I put a photo of my son in his christening
    outfit.  I believe it was purchased at one of those Hallmark card and
    gift shops.  When my son looks at this picture, he says "That's an
    angel-baby". I usually chuckle, because he had a horrible colic attack
    during his baptism ceremony.  The fact that I got a clear photo of him
    looking very serene that day was a miarcle! Angel baby? Afraid not...

An expensive bottle of wine or champagne, which will mature enough to be opened
on his 18th or 21st birthday.

    How about a mint set of either coins or stamps of the year
    of birth? This is a very popular gift in my family - talk to the 
    post office about collectors sets, or to a coin and stamp dealer about
    where you can purchase the coins.
    Actually I am hoping to purchase these things for my daughter, as 
    this year is a special year in Canada (125th birthday!) I will 
    probably have a lot of commemerative sets to choose from.
    
    Monica
    

    Marc will be turning 3 next month, and I'm starting to think about what
    kind of party to have.  For his first two parties, we basically invited
    a bunch of relatives, and some of our neighbors/friends who had kids
    Marc's age.  I'd like to make this party more "his" (if that's possible
    at 3), and less ours.
    
    I still want to invite his grandparents and aunts/uncles.  But in
    addition, I was wondering if I should invite any children from his
    daycare class.  Problem is, I don't know which ones he likes (I'll ask
    his teacher, but it seems to vary from day to day), plus I don't know
    any of the parents (a few by sight only).  I'd like to help Marc have
    friends, though.  Is this a good opportunity, or should we forget the
    party and just organize play dates to start with?
    
    Also, I've been wondering at what age you stop having relatives at
    birthday parties, and just have a "kids party".

re: .38

Three was about the age at which we started having two parties, an adults' 
party and a kids' party, a practice which we continue to this day.  The 
adults' party is really a social occasion for the adults.  If nothing else, 
it forces us to get together socially with friends and relatives (though we 
don't really have many relatives close by) that we are close enough with that 
they give gifts to our children.  And believe me, your life will get so 
hectic with kids' activities that it you sometimes need to be FORCED to get 
together with your close friends (if that hasn't happened already).

As for daycare friends, we did what you did and asked the teachers.  For the 
kids whose parents we didn't know, we left an invitation addressed to the 
PARENTS at the desk of the daycare center.  Most daycare centers have a 
policy of NOT distributing the invitations to the kids.  Not only can that 
create a real problem for the kids that don't get invited, but three year 
olds are especially reliable at getting messages to their parents.

Perhaps in a fit of overkill, my wife sometimes made cupcakes for the whole 
daycare class.

Clay  

    Hmmm, two parties.... I hadn't thought of that.  What do I do about
    friends of ours whose children Marc is friendly with?  Do I invite them
    separately?  Also, do you have the parents accompany the kids to the
    "kids party"?  I don't know if I'd be willing to drop Marc off at
    someone's house for a party, especially someone whose house I'd never
    been to before and didn't know the parents.

We always had one or two kids only when the children were little but friends
of ours always had great big birthday parties.  They would invite everybody
for around 2:00 in the afternoon.  That's when people with young children 
tended to show up.  As the day wore on, the people with young kids went home
or put them to sleep somewhere and then the ones without kids would begin 
arriving for a grill or whatever.

The child's birthday party was held in the afternoon and the adults had a
social evening in the evening.  This way they killed two birds with one stone.
And the childless couples didn't have to worry about a children's gift, it 
was just a normal get together for them.

Cheryl

    We have a similar situation in that we have two parties.  The kids
    party is strictly kids and doing kids things.  The "adult" party is for
    relatives (of all ages nana, grandpa, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc). 
    That way the kids aren't BORED with just grownups in the house and the
    relatives don't get lost in the shuffle of all the kids in the house. 
    My parents like it this way because they get the limelight of bringing
    the gifts (you know how grandparents are....).  We usually plan them
    two weekends apart - its easy especially since their birthdays usually
    fall in the week (during school, etc).
    
    -sandy
    

    So, do the parents of 3-year-olds accompany them to the kids parties?

    I think it depends on a couple things:
    
    1) how the parents feel about leaving them
    2) how you feel about having them leave
    
    We had the parents leave (but we knew the families well - church
    family/friends) for the parties - but there was the ocaisional one
    whose kid insisted they stay.  When the parents bring the kids over, I
    think you can kind of say "Oh we'll have great fun see you in an hour"
    or "grab a cup of coffee and hang around for the fun".  I think the
    parent will let you know if they choose to do the opposite of what you
    suggest.  The important thing is to stay loose.  Little kids don't
    require alot of time together (1- 1.5 hours is usually enough).  Let
    them play either in or out (weather dependent) and kind of go with the
    flow of the event.  Then about 1/2 hour before they leave do the cake
    thing and if it's your choice to have them open the gifts while they
    are there you have time before the parents return.
    
    We didn't start planning activities for our boys until they reached
    about 5 and up.  This year my 7 year old had about 8 friends for a
    sleep over.  WE ALL HAD FUN!!!  But, then, I am a rather easy-going
    parent and love having a ton of kids around.
    
    Good luck!  I love a party!!!!!!!!!
    
    -sandy
    

      <<< Note 28.43 by WILBRY::WASSERMAN "Deb Wasserman, DTN 264-1863" >>>
                          -< When can kids go alone? >-
    
    I decide based on where the party is and the parent-to-child ratio.  
    
    If the party is at home (with no swimming pool), I am quite
    comfortable.  If the party is at Burger King etc. where there is a 
    separate party area and there is a ratio of 5-6 kids to a parent, I am
    comfortable.  If the party is at Chuck-E-Cheese (kind of like an indoor
    amusement park), I stay (and pay for myself if the party is kids only). 
    Rasika is a very_trusting_and_naive 4 year old. Bhavika, the 2 year old 
    does not go anywhere alone yet.
    
    BTW, Chuck-E-Cheese is a pizza parlor with elaborate entertainment
    for kids.  (Indoor) Rides, the balls arena, many forms of 
    throw_stuff_at_targets where you win points/prizes etc. There are many 
    many different parties going on at the same time, there are many non_party 
    patrons and kids go separate directions to different "rides".  The whole 
    place is generally very crowded ... and tons of fun for kids .. 
    especially during cold winter months. 
    
    Pam

    Thanks for the suggestions.  I think I'll definitely have a separate
    little party for Marc's school friends, but we'll probably end up with
    a fair number of children at the adults party also.  It seems that most
    of the couples we're friendly with, we're friends with because they
    have kids Marc's age.  It would seem wierd to split them up between an
    adults and kids party. 
    
    I hope this gets easier when he gets older!

  At my daughters daycare the kids usually have a party at the daycare.  I
always know when there has been a birthday party at daycare because my 
daughter comes home with a little grab bag of treats.  My daughters B-day
is coming up in two weeks and I'm planning on taking a cake, party favors,
and grab bags for all the kids in her class to daycare.  The daycare provides
the punch and will clean up after the party.  This makes it super easy for
me because alls I need to know is the number of kids in her class and what
time I need to be there. 

	Lisa

    I'm very undecided about whether to have a birthday party for my
    daughter who turns two in October.  While it would be nice, this is an
    incredibly busy time for my husband and me, and we're not much in a
    party-giving mood.  We don't have any family nearby to get upset, just
    close friends who are understanding.
    
    Do you really think it matters to a toddler whether she has a party or
    not?  I don't even think she has any idea what a birthday is, or will
    notice if we don't do anything.
    
    Last year we had a number of our friends over in the afternoon, many
    with young children in tow.  The house is big enough to accomodate
    everybody.  We didn't plan any special kids activities.  They seemed
    happy to play and eat.
    
    Maybe we'll have the party a couple of weeks late.  How would the
    adults feel about this?
    
    I feel like I've got so many balls in the air - so many conflicting
    expectations - right now it is important to complete my existing
    commitments and try to get a few minutes to relax.
    
    So - what would you do?
    
    L

    Laura,
    
    I don't think a 2-year-old would miss a birthday party, but,
    personally, I would miss doing something special for her birthday. 
    Maybe instead of an official party, you and your husband can just take
    Ilona someplace special for a day (you can tell her it's her birthday
    trip), and/or go out for cake and ice cream.

    Hi Laura, 
    
    I've never held a party for any of my kids until they were old
    enough to ask for one, and help out with it.  This is usually
    around five.  
    
    Before that, we just have a family celebration, with cake and
    candles and presents.  (Our neighbors do this too -- only their
    family includes about 20 relatives, so it's a pretty big party. 
    Ours is much smaller :) )  And we do the bit about sending in
    cupcakes to the daycare or preschool for a party.  
    
    --bonnie

re: .48, .49

	I agree with Deb.  Do something special.  She doesn't have to know 
it's because it's her "birthday."  I don't think that a 2 year old cares.  
But there does come a time they start to become conscious of other kids 
having birthday parties.

re: .40

	We did invite the children of the "adult friends" to the adult 
party, but not the kids' party.  The one exception was when our daughter's 
cousin happened to be visiting at about the same time as our daughter's 
party.  She came to both, so I guess if there were a kid who would get 
invited under both criteria, they would have been invited to both.
	I agree with a prior note in that some parents of toddlers are very 
happy to drop their kid off, and leave for a couple of hours of peace and 
quiet.  Others want to stay around.  For the ones who stay around, have maybe 
a pot of coffee and some extra soft drinks.  And for goodness sake, don't 
feel obliged to entertain them.  In fact, don't hesitate to ask them for 
help.  Often they help anyway, because they know what you're going through, 
and they'd rather do something than just sit there.

Clay 

    An update on .22  re: taking a group of children to see a play as a
    birthday party extravaganza...
    
    I sought advice in .22 and got a lot of good leads.  I did take the
    step to have the party anyway - it turned out to be a great time.  We
    had 13 children ranging in age from 4-15 at the theater (two teens to
    help as chaperones and three other adults.  
    
    The children enjoyed the play (although Alice in Wonderland is
    not my favorite play - and VERY hard to follow at times for the younger
    ones).  They really enjoyed meeting the cast after the play. 
    
    Then it was back to our backyard for cake, ice cream and a BBQ.  A lot
    of the children were relatives, some were children of good friends and
    so they didn't all know each other.  To help ease the situation I
    bought a bunch of face paints, set out a blanket on the lawn and had the
    teens paint all the kids faces.  This caused them to start interacting,
    talking about what they each wanted to do to their respective faces and
    the next thing we knew they were off chasing each other around the
    yard.  
    
    We had cake and ice cream around 4 because some of the kids would be
    leaving.  I had the greatest cake made at Creative Cakes in Medway with
    the Cheshire Cat on it.
    
    We did have a BBQ about 6 because some aunts, uncles and grandparents 
    would be staying and it would be just about impossible to have a get 
    together in the middle of the summer without something on the grill.  
    I kept it real simple: dogs, burgers, chips and soda.
    
    All in all, (although it was an exhausting day for me) it was a great
    time and a big success.
    
     ^_^
    (>.<)
     ) ( Jeanne
               

    RE: b'day party for a 3 year old.
    
    Avanti turned 3 in June and Neel was born on May 13th. So we did not
    have much time to organize a party for her at home. I asked her
    daycare/preschool director to take her class to McDonald's for lunch.
    She told me how much it cost and I paid her. It included all her class
    mates, her teachers and the director. They use the school van and the
    teachers' cars if necessary to get the kids to Micky D's. She had a
    great time. I also took a cake and ice cream to school so she could cut
    her cake at snack time.
    
    We then had a joint b'day party and Neel's christening party at the
    end of June.
    
    I could not join her at the McD's lunch but we could have gone as well.
    
    Shaila

    re: my $.02 about 3-yr old party
    
    Nicholas turned 3 yesterday. We had a party at daycare with his
    friends, where we supplied the cupcakes, and had another party last
    night that was just the three of us: mom, dad and Nick. Our original
    plan was to have a small party for his neighborhood friends of the same
    age group, perhaps as a picnic at our local playground. However, Kathy
    is due with baby #2 any day now, so we didn't want to plan a 'real'
    party for Nick and build up his expectations, only to have to cancel
    at the last minute because Kath went into labor. Perhaps after the new
    baby is born and is home, we'll throw a belated b-day party for his
    neighborhood friends, but Nick seemed to enjoy our mini-party just as
    much. By the way, I recall reading an article in some parents magazine
    that recommended, for the 3-6 age group, inviting no more than one child 
    per year of age, stating that anything beyond that number would be
    somewhat overwhelming for the birthday boy/girl. 
    
    Re: 2-yr old party
    
    For Nick's second B-day, we stayed very low key, inviting only my
    cousin who lives nearby and her three sons, ages 4 thru 8. In fact,
    the purpose of their visit was to simply get together as much as it was
    to celebrate Nick's B-day. We simply juggled the schedule a bit, and 
    used it as an excuse to have his cake and presents, etc. 
    
    We felt that a major party up thru the age of 2 would really be for the 
    parents as opposed to the child. We felt that a 2-yr old wouldn't truly
    appreciate the fact that the guests were their to attend "his party".
    All he would comprehend was that there were a bunch of people in his
    house making a lot of noise and enjoying a lot of food. We had been
    looking forward to having a 'real' party for him this year, but as
    it turns out, we couldn't risk it logistically.
    
    In both cases, relatives and friends were made aware of our plans, and
    were free to come if they so desired, but weren't under any obligation
    to attend. Also in both cases, he still received presents from various
    relatives and friends, but it was of their own volition, rather than
    thru any sense of obligation at having been invited to a party. 
    
    FWIW...
    
    Freddie
    

    Eric never asked a birthday party until this year.  He is 4
    now.  We had a lunch party at daycare.  I ordered kid's meals from
    McDonald's and also a birthday cake.  I sent a note to the
    parents in his class few days before the birthday and asked
    the kids not to bring lunch that day.  It was a big success.
    Monica turned 2 yesterday.  All four of us went out for pizza
    last night.  I will probably through a birthday party for her
    when she turns 4.  But until then, all our birthday parties are
    simple and small.
    
    Wendy

    I am looking for ideas for a birthday party in the Worcester Area 
    for my daughter Caileigh, who will be six on December 9th.
    
    Chuck E. Cheese is out because my other daughter, who will be four 
    the next day, will have her party there the weekend after.  (I couldn't 
    stand it twice!).  McDonald's and the Ground Round are out because she 
    had previous parties there and I just want to do something different.
    Except for her sister, all the attendees (not sure of the number) will 
    be five- or six-year-olds. 
    
    I've heard the Higgins Armory does parties; has anyone been to one?
    Does the art museum do anything like that?  Any other ideas?  I would 
    consider a house party with a REALLY good entertainer of some sort
    (magician, clown, etc.).  I would also consider taking a handful to
    a play if anyone knows of something the weekend of December 5th and
    6th.
    
    Thanks for any help,
    
    -Tracy
     

    How about the Playland Museum in Webster Square?  A friend had her
    son's birthday party there.  I didn't attend, but the kids had fun.
    They were given tokens to play the games.  
    Sarah

    
    
    re: Playland...
    
    	I attended our neighbors daughter's b-day party there. Be
    forewarned that it is your typical madhouse of kids everywhere! Yes,
    the kids will have fun, but keep your eye on them. 
    
    	They have the plastic balls to jump in, kiddie rides (tokens), skee
    ball, video games, a play-area separated from the rest of the games
    (slides, crawl spaces, bridges, etc...) and the like....
    
    	It's a cut above Chuck E. Cheese for a kids party, IMHO....
    
    
    					jim s.

   A friend of mine at church is a professional clown and magician.
   Send me mail if you want to contact him - Worcester is well within the
   area he usually works in.
   
   - Tom

    why not a bowling party?  a lot of bowling alleys have a party package
    for so much per child.  the one in acton does it, i did my son's 5th
    birthday party there [the whole thing, since we were trying to sell our 
    house and the thought of 6 5-year olds inside (it's a jan. birthday)
    wasn't appealing at all!] they do have a minimum amount of kids
    requirement, and you pay for the minimum whether or not you have it. 
    Now the package includes: 1 hour bowling, hotdog/hamburger/pizza slice,
    drink, cake and ice cream, balloons, and $1 worth of tokens for the
    arcade -- i think the last price was $7.50/kid, 6 kid minimum. 
    
    Last year we did his party at the indoor golf place in marlboro, but
    just did the golf part there, they came home for cake and ice cream. 
    this year I think we'll go bowling and come home for the goodies --
    that way he can have a few more kids and it won't break the bank.
    
    sandy

    I sent mail to Tracy about a great magician we "used" for Alex's 7th
    birthday party - he's based in Princeton, MA.  If anyone else would
    like his number, send me mail.
    
    Bowling is a great idea!  We attended a party at an alley in Spencer, I
    think (it was in that area; how many could there be? :-) ) and they had
    bumpers for the gutters--GREAT idea, especially for the
    easily-discouraged younger partygoers (and the coordinationally-
    challenged adults like me).  Not all alleys have 'em, check around.
    
    Leslie

    How about a trip to the Children's Discover Museum in Acton? I wouldn't
    expect that they do parties; However, my 6 yr. old niece had a class
    trip there and loved it! 

I've heard that a place called the Crafty Peddler (there's on near Caldor
in Lincoln Plaza Worcester area) does craft-oriented birthday parties. 

I thought it was a great idea!  

rachel 

    Thank you for the ideas so far.  
    
    In case any of you are thinking about Chuck E. Cheese, it turns out that 
    is already booked through most of December except for a couple of weekdays 
    at 3:00 and a couple of Sunday nights at 7:00.  Because of that, the  
    birthday party for Paige (who will be four) will be at the Playland Museum.
    It _is_ zooey, but the kids like it.  
    
    For Caileigh, I will check in to the great ideas you've given me!
    
    -Tracy
     

    Can anyone help out with suggestions for a few party games for eight
    3-5 year olds?  I would especially appreciate any ideas for things we
    could do outdoors (we have a huge backyard, and very little room
    indoors for that many kids).  Thanks.

I did this game with 4-5 yr. olds and it worked out nicely.  Take a tin cupcake
pan.  On the short edge, tape a sturdy piece of cardboard on the top edge
of the pan.  This will make a ramp from the ground up to the top of the pan.

Get little toys, prizes or candies and put in each cupcake "hole".  Each child
takes a turn to roll a ball from say five feet away, can even get a little
closer for the little ones into the cupcake tin.  Use a golfball.  Whatever
hole the ball falls into, the child gets that prize.  When a child gets a prize,
refill the empty hole.  By doing this, the next child "can't miss" a prize.

 Christopher turned 3 a few weeks ago and for the entertainment we rented a pony
for 2 hours.  There were roughly 14 children, mostly 3-4 year olds and everyone
really enjoyed it.  The people who came with the pony also brought a litter of
bunnies for the kids to hold while they were waiting for their turn.  My
husband took pictures of each child on the pony and these were sent out with 
the Thank-You cards.  Of course, weather plays a big part in this activity ;-).
 
 Another thing that the kids liked was decorating their own cupcake.  After
lunch and candle blowing, I had the kids stay at the table.  Each was given a 
frosted cupake and they decorated it with an assortment of things I laid out
on the table (licorice sticks, Necco wafers, raisins, jelly beans, etc...).
It really made great pictures!

ps. We did Chuck E Cheese last year and the cost of renting the pony was 
actually LESS than what we shelled out there.

         Happy partying,  Laura

    re .65
    
    Our son is now 6 and a half, and we've always tried to find
    some kind of outdoor activity for his birthday parties.
    
    Kids that age love peanut hunts, or you can use hershey's
    kisses, or bubblegum, or whatever.  In any case, hide a LOT
    of whatever you're using, since 3-5 year olds can search
    a large year in an unbelievably short amount of time.  Plus,
    it makes it more likely that everyone will find something.
    To make it more interesting, you can hide some special objects
    along with the peanuts to serve as "certificates" for special
    prizes. Also, be sure to give the kids some bags in which to
    deposit the peanuts that they find.
    
    Another thing for the kids is a pinata(sp?).  Hang it up high,
    blindfold the kids, and let them swing away with sticks at it.
    
    Kid's also like to decorate hats and t-shirts. You can generally
    find reasonably inexpensive plain hats and shirts.  Then get a
    supply of fabric paints, fabric glue, and sparkles, plastic
    bugs, etc.  This will keep kids occupied for quite a while, with,
    of course, some supervision.  You can generally set this up on
    a porch or in a garage, or out on a picnic table if the weather
    is nice.
    
    You might also try one of those "thingys" for making huge soap
    bubbles.
    
    Hope this helps,
    
    Rich

    My son was at a party last weekend and had fun playing this game.  They
    tied a string to each child's ankle with a balloon attached to the
    string.  There was music playing, and when it stopped, the kids tried
    to stomp and pop all the other kids balloons.  The kid with the last,
    surviving, balloon wins.  They also had an outdoor "treasure hunt",
    which was a big success.

    							-Dave- 

re: Pinatas

     If you're concerned, as we were, about a bunch of blindfolded kids
swinging sticks or baseball bats, there are pinatas available that have a lot
of strings coming out.  As the strings are pulled out, a hole in the pinata
gradually opens up, and eventually the goodies inside fall out.  IMO, much 
safer and less frustrating.

re: Balloon games

     We also put little toys in balloons, then blew them up, so that when the
kids popped the balloon, they got a little toy.  One thing we ran into was
that a few of the kids were afraid of the noise, and didn't want to play.  We
let them play in another room, while another child popped the balloon (there
was no shortage of volunteers!) and when all the balloons were popped, they
rejoined the party and got their toys.

Clay

    In response to inexpensive gift ideas.
    
    I made T-Shirts using my girls hand prints and gave them as gifts to
    the grandparents.  They loved them.  All you need it T-Shirts (I bought
    all extra large shirts for comfort) and several colors of fabric paint.
    
    Another personal gift I make is a covered photo album.  I try to pick
    material that would interest the person I am sending the album too and
    put in lots of pictures of the girls.
    
    Angie

    Daniel  and I have been having fun lately making sponge prints.
    I cut up old sponges into various shapes and sizes, then he prints
    on paper using poster paint that he brushes onto the sponge. If
    you start with a damp sponge, you can get many prints out of one
    application of paint. 
    
    I think you could use fabric paint and print onto T-shirts. We plan
    to make our own Christmas cards and wrapping paper. 
    
    Lucy

These are good ideas.  I'm not much of a craftsperson, but I might do this
next year when I might have more time or self-assurance.  :-)
I'm sure my mom would like a shirt/sweatshirt with the kids' handprints,
and their godparents would like this, too.

      Carol

Many T-shirt shops have equipment that can print a photograph on a t-shirt or 
sweatshirt.

Clay 

Does anyone have any ideas on stocking stuffers for 20-month-old babies
(adjusted age is 17-months, if that makes a difference)?  Most of the
ideas I have and things I have seen are for older children.  I know it
won't make much difference to my kids this year as they really don't
understand everything that's going on, but I do want them to have stockings.
Suggestions?

Thanks,
Cathy

    Cathy,
    
    My daughter Charlotte will be 17 mos. old shortly. I plan to stuff
    her stocking with some plastic farm animals (only a couple - they're
    pretty big) since she is very interested in animals; a wind-up
    toy or two, since she loves to manipulate things; maybe some big
    fat crayons so she won't steal her brother's so often; a nerf ball
    if it will fit... I'll put in some more ideas as I get them.
    
    Lucy 

    A couple suggestions ... I have used the following with my kids.
    
    	Sesame street cars
    	Toothbrush
    	Pacifiers
    	Special Cup
    	Small plastic animals/people (dinasaurs this year)
    	Some kind of age appropriate goody that you don't mind them eating
    	  before breakfast (candy, fruit)
    
    Joyce
    

    Mint, cinammon, or other flavored dental floss.
    
    L

    those animals that you squeeze and they make noises...they have
    reindeers and santas too (bradlees), i am putting in a couple weeble
    people too and a toothbrush and a "1st year ornament" (we always 
    got an ornament each year in our stocking, going to carry on that
    tradition)

    Last year my daughter was about 18 months and I gave her small stuffed
    animals, a fancy cup that has an inner cup that has water with
    glitter, a Mickey Mouse fork and spoon set, a new toothbrush with a 
    fun cover on it for traveling, small books, and stuff that I can't
    remember a year later!
    
    Some other ideas are a deck of cards (a fun and cheap toy), some cheap
    beads to put on, small squirt toys for the tub, rubber stamps with a
    washable ink pad, and crayons.
    
    judy

    How about fancy (or just colorful) socks, or the socks with rubber
    treads on them?  If you're into it (I don't care for them), headbands....
    
    Leslie

    My son turns 3 in a few weeks, and I am holding a birthday party for
    him and 5 friends.  What sort of party games are most applicable?  I
    had thought of finger painting, but I think I am just a bit early for
    the age group (all will be within 2-3 months of 3), and pin the tail on
    the donkey--does anyone have a good source book?  I am thinking of 2 or
    3 games, party from 2:30 to 4:30, cake in the shape of a car or
    truck...any thoughts?
    
    Thanks in advance,
    Adrienne
    

    When mine were little, I used to let them design/color on or paste on
    their own brown lunch bag, which then became a "goody" bag to take
    home.  Coloring books and small packs of crayons also make good party
    favors - when the party is winding down and you are waiting for parents
    to retrieve their kids, they can color.
    
    Pin the tail on the donkey is a favorite, as well as dropping
    clothespins into a coffee can (a milk bottle is too narrow - and I
    don't think they can be found anymore!).  Anyway, I tried to make sure
    every child "won" at a game.  
    
    Good luck - you might find 2 hours is about 30 minutes too long for a
    party.  I found 3-year olds had such short attention spans, it was hard
    to keep them occupied for 2 hours.  I don't know how the day cares do
    it!
    
    Oh, and if another mom offers to help out, take her up on it!
    
    Kathleen
    

I found that when they were little they didn't like to be blindfolded often so
we did pin the tail on the donkey (or pin the nose on the clown) without
blindfolds.

We sang songs with movements to them (Oats, Peas, Beans, etc.)

We played drop the hankie.

You can buy all different kinds of dried noodles and glue them onto cardboard
to make pictures.  Noodles can also be strung on string to make bracelets and
necklaces.

You can precut felt shapes and glue them onto paper to make a collage.

If you have an artist, you can read a story while someone draws an illustration
from the story (outline it first).  The pictures can then be given to the
children to take home.

You can make a big bowl of gingerbread dough and let the children model 
cookies with it.  Bake them while they play and let them take them home.

You can hide foil wrapped chocolate christmas ornaments all over (they should
be cheap now :-) and have a christmas ornament hunt.

Actually, 3 years old is great for finger painting.  For any messy work like 
that, I always used J�rgen's old shirts and t-shirts to protect the kids
clothes.

Cheryl

    
    
    One of my all time favorite's (next to pin the tail on the donkey and
    a pinata) was musical chairs.
    
    -chris

    Our version of musical chairs was to use placemats instead of chairs.
    Alot less dangerous considering we had 10 very roudy boys!!!
    
    We also played pin the what on the who.  During April, it was the
    cotton(ball) tail on the bunny.  We used pink cotton balls with tape on
    them and had the picture of the bunny taped to the wall/door.
    
    Another favorite in the summer was water gun fights.  This kept the
    kids and parents busy for hours.
    
    For indoor games, I second the notion of having the kids take home
    craft work.  Gives them something to do and bring home as a reminder.
    
    For my son's third birthday I made cupcakes and frosted them with white
    frosting.  Then placed about 5-6 tubes of colored gel icing on the
    table and each child decorated their own cupcake!  They loved it!  
    
    Hope you get some ideas you can use!
    
    -sandy
    

I have always done a craft for my children's parties when they still had them.
Here is a list of things we have done:

Self modeled Gingerbread Cookies which we decorated after they were baked
Salt dough modeling
Kites
Felt Christmas decorations
Decorated paper plates
Masks (we used paper bags but also can use paper plates)
Painted wooden circles to which I attached a hanger to the back
Mobiles made of felt, sequins, etc
Noodle things

Other ideas I never got a chance to try

"Musical intruments" (drums from old plastic bottles, sticks, things that jingle,
   bottles to blow in and create a rhythm band)
For girls, use all those old socks to create Barbie doll clothes- toes become
   hats, the tops become sweaters and dresses, a lttle thread and you have
   a pair of trousers or tennis outfit.  Buy the elastic thread and it's easy.

Cheryl

    A question and then a comment...
    
    My son's home daycare provider is having a birthday this week.  In fact
    she takes her birthday off, so we will do the same and spend the day
    maybe taking in a kids' movie. 
    My question is, should I buy her a gift?  I've never been in this
    situation with any previous provider.  What should it be?  He has only
    been going to her since the first of this year, and for the most part
    only for after school which is just a couple hours a day.
    
    I thought about making a batch of fudge, but maybe something else would
    work better.  Suggestions??
    
    
    Now my comments on birthday parties.....
    
    Recently one of AJ's schoolmates had his sixth birthday party at a
    local bowling alley.  It started at 1:00p.m.  The children got either a
    hotdog or hamburger, soda, chips, cake and ice cream, as well as two
    strings of bowling.  I felt a little awkward when I got there, as it
    became clear that the adults were not going to be fed, unless we BOUGHT
    our own.  I hadn't had lunch, I guess I expected to be fed.  I settled
    for a small piece of cake and icecream and went home for a snack rather
    than make the parents feel embarassed.  
    
    I guess why I felt awkward was when I RSVP'd to the mother she seemed
    to request I stay at the party "if I possibly could" so I did.  There
    was only one other mother there beside the boy's father.  There were 12
    boys at the party.
    
    Was I wrong to expect to be fed, OK it was only a burger or dog, after
    being asked to stay and assist at the party?
    
    Lyn

    Ask yourself whether she'd give a gift to your son on his birthday.
    If the answer is yes, then he should give her one--something small
    is appropriate, as it's officially from him.  Unless she's a personal
    friend, she wouldn't give you a gift, so you don't owe her one.
    He, on the other hand, has a much closer relationship (or hopes to
    have one in the future).
    
    If you're invited, you can reasonably expect to be fed if the party
    overlaps a meal-time or if others are fed at the same time.  It sounds
    like you wound up doing free child care for the mother and didn't even
    get a meal--you have been exploited!
    
    		-John Bishop

    My daughter is having her 6th birthday party April 4th.  I really need
    some ideas for activities.  She will invite 4 of her kindergarten
    classmates (4 girls), 2 boys from her daycare, and 2 friends (1-boy,
    1-girl) from outside of school.  The ages will range from 4 to 8. She
    has expressed an interest in having Barbie or Kitty kats as the theme
    for her party.   I've read through this topic and seen some ideas for 6
    year old boys, but none for girls.  I'm not the most creative when it
    comes to birthday ideas so would really appreciate some suggestions.
    
    Please help with ideas for games, party favors, gifts for winners of
    games.   
    
    Thanks,
    Sarah

    I hope this comes out right since I am new to notes!
    
    re .90
    
    Some game ideas are to drop clothspins into a bottle (used a wine
    carafe at the last party) - the one who gets all five in wins.  Musical
    chairs is also a hit.  As far as prizes go, we try to give all the
    children something for trying the game (i.e. - stickers, bubble gum,) -
    it cuts down on tears and hurt feelings.  Also, I am planning on doing
    a pinata at my son's party, that way everyone wins!

If you are going to have boys there, I'd stay away from themes which are very
girlish (like the Barbie theme).  Try and find something neutral.  Clowns are 
good, so are animals, so are balloons.

Also, plan some quiet activities and things that will let them work off excess
energy.  Alternate the activities so they neither get too fidgety nor out
of control.

We never had prizes for games because some kids never won one.  Everybody just 
got a goody bag when they left.  If I had specific "boy" bags and "girl" bags 
they were tied with different colors of ribbon.

ccb

    Another good activity is a treasure hunt.  I did this at Christmas with
    a "Twelve Days of Christmas" theme ... kids of all ages loved it.  (I
    must admit I had a good time putting it together too!)  Let the kids
    find the clues, an adult or older child can read them.  Make the clues
    simple but not too obvious.  At the end have a goody bag or lead them
    to the room where you are having cake and ice cream.
    
    Just a bit of a warning, my son enjoyed this so much that now we have
    to have a treasure hunt every two weeks so he can find the surprise
    (dessert, allowance, etc.).  He has no idea how much work goes into
    making up the little clues.
    
    Just another idea -- be sure to have coloring books and crayons for
    those who may not wish to participate.  I found that sometimes children
    that normally are very social become quiet in the party environment. 
    Coloring books give them something to do without making them feel left
    out.
    
    Laura

    
    
    I haven't had a chance to read all the replies, so this
    could already be suggested.  But a circus/carnival theme 
    could be pretty easy.  You could have face painting, stickers 
    with clowns, have balloons, cotton candy and popcorn.
    
    Another idea is cowboys and indians.  You could have the 
    kids make headresses with the feathers, or construction
    paper.  Those that want to be cowboys could wear jeans etc.
    You could have beads and let the kids string necklaces,
    and bracelets.   For food you could have corn, hamburgs
    etc.
    
    Can't wait til my kids are old enough to do these things.
    
    Jeanne
    
    
    
    

My son's birthday is April 9th, he'll be six years old this coming
April. We usually have an Easter Egg hunt as the main activity. Prior 
to the hunt the kids are giving lunch bags to decorate to put 
their eggs in.  I buy the plastic eggs and fill them with 
candy. The young children are given a 5 minute head start. We also 
limit the number of eggs that one can find. This way the little 
ones have fighting chance. If the weather permits we have it 
outside otherwise we have the hunt in the playroom. Hope
the weather holds out this year. I was still finding eggs outside
last year in August. 

Last year, my son and I cutout and decorated fish and used the 
kiddie pool to put the fish in. Each fish had acouple of paper 
clips attached. The poles had magnets attached to them to try 
and catch a fish. Everytime someone catch a fish they received
a goodie of some type. The kids loved this.

Also,I had a plain tee shirt which we had all the kids paint 
their names on for Kevin.  This year I may get each 
child a tee shirt to decorate (paint) instead of goodie bags.
I picked up the paints at The Fair a local discount department
store. 

I usually have pizza, cake and ice cream. The goodie bags are made 
up by age and sex for each child. Also, the general rule is Kevin
may invite as many children as he will be on his birthday. The 
exception is he doesn't have to include his brother and two 
cousins in the count.

I also sent cupcakes to his nursey school last year on the day of
his birthday. Not sure if this is allowed in kindergarten.

Helpful hint is to put the start and end time for the party. A
few birthdays I have sent Kevin to didn't put the end time and 
parents were coming a all different times to pick up their child.

Have Fun,

- Pat K

    Re the 12 days of Christmas suggestion--just be sensitive to the fact
    that not everyone celebrates Christmas.
    
    

    
    Charades is a good kids party game (sorry if it has already been
    mentioned).
    
    
    Mike

    My daughter just had her 6th birthday two weeks ago.  She found
    troll invitations, plates, napkins, etc at the party store and
    so our theme was trolls.  For one of our games I made a large 
    troll out of bright colored poster boards and we used it for 
    a "pin-the-nose-on-the-troll" game.  I also created a "troll 
    treasure hunt".  The night before the party I hid each child's 
    treat/treasure bag in a different location and then hid 
    clues to find the treasure.  The day of the party I handed 
    each child a clue to start their hunt.  Since my home is small,
    I let them hunt one at a time to minimize the chaos.  This 
    worked well and they helped each other out a lot.  Also, I 
    made the clues as distinct as possible so no child would find
    another child's clue or treasure.  This meant that each child
    "won" something and no one got more than anyone else.  I tried
    to make the clues simple but not too easy.  For many of the
    clues I also drew pictures so they didnt necessarily have to
    read the words (or have them read).  I also tried to make
    them rhyme or be humorous.  They seemed to enjoy this a lot
    and some of the kids even saved the clues.  Another thing we 
    did was face painting.  I got a recipe for face paints from 
    the local craft store (it's made with water, corn starch, cold 
    cream and food coloring and washes off easily -if any one is 
    interested, I can bring in and post the exact measurements
    for the recipe).  Most of the kids requested trolls which are 
    fairly easy to draw and so my artistic talent (or lack of) 
    was adequate.  Between the games, cake and ice cream, and present 
    opening, we easily filled the two hours that I had allotted for 
    the party.
    
    The party went well and the kids seemed to enjoy it.  Six is a
    nice age and the games went better than in previous years when
    I think their attention span was not always long enough for the
    game.  I think I had as much fun as the kids did.  Planning the
    treasure hunt and coming up with clues.  I made a project with
    my daughter out of drawing and cutting out the troll for the 
    "pin the nose on the troll" game one evening earlier in the week
    Three of the girls slept over the night before.  They enjoyed 
    watching me try to draw a troll on the cake with frosting (and 
    sneaking tastes) and telling me which colors to use and what 
    it should look like.
    
    Have fun,
    
    Robyn

    If you think boys may be offended by the "girl" theme party, try this
    ...My 5 yr old son went to a girl friends "Barbie" party last week.  The
    mother had Barbie plates, hats, etc. for the girls and plain blue
    plates and hats for the boys.  Seemed to work fine.

Not that I think they would be offended but it complicates things when half
the guests won't play along :-)

Another thing I discovered when my kids were small is that there are children
who will not allow themselves to be blindfolded or will not put on a costume
(had a few who wouldn't participate in a relay race where you had to put on 
a bunch of old clothes before running your lap).  I think the suggestion to 
have colors and coloring books for the non participants is a very good one.

ccb

    I saw a book, in the cookware department, at Lechmere recently.  It was
    a little larger than a REader's Digest.  It had very detailed ideas for
    having a kid's theme party.  One I remember, probably more for boys,
    was a caveman theme.  The children come dressed in solid green, brown
    or black, and you supply the makings for caveman costumes.  It had
    ideas for everything from caveman punch to caveman cake.  There were
    many, many more themes with just as detailed ideas.  It was sold with
    the cookbooks.
    
    I was surprised at AJ's sixth party, that Trolls are UNI sex.  I had
    bought Troll rings, pretty much for the girls, and other things like
    mini crayons and pads, BAtman things etc for the boys.  I just about
    had enough Troll rings for the boys, who reacted as if I were from MARS
    that I didn't know Trolls were for both sexes!  I ended up giving all
    of them away at the party, and getting another package to give to AJ
    and his cousins, who didn't get "enough" at the party, plus some extras
    for our sitter's boy who was sick the day of the party.
    
    My cousin's boy was six this past weekend, they rented the local
    bowling alley, bought a Terminator Cake,carried the theme through,
    bought a dozen purple baloons and each child (all boys this time) got a
    baloon and a goodie bag with a blow up punch baloon, pretzles, sugar
    free gum, and something else.  A polaroid picture of each child, in the
    "party film" format is a great souvenier also.
    
    I have also done an Ice cream cake, it eliminates the need to get ice
    cream to go with the cake, it just seems less messy IMO.
    
    Lyn

    My youngest had his 6th this past weekend.  I baked bunny-shaped cakes
    (a little bigger than a cupcake) and had the kids decorate them with
    deco sprinkles in pastel colors, gel in tubes, jelly beans, M&Ms,
    chocolate chips, etc.  Then they got a polaroid taken of each with
    their own cake and I put the picture in the goody bag (along with
    "garfield" tissue pack, "garfield" bandages, neon shoe strings, balloon
    "whistles", birthday stickers).  The kids had fun - I had fun watching
    them and this great group of kids left NO mess on my dining room floor!
    
    -sandy
    

    I'm curious how much money parents are willing to 
    fork out for a party.
    
    My daughter went to a birthday party a few months ago.
    My husband took her and raved about the great packaged
    'deal' the parents found. So last week I signed up for
    the same deal. It's as follows:
    
    Party for up to 24 kids and 5 adults. 
    Includes:	Cake or Ice Cream Sundaes
    		Room Rental
    		Invitations
    		Party Goods (decorations)
    		Games (parent/child can request favorite games)
    		Party Favors (grab bag for each child)
    		Trained Staff (two rec center counsilors)
    		
    They offered about 15 different themes, such as; Beauty and the Beast,
    Little Mermaid, balloons, safari, dinosaurs, etc. and told us if we
    wanted a theme they didn't offer, they would get it for us if we gave
    them the name of the store. (yes, we'd like the Dynasty theme :^)
    
    My daughter wants to bob for apples (don't know why) and they said
    "no problem."  These folks are very flexible and basically make parties 
    something to look forward to instead of a stressful situation.
    
    What would you pay for this service?  
    
    I'll post the cost in a later reply.
    
    Jodi-

    I wouldn't.
    
    -sandy
    

    Sandy,
    
    You wouldn't what? 
    
    Have a birthday party. 
    Pay for a package deal.
    Have a birthday :^)
    
    And why?
    
    Jodi-

That's a pretty chintzy wedding.

    That list of stuff looks like it will cost major bucks---maybe $150? If
    my house was too small, my time was more important than money, it was a
    major birthday, or my child had a major illness or loss of some sort, I
    would consider it.
    
    For example, the day after my 14th birthday I went into the hospital
    and had surgery that put me flat on my back for the next 6 months and I
    wore a bodycast for 10 months.  (I'm not suggesting this party for a 14
    year old, but trying to poing out when I might consider doing this.)
    
    Personally, I tend to do too much myself, because I know I can do
    some things well and can't bear to pay someone else to do them.  So, I
    pay in time, rather than money.  It all comes down to which you value
    more.
    
    judy

    I guess I wouldn't pay someone to plan and prepare my kids party - it
    seems so impersonal.  It's just a birthday that comes every year - not
    like a once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) wedding.
    
    Either I'm too cheap - or just not with the times!
    
    I even clean my own house - I can't get the hang of having someone do
    it for me (I tried once - I hated it).
    
    -sandy

    Well, in our case, both of my kids have had very fun but
    small parties in the past. Small only because we were 
    flipping the bill to take 2-6 of my daughter's friends
    to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, roller skating or
    bowling. This year I wanted to give her a *big* party.
    After adding it all up, the deal I mentioned a few replies
    back seemed to come out the same or more than the packaged
    deal and I wouldn't be such a basket case during the
    event. Our home is not large enough to handle a party
    with 24+ kids and adults. So this packaged deal really
    sounded like a god-send. 
    
    The cost is $150.00. 
    
    Jodi-who_does_all_her_own_housework_also 
        (tried various services and just wasn't happy)

Any opinions on a reasonable size for an at-home mixed gender (AIIIEEEE!) 
birthday party for a girl turning 13?

Any opinions on what is reasonable entertainment, in addition to a video?

Clay

    Thirteen is an inbetween age--I think you should expect the boys
    and girls to want non-mixed activities as well as mixed ones.
    
    Based on my teen-age memories, provide lots of real food as well
    as cake and ice-cream; limit the size to ten or fewer unless you
    have a _big_ yard with volleyball nets and a pool or the like; 
    limit to six or fewer if it's all indoors; plan for several hours
    of clean-up; lock the liquor, etc. away; limit the length of time,
    as they'll get wilder as the hours pass (e.g. two hours good, six
    hours bad); definitely have some activity involving motion for
    the boys.
    
    This is all based on memories of always being hungry and hating to
    sit still for long, plus massive awkwardness when in the presence
    of girls, combined with various adventures (personal or observed)
    with alcohol and girls at such parties.
    
    Have you thought about having a "pinic at the park" party?  It'd
    save on clean-up and provide things to do if you went to a place
    with a built-in activity, like climbing Mt Monadnock or (if warm)
    going to an outdoor swimming area.
    
    		-John Bishop

	I'm having a large party this weekend for Emily's first
	birthday.  I've got a couple questions:

	How far in advance do you need to order a birthday cake ?

	What is an appropriate size cake for 40 adults and 15 or so kids ?

	Can anyone recommend a good brand of frozen, pre-made hamburger
	patties ?

	Karen

    Karen,
    
    We ordered the cake for Sarah's party a few weeks before, but only
    because we had a ton of things to get done in the interim weeks and
    Sarah and I were supposed to be heading down to FLA during that time,
    too.  However, there were people in the bakery ordering cakes for a
    week in advance.  Call your bakery to find out what they need for
    notice.  We ordered a half sheet, which was supposed to feed 35
    people, and we had about the same crowd you're expecting.  Kids don't
    eat huge pieces and some of the adults don't eat cake, plus we had lots
    of fruit and other munchies around.  We ended up with leftovers, and
    the cake was very good.
    
    We had a fantastic time at Sarah's party, all the kids were great,
    everyone mingled and the weather was perfect.  Hope you have as great a
    time at Emily's party!
    
    Can you believe they're 1 already!
    
    Susan

	Thanks!

	I just ordered the cake (realizing that some bakeries aren't
	open on Sunday, I panicked !).

	I went with an Alden Merrell carrot cake (daddy's favorite), plus
	a small chocolate cake on the side.  I guess I'll have leftovers,
	but I'll just send some pieces home with people.

	Karen

    For the burgers .... we just had a party this past weekend, and used
    Shaw's brand, "Our Best".  They have 2 different Shaw's brand - the
    "Our Best" ones are a little more expensive, but WELL worth it.  For a
    case of 20, it was $9.98.  Everyone at the bbq commented on how tasty
    they were.
    
    
    For the 13yr old party .... some fun things, if it's to be outdoors,
    would be water balloon fights (you should fill up a BUNCH of balloons
    ahead of time to avoid wet teens running through your house), egg on a
    spoon race, 3-legged races, wiffle ball/softball, frisbee, dodge ball
    etc.  
    
    At that age it seems to me that boys and girls like to interact with
    each other, but a lot of kids are still too akward to want to be
    "close".  For indoors, you could try board games, and a video and
    perhaps a Nintendo.  Let them have the opportunity to create smaller
    groups if they'll feel more comfortable that way.  
    
    I would suggest 10-12 kids max (including your own).  Much more than
    that and there's a lot of personality conflicts.  Don't know if it's
    too "young" but you may think about a "make your own pizza" party.  Get
    lots of goodies, or make your own Sundae (cheaper and no cooking!).
    
    Have fun, and Good Luck!
    Patty

    Over here, 12 years old is the age that they start having "boums" or
    mixed dancing parties.  My son Dirk had one after he turned 12.  I
    guess we had about 30 kids.  They all get brought by their parents and
    picked up by their parents and run until fairly late at night.  Dirk
    and his friends did everything including being disk jockey and
    decorating the rec room and cleaning up afterwards.  Most of the kids
    contributed food and drink (kids this age drink INCREDIBLE quantities
    of liquids).  I provided some "real" food although Dirk said that
    crisps and popcorn were enough (I made several trays with cold cuts and
    cheese slices and served bread).  The kids all brought their favorite
    CDs (marked with their names) and they played music and danced all
    night.
    
    It was quite amusing to see how the party started.  All the boys
    arrived and came inside.  The girls arrived and came in, looked around,
    and left.  They then wandered up and down the short dead end street our
    house is on until critical female mass had been reached and then came
    inside.
    
    I had only one problem when a group of older kids arrived on moped and
    gate crashed.  Since I wasn't expecting this, it took me a few minutes
    to figure out what to do.  I ended up tossing them out.
    
    Maybe it doesn't fit your situation but thought the information might
    be useful to someone.
    
    Cheryl

My daughter is turning 6 on July 11th  and she has asked for a party this year
(we usually go away some where). I am looking for some unique party 
ideas.  She has had school parties this year at Chuckie Cheese, Worcester
Science Museum, MacDonald's.  All are very nice but I would like something 
different and more interactive. I don't want to " keep up with the Jones" but
as a working mom prepared parties have a certain appeal.
 Also, any suggestions on the number of kids, school friends, daycare friends,
relatives?   Please help.... MaryAnn

    Well since this topic reopened I wanted to say that we had the
    'prepared' birthday party I mentioned a few replies back and it
    was a wonderful and complete success. Would spend the money and
    do it again in a flash.
    
    The party was held at a local park rec room. The sponsor supplied
    several themes to choose from. Invitations. All games, party bags
    with favors and ice cream sundaes. Great posters that wished Amber
    a Happy Birthday both inside and outside the facility with her
    name and theme (Beauty and the Beast) painted in big bright colors.
    Balloons and other decorations. The activities were face painting,
    spin art, powdered donuts on a string, bobbing for apples (the hands
    down favorite) and relay races out in the park.  When it came to 
    opening the gifts, the gal who ran the party sat next to Amber and
    helped her open the gifts and cards, wrote down who gave what and
    generally added enthusiasm to the party (while mom video taped
    everything).
    
    Twenty four kids were invited. Sixteen showed up. Everyone had a
    terrific time including mom and dad! Well worth the $150 package price.
    
    Jodi-  

    1 kid for each year of your daughter's age.
    
    My sons are both summer babies, so I generally have their parties at
    home. Last year we filled the kids' pool with water and magnet fish -
    each kid got a fishing rod and their fish to take home. It was great
    fun.
    
    

    I'm a brownie leader, so, we didn't have a 'birthday' party we had an
    end of the year party.
    
    I hired KORKY the clown.  He use to work with Willy Whistle on 38.  We
    had him come for 1 hour, the first 15 minutes he did things with
    balloons, like hats, animals etc., then the next 15 minutes he did a 
    magic show.  The last 1/2 hour he did face painting on everyone.  Each
    girl picked out what ever they wanted and he did it.  We then took some
    pictures with Korky.  The brownie troop supplied the cake and ice cream
    the cost was $90.00.  
    
    Korky is out of KEF Enterprises.  They are located in Manchester, NH
    and Warner NH (I think on Warner)  He did give me a package of all the
    packages they offer and birthday parties was one.  If your interested I
    could bring the stuff in and post tomorrow.  
    
    Let me know.
    
    Karen
    
    

    My daughter went to a 6-year-old's birthday party at a Gymnastics
    school last weekend and had a blast!  I think all the schools are set
    up to do the whole package or parts of it.  You should be able to find
    a local one in the phone book.
    
    They did amazing things: rode across the gym on a overhead trolley
    thing, "flew" from a big ladder to the ground with ropes attached from
    above, did an obstacle course. 
    
    I've never heard a kid rave about a party like these kids did.  I had
    another 6-year-old in my car on the way home and she kept saying "BOY,
    was that a fun party!".

   Along the clown avenue... there's a man at our church whose a
   professional clown... he's located in the Lancaster, MA area (or did
   he recently move to the Worcester area?  I'm not sure..).  Anyway, if
   you're looking for someone a little further south than the Manchester,
   NH area, send me mail, and I'll dig up his number.
   
   - Tom
   

We just recently had a birthday party for our 4 year old daughter, Lisa.
We had about 40-45 people over of which 15 were kids - and it was a
great success for adults and kids alike.

We hired a lifeguard (actually a high school student where my wife teaches)
to keep an eye on the kids in the pool.  It was the best idea my wife ever
had!!

The party had a cowboy/cowgirl theme complete with games like face painting
in a teepee, bobbing for apples, pin the tail on the donkey, copper mining
(digging for pennies in a big bucket of sand), etc.

The featured event was the arrival of "Sugar", the pony!  The kids, except
for one were thrilled at getting rides.  Only one wasn't....my daughter :-(

After everyone else had 3 or 4 turns on the pony and lots of "discussion",
she finally relented.  It was classic to see the expression on her face once
the ride began - she obviously loved it but was embarrassed by the fuss she
had made.  Seeing her trying to hide her glee was priceless!

Don't know how we're gonna top this next year!

Dave

    We are invited to our friends' son's high school graduation party. I am
    looking for gift ideas.
    
    Thanks
    
    Shaila

    Cash! Cash! Cash!

    RE :-1 Cash has been on the top of my list as well, glad you agree.
    Now, how do you give cash i.e. cash in an envelope, a check ,etc...

    Purchase a card and put CASH :-) in the card...
    
    for a high-school graduation, money is probably better than a check,
    since the recipetant probably already has some plans for intended
    gifts....  
    
    Anne Marie
    
     

    I always go for savings bonds..........this way they have something for
    the future.

    
    Whenever I got a savings bond I always thought CHEAP! 

But did you appreciate it when you were older and more mature?

/mtb

    I didn't think "cheap" but I thought "boring"!
    
    Leslie

    
    re: But did you appreciate it when you were older and more mature?
    
    	No, I'd prefer they gave me the current value of the bond if that
    	was all they could afford, I think I can do better investing it 
    	myself. I think it's ok for baby gifts because there's plenty of time 
    	for it to mature before the child even knows it's there.

How many 18 year olds subscribe to Money or Morningstar.  I agree, bonds aren't
a great investment, but few youg people have the muturity to invest the money
themselves.  Open up a mutual fund for them, if investing is your goal
(something I've done for both my daughters).

michael

    As far a teen gifts, how about a gift certificate to something *they*
    can enjoy, like a Some type of tape/CD store or a type Electronics store 
    for whatever electronics, remote controlled cars or the ever essential 
    batteries for the above mentioned player...Or absports store for whatever 
    sports kids are into (roller blades I think is *the cool thing" of late).
    And of course teen boys just *have to have* cool clothes, maybe a place 
    that specialized in good jeans or "cool clothes", or just a general
    gift certificate from a local Mall you know he likes.
    
    Lyn
    (this all reminds me that several of AJ's bonds from his birth are
    about to mature...)
    

    I have two nieces turning 8 this week.  One today and one on Thursday. 
    Suggestions would be greatly appreciates.  I have always had a
    reputation for things that are "keepsakes" or special things more than
    just a doll or toy.
    
    I wonder if children's jewelry, or a porceline keepsake doll would be
    appropriate?  One niece is a little rough on things, and might even
    fall into the category of ingrateful, she tends to just rip open the
    present and grab for the next without any thought.  I gave her a mickey
    mouse watch two years ago, and I believe it was lost in some careless
    way, (dropped into the bottom of the inground pool) and treated as no
    big deal.
    
    The other niece is a total opposite, you could give her an empty box
    and she would thank you profusely for a week.  She is dainty and takes
    very good care of her things.  She and her little brother are living
    with my inlaws through next summer, and don't have many "big things"
     with them at this time beside their bikes and a small 3' pool. 
    There's only so much the inlaws could bring or ship from Florida.
    
    Don't get me wrong, the children from Florida are not underpriviledged
    by any means, I just love being the auntie who loves to spoil them! and
    the grandparents would buy them anything they want in a minute.
    
    I am by the way taking each niece,individually, to ChuckECheese on her
    birthday as a part of her present.
    
    Lyn
    

    
    	8 year old girls? (Or any child for that matter) a gift certificate
    to your local book shop. The absolute best gift (save money towards a
    college education) that I can come up with.
    
    	Wendy who can't pass a bookstore herself without stopping in.

    I'm looking for ideas for birthday party games.  The children will
    range from 2-8 years old.  Any suggestions?  Any other conferences I
    should enter this into?
    
    Thanks,
    Sherilyn

    The traditional games never go away; pin the tail on the Donkey,
    musical chairs, some people do a blinfold and pinata.  If it's to be a
    pool party there's some new baloon based games available. One has a
    timer and when the timer expires the water filled balloon bursts all
    over the kid holding it.  If you've got brave kids I think there's a
    game where you stick your hand in a bag with cooked pasta and tell the
    kids it's worms (help me out on this one people).
    
    With my nieces' birthday party tomorrow I can help you out after the
    party with what worked and what didn't.  This one is a pool party.
    
    Anyone got any gift ideas for 8 year olds, re: my note a couple back...
    
    Lyn

    My daughter and I had another of our many conversations about her
    upcoming birthday party.  It is in October - we should live so long!
    
    Anyway, she said she wanted all the kids to have hats with sprinkles. 
    After a funny thought that she meant water sprinkler hats (silly Mom),
    I realized she wants hats with thos little sparkly doodads on them.
    
    I suggested that the kids at her party decorate hats as an activity. 
    She thinks that is a great idea as long as she gets the purple
    "sprinkles."
    
    I remember decorating paper plate hats for Easter when I was little. 
    Can you buy or make some kind of undecorated paper hat that is a little
    nicer?
    
    Laura

    Laura,  You might check your local party shop to see if they have any
    plan colored party hats and the kids can pick our the color they want
    and then decorate it.  Or you can buy some construction paper and have
    they make a cone shaped hat and poke holes in the sides for string and
    then let them decorate them.
    
    My son's 4th birthday is November 4th and he has decided he wants a
    costume party so that all his friends and cousions can ware their
    Halloween costumes again.  I thought this was a pretty neat idea since
    his birthdayis only a few days after Halloween.  We live in a
    condominium complex and have a club house we can rent.  We are going to
    decorate the club house with all types of Halloween things and he is
    going to have a pumpkin shaped cake (I make all his cakes, school does
    come in handy for some things).  He is so excited that he can't wait
    till November.  Only the kids will hve to ware costumes not the
    parents, as I know his grandparents won't get dressed up.  Does anyone
    have any good food idea's for a Halloween birthday.  When I brought his
    cake pan I got a free paper from Wilton's with some Halloween party
    treats on it.  I am going to make some of them but would like some
    other ideas also.
    
    
    Thanks,
    
    Liz

    If you have the room, you could make a "haunted house" type of setup
    for the kids to walk through.  We had a barn when I was growing up, and
    did this for a few years.  Changed all the light bulbs to orange bulbs
    or black lights.  Hung wet pieces of string from the ceiling that felt
    *REALLY* gross when you walked into/through them, creaky doors, spooky
    music (there's a lot of sound-effect music you can buy), maybe some dry
    ice to add to the mood.  If you could find cotton candy in white, you
    could use that as edible spider-webs, or make some strange concoctions
    to look like a witch's brew.  The kids' karate made "Eye ball soup" -
    it was just green olives w/ pimentoes, but the kids got a little gag
    gift for eating it.  
    
    I think that *YOU* should get dressed up though ... for halloween, my
    dad used to dress up as a bum/drunk, and hide in the shadows of the
    porch where no one could see him.  Once the kids were at the door, he'd
    lumber out of the darkness and scare the heck out of them.  With the
    exception of 2 kids (who were REALLY scared!), all the kids LOVED it!
    Mom got dressed as a witch, took out her false teeth, painted her face
    green, had our black cat sit on her shoulder, and stooped over ....come
    to think of it, we didn't give out lots of candy that year (-:
    
    You can give prizes for different categories for the costumes - just
    try to make a point of each kid getting SOMETHING for their costume. 
    Put licorice nubs in the side of powdered donuts, hang them from a
    string and have a "spider-eating" contest.  There's lots of variations
    you could use for "regular" party games.  Pin the bone on the skeleton?
    
    Serve jello with no spoons?  I think of halloween stuff as spooky and
    messy - just watch out for your walls/floor!!  And use your family for
    ideas.

    RE:  Pary hats
    
    I'm not really sure what you are looking for but ...  I let my son's
    class decorate those plastic sunvisors for his birthday.  I found then
    at a craft store for $.09 each.  The used stickers, permanent markers,
    sequins and other odds and ends I had laying around the house.  I've
    even seen some of them wearing them this summer.

    re a couple back, take an ordinary party hat,(need one?  I've got three
    between all the parties AJ has been to over the last week or two!) just
    take it apart at the seam and trace it into a "template", then transfer
    it onto some "card stock", this is the type of material DEC uses as
    covers on a lot of the reports, a little heavier than construction
    paper.  Supply stickers, *water based* markers, maybe glitter glue (if
    age appropriate) and let your imagination do the rest.  You can pick up
    the smooth curling ribbon lots of places, some as cheap as two of
    two-roll packs for a dollar.
    
    re the Halloween party, I like that idea!  In the cookbook section
    of housewears in Lechmere, they have a book with theme parties for kids, 
    I glanced at it briefly found some great ideas.  It's probably available at
    many other book stores, if not in the cookbook section, then maybe in with
    the kids' books or party planning section.
         

    Regarding the spaghetti worms:
    
    Just make sure the kids are old enough.  If they are a bit young leave
    the lights on.
    
    I did this for my son's Halloween party.  We trurned off all the lights
    and I had a single candle burning in front of me.  I had a friend to
    help.  I told of how we were sitting in the living one night and heard
    a horrible scream (friend screams from out in the hall, sends all the
    kids scrambling).  We went out to investigate and found a body stabbed
    in the hut down in the creek ravine.  Rather than turning it in, we
    kept it and now we are going to let you feel some of the parts (some of
    the littler ones declined to feel):
    
    We blindfolded the kids and then let them feel:
    
    ears (dried apricots)
    pus from the body (egg white)
    blood (warm water
    liver (a piece of liver, of course :-)
    eyes (peeled grapes)
    worms crawling from the body (cooked spaghetti)
    
    Only two kids managed to keep their blindfolds on to the end and we had
    to turn the lights on.  The two little girls were getting grossed out
    feeling the things when they were able to see them.  One felt the
    cooked spaghetti and threw it in the air all over everyone causing
    general pandemonium.  It was great fun.
    
    The kids were mostly about 10 years old with one older boy (about 12
    and two little girls (8 years old).
    
    Cheryl

RE:  .139, decorating hats.

We have done this at two of my son's parties, ages 5 and 6 and it was a 
great hit both times.  We made pirate style hats from white paper.  I 
would make the hats in advance and staple them so they would stay 
together better.  I had several glue sticks, glitter, sequins, stickers 
and feathers.  All of the kids really enjoyed it, boys and girls alike.

Be sure to get a picture of the group with their new bonnets!

Norma

    re .141> "Eye ball soup" ... the kids got a little gag gift for eating it.
    
    If they did gag or didn't gag?  :-}
    
    re the spaghetti veins/worms tactile event, it's a riot how some of the
    "daintiest" kids will just plunge in up to the elbows and others barely
    touch a fingertip to it.  We make it a game to guess what the "gross
    foods collection" items *really* are, which takes a little of the
    scariness out of it for timid kids, and blindfolds are not mandatory. 
    We use cling peaches for hearts/livers; I tried using a semi-cooked
    cauliflower for a brain, but it turned out to be a greatly decomposed
    brain (too mushy!).  One year I did cocktail franks with slivered
    almonds (severed fingertips, mwahahahahaha!).  There was a bowl full of
    warts (Jujubes) and we had babies' ears too (dried apricots).  I tried
    dill pickle spears for tongues, but the pungent aroma gave them away.
    
    Stop me if I've suggested this in previous notes, but a MAJOR hit every
    year has been an under-the-table round-robin ghost story: whoever's
    holding the flashlight picks up the thread of the story and goes with
    it til general consensus demands that the flashlight be passed.  We
    save this for the last event of the party, and we *always* seem to 
    start it too late and have a heckuva time getting the kids out when 
    their parents come to pick them up!
    
    Leslie

    Hey Leslie, do you rent yourself out????
    Can I borrow you for my next kids' party??  Great ideas!!
    
    Lyn

    Thanks for the great ideas.  My brain would have never thought of some
    of them.  We did the spigettie thing at a party once when I was younger
    and it was a great hit, but these kids are only 3-4 yrs old and I think
    some of them would get kinda grossed out by this.  I think just
    decorating the place in spider webs, etc and having some type of party
    game will satisfy them.
    
    
    Thanks for all the great ideas.
    
    Liz

    Boy, the holidays are creeping up fast!  Only 45 more days til 
    Christmas, the sign reads at Walmart.  :-)
    
    I'm looking for ideas for gifts for the family, and close friends.
    Maybe crafty things (that aren't too complicated) that are/will be
    keepsakes.  We have a sixteen month old daughter, whom the family
    loves *very* much (first grandchild!) and they absolutely love 
    pictures and "keepsake" things.  
    
    Any new and exciting ideas?
    
    jc

    jc,
    Check the crafting and threads conferences for lots and lots 
    of wonderful ideas!
    
    Monica

    
    
    	And that crafting and threads conference can be found where? (I had
    it once nad then deleted it because I didn't have the time).
    
    	I go to Christmas craft fairs this time of year and buy ornaments
    to get ideas of homemade things. This year, Spencer is going to help
    paint pinecones that we will then add ribbon and some greens and a bird
    on top. (a 1 on the scale of difficult-ness) I plan to have the kids
    make a different ornament as gifts each year.
                                                                    
    				Wendy

    I just added the location to the related conferences note,
    just to "do the correct thing" here. 8-).
    
    Monica

    I had, and lost, the name and phone number of an excellent and popular
    magician in the eastern/central part of Massachusetts.  I just remember
    that his name was Steve L.  (I think his last name might have ended
    with -er.)  Does anyone know who I mean and perhaps even have a phone
    number?
    
    A soon-to-be-seven-year-old would be very grateful!
    
    -Tracy 
    

    Not sure if we're thinking of the same guy, but Steve Charrette, from
    Princeton, is *wonderful*.  508-422-8129.  He was recommended to me by
    my daughter; the Extended Day program at Beal School in Shrewsbury had
    him do a show, and Alex raved.  We had him do a 1-hour magic show for
    Alex's birthday (he had no problem traveling to Marlboro for that in
    January--yes it was snowing) and we've booked him for her upcoming
    birthday.
    
    Leslie

    I have two birthday parties coming up in January, for 8 to 10-year-old 
    boys.  What party games would be appropriate (and enjoyable) for
    them?  I'm hoping the weather will be nice so they can play basketball, 
    but I'd like to be prepared just in case...
    
    Thanks,
    Pam
       

    I had boys play charades. They loved it; it surprised me how much they
    liked the crazy ones like "belly dancer".
    
    Maybe a "football between the knees" race, or an egg on a spoon in your
    mouth race, or a Ninja show off.
    
    Have fun.

    Well, one party down, one to go.
    
    I had four games go over really well with the boys (8-10):
      
    -  Pass the grapefruit
    
            You stick a cold (!) grapefruit under your chin and, 
            without using your hands, pass it down the line.  This
            is a *very* giggly game.
    
    -  Pass the lifesaver
    
            Each kid sticks a toothpick in his mouth.  Without using your
            hands, you have to pass a lifesaver candy down the line.
    
    -  Penny throw
    
            You halfway fill a dishpan with water and float a small saucer
            on top.  Each kid gets 10 pennies and tries to toss the 
            pennies so they land (and *stay*) on the saucer.  This is
            a lot harder than it seems.  
    
    -  Basketball toss
    
            Put a small (bathroom-sized) wastepaper basket inside a 
            dishpan.  Each kid takes turns trying to dunk a small ball
            in the wastepaper basket.  I gave 'em two points for getting
            it in the basket, and 1 point for getting it in the dishpan.
            The ball was about 4.5-5" in diameter, so this was harder than it
            sounds.  This was the favorite game, although only one boy
            did really well at it.
    
    
    
    
    

    
    Ooof-dah!  *I* learned a lesson or three...
    
    I gave a 'small' prty for my 4 year old on Dec 31st.
    
    - small? YEah right.  By the time we invited kids she wanted, plus the
    kids whose parents were expecting an invitation, it had grown to nine
    kids,  (First lesson: LIMIT the number of kids - Even SOPHIE had
    sensory overload by the end)
    
    - ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 years..... that covers a WIDE range of
    skill levels ! 
    LESSON:(It's easier to limit the age range; at that stage there
    is too much diversity in terms of social and motor skills)
    
    - Mom's games, carefully researched, planned and plotted.... well,
    let's just say that NEXT YEAR we're going to go to the PLAYZONE, or
    McD's,  and leave the structured parties for later - say, about 7-8
    years old.
    (LESSON: Have TWICE as many games as youthink you need, in case the 
    planned-for game bombs)
    
    
    It *was* fun for the kids, but Mom was frazzled.
    
    Jamd

You need to be *really* careful when you have a party at a restaurant so
you have reasonable expectations of what they will provide (read the fine
print!).  I had parties for my sons at a "family restaurant" and they said
they'd provide "goodies", cake, and games.  HA!

*I* ended up entertaining the children because the restaurant had no games!
And the "goodies" ended up being one cheap plastic toy and a balloon.
Whoopee. 

    re. 157
    That toothpick game sounds a little dangerous to me, what if someone
    accidentally puts their eye instead of their mouth ?

Last month 5 year old Evan was invited to a friend's 6th birthday celebration
which was held in a gymnastics center!  The kids had a blast!  There was a
teenager who walked them through everything, starting with stretching,
then later doing trampolining, balance beam, and other activities.

He really enjoyed it, and we're hoping we'll be able to do it for his
birthday party.  You have to bring your own cake, but a big advantage is
that you don't have to worry about someone walking off with one of the kids
(something we are always *very* cautious about at a place like
Chuck E. Cheese).

     Carol

    RE: 160
    
    The toothpick only sticks out of their mouths about an inch-- it can't
    reach their eyes.  Also, these were older boys.  I certainly wouldn't
    advise this game for young children.
    
    The boys were very careful because *no one* wanted to get poked.  And I 
    was watching like a hawk...
    

                     <<< Note 28.162 by APSMME::STEGNER >>>
                               -< Not dangerous >-

	re toothpicks:

	A QTIP used in place of the toothpick is an option.

Rochelle    

>    I had four games go over really well with the boys (8-10):
      
>    -  Pass the grapefruit
    
>            You stick a cold (!) grapefruit under your chin and, 
>            without using your hands, pass it down the line.  This
>            is a *very* giggly game.

You think this goes over really well with boys 8-10, wait till you see how it 
goes over with mixed gender teenagers.  ;^)

Clay

    Re .153 and .154:
    
    For Caileigh's party, I ended up hiring magician Steve Charette (who was
    recommended by Leslie Woolner).  He was WONDERFUL!!  He even had a real
    white rabbit.  I would highly recommend him.
    
    Thanks, Leslie!
                                                     
    -Tracy

    
            My sister is looking to have a birthday party for my
            nefew.
    
            He is going to be 5 with about 20 kids for the party
            can anyone suggest a place in the Nashua area..
    
            (Recommendations)
    
            Donna

    First off, 20 5 year olds should definately not be done in the home (at
    least not without good hurricane insurance 8^) )...I suggest the
    Discovery Zone in the TJ MAXX Plaza on the MA/NH line off the Daniel
    Webster highway.  They are VERY new, so I'd suggest calling to find out
    what their party policy is.  Think of this place as a huge "Burger King
    Play Area".  It can be expensive and it will require parents to stay.
    
    -sandy
    

    Don't do the Discovery Zone unless you've won the lottery.  Here in
    Virginia they charge $10 per child just for cake, soda and a room. 
    To have pizza or hotdog $13.
    
    Pretty expensive birthday if you ask me.
    
    Laura

    
    		CHUCKY CHEESE!!!
    
    		Kids love this place....

    
    FWIW....It's actually:  Chuck E. Cheese

Yeah, the place with the big rat......

Dave :-)

    I just arranged a b.day party for my son for this Sat.  After ruling
    out places like the Discovery Zone (price) and Chuck E. Cheese
    (location), and Funworld (HOW do you get them out??!) we used another
    option.
    
    Jason has a friend, whose Mom is a clown.  For $55.00, she will provide
    us, this Sat. with a party for the kids, including a candle-making
    demonstration, where they make candles from sheets of beeswax, by
    rolling them.  Then after that she'll twist up balloons.  Each kid gets
    2 candles and 2 balloons, and the whole thing take a little over an
    hour.  The kids *LOVE* the candles, and I'm sure the balloons will be a
    hit.  
    
    She also offers a clown/magic show  or  a puppet show, each for an
    hour, for $75.00.  She does guitar-playing/singing for about 45 mins
    for 1 hr, and face painting for $20.00.  The candle-making is $35.00,
    and the ballooning is $20.00.
    
    Her name is Sandy Snay, and her number is 595-7768.  These are local
    prices - I don't know if they differ going out of the Nashua/Hollis
    area.  What really appealed to me was that I didn't have to worry about
    transporting a dozen kids!!
    
    Have Fun!
    Patty
    

    re .165 Whoops, Tracy, I forgot to say "you're welcome" and that I'm
    glad you had a great experience with Steve Charette.  We had him do his
    magic act for Alex's 9th birthday and he was a BIG hit again (youngest
    kid 6, oldest 10).  What a gorgeous white bunny with black "eyeliner"!
    
    Leslie

    This is in the category of Question AND Answer...
    
    My niece attended a child's birthday party last Saturday.  It sounded
    like a real nice place, but I don't have much detail.
    
    It was at a "ChuckECheese" type place in Framingham on Route 9.  I
    almost think it's the old Chateau DeVille.  My mother inlaw, who is
    usually the first to find fault, thought it was great,the party itself
    was well run, unhurried, and in general had a good time.  The kids had
    food, cake, maybe icecream, played on the games, and had extra time
    after for general play on the amusements.
    
    Unfortunately I don't have an exact name, or price details.  This party
    ran for two hours "officially" from 10:30 to 12:30, but the kids seemed
    to stay much later.  My niece came home with a sheet of stickers, as
    one of her goodies.
    
    Feel free to fill in any of the blanks and feedback, if anyone has
    utilized this facility.
    
    Lyn

    The name of the place describe -1 is BONKERS.  I don't think I'd
    recommend it for children under 8 years old.  The place is large and
    it's hard to keep track of little ones.
    
    Roberta

    Just a take off on the above, we gave my 7 year old a party at Chuck E.
    Cheese's in Natick in Sept and I was amazed at how organized they were
    there.  They were not expensive either with no minimum.  And the place
    is not that big so you cannot loose them.  I HATE comotion and was
    really thrilled that it wasn't crazy.  By the way the pizza is really
    good too.
    
    I highly recommend Chuck E. Cheese for BD parties.
    

    I wonder if the Natick version of Chuck E Cheese operates by a
    different set of rules than the one in Worcester?  I explored having a
    party there for my niece's 8th birthday late July.  They told me it was
    a $6.xx per person charge, 6 child minium.  The adults are expected to
    order alacarte, in other words order a separate pizza for the adults,
    the drinks are served in pitchers, so I guessed that was "sharable". 
    Each child get ONE piece of pizza, a square of cake, some coins for the
    rides and games, the birthday child gets an extra 25 tokens, and you
    are limited to a 2 hour use of the table.  If you don't book well in
    advance for weekends, you end up with something like 6:30 or 7:30 at
    night on Sunday, or 10:30a.m. on Saturday Morning!  
    
    In their defense though, they were "booked up" when I wanted to have
    the party, but were willing to add an extra table when I explained that
    her father was coming in from Florida to spend the weekend with her for
    her birthday.  All in all I thought it was a little pricey, and overall
    I felt I just couldn't control so many kids in such a large, spread out
    area.  
    
    I did the next best thing, I brought my neice, my nephew (her brother)
    and my son to ChuckECheese on her birthday, just the four of us.  I
    mentioned to the order taker that it was her birthday, she was given 25
    extra tokens as a "birthday present"!  I think we had a great time!
    
    Lyn

HELP!

I am looking for a birthday gift for my neice who lives in the mid-west
and will be ten years old the 6th of June. (I know, alittle late eh?)

Problem 1:	Has to be able to be mailed so shouldn't be that big.

Problem 2:	My husband hates "materialistic gifts" and thinks that
		things like games and things that make children think
		are better than the "barbie corvette" that will only
		make her want expensive things and not realize that
		life offers more than just makeup, dolls and clothes
		(isn't that what little girls love though?)  

Problem 3:	She lives in an area where she doesn't have alot of
		children to play with so games are not a good idea.
		She does have two siblings; a sister of 12 soon to
		be 13 (who is too old to play with her "baby" sister)
		and a brother who is 13 and definately doesn't like
		to play dolls or any "kid game".  They live on a 
		cow farm and have fun playing in the hay barn.

Price range?  Around $25.00.  She has troubles in school learning
things and recently has been diagnosed with a short attention span
so I thought maybe something fun that would help her learn would be
nice but I honestly don't know what to look for.  

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

cj

Gift certificate?  Sears?  National book chain?  An educational toy store?

Clay  

    
    Books!  And for lots of ideas, there was a note erlier that had
    suitable books for that age.
    
    JAmd

    
    How about craft type things??  "Learn to Crochet", needlepoint or that
    type of stuff?  Include intruction books, needles and yarn.  Origami
    (sp?) - the art of paper folding - a good kit can be $20.00+, with a
    detailed instruction book.  And it's *NEAT* to be able to show your
    friends how to make a balloon out of paper.  Or .... you MIGHT be able
    to find a dollhouse kit - give her something to do by herself, and
    still let her play w/ her dollhouse? (plus it gives you LOTS of ideas
    for later gifts).
    
    And when all else fails, there's always a savings bond (yawn...) (-:
    
    Patty

	   I didn't have alot of friends as a child either... my favorite
	   things to do, both as a child and now, were reading and
	   crafts.  I LOVED the Bobsey Twins books.  As far as crafts
	   go, I did sand art, string art, and other kits when I was
	   a kid... have since graduated to tole painting and sewing.

	   Karen

    I too would have suggested books or even a very special baby doll for
    her room...something pretty and lacy to keep on her bed (and play with
    those times she feels she needs company)...
    
    -sjd
    

    Thanks so much for the quick replies.  I also forgot to mention
    that Amy has some allergies so I am glad that no one said stuffed
    animals.
    
    I love the book ideas and will pursue this!  I remember Ramona.
    Does anyone remember "The Silver Crown"?  Can't remember the author but
    my sixth grade teacher read this to us and I re-read it in the 9th
    grade as a summer book project because I remember loving it.  
    
    The doll idea is nice but her sister is my godchild and I started a
    collection of porcelain dolls so I wouldn't want to get Amy the same
    type of gift.  BTW, the Bridle and Spur restaurant in Groton MA also
    sells old, rare, porcelain and just plain special dolls for those of
    you that are interested.  They have some real neat ones.  I got a Peter
    Pan porcelain one last year for Stephanie that she adored.  Anyways..
    
    Thanks again!  Any ideas of what stores in the Greater Maynard Area
    offer lots of children's books?  I would like to get like three or four
    from the same author.
    
    cj
    

>    Thanks again!  Any ideas of what stores in the Greater Maynard Area
>    offer lots of children's books?  I would like to get like three or four
>    from the same author.

Actually, there were reasons that I specifically suggested a gift 
certificate.  

First, at that age, my kids enjoyed getting gift certificates because they 
then got to go down and select their own books (this may not apply to her; up 
to a certain age, most kids prefer getting the tangible item, rather than 
cash or gift certs).  

Second, that way you don't run the risk of getting a book that she already 
has, or doesn't like, and it's cheaper to send.  

And third, specific to her, kids with certain types of learning disabilities 
can have unusual tastes in books.  My daughter has a very mild learning 
disability.  At that age she would prefer some books for reasons I didn't 
understand.  As it turned out, one of her considerations was the size of the 
type and the amount of white space on the pages.

Not sure what book stores may have outlets in the midwest.  Lauriats?  
Waldenbooks?

As for bookstores in the GMA, The Paper Store (as Maynard as you can get) and 
Royal Discount (Powder Mill Plaza) both have good selections, and are pretty 
knowledgable about what kids are reading.  Or was your emphasis on "greater" 
as opposed to "Maynard"?

Clay

    How about a gift subscription to Highlights magazine?  (I used to
    see them all the time in doctor's office waiting rooms.)  It's fun
    for them, but also has lots of games and puzzles to make them
    think.  And the gift will last all year...every month she'll get
    a new issue.
    
    I just got one for my 11 year old daughter who was having difficulty
    in school, and it has helped tremendously!
    
    Noranne                                                 

    Actually, the area was "greater" Maynard as I will be travelling right
    through it from Littleton to Sudbury this weekend.  Royal whatever will
    probably have the best selection.  Paper Store in Maynard is smaller
    and I am sure, more expensive.
    
    I understand your reasoning for the gift certificate but I have a
    personal perference of getting her something to unwrap because in the
    earlier years I have given bonds and such and it just didn't go over as
    well.  As she gets older, money will probably be the best idea but for
    now, while I can still get her something I would like to.  I will
    consult her mother for specifics about what books she likes as I am sure
    she will know what she prefers and what she has.
    
    Thanks again!
    cj
    
                                                                        

    I seem to remember that when I was at that age, my FAVORITE books were
    the Judy Blume collection.  Books like "Hello God, It's Me Margaret",
    "Tales of a Fouth Grade Nothing", "Blubber", etc.  They were really
    good books, and really taught children some of the things they'll have
    to deal with at that age (pier pressure, puberty, etc.).
    
    REALLY good books that I would recommend to ANY child about that age.
    
    Holly
    

    If your niece likes mysteries, look at the books called Be-Puzzled.  My
    sister (who is an English/Reading teacher) told me about these.  Said
    there were a great book for children (and adults).  They have different
    reading levels--it's a story you build a puzzle as you read and
    solve the mystery at the end.  I have not seen them yet so can't
    comment on these personally.  This may be something you'd like to check
    out.
    
    Julie
    

    I've read a few notes in here in terms of activities for kids b-day
    parties and one that is mentioned a few times is cupcake decorating
    (cup cake in ice cream cones).  One (dumb) question.  Do I bake the
    cupcakes right in the cones?  How far up do I fill them and do I bake
    them for the same amount of time as "regular" cupcakes?
    
    My son is turning 3 shortly and we are having a few of his daycare
    friends over to celebrate.  Thought this would be a fun activity for
    them.  But that means no cakes/candles to blow out right?  
    
    Do 3 year olds (most within a few months either way) get the jist of
    Pin the Tale on the Donkey?  (It's been a while.......).  Thanks.

    Fill the cones between 1/2 and 3/4 the way up - just like regular
    cupcakes and bake them standing up in the cones - bake the regular
    time for cupcakes and check with a cake tester to make sure they
    are done - pam 24547

    What the world needs is a rack to hold *sugar cones* in the oven. 
    Then we can recycle waffle cones with the rest of the cardboard
    ]:}
    
    Leslie

    I still need a bit more help.  A few responses in here had mentioned
    filling a small wading pool and giving each kid a "fishing" pole to
    catch fish.  One note said they made/cut out fish, attached paper clips
    and the poles had magnets on the end - thus making it easy to retrieve
    a "fish".  My question is what material would you use to make these
    fish and do you just use small sticks for poles?  Another response said
    they used "magnet" fish.  Help..sounds like a fun game for the kids but
    I'm stumped as to how to go about it - any clues?

    I have an idea for the fish.  Someone gave my littlest one some
    plastic fish as a baby gift.  I'll try to describe them:  They are
    not a solid piece of plastic, but are a piece of plastic formed
    into the outline of a fish.  You hook them together to make a
    chain.  I've seen them in the baby section at the grocery stores.
    They come in 4 colors (I think!).  You could easily hook a paper
    clip on them (and they wouldn't go to pieces in the water!) They
    wouldn;t float, though!  Hmmmmm - well, just a thought!  Lila
    
                                                               

    I did this for a sunday school class of three year old.  I used thick
    paper colored paper, cut them into fish shapes, slipped a paperclip on
    the "nose" and dropped them on a blue sheet or blanket.  Then the kids
    had a small stick (like the kind we roast marshmallows on) with a
    string tied to the end and a magnet tied to the end of the string. 
    Make sure the fish are not in a large "school" so the kids pick up one
    at a time...depending on the age of the kids, you should set the rules. 
    Kids under the age of 4 should have no real rules other than no
    highsticking and no eating the fish.
    
    -sandy
    

    
    At several parties last year the parents purchased a bale of hay and
    spread it out in the yard. In the hay they would "hide" penny candy
    (lollipops, gum, hard candy, mini chocolate bars, etc..) each child
    was given a brown paper bag to fillup. My children ages 4 & 5 at the
    time loved it. The kids rolled around in the hay digging for candy,
    throwing it at each other and overall having a great time. If you have
    alot of kids at various ages I would recommend you do 2 sessions,
    one for youger kids and one for the older ones.
    
    Joan

    re the fish
    
    Another alternative is to buy  the rod and fish at KayBee Toy Store -
    $4.99 gives you a rod with magnet, 4-5 fish, and a small net. I bought
    them for my son's 4 yr. old party a couple years ago, for each child,
    and that was their take-home party favor too.
    
    

    Thanks for all your suggestions thus far on the "fishing".  We are
    going with as suggested I believe isn 28.194 (plastic fish).  Found
    these at CVS and they should do fine.  Also liked the bale of hay 
    idea but ended up purchasing a pinata instead.
    
    Now my other little dilema.  Party is this Saturday and the forecast is
    rain.  Our backyard is fenced with a swingset and sandbox so I figured
    this would keep them somewhat occupied while we cooked up the hotdogs
    and hamburgs and that we could do the fishing outdoors in the wading
    pool.  Due to the forecast fishing will likely be in the garage.  What
    would you suggest for "indoor" activites.  Again they are mainly 3
    year olds - fairly short attention spans.  Thought about musical chairs
    but then there is always a "loser" right?  Do you think 3 year olds 
    get the jist of pin the tale on the donkey?  I don't want anything too
    structured.  I'm sure more than likely they'll just run around the 
    house and be goofy anyways but thought I'd try to come up with an
    indoor activity in the event the forecast holds true.  Thanks.
    

    Instead of musical chairs, we played musical "placemats" on the living
    room floor.  No hardware to cause injury.  We also played "pop the
    balloon" where each child would have a large air-filled ablloon and
    they would somehow have to pop it by sitting on it.  This worked best
    on a carpeted floor because 1) it took longer, 2) when they did pop it,
    they landed on a soft floor.  We also played "pin the...": for the
    April party it was cotton balls as a bunny tail (you can curl a piece
    of tape on the cotton ball, for the coming season it can be a tail on
    the kite, a smile or nose on the clown.  Another fun thing to do was
    just let them play.  We usually had about a half hour of planned games,
    a half hour for eating, and the remaining time for unplanned (play with
    new toys) play.  If you are using the cone/cake routine (I don't
    remember if you were the one who asked earlier), I let the kids
    decorate their own cakes with the icing gel tubes in different colors,
    as well as colored candy toppings.  3 year olds do very well without
    planned activities.  It's when they get older and understand what "I'm
    bored" means that they parties get harder to work with.
    
    -sandy
    

    At a friend's party, my son did "panning for gold".  A child's wading
    pool was filled with sand and several well-wrapped candies and small
    toys were hidden in the sand.  The kids had a ball digging in and
    finding the "gold". 
    Sarah

    
    As kids we always used to play "Button, button, who has the button?" -
    take some "small" object (you could use special party favors), show the
    kids, and hide it.  The one who finds it gets to keep it.  Or you can
    just have them "find" it, and not do prizes if that'd work better.
    
    Maybe rent a Barney video or perhaps a participatory video for them? 
    "Simon Says" is easy indoors, .... I think I'm forgetting how "young" 3
    is (-:
    
    

  >  We also played "pop the
  >  balloon" where each child would have a large air-filled ablloon and
  >  they would somehow have to pop it by sitting on it. 

We did that, with an embellishment being that I stuffed a small plastic 
figurine in each balloon prior to blowing it up (doing it is a pain in the 
a**)

We had to find an alternative for one child who was terrified of the noise of 
popping balloons.  The others had fun.

Clay

    RE .-1
    
    To make adding the small figure a little easier, use a "tube" of
    plastic or something like that, that the prize will fit through, slide
    the end of the balloon onto one end of the tube, the prize through the
    other, and you're done.  If the balloons are big enough, you might be
    able to get away w/ a toilet paper roll.  PVC pipe works great, and
    once the balloon's "open" you can put anything in - toys, candy,
    another balloon, or whatever.  

re: .203

Great idea, wish I had known or though of that.

Also, be very cautious with balloon, especially the busted ones.  They can be 
a choking hazard, a very nasty one since they tend to get sucked in, and they 
"stick" to the throat.

Clay

    I just wanted to provide a little update.
    
    Magnetic "fishing" in the wading pool was a BIG hit with the 3 year
    olds.  They kept going back to do it again and again and again.
    Cupcake decorating was lots of fun too - what a mess. 
    
    So, if others out there wondered as I did about the attention span
    of 3 year olds - these definetely held their attention.  Thanks for
    your help everyone.

    
    I would like to have a birthday party for my 5 year old daughter and
    her friends and I was wondering if any of you have any ideas other
    than the typical Ground Round, McDonalds, Chuck-E-Cheese route.
    
    Can you think of any unusual ideas that would involve some fun
    activities in a safe, well-controlled environment?
    
    I live in the Worcester area.
    

Not sure if this will apply, but yesterday I went to the Seattle
aquarium and my 2.5 year old loved it.  I noticed they did kids
parties on Saturdays and Sundays ($75 for ten kids and two adults for
those of you in the neighborhood).  I thought it would be fun for a 
group of 5-6 year olds.  Just a thought.

    re .206
    You might try the Kid's Discovery Zone (not sure if that's the right
    name).  It's a huge indoor play area.  However, perhaps it's too
    similar to the things you've already mentioned.
    
    Our son likes candlepin bowling, and several of his friends have had
    parties at the local lane.
    
    

We had our 6 year old party at a gymnastics center.  The kids had a blast.
Other places sometimes concern me because there's often so many kids and
so many strange adults that I worry about stranger abduction (I know, 
it's highly unlikely).  Still, this place had no other people there other
than 2 adult workers and the kids and some of the parents who usually
stayed on the bleachers and watched.  We provided the cake and they provided
the paper goods, and it worked out GREAT!  The kids *loved* it!

     Carol 

My daughter turns 7 on Aug 20, every year we normally have a big bq at
Leominster State Park which is about a half-hour from us.  This year my thought
was to have a very small "pick a couple friends and go to Canobie Lake or
somewhere similar.  Well, admission is $16 a head, which gets to be expensive
even with a few kids.  I called Canobie for group rates, and they say that the 
Marriott handles bookings/catering for them.  I called the Marriott and the
person in charge is out.  I'm assuming this option would be used if you have a
big party (but I don't know).   

So now I'm in a confused state, running out of time.  So, if anyone can offer 
any information regarding any of the following (or other ideas) I would greatly
appreciate it.   

Location, we are in Ayer MA so we would be willing to go anywhere between 
Worcester/Framingham/Nashua/Burlington area.

  1 - Has anyone been to(or have) a party at Canobie?

  2 - A place which has a pool and does party stuff

  3 - Name of a gymnastics center w/info discussed in past notes

  4 - Information about Worcester Science Museum parties

Looking specificall for rates, what it includes, minimum # children
requirements, etc.

Your very quick feedback would be greatly appreciated

Karen Agule
STOWOA::AGULE

    
    All of those seem like such expensive party ideas.

    We think that the kids birthday parties should be a big deal but we put
    the time into design (I am, after all, a designer by profession).

    You might want to try the Penny Whistle Party books, they have complete
    party ideas for kids of all ages. A friend of mine is borrowing one of
    my books now to get Dinosaur party ideas for her three year old's
    party.

    Our next party is October 01 (Spencer will be three) he has shown
    interest in a Space (Star Trek Party). I've been kicking ideas around
    and will soon start putting things together (tin foil spaceships, cut
    out planets and stars hanging from the ceiling). It'll be great fun for
    all (we still invite adults to the kids parties)

    			Wendy

re: .210

A few comments, off the cuff

Discount coupons to *Canobie are widely available.  My wife just gave away a 
few that offered the $16 passes for $12.  Can't offhand remember specific 
places I've seen them, sorry, but I do remember seeing a lot of them.

Whalom Park may be less expensive, and, if I remember correctly is just fine 
for 7 year olds.

An "event" that worked out well for us a couple of times was miniature golf. 
Some of the miniature golf courses have deals for groups.

What's wrong with the barbecue, or similar outing?  Is your daughter 
complaining?  Ain't nothing wrong with free-form parties.  The best party we 
ever had was just going down to one of the elementary schools with some 
athletic equipment.

If I remember correctly, at that age, my kids still wanted to invite a lot of 
kids.  Keeping the list to a manageable number may be a problem.  The parties 
started to become smaller when they reached 9, 10, and 11.  Last year, my son 
(turning 10) opted for only two friends, and we went to a baseball game in 
Pawtucket.

* for those of you not around the GMA, Canobie Lake is an amusement park; 
Digital used to have the company outing for GMA employees there.

Clay  

    My daughter is 7 and was invited to a Skating Party at Roll-On America
    in Lancaster, Mass.   She had such a great time, that she has requested
    her next birthday party at Roll-On.   I'm not sure what the prices are
    yet, since I haven't looked into it, but they do have different type of
    offerings.   They can provide a cake or you can bring one of your own.
    Each child gets a piece of pizza.   I believe that they also have
    someone available to help children who haven't learned how to skate
    yet.  (not sure about this though). 
     

We live in a two-family house which is very small and also has a small backyard.
This is one reason we have been shying away from an at home party.  We also are
aware that one of her friends is allergic to animals, we have both a cat and a
dog, so if we did it at home, we would have to have a backup plan in case of bad
weather.

As mentioned previously, we normally do have a BQ at Leominster State Park, but
I've noticed its alot busier there since they lowered the admission so it's not
as quiet as it used to be, it's also alot of work and effort as well. 

She loves to rollerblade and is very good, but wasn't sure about her friends,
it's also something she does alot so it really wouldn't be that "special" of 
an event to go to Roll-on.

We also don't live in a "typical" nieghborhood with lots of kids around, she
didn't get addresses/numbers from alot of her friends at school, so number isn't
a real issue.  The issue I'm having, is her wanting to invite "friends" that she
barely sees, thus the compromise of going smaller but doing "something" special.

I have the discount coupons for Canobie but they are only good M-F, which is 
impossible to schedule.  She's in camp daily until the 19th, I have commitments
for work during the whole following week, so.....  Whalom is okay, I don't think
there is any comparison to Canobie, my daughter and friend are real amusement
park kids.  She's been going on "big" rides for 3 years.

    Roll-on has a lot more than just rollerskating.  They have "laser
    storm", wich is a great game of laser tag.  They also have a small
    mini-golf course.  They're really a great place for parties.  Call the
    number and you get a recording with all of their rates.
    
    Holly
    

    my 6 six year old is having a birthday party in our back yard and i'd
    like to get some ideas on different things to do with the kids... it's
    this weekend and she's having 10 little friends over... it will be 2
    hours long so any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated... i'm
    already getting a pinata'. if this note is duplicated any place, pls
    feel free to move...thks
    

    
    
    I'm not sure if there is a better place to put this, I check around and
    couldn't find anything.  So please move is necessary.
    
    
    
    
    I have started thinking about Christmas gifts for my children, and
    wondered if anybody has any experience with 2X-L.  I have been thinking
    about it for our daughter (who will be 5 at Christmas time).  We also
    have a 16 month old and thought she even might enjoy some of the things
    it does.  
    
    I've read the few adds that I have found for it, but was wondering if the 
    kids really enjoyed it and used it after the novelty wore off.  I know
    there are other cassettes you can purchase to expand the use -- how
    much do they run, and where can you find them.
    
    
    		Robin

    What *is* it?
    
    Leslie

It's a "robot".  It plays a tape and asks yes/no true/false and similar
questions.  The child is supposed to hit the appropriate button and the 
robot responds.

Evan got this at about the same age.  He really liked it and still does.
However, it was too advanced for him.  He didn't get the hang of the buttons
at first.  He also couldn't begin to answer the questions correctly.  
About a year later something happened and 2XL no longer let you change tapes. 
We sold it at a garage sale a few weeks ago (Evan is now 6, and he got to
keep the money). I wouldn't recommend it for a child younger than 6, and if I
had to do it over again, would probably not buy it for a child younger than 7. 
Your milage may vary, though.  :-) 

    Carol

    Robin,
    
    You may want to look into "Arty the Smarty" instead.  
    The cards are simple enough for a child to insert and 
    the instructions are pretty simple (Arty tells the child
    to choose a GREEN button, then after the child selects the
    GREEN button, he is instructed to choose a RED button).
    
    There are several cards that cover a good variety of activities.  
    Matching and songs kept Steven's interest when he received 
    the toy at age 3.  Now 2 yrs later, he's getting into the math, 
    spelling cards.
    
    		Linda

    Help!  I need some ideas for an 8 year-old birthday slumber party
    this weekend!
    
    My daughter has invited some friends over for her birthday/slumber
    party.  Unknowing to me, she made out her own invitations and took
    them to school.  I'm not sure yet how many are coming, so far we
    have 4...
    
    any ideas?  
    
    Thanks,
    PEggy
    

    Peggy,
    
    Having two daughters (aged 9 and 11), I am a VETERAN of several
    birthday sleepovers!!
    
    The key thing is to make this easy on yourself. First of all, make sure
    all kids bring sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, whatever will make
    them comfortable for sleeping (tho, as history has shown me, they won't
    be doing much of that!). Then, make sure you talk to any of the
    mothers of children with whom you are not familiar to find out if they
    have any likes/dislikes/health problems/allergies, etc. Make sure the
    mother/father/guardian of all guests knows what time to bring the child
    and - more importantly - when to pick her up the next day (don't make
    this TOO early as you will need time to get everyone
    organized/fed/house picked up (yes, definitely have them help with
    that, kids are always eager to help in other people's houses!), but
    don't make it too late either as you will need time to recover (an
    afternoon nap is always a MUST following this event!).
    
    Once you've established all that, you'll want to think of food (I get
    pizza delivered, a cake at the bakery and pick up some ice cream),
    decorations (party plates, cups, tablecloth, hats, balloons) and some
    activities (favorites are Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Twister, Hide and
    Go Seek, a treasure hunt (you can even use the presents brougt to the
    party as the treasure that gets hidden)). And, definitely don't forget
    to go to the video store and get in some movies for "settling down"
    time. This year, the Limbo (with a boom box and a broomstick) turned
    out to be a big hit at the 11 year-old's party.
    
    Once all guests have arrived, we lay out the ground rules: no food
    fights (seriously, I forgot to mention this one year and disaster
    ensued while I was in the bathroom!), everyone is included on every
    activity (girls of this age are great for making one or two girls
    be the "left outs"), and they can stay up until such-and-such an
    hour (this year I let them stay up as late as they wanted as long
    as they were quiet - and they WERE!!!). We usually turn over the living
    room to the gang and retire to our bedroom (door open) around 11.
    
    The important thing is to let them know the rules, provide the "props",
    then let them decide what fun is - and earplugs might help too!!!
    
    Good luck and have fun...
    
    Nancy

	I remember a slumber party I went to at about the age of 8 or 9.
	It was my first slumber party and I was AFRAID to stay up all
	night (even though by midnight everybody was probably asleep).  I 
	can't really explain quite what I was afraid of but I remember 
	crying and trying to sleep when all the other girls were having 
	pillow fights and whatever.  The mother had no idea of my
	discomfort.... so suggestion for you would be alert if one of
	the girls was like me.  

	I believe that part of the problem is that I was only friends
	with the hostess so I was very uncomfortable and couldn't open
	up to the other girls.

	Karen

Another suggestion is to get some videos.  Don't remember how old she was 
(probably 9th birthday), my daughter got a whole bunch of "Ramona" videos, 
which not only provided something for them to watch at night, but also 
provided something for the early risers to do.

We've used pizza, as suggested in -.1, and also spaghetti.  For breakfast, 
we've usually done pancakes.

And yes, if you work at it (may mean being a real meanie) you CAN get them to 
be quiet and go to sleep.

Have fun.

Clay

    Good earplugs help a lot, as does a good sense of humor.  

re: .223

Excellent point.  At eight or nine, there are still many children who don't
feel comfortable sleeping in someone else's home, and there are parents who
don't allow their kids to do that yet.  I suggest that you make it clear
that if someone doesn't want to, or isn't allowed to, stay for the
sleepover, that they are welcome to come anyway; just have the cake and
presents before they leave.  Worked out fine for us.

Another activity that we've used was to get some disposable aluminum baking
pans and let everyone make their own mini-cake, then decorate it.  Eight
might be a bit young for that; I don't remember which birthday it was.  You 
can modify to make it age appropriate, such as making the cakes ahead of 
time, or using cupcakes.  We took the legs off a table, so they could sit on 
the floor, but still have a work surface.  They ended up getting frosting all 
over each other

Clay

  

    One other thing .. if you order pizzas, you can ask them to cut the
    pizza to "party size".  They make twice the amount of cuts and the
    pieces are small.  Much easier for smaller hands to hold.
    
    Holly
    

    	I am planning my daughter's second birthday party for Saturday,
    October 29.  My husband and I discussed having Barney come to her party
    but thought she was a bit young and might even be frightened.  Well 
    Barney was the Kid's Fest this weekend at Mount Wachusett and she was
    thrilled.  She has talked about nothing since and has been walking 
    around the house singing "I Love You".
    
    	Can anyone point me in the right direction to go about having 
    Barney come to her party.  I hope it's not too late being Halloween
    weekend, but I am going to give it a try.  I live in Clinton, so 
    anywhere in the Leominster/Sterling/Worcester/Marlboro area is
    close by.
    
    	Any help would be appreciated!!!!
    
    					Thanks,
    
    					Andrea

    re: .0
    
    you might want to try a local entertainment company, the same folks
    that offer the singing telegram could probably scare up a barney or
    two.
    
    -dan

    I've been calling around and having no luck finding
    a place in New Hampshire that has a "Barney" that can
    come to my sons birthday party.  A fellow parenting parent
    was kind enough to gave me some Massachusetts numbers, but 
    none of them will travel to NH.
    
    Have any of you NH parents had Barney (or another character) come 
    to your home, and if so, would you mind passing some 
    names/phone numbers my way?
    
    Thanks in advance.
    
    Denise

    
    I'm curious to know how much parents end up spending on birthday party
    grab  bags these days.  I realize it depends on the age of the child, but
    gearing it to the 5-8 year olds, how much do you usually spend?  As I
    have never been big on distributing candy, I tend to fill bags with
    4-5 trinkets, and ....maybe, one lollipop.  Some items- 
                             
                    Crayons,        .50-.99
                    Pencils,        .15-.25
                    Rulers,         .25-.50
                    Finger Puppets  .75 - .99
                    Whistles        .50-.75
                    Bubbles         .33 -.50
                    Plast. Rings    .50-.99
                     etc.
    
    I can usually plan on spending anywhere from $2.50-$3.50 per child, not
    mentionning the time spent running around to collect bargain items. I
    understand some parents may take the time to 'make' items for their
    grab bags, but for those of you who, like myself, are more inclined
    to 'just run out and get them', what do you consider reasonable?
    
    -DW
      

    For my girls (one 5 and one 7) parties last year I did away with the
    grab bags and gave each child a book.  The books were $1.95 each.  Some
    of the titles were; Just me and my Dad, Just go to Bed, Going Shopping
    with Mom. Each child received a differant book and it was up to
    Lauren/Amanda which who got what.  My kids call them the critter books, 
    I can't think of the author's name.
    
    Roberta

>     My kids call them the critter books, I can't think of the author's
>     name.

Mercer Meyer (Mayer?) I believe.

Thanks for the reminder.  We did this once (it was older kids, maybe sixth 
grade, so the books were different), but it was a big hit, both with the kids 
and their parents.  Only problem was that a couple of kids would have gotten 
stuck with books that they already had, so we had to exchange a couple.

I agree that most "party favor" bags are a waste of money.  I think spending 
a bit more, and getting something that has lasting value is a great idea.

Clay

    There's a mail order company, I think it's the Oriental
    Trading Post, that sells party favors and other kinds of
    trinkets, etc, for ultra-low prices.  We've ordered from
    them in the past and found that we can fill party bags
    for 6-8 kids for less than $10 total.
    
    I'll post the address and 800 number if I remember to
    look it up.
    

    
    When you were,.. say 5 or 6, would you have wanted 1 book, or a bag
    full of goodies?..:-).  As a parent, I do indeed appreciate the
    value of giving a book, or one substantial item, but most young kids
    (my own specifically) would vehemently argue. In the past, when I
    considered myself the 'expert' on what kids should receive, I 
    saw the kids tear open the grab bag, find the book (for example),
    and then turn grab bag upside down/shaking it, looking for the 
    'real stuff' with this disappointed look on their face.  I realize
    most grab bags are basically 'junk', but kids love it, and that
    opinion is constantly reinforced by the sheer look on their
    face as they eagerly dive into their grab bags!  I'm not trying
    to educate them, or reinforce values, rather I'm offering them
    some simple, silly, fun.
    
    And, yes, I am familiar with Oriental Trading Post, but have never
    been that organized in the past to mail away in advance for items
    .. :-(.  Further, our parties have been smaller, 5-6, and most orders
    sell in much larger quantities (dozen, 30, gross, etc)  I would probably
    find myself with partial bags stashed in a draw somewhere, that I would
    find during spring cleaning...  I guess this is just reality in our
    household :-).  
     
    -DW
    
    that the goal??

    
    I agree with .235.   Most kids would prefer a bag of inexpensive
    "junk" over a book.  However, I usually include some sort of 
    book - like the mini-golden books - in the collection of stuff
    I put in the goody bags.   Just as an indicator of how well
    they went over with some of the kids (NOT), one of the mothers
    recycled them for her goody bags at a party for her child a few
    weeks later (a bit tacky.....)
    
    If you want to keep the cost down, I'd suggest going with some
    of the things that you can get several to a package.  For 
    example, bangle bracelets, plastic animals or dinosaurs, 
    colorful pencils or pens, sheets of stickers.  I've also seen
    multipacks of miniature play-doh that would be nice.  I've had 
    good luck finding things at both Wal-Mart and the Xmas tree shop.
    
    Jason just went to a party where the favor was a Nerf turbo 
    football - a very nice gift - but it almost seemed like he
    liked the junk bags better 8^).
    
    cj/
    

    When my kids turned two, I did grab-bags with some real small things,
    but I also made all the girls [my son was the only boy at the party]
    little hair scrunchies from some scrap fabric that I had.  They went
    over _very_ well.  And this year, I threw in a package of seeds for the
    kids because I know all their parents had gardens, and I've seen most
    of them outside helping.  
    
    Just a few different ideas.

    Oriental Trading Company's phone number is 800-228-2269.  Lots
    of neat "junk" that kids like!!   Lila
    
    

    I'm Having a Halloween party form my 3 year old.  I found some cute
    ghosts and vampires made by Playmobil for the grab bags.  They were
    on sale and probably averaged about $2.75 but they are a really nice,
    well made toy.  I'll put them in a grab bag with candy and cookies.
    
    
    				Mary
    
    ps.  lego and duplo also make small sampler toys in about the same
    price range.
    
    

    
    My daughter, Breanne, will be 6 in November.  Instead of a goody bag
    allready made up, where going to give out empty bags and have a
    pinata.  Then the kids can fill up their own bags.   
    
    Has anyone seen a power ranger pinata?
    
    Kirsten
    

    At my daughter's school they are really having a strong emphasis on
    reading and the books went over really well.  The kids even got to
    together later in the month to exchange books for their BOOKS and
    BEYOND challenge.
    
    Roberta

    Any suggestions for a Christmas grab gift for a 5-year-old boy? 
    They're having a Christmas party at my kids' daycare, and they're doing
    a $5 exchange grab gift.  I can handle the gift for the 9-month-old
    girl, but I'm not so sure on the boy.  Suggestions??
    
    Cathy

    
    Action Figures - Batman, Power Rangers, X-Men, etc.
    Transformers - some of the smaller ones are in the $5 range
    
    If you're not sure on those (since most come with some sort
    of weapon), how about a dinosaur (the Jurassic Park ones 
    are "real" looking)?   Or, some sort of car that does
    something - doors that open, close, pull-back motor, etc?
    Matchbox has something called "Color FX" that change color
    in hot/cold water.   
    
    cj/mom of Jason(age 5)

    Playmobil has a lot of things for boys in this price range. 
    Motorcylces, police, knights, pirates...
    
    			Mary

    Anybody ever have a child's birthday party at Pappa Gino's?  I'm
    scrambling around at the last minute, after having discovered that my
    first choice (Science Center) doesn't do parties for kids under 6.  
    David will be 5. My house is just too small to provide any fun activities 
    for a pile of kids. Playland is closed, Chuck E. Cheese is completely 
    out of the question (too much of a zoo).  Any suggestions for Worcester
    appreciated, and FAST!  Probably 7-8 kids, all around the age of 5.
    Sarah

    
    With only 6 shopping days until Christmas, this is becoming
    urgent:
    
    My 5-year-old son, Jason, doesn't want anything spectacular
    for Christmas.  He has a couple of $10 items on his list
    but that's it.   So what's the problem?   I guess the problem
    is mine - but I like the idea of having at least one special
    toy that is larger and/or something that he *really* wants.  
    The root of this problem is probably that he already has 
    everything a kid could want (...but that's another topic..)
    
    So, I'm looking for GREAT/SPECIAL gift ideas for a 5-year old 
    boy.  His interests are along the lines of Zbots, Transformers, 
    etc.   Power Rangers are out - the ThunderMegazord was to have 
    been his "big" present - but I returned it as he's no longer 
    interested in Power Rangers.   I did buy a SEGA Genesis system 
    but am not sure I'm going to give it as I'm not totally sold
    on the idea of video games (and neither is he).
    
    Thanks in advance,
    cj/

    Tickets for something way-cool?  Circus, Sesame Street Live,
    Nickelodeon's Family Double Dare (whatever's on the Ticketmaster
    coming-attractions list)?
    
    Leslie

    When my Jason was 5, he was *WICKED* into money .... (okay, he still
    is), and so we started a coin-collection for him.  My sister did it
    really, went to a hobby shop (Eric Fuch's I believe), and bought a
    bunch of coin books, and then took a large jar of change, and gave him
    that for his b.day.  You can also buy "rare" coins, and/or include
    dollar bills ($2.00 bills, Canadian Currency, that sort of stuff).  I
    happened to get lucky once, at a bank, they had several Canadian dollar
    coins - gold colored - they're pretty neat looking.  Susan B. Anthony
    dollars are neat too.
    
    If he's not into money at all, another possibility is a remote control
    vehicle.  There's TONS to choose from, and you can spend a serious
    amount of money, if that's what you want to do.
    
    There's a lot of science/nature type stores around now - kids that age
    seem to be fascinated with how things work/grow.  Maybe a small
    greenhouse, or a human body model or something along those lines.  When
    Chris was that age, he got a microscope from my brother - he *LOVED*
    it, and was looking at EVERYTHING he could find!
    
    Hope this helps!
    Patty

    Carol,
    
    We are in the same situation.  Steven didn't have anything
    on his "list" either.  We ended up getting alot (too many)
    little things.  We did get the FP Castle and Mighty Max
    Dragon Island.  He really likes playing with the mighty max
    toys.  Personally, I think the biggest hit will be when 
    Santa brings an airbrushed White Ranger sweatshirt with
    his name on it.  He fell in love with it at the mall and
    hasn't stopped talking about it.  I splurged on it because
    he just didn't have anything spectacular on his list.
    
    Gee, this reply probably hasn't helped...sorry!  BTW,
    the FP Castle has a big box ;-)
    
    	Linda

    
    How about sports equipment? Just rollerblades.
    Or start a collection of something he likes?
    Or bring him to a real sport game?
    
    
    
    Eva

    What if he doesn't get a big present?  What if he got all the little
    presents on his list?  How would he feel? 
    
    I don't want to be a spoilsport - these are the kinds of things I'm
    thinking about this year.  Do we really "up the ante" each year by
    trying to come up with the amazing gift that will "make" Christmas, and
    when we do - do we minimize how great it is to get all those little
    things on the list?   Maybe it would be most amazing to get all that
    you asked for!
    
    That said - Lego is always a hit at my house, from Duplo on up - there
    are about a million sets to pick from in any price range for any age.
                                                               

    > What if he doesn't get a big present?  What if he got all the little
    > presents on his list?  How would he feel?
    
    I'm not sure how he'd feel.  It's not the size or the price of an item
    that is the issue to me; it's more the desire to have it be special.
    For example, last year Santa brought "Duke" - the talking GI Joe doll.
    It's a 12" in doll that I paid about $25 for - so not huge and not
    terribly expensive.  It's the look on his face, the jumping up and
    down with excitement that I look forward to.   If one of the $10
    items was something he really wanted, that would be great and fine
    with me too.  When we saw Santa at the mall, he asked Jason what he
    wanted for Xmas - Jason's response was "I don't know".  
    
    So, I'm just looking for fresh ideas as nothing has really grabbed
    his eye yet (amazing with all the newspaper circulars and ads on
    TV!).
    
    Good ideas everyone!   Keep them coming!
    
    cj/

    
    re. .252
    
    How about checking out "alternative" toy stores like The Learning
    Express and The Nature Store? They tend to carry educational and 
    imported toys. The quality of the products are superior to national
    chain toy stores. 
    
    What are his favorite activities? Does he like to paint or draw?
    How about an instant camera? They are not that expensive and kids
    love it. How about a favorite movie? How about a musical instrument
    like a harmonica or a flute?
    
    One thing to keep in mind - we can help to open a kid's mind, 
    plant a seed in the future by selecting meaningful toys. Most
    highly advertised toys do not have a child's creativity in mind,
    in my opinion. 
    
    
    
    Eva           
    

    re: .253 and "alternative" toy stores
    
    Done.   We frequent the Learning Express and three similar toy
    stores in the Northboro/Shrewsbury area - we're not totally into 
    commercial toys 8^).   He's getting some of the Thomas the Tank 
    Engine pieces that coordinate with the Brio that he's collected 
    since infancy.   I also got him a couple of things from Discovery 
    toys.  He has two cameras.    
    
    Favorite activities?   This is an active, run-around, jump and
    shout boy.  He does not enjoy sedentary activities (for the most 
    part).  He does like imaginative play, building and taking apart 
    things, and yard work 8^).   I've considered rollerblades but am
    concerned that his feet will have grown to a different size by 
    the time he could use them outside next spring.  Perhaps ice
    skates and/or cross-country skis...  
    
    The FP Castle suggested a ways back is a big hit (he received that
    for his birthday) and it doesn't have a lot of small pieces that 
    make it dangerous to our infant.   Also, his Grandma loves Legos 
    and has kept him (too) well stocked in that department. 
        
    cj/

    
    How 'about snow toys like snow tube or saucer or make-a-snowman kit? 
    Cross country skiing could be kind of "boring" for a 5 year old. If
    you are really into it, you could start your son off with some downhill
    skiing lessons as a X'mas gift! 5 is a good age to start. 
    
    Now, we must have been on heavy drugs, but we let our daughter use
    her rollerblades in the kitchen in the winter. It was noisy as can be 
    but it was a lot of fun for her. The basement or garage can work too. 
    I'd go with one size bigger and wear thick socks, so that they will
    still fit in the spring.
    
    
    Eva

    Now I've heard everything!  How much are they soaking-- er, charging
    for such a thing?  What does it include?
    
    Incredulously,
    Leslie

    
    Now, that's a business idea... ;-)
    
    I don't think there is a commercial kit, per say. I was
    thinking of essentials for making snowpersons, like kids
    size shovels, carrots, old hats, etc. 
    
    
    
    Eva

My daughter at that age was always thrilled to get mail addressed to her,
so getting a subscription to a monthly usually was a big hit.

I know there are a number of magazines targetted to your son's age group
(can't name any off the top of my head -- Rosa is 14-going-on-18 :-)

Bobbi

    I'm not sure where you live - but the Power Rangers are coming sometime
    soon to the Centrum - he might like tickets to that.  I don't have any
    details but I'm sure if you called Ticketmaster they could let you know
    the date and if any there are any tickets left.
    

    If you've got an outside area, what about outside toys: a slide,
    swing, climing frame, bike, pedal car or kart. We bought a 'space 
    hopper' for a friends' 6 year old last year, which he seems to 
    use alot.
    
    Andy

    Maybe your son doesn't know what he wants because he doesn't know what
    is available?  If he doesn't watch alot of TV, he doesn't see many toy
    commercials. 
    
    When we were kids, my parents used to give us the Sears Wish Book and
    we would choose the toys we wanted from it.  I'm not sure if a 4 year
    old is up to that task or not but you could always try!  I think that
    there are catalogs for Toys R Us too.
         
    Karen

re: .261, Karen

>    When we were kids, my parents used to give us the Sears Wish Book and
>    we would choose the toys we wanted from it.  I'm not sure if a 4 year
>    old is up to that task or not but you could always try!  I think that
>    there are catalogs for Toys R Us too.

   Well, if my kids are any indication, a 4-yr old should have no problem
   with this.  My 2.5 yr old is just as much a catalog browser as her
   older sisters... :-)
   
   - Tom

    re .257  Whoops, Eva, I guess we know where I am on the Cynicism Index
    this season!  A homemade "kit" is a good idea... I guess I figured that
    if "they" can sell $50 plastic steps (for step aerobics), they might
    have come up with a Snowman Kit ("$39.95!! Call now, supplies are
    limited!")
    
    Leslie

Hi, I'd like to do something different this year for my sons birthday.  Usually
we have relatives over and get so many gifts that they get overwhelmed.  I tried
a pony last year and it went well - their 4 cousins also got turns.

Can anyone suggest a place to go that would be fun for the kids as well
as the relatives who want to come; i.e. grandmothers and aunts?

Thanks, Carla

    
    I've just rented my daughter's daycare!  They can use all the toys
    just as long as everything gets put back.  It has a bigger play
    area than my house so we can invite more than 2 kids.  Allison's
    birthday is in January so outside activities don't work very well.
    However, if it's a warm day, we can use the sandbox and swings
    at the daycare.  She's turning 4 also. 
    
    I looked at Discovery Zone but it's so noisy and expensive.  They do
    have a room so you can eat cake and open presents and then they
    get to play.  They also provide you with a party coordinator.
    But it didn't look fun for grandmothers, etc.  
    
    The daycare is big enough so we can invite the 20 or so people we need
    to (relatives and kids) and still have control of the party.
    
    A friend of mine rented a room at her church and said that worked
    out well for her four year old party as well.
    

    We hired a woman to come to the house for Jason's b.day last year.  She
    did a whole bunch of different things (clowning, magic etc), but the 2
    things we chose, were for her to do Candle-Making and Balloon Twisting. 
    I was QUITE surprised how much the adults REALLY enjoyed it!  The kids
    thought it was pretty neat too!  The candles were made from sheets of
    beeswax, that you roll, and I arranged it so that each person could
    make 2 candles.  I think she ended up costing ~60.00 for the whole
    thing (a little over an hour, 2 candles and 2 balloons per guest).  It
    saved a bit on party favors too!
    
    I can find her name, if you're interested - she's out of Nashua.
    
    Patty

I'm shopping for ideas.  My daughter's birthday (8th) was yesterday.  In lieu
of a party, she is having a sleepover.  Up until yesterday, only one girl had
accepted.  Now we have three.  Which still isn't a lot, but I'd like to have
some planned activity.  One of the girls may not sleep over.

My daughter really wanted a pinata (sp?), but I don't have a room with enough
swinging room.  Beside, they just plain make me nervous.

So, after reading through some of the previous notes I can see that the
following ideas are not unique, but so far I am thinking of a treasure hunt.  
The kind where you follow instructions to go to a particular place, and there 
you find another instruction.  And after some number of these, you find a 
prize.  

Twister is out since my daughter currently has her arm in a cast.

She received a board game which is also a dress up sort of game.  I'm not
sure of the instructions, but I know she has had a fascination for dress up
lately.  She buys scarfs and gaudy dresses and shoes and jewelry at yard
sales, and stores them in an old trunk in her room.  She's also confiscated
my old prom dresses, and a few cocktail type dresses that I've outgrown :-(

I thought of a video for latter in the evening when I'm trying to get them to
wind down a bit.

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
Debby

    Debby:
    
    My daughter is 9 and I consider myself a veteran of sleepovers.
    
    Some things that I have learned:
    
    -  Too many games - I find out that they usually just like to
       "hang out".  I about made myself crazy with the games, they
       went so fast, went throught the trouble of prizes, etc.  
       At this age, they really didn't seem to appreciate it all
       to much.
    
    -  If you are feeding them in the everning - pizza, popcorn,
       caffene free soda, pretzels (notice no sugar) - the cake
       is enough.
    
    -  Video goes in at 8:00 - two hour movie = in bed at 10:00 
       and lights out at 10:30.
    
    -  They love the sleeping bag bit, don't trouble yourself
       with making extra beds/pull out couch, etc.
    
    -  The one thing that is the easiest, keeps their interest the
       longest and seems to be a hit is a make-up/beauty session.
       I seriously tell them how to put on makeup, we experiment
       with colors, shading, rouge - do you have a Mary Kay Lady or
       know someone who is into it?  I get those little samples
       and we really go to town.  Heat the curling iron, get those
       dress-up clothes out - they love it!  They are funny to
       watch also.
    
    -  Lay out the rules/agenda when they arrive i.e. bedtime, no
       screaming, running, etc.
    
    -  Have some fun - these girls are a lot of fun at this age!
    
    Lorrie
    

    My daughter, Kathleen, is having a Valentines-theme party on Saturday
    and I'm looking for activity ideas. (nothing like the last minute!)
    
    These are 5 2nd-grade (7/8 year old) girls. 
    
    I'm considering paining/sponge painting/rubberstamping tee shirts, but
    it sure would be great to come up with something easier.
    
    I think these kids would be pretty easily entertained with almost any
    type of game or activity.
    
    We have about a million Valentines rubber stamps - maybe I can tie that
    in somewhere?  I read a previous note about making hats from cardboard,
    or they could be crowns, or maybe placemats... any other ideas for
    using these?
    
    How about games?
    
    Any ideas would be appreciated.
    
    Thanks!
    
    Jane
        

    Jane,
    
    T-shirts are fun, as are fabric paints with stamps, and tie-dying. 
    We've done it all with our girlscouts, (ages 7-10)
    
    hats or maskes can be a lot of fun too, especially if you have a lot of
    stamps for decoration.  
    
    Another idea, would be to hit your local craft supply store and get a
    bunch of heartshaped beads and some shoe-laces for making necklaces, or
    getting some heartsaped cookies and some sprinkles, frosting and
    frosting tips and letting them decorate cookies (and eat them) as well.
    
    meg

    Girls that age love to be in clubs.  My daughter and her friends
    are forever starting new clubs.  They don't do anything, no offices
    or charters.  Just belonging to a club seems to be the cool think to
    do.
    
    Anyway, on the T-shirt idea, my daughters Brownie troop made them
    with the handprints of all the girls.  Each girl chose a fabric paint,
    smeared it on their hands, added some sparkles, etc and went around
    to each shirt and put their handprint on it.  Each shirt looked kind
    of alike.  The girls loved to wear them on the same day to school --
    
    Diana

    re -1
    
    What a good idea!  You just brought back so many memories
    of being in or making up "clubs".  The beginnings of "clique"
    mentality, I guess, but I sure loved it then!  
    
    					cj *->

	re -2

	We did that with my kids for their daycare provider this
	year for Christmas.  Then, I wrote the kids' names over
	their respective paw prints.

	Karen

    This year I did some thing different....there is a guy in my office who
    has a small t-shirt business on the side.  I made up a print on the pc
    with kitties (Lauren's favorite) and balloons and it the middle it says
    "I survived Lauren's 8th Birthday Party".  The girls (there are 9 in 
    Lauren's class) all said that they will be wearing the shirts to school 
    today.  A couple of girls didn't make it to the party so Lauren will be
    delivering their shirts.
    
    Roberta
    
    

    Roberta:
    
    Would this friend of yours do tee's for others?  What are the rates?
    
    

    I just did something a little different for my daughter's birthday
    this year that I thought I'd post for others looking for something
    different.
    
    Two former deccies, Tyke and Sue Frost, now run a farm in Deerfield
    NH where the do hayrides and sleigh rides.  On Saturday, I took 
    Megann and her friends up to the farm.  We were hoping for a sleigh
    ride but there wasn't enough snow so we got a hay ride instead.
    The ride is for about an hour on private roads on the farm.  During
    the ride we stopped at a camp fire for about 15 minutes and the
    kids roasted marshmallows (big hit).  Duke and Bill, the horses
    that pulled our wagon were Belgian draft horses - big and beautiful.
    Tyke drove the wagon and chatted with the kids, told them the
    horses names, how much they weighed (both were over 2000 pds), and
    lots of other tidbits about the horses.  When the kids were all 
    back in the wagon at the campfire after toasting their marshmallows
    he sat with them and told them a "ghost" story (I've never seen five
    8 year olds so quiet for so long).  When we got back we were given a
    tour of the livery and saw the other 7 horses on the farm and Tykes
    carriages.  He has 3 beautiful carriages, one of which was used in 
    the movie Little Women with Tyke as the driver (the kids were 
    impressed).  After that we were taken to their function room for
    cake an ice cream.  We had the room for an hour.  Sue had the cake
    made from someone she does business with.  We requested a Lion King
    cake and it was beautiful.  The picture was air brushed on so the
    the frosting wasn't as thick and sweet as I'm used to with bakery
    cakes.  The ice cream was home made and the kids took turns cranking
    it - it was a big hit!  We also had hot chocolate and juice.
    The kids all had a great time.  They thought it was different, neat,
    and a lot of fun.  We adults enjoyed it far more than Chuck e cheese
    or Discovery Zone.  The only drawback for me, coming from central
    Massachusetts was that I couldn't take more kids (could only take
    as many as we could fit in our two cars with seat belts).
    
    There are also sheep and a goat on the farm as well as a Dalmation dog.
    
    If anyone is looking for something different for a birthday party, I'd
    recommend giving Tyke and Sue a call.  We had a great time.
     
    The farm is called Point of View Farm and its in Deerfield, NH.  The 
    number is (603)-463-7974.
    
    Robyn
    
    P.S.  The girls all slept over the night before.  We made t-shirts, 
    an idea I got from reading this note.  On the front, each child did
    their own design with fabric paints.  On the back, each child signed
    each shirt so they all had the names of all the kids there.  They too
    were a big hit and managed to keep them occupied and reasonably quiet
    for well over an hour.  

    Robyn,
    
    How much is it?
    
    -Patty

    sounds like a great idea!
    
    Where in Central Mass are you located and how long
    did it take to get to the farm in NH?
    
    	Linda
    

    It does sound like a lot of fun.  I've been there for their "Romantic
    Evening" which is also great.  That was an expensive evening, but I
    think their daytime group activities are easier to handle.  I think our
    church youth group has gone their for hayrides.
    

    re -.2 (cost)
    
    The hay/sleigh ride is (if I remember correctly) $5/adult, $3.50/child
    with a $35 minimum.  Refreshments and use of the room afterward was
    $30.  In my case it ended up costing the minimum + $30 = $65.
    
    re -.1 (location)
    
    I live in Boylston.  I think it took about 1 hour and 30 plus minutes.
    We broke up the drive with a stop at the McDonalds in Merrimack (exit
    11 off rt.3) and it was 30-35 minutes from there.
    
    Robyn
    

    
    
    We too enjoyed the Point of View Farm for a romatic Sunday
    Brunch/carriage ride....The birthday party thing sounds like fun too!
    
    When my husband was a Big Brother, he went to a hayride/apple crisp
    party there and said the kids really enjoyed it!  Great idea for those
    winter birthdays...
    
    Compared to what Chuck E Cheese cost us this past January, Point of
    View sounds like a deal!!
    
    

    
    Been there too.  From Milford MA (Linda), it is probably 1 hr, 40
    minutes.  Takes me 1 hr, 20 min to get to Manchester and it was
    another 20 min to POV farm.
    
    We did the Romantic evening last summer and stayed in Manchester.
    It was wonderful but not air conditioned in the dining room and it
    was a very hot night. 
    
    Karen

Hi,

My husband and I are having a hard time picking out a gift for our daughter's
2nd birthday!  We are trying to decide between the Little Tykes Country Kitchen
and the Little Tykes Double Easel - anyone have opinions on these ?  I would
love to get her the Easel..but I am just concerned that she has a whole lot of
educational toys and not too much fun ones! The Country Kitchen is beautiful and
I know she would love it, even if it is too big for her room!

The question is, are these toys appropriate for a 2yr old?  If not, could you
tell me of other toys which perhaps your 2yr old loved?  I really want to get
her something that she will like and use a lot...Last yr, we bought her
something which she hasn't used to date!

Thanks!

--Chaya.

We bought a kitchen set (I think it was Step 1 and not Little Tykes,
but they're the same general idea) this past Christmas for my
2.5 year old.  She *loved* it.  I think even younger kids can
play with these -- they just play differently.  The 18-month-olds
like buttons and dials.  The 2-year-olds begin to get into 
fantasy play.  Noelle pretends she's the cook/waitress (but
wants me to wash the dishes :-)

I don't think you can go wrong with the kitchen for 
something that she'll probably immediately begin enjoying.
I haven't been tempted to buy my daughter an easel yet
-- maybe when she's closer to 4.  But my daughter is
advanced in talking skills, and slower at gross and
fine motor skills.  If you're daughter is advanced
in motor skills, she might love the easel.  

As for other toys, Noelle loves her kids cassette
player.  She's a book lover and has lots of read-along
books & cassettes to use in it.  Outdoors, she loves
this little plastic low-to-the-ground trycycle kind
of thing, but she couldn't really pedal it last summer.
And she likes ColorForms.  I think we're going to get her
a swingset for her birthday this summer...

Hope this helps!!

- Deb B.

    
    Question about the kitchen...
    
    Do you think that it tends to force a child towards a stereotypical
    image of "females do the cooking"?  
    
    When I bought my daughter her push walker, I deliberately chose the
    dump truck instead of the shopping cart.  (If I had a boy, I'd
    probably get him the shopping cart).  I'm trying to choose toys 
    for Lauren that are gender neutral until she is old enough to make
    the decision for herself.  If she wants to be a tomboy, great!  If
    she wants to be a ballerina, great!  I was reading an article about
    this lately and it said that parents tend to be more gentle and 
    confining with their daughters and rougher and more free with their
    sons.  The article suggests that parents allow their daugthers more
    freedom to explore their world and also a bit of rough housing.  And
    it suggest that sons be exposed to more tenderness so that they
    will be more comfortable with affection.  Not explaining this so well,
    but hopefully you get the idea. 
    
    Unless it is something she is asking for, I'd try to choose more
    gender neutral like the easel.
    
    
    Karen

    Here's another vote for the kitchen.  My parents gave
    Steven a kitchen for his 3rd birthday and at 5+ yrs old
    he still plays with it.  
    
    He loves to draw and paint, but he was never interested in
    the easel at his daycare.
    
    I think you'll get your money's worth from the kitchen!
    
    	Linda

Thanks for all the replies so far!  Karen, I was not trying to stereotype her by
getting her a kitchen - it's just that we have noticed that she is fascinated by
it...a few friends have different kitchenette sets and she loves to play with
those! A few weeks ago, we were in Seattle and at the Children's museum
there..she loved being in one room that was modelled like a kitchen..she kept
baking muffins the whole time there!  It was difficult to get her away from
there!

Shruthi's not really too good with her motor skills..but she loves to write and
color!  She is extremely fond of her Magna Doodle and a small chalk board that
we have..she is always trying to write her ABC...this sparked off the thought
that she might enjoy the easel...

Keep the ideas coming..we have ten days more to decide!!

--Chaya.

When our friends gave our daughter the vacuum cleaner walker thing, I
thought it was really sexist.    But it worked great, better than the
lawnmower and others I've seen. 

Now we're deciding which kitchen to buy for her.  We thought about the
workbenchi instead, and might still one day, but she'll get more use out of
the kitchen, so that's what we decided to get. 

Reality is that I think both boys and girls shoudl learn to vacuum and cook
and do laundry, so I think they are things that any child can benefit from.

By observation, our kids will learn that 1) Dad is able to cook, but Mom
does it all the time unless she is not home, and 2) Dad's vacuum, dust, and
wash bathrooms and floors, and 3) Mom's and Dad's both do laundry.  I don't 
think any toy can erase/change what a child learns from observation.  

	I'd go with the kitchen.

	I've seen both boys and girls that are quite interested in
	the kitchen sets.  In fact, I teach Sunday School for 4 and
	5 year olds, and the boys are at the play kitchen area as
	much as the girls!

	Karen

Rowena got the Fisher Price Kitchen for her second birthday.
I think we got the Eisel/desk later.
She's nine now so it's hard to remember.

She really enjoyed toys that she could mimic us with. Like the 
noter a couple of notes back - kids learn by onservation. Rowena used to "vacuum"
the floor with her "popcorn" toy when anybody was using the real thing. She had a 
lawn mower too.

I remeber it being hard knowing what to get her at two. After that the TV 
commercials seemed to help her create Birthday and Christmas lists.

I'm sure shruthi will enjoy whatever you get her.

Peter.

PS Hi to Raghavan.

Since the popular choice here seems to be the kitchen, I think we will most
probably go with that.  Today was the first time we walked down those aisles to
look at the kitchen sets on display and we immediately liked the Little Tykes
Country Kitchen..it seems well made and has all the appropriate accessories.
It is expensive though ( Toys R Us had it around $130!).  Anyone have any
specific ones that they liked better ?  Or had this specific model and didn't
like it for any reason?

--Chaya.

    My son loved his kitchen set that we got for him at 1.5 years.  I was
    lucky, I bought it used from the notes file.  He loves it!!  A family
    member wanted to know what to get him for a gift and I suggested the
    pots/pan/dishes set that Little Tykes sells and the whole deal was a
    hit!  I got the easle a year later, and at 2.5 he doesn't use AS much
    as the kitchen.  At 3.5 he's leaning more to the easle becasue he's
    learning more about coloring in the lines and numbers and letters.  He
    still loves his kitchen though and so does my youngest (13 mths).
    
    RE: the gender issue, I also try to be non-discript with what we buy. 
    One of my first toys that my mom bought as a joke (my husband and I
    didn't get the joke) was a FP vacuum.  Andrew loved that as well, but
    he should, his dad is the **BEST** vacuumer around!!!!  BTW, Andrew
    loves his toy lawn mower and when mom is mowing the lawn, he's right
    there with me!!  I figure kids learn from experience and with both
    parents working full time, the last thing we have time for is the old
    what man vs. woman are supposed to do around the home.
    
    ....  but on the side, peer pressure is great even with daycare
    friends.  All of a sudden, certain toys have become "girls" toys not
    boys.  We've already had a chat about that one, and I still figure
    experiences at home have the most influence, good or bad on how a child
    "learns".
    
    Beth
    

Here's another vote for the Little Tykes Country Kitchen.  Santa brought Breanna
one last Christmas (she was 13 months) and she adores it.  We bought a couple of
Little Tykes dish sets and two of the Little Tykes chairs (so she could sit at
the table).  She 'cooks' every day with her sitter.  It was well worth the money.

PS  Price the kitchen at Service Merchandise.  We saved ~$20.00 over Toys r us

My son Josh, 2.5, loves *both* the kitchen set and the double easel.  He does
lots of pretend cooking, and greatly enjoys scribbling and drawing circles on
the chalkboard (or asking Dad to draw Thomas or James).  He also has a grand
time with his vacuum cleaner toy.  The truck-shaped push walker is used as a
shopping cart, and never has been used as a truck, although Josh loves trucks
and cars.  So much for stereotypes.

						Brian

I'm starting to feel embarrassed, as Erin 2.5 has a kitchen, a workbench, 
an easel, a vaccuum cleaner, a dumptruck walker, and a shopping basket (and 
a playhouse).

I got all this stuff at yardsales or notesfiles, except the easel which was 
a birthday present from my parents.

She goes in phases, but she plays with the playhouse the most, then the
kitchen and the workbench about equally.  The playhouse is the newest 
(Christmas) so that could be a factor.  The dumptruck is put away at this
age, and the vaccuum cleaner is the least used, but we don't vaccuum either :-)

I would have bought all these toys for either gender kid.  Get what you think
they will like, don't practice descrimination or reverse descrimination to
keep feminine toys away from girls.  

As for what type of kitchen to get, think of where you are going to put it.
Ours is in our actual kitchen, and against a wall in a corner right off the
main hallway from the mudroom.  The FP kitchen that sticks out from the wall
would have been in the way.  The Country Kitchen is the right shape for our
space, but would have been too long.  I think Step2 makes a more compact one
that goes against a wall.  Ours is an old one make from wood (no microwave!) 

With the workbench, she has many accessories like saws and "pound on the pegs
and then turn it over and do it again" type toys that she can use without having 
the actual workbench.  The workbench at this point is mostly used to hold all
this stuff (and her hard hat).  She doesn't use the vise on it.  

She uses the easel mostly for painting.  She colored with chalk a lot when we
first got it, but now when she is using markers or crayons she prefers to do
coloring books which she does at her table.

For kitchen accessories, Erin really likes the FP whistling tea kettle,
mixer, and sizzling fry pan.  Also plastic eggs in a real egg carton

Another smaller cooking toy that my kids and their friends love is a pretend
gas grill.  It comes with toy hot dogs, buns, etc. and there's a way to get
it to make a sizzling noise.  Unfortunately I can't remember the brand name
(we don't have it, but a good friend of my younger son does), but I imagine
somebody who notes here has one.

What I really love is the wooden kitchen sets, but I could never convince
myself to spend so much for a toy that would only get used when the kids were
small (so instead we spent about a bazillion dollars on the swingset, which
I figure they will use til they're at least teenagers - and our adult guests
play on it, too!).

		cheryl

    Regarding stereotypes:
    
    We bought Michelle the Little Tykes workbench when she was two.  She
    used it as a kitchen!
    
    I know I am in the minority here - but I think the easel is a better 
    choice. Both of my girls (almost 2 & almost 5) like crafts and making 
    things more than pretending they are cooking.  And when they do pretend
    to cook, they rather use my pots and pans because they can fit more
    "food" in them anyway.
    
    - Carol
                          

    My son is turning 1 in 2 weeks and I'm looking for ideas for birthday
    gifts for him.  He has a 3 year old sister so it doesn't seem like we
    really need anymore toys.  Her Little Tykes Country Kitchen and Little
    Tykes Dollhouse are his favorite toys.  The only thing I can think of
    which we don't have is wooden blocks but I'm not sure they would
    interest a 1 year old.
    
    Carol

    
    four our daughter's 1st birthday, we ended up buying one of those cars
    that you can either ride or walk behind and push.  I believe they are
    more to help a child walk, but she was walking well by 10 months. 
    Although, she does love to push it around anyway.  She rides it all the
    time and she is now 18 months.  It has all these gadgets on it and has
    a phone, which is her favorite.
    
    We ended up buying it a few months before her birthday as it was on
    sale at Toys R Us.  I can't believe we were able to wait to give it to
    her.
    
    

<    He has a 3 year old sister so it doesn't seem like we
<    really need anymore toys.  Her Little Tykes Country Kitchen and Little
<    Tykes Dollhouse are his favorite toys.  

What about "food" to go with the dollhouse?  Be careful that it is safe
for 1 year olds, though.

    Carol

    Jonathan got a push-behind bike/car thing, which he LOVES!!  If that
    was all he got, he'd have been set for life. (at least many months).
    I bought him a Fisher Price Activity Table.  He's not very interested
    in that.
    
    At 18mos, he's THRILLED with "flip up" books, and if I have to read
    those books one more time, I might pop!
    
    Another thing he LOVES, I believe is made by Playschool .... you drop a
    plastic ball in the top, it swirls down a little ramp, into a "hole". 
    Then you push an arm/lever on the outside, and the ball pops out onto a
    swirly ramp on the bottom.  It's the simplest thing, and he'll play
    with it forever!!  That and someone (F.P.?) makes a mailbox that comes
    w/ 5-6 square pieces of mail, and a mailbox.  Drop them in the slot,
    open the door and pull them out and start over.  Big hits.
    
    Video tapes are good too.

    Ok, I've finally bitten the bullet and am having Brad and Jessica's 4th
    birthday party with 8 of their friends.  I'll be having this social
    event at our house next Sunday, and am trying to figure out what
    exactly I'm supposed to _do_ with 10 4-year-olds running around. The
    party will be for 2 hours, and I figured I'd need games for about the
    first hour, then do cake and presents, and end with decorating their
    own cupcakes and some free play. Hopefully, the weather will be nice
    and the kids can play outside on the swingset.
    
    I've looked through this note for ideas, but am still not really sure
    what sorts of things to do with 4-year-olds. I was thinking pin the
    tail on the donkey, and maybe musical placemats, but what else? 
    Suggestions, please.
    
    Thanks,
    Cathy

   Well, my 3 yr old just had a party recently, and they really enjoyed a
   pinata that my wife picked up.  They also played pin the tail on the
   donkey, which, as you probably know, is done with stickers these days
   to make it less risky, I guess.  Depending on the temperament of the
   group, you might also consider a scavenger hunt, though since they
   probably can't read much yet, you'd have to get creative in how you
   presented the clues.
   
   - Tom
   

    I'm considering the same thing for my 5 year old. I haven't decided
    what to do yet, but a friend of mine had one for 6 year old twin girls
    and they each did a beaded necklace. I'm thinking of trying to find some
    wooden race cars or something of that sort for the kids to paint.
    They opened presents first, too, which seemed out of the ordinary, 
    but then, the kids can play with them! 
    Let us know what you end up with,
    Sue
    

    For my daughter's 4th birthday we had a 2 hour party, from 11-1
    cause some kids still needed their afternoon nap.  We did the
    following things:
    
    Pizza lunch
    Strung beads onto pipe cleaners and they kept the item
    Played in the yard on the swingset
    Played put the nose on the clown (my husband drew the clown)
    Used sidewalk chalk to draw on the driveway
    Decorated small cakes for their Mom's for Mother's Day (it was the next
    day)
    Searched for their goody bag presents
    
    The last item was *the best* thing they did.  I got them presents
    that I wrapped in a particular paper for each child.  I gave them
    goody bags with the paper on the back and they had to search for 
    their own presents.  We hid them in very obvious places and they
    loved doing this.
    
    This involves a lot of upfront planning to get the presents early
    and wrap the **** things.  But the squeals of delight were very much
    worth it. This year (she's 5) we're going to hide the presents in
    various places and have a treasure hunt with it.  I have the clues
    ready with some for outside and some for inside, in case of rain.
    
    It's a good idea to have some structured activities, and some
    unstructured.  This way you have the unstructured stuff for the start
    and end of the party.  
    
    One piece of advice, we put out the bike, rocking horse, Cozy Coupe,
    etc. in the yard, thinking they would play nice.  Not so.  It just lead
    to each of them wanting the "one" thing that was hot at any given
    moment.  That's why the sidewalk chalk works---something for everyone.
    
    The stuff I planned took the full 2 hours, but that was even with cake
    and opening presents.  They seem to go through games a *LOT* faster
    than I planned.  The cake one was the absolute fastest.  I had these
    images of them happily decorating things, but basically they dumped the
    various toppings on and were done in about 5 minutes.  I think older
    children would have enjoyed it more... 
    
    Last year the party was held about 5 days before my second child was
    due and I hired an assistant from daycare, which helped a lot.  This
    year I'm hiring another one because I don't think that my husband and
    I can run a party while watching a just-walking-and-getting-into-terror
    nearly one year old.
    
    Have fun, Cathy!  
    
    judy

    4, oh goody!
    
    I got luky with Carrie's 5th b-day party, as one of the invited
    neighbors' parents is also a party organizer and showed up to play
    games with the kids and help me stay organized.  
    
    We did balloon relays (where you run teams back and forth with a balloon
    between their knees), pin the nose on the clown, some thinking games,
    (don't remember what they were now, and fed the kids
    lunch, (hotdogs). cake, and icecream for the second half of the party
    and opened the presents.  
    
    I usually get helium balloons and send one home with each child, as
    well as his or her loot bag.  Get extras as one or more will inevitably
    find a way to lose their balloon on the way to tthe car, or walking
    home.
    
    meg

    
    You people are all so organized!!!!! Anna will be 4 on May 3rd, but
    her party won't be until May 13th cause I've got the ballet on the 6th
    and the 29th is just too soon!!! May 13th is opening day at the
    Farmland Petting Zoo in Sterling. I've got a call into them about
    having the party there. Has anyone ever done this??? I love this place
    and I know the kids will, but my main reason for doing this is cause
    I can't plan a party!! I'm party illiterate!! I read all these great
    ideas, but I just don't organize them well. I figure at the petting zoo
    they'll have fun with the animals, fun on the playground, we'll do cake
    and presents and Ta Da!! we're done. If I don't end up doing this, I'll
    really have to scour this note for ideas and really work on my
    organizing skills.
    
    Patty

    Patty,
    
    I'm with *you*, I'd much rather have parties elsewhere (and let other
    people hose down the area afterward!).
    
    I love the Farmland Petting Zoo (make sure they'll have the hayride
    operational).  The one thing I thought of, which I'm sure you have too,
    is that you should either have them eat FIRST THING or bring lots of
    antibacterial wipes for the kids' little paws; I know I wouldn't want
    my daughter patting everything in creation and then licking her fingers
    8-P  !
    
    Leslie

    
    Yea, I thought about that...I think I'll be doing the wipes, cause I
    can't see holding back x number of kids from the animals to watch Anna
    open presents.
    
    Patty

    I remembered one new thing that we are doing at her party 
    this year ...
    
    And that is making party crowns.  My daughter refuses to wear those 
    party hats so last year I made her a crown and she loved it.  We hung
    it in her room.  This year, I bought a bunch of garland right after
    Christmas when it was cheap--the kind that is on a covered wire and has
    stars, musical notes, etc. on it.  We size that to the head and then
    will have the kids embellish them with ribbons, pipe cleaners, fluffy
    type tinsel garland, and so on.
    
    This is a pretty cheap craft idea, if you plan ahead.  I think I have
    everything for less than $5.
    
    judy

Well, just in case anyone is interested, here's the low-down on having a
party at the Farmland Petting Zoo in Sterling, Ma. 

The party includes the following:

	Invitations
	2 hour Party
	Personal Party Animal (a staff member)
	Hay/wagon ride
	Pony ride (for the kids)
	Cones of feed (for the kids)
	Guided tour of the animals
		- introduction to some animals
		- some interesting facts 
		- geared toward kid level
	45 minutes in the tent
	Soda, juice, and coffee
	Ice cream cake
	Paper supplies
	T-shirt for the birthday child
	Farmland party bag for each kid

The cost is

	$79.95 for 10 (really 12 cause parents of b-day child are free).
	 $6.95 for each additional child
	 $2.95 for each additional adult

	(so it's in your best financial interest to have the first 10 be
	 kids and pay extra for adults).

So not counting myself and my husband, if everyone comes that I'm inviting
I would have 13 kids and 16 adults at a cost of $148. To me this sounds like
a great idea! What do other people think?

Patty

    At my daughter's 4th we put out 7 types of bubble wands/blowers, etc
    lots of bubbles poured into plastic plates, all on low tables around
    the party area so they could reach easily, do it themselves, etc.
    We did try them ourselves in advance and experimented using our
    daughter as the guinea pig to see which was best.  Boy, was that a hit
    every single child played with the bubbles, we had a few babies there
    too who were fascinated by the bubbles going by them!  Don't forget 
    to have refills easily available, our guest parents refilled regularly.
    I liked having the bubble solution in plates as not that much liquid 
    to spill, plus if it got dirty/contaminated, it got dumped into 
    the woods nearby and refilled fresh.  We liked the large round
    bubblemakers on wand handles, they all had some pattern in the middle
    to make cool large bubbles. Since then I've used it for playdates and
    we have lots of fun!
    
    Good luck!

   re: Patty

   About the timing of parties....
   
   Don't feel bad - my 3 yr old's party was a little over a month past
   her actual birthday!  Between scheduling and other committments and a
   little bit of illness, we just didn't have a chance to fit it in any
   sooner.  And then, my wife had to schedule it for a Wednesday because
   weekends were still too crazy.  They still had fun, and everybody she
   invited could be there, and everybody was reasonably healthy, so all
   in all, it was for the best in our case.
   
   Peace,
   
   - Tom

    Thanks to all of you for the party ideas. Here's my report on how it
    all went:
    
    We had the party yesterday which was supposed to be sunny and 60's but
    turned out to be partly cloudy and a little chilly.  That, however, did
    not turn out to be a problem.  We ended up having 7 3-4  year-olds plus
    my 4-year-old twins, so the group was a reasonable size. I let the kids
    play outside til everyone arrived, and the swingset, sandbox, t-ball,
    soccer net, tether-ball etc. kept them so busy, they didn't even see
    the adults outside hiding the candy for the treasure hunt.  They played
    for about 1/2 hour, then I dragged them in to let them decorate their
    treasure hunting bags with markers, crayons, and stickers.  Then we
    turned them loose in the yard.  I'm glad we got this on video, because
    at this age, they weren't quite clear on the concept and would get so
    excited when they found one candy, they'd start to show it to everyone
    and neglect the other 5-6 sitting at their feet.   The kids had an
    absolute ball with the treasure hunt and were outside a good 1/2 hour.
    
    Then we had cake, presents and free play. And right before they went
    home, I dragged out the ice-cream-cone cupcakes for them to decorate.
    They had a ball!  All I had to do after that was some quick clean-up on
    the kitchen floor, but it all swept up real easy, and I did a quick
    damp mop over the floor.
    
    The kids had a ball, and I only really needed those 2 planned
    activities. Thanks to everyone here in parenting for the ideas!
    
    Cathy

    
    I am looking for craft ideas for my 7 year old niece's birthday party.
    
    She wanted a "Glamour Party". And luckily enough there is a hair-
    dresser/beautician in the family, so she will be styling the girl's
    hair, and painting fingernails. 
    
    There will be 13 girls ages 6-8 there,and we're looking for a not too 
    messy craft idea for the girls to do while waiting their turn for their 
    "beauty treatment". There will be 2 adults supervising the craft, but we 
    are looking for something that does not involve a glue gun, and paint is 
    questionable....
    
    Any ideas?
    
    Thanks!
    

    Why not go to your local craft shop and buy some nice (larger) beads, bead
    strings, etc., and let them make themselves some glamorous necklaces
    and bracelets?  It would seem to best fit into your needs -- easy,
    neat, and within the theme!
    
    M.
    

    
    On a totally separate topic, but sorda related.  My husband and I are
    celebrating are 6th anniversary on June 3rd and would like some ideas
    of what to do, besides the typical dinner, movie. etc.  My husband will
    be working on the 3rd, but has the 4th and 5th off.  Any ideas of what
    to do as an overnighter?.....
    
    with our 18 month old and without her.
    
    Being a parent really hinders overnight getaways -- especially when a
    weekday is involved.
    
    What is the traditional gift at 6 years -- cotton or something?  I'd
    like to get a gift that contains that.
    
    

    I just happen to have the anniversary gift list right here in front of
    me!  The 6th anniversary is Wood.
    
    For our 7th anniversary I surprised my husband with a weekend away.  I
    booked a room at the Meridien (~$140 for room, parking and buy one
    Sunday brunch get one free) in Boston, I also got tickets for Cirque du
    Soleil and Miss Saigon (which all just happened to be playing the same
    weekend).  Even without the events the Meridien is within walking
    distance of most Boston attractions.  We had a great time.
    
    /Susan

    I fear I've over-invited for my 5 year old's party in two weeks. 
    So I'm looking for ideas to keep a crowd interested. I'm hoping
    for good weather as we do have a big backyard...but. One
    idea I saw in a magazine was to get a roll of large paper and let
    each child trace his/her own body onto the paper. (The idea was then
    to make a power ranger on the tracing but my artistic skills are
    definitely not up to that!) Any ideas for where to get a 2 -3 ft 
    tall roll of paper (Probably should respond in mail, I'm in 
    central Mass/southern NH)
    
    Thanks,
    Sue

Re: Huge rolls of paper

Slight aside:  We have one of those huge rolls of paper (obtained through a
catalog, can't recall which one), and my daughter has turned it into an annual
event by having herself traced and then drawing a picture of herself on the
tracing.  She gets to see a record of her size, her drawing technique, and what
she thinks she looks like over the years.  (Much more acceptable to us than
Power Rangers!)

						Brian

    re: .321
    Yup - I think I was going to have the kids draw what they thought they
    looked like. I wish I'd thought of it earlier, a yearly record would
    be a neat think to have.
    Thanks,
    Sue

    My Mom is a caterer and gets rolls of paper that are used to cover 
    tables for barbeques.  You could try Paperama in Nashua, or some other
    restaurant supply store.
    
    judy

    We had a birthday party for my 9 year old son Robin over the weekend.
    For the first time, we did not have an 'in house' party but took
    him and his friends (and his sisters) all to the mall to play
    'laser tag'.  What a blast.  My wife Judy and I played too.

    Everyone is divided into two teams and you enter the play area,
    a dark room with flashing ultra-violet lights and rock music.
    there's a 'barricade' down the middle and hanging barricades
    around the room.  You wear a computer on a belt with a headset and
    a 'handgun', like a star trek phaser, that 'shoots' a beam
    of laser light (about the power of a flash strobe).  If your beam
    hits the phaser or headset of someone on the other team, their phaser
    is shut off and they have to run back to a 'recharge' area and get
    their phaser turned on again (this is just to provide some slight
    penalty for getting shot).  over the headset you 'hear' your phaser
    fire and you 'hear' yourself get 'tagged' (hit) by your opponent.

    They try to use words like tagged rather than shot...but the kids see
    right through that.  And the kids were merciless.  they quickly got the
    hang of hiding behind the barricades, darting from barricade to barricade,
    finding a good hiding spot from which to fire, etc.

    We live in a pretty liberal area and I'm told that there have been
    some demonstrations against this 'gun play'.  But I know some friends
    who HATE handguns who had a 'blast' playing this game.

    It was quite a party
    bob

    re: tall rolls of paper
    
    A few years back when we were moving we went to the Telegram and
    Gazzette in Worcester and were able to buy large rolls of clean
    newspaper paper (with no print on it).  They sell these pretty
    cheap.  There great for packing.  Would also be good for tracing
    kids.  Just call the T & G or your local newspaper.
    
    Denise
    

    Need ideas on games to play outside at a birthday party.  The age is 7
    to 9, boys and girls.  
    
    Thanks
    Carla
    

    Check Family Fun magazine...they usually have good ideas.

    Oh, my girls always liked the "pop the balloon on the chair" race.
       Balloons on one side and chairs on the other. Group the kids and
    	see which team pops all their balloons first.  It never failed
    	but there was always one ballon that wouldn't pop. They would
    	giggle the whole time.
    
    Are they too old for musical chairs? I always enjoyed that one.
    
    Then there's hot potato, three legged race, spoon egg race...
    	 ...boy you can tell my age now can't ya. 
    
    But the best of all is the "Pinata". Although I don't think they
    have them around in New England. Never seen one. I get mine from
    my sisters in Texas.  
    
    Rose
    
    

    Paperama in Natick carries Pinata's....
    

    Most party supply stores have Pinata's.
    
    Also, try an egg toss.  Girls get into pairs, stand close together and
    toss an egg back and forth once.  Then each takes a step back and they
    repeat.  If they break the egg, they're out.  Last team wins.
    
    H

    We play the same game that Holly (H) mentioned except with water
    balloons.  It's a little easier to stay clean that way.  Its
    a great game for hot days.

    My brothers and I are giving our parents a 40th wedding anniversary
    party. Our problem is what to give them as a gift. We have already
    ruled out resturant gift certificates and a week-end away. I 
    suggested we center it around a 40's theme; i.e. 40 of something, 
    40 hours/weeks/days/months of something.
    We have already ruled out 40 balloons (father hates balloons), 40
    flowers, and a money tree (both parents dislike).
    We looked up in the gift directory to find the 40th is ruby, but
    haven't thought of anything along those lines either.
    
    
    So any ideas??
    
    
    Thanks,
    Susan

    This doesn't fit the '40 theme' and I don't know how much
    time you have, but what about a scrapbook of the past 40
    years.  It's always fun to look at old photos and events.
    
    Terry

    Hi-
    
    Ambitious, but fun, I created a memory quilt for my in-laws 40th
    anniversary (check Threads Notesfiles for details if you're
    interested). Other things on a similar vain (which will take some
    organization and effort, but little cost): 
    
    - scrapbook w/ notes, letters, photos, from all their friends over 
      those 40 yrs (send out letters to all their friends and co-workers
      so they can help, add things/thoughts/rememberances/anecdotes, etc. 
    
    - put on videotape selected cuts from old movies, photos, slides, etc.
    
    Hope this helps. 
      

	How about theatre tickets to one or a couple of shows ?

	One year we got my parents a package deal that included
	4 Boston performances.

	Karen

    Thanks for the replies. I'll have to remember the scrapbook and video
    idea for the 50th as we don't have the time to notify everyone. We did
    come up with a few more 40's themed gifts for any else who might be
    interested:
    	40 car washs
    	40 lottery tickets (made into a "lot-a-tree" instead of a money
    		tree)
    	40 movie rentals
    	
    We also thought of other gifts without a 40's theme:
    	champagne hot-air balloon ride (this was pretty expensive:
    		175/PP/hour)
    	Wine and cheese picnic basket filled with "stuff"
    	
    Susan

    Parenting magazine has a special issue in the stores right now called
    "Birthday Fun 32 Perfect Parties".  I couldn't resist picking it up 
    even though I don't have any parties to plan until February.
    
    It has themes, games, crafts hints and recipes for all ages.
    
    I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it looked great at a glance.
    
    Gail

    Anyone have any ideas or recommendations on someone to hire for
    entertainment for a 3 yr old birthday party?  We have gone to 
    some of my husband's work Christmas parties where they have hired
    people to entertain such as games, songs, balloon creations, magic,etc.
    which we thought would be fun.  Something other than hiring Barney.
    
    Any ideas or recommendatins would be appreciated.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Holly
    

    If you are located not-to-far from Sterling, Ma - the Farmland Petting
    Zoo has birthday parties.  It looks like it would be a great place for
    a child's birthday.
    I am thinking of having my daughter's first birthday there.  It would
    be nice  to not have to clean up after everyone.  ;^)  

    At my son's daycare, once a month they have someone (I think his name
    is Mike) come in to entertain the childern with singing.  I haven't
    seen him so can't vouch for how good he is but I'm told that the
    children just love the singing hour with Mike.  If your interested,
    send me a note and I can get you his number.  I know from the original
    flyer that was passed around that he does do Birthday Parties.
    
    Jean
    

    
    Has anyone actually had a party at the Farmland Petting Zoo in
    Sterling?  Patty gives a great description in .312, but it seems
    as though her writeup was during the planning stages.
    
    Any experiences will be greatly appreciated.
    
    cb
    

    I am planning one for my daughter - August 11th.  I'll post a 
    description if you can wait that long.
    Nancy

    
    Looking for some gift ideas that you have given your other child(ren) 
    after a new baby is born....other than dolls and books.
    
    My daughter will be a month short of 2 when the new one arrives.

    How about a T-shirt that says I'm the BIG sister.

    Or a keep-sake mug.

    Or her own little photo album.  If you have an instant camera you can
    even let her direct what pictures are taken and put in, with instant
    gratification.

    I just opened my Lighter Side catalog to find the "brother/sister"
    t-shirts and saw the cutest thing.  It's an animated video that
    your child's picture (head shot) appears on one of the bodies of
    the animated characters.  Their name and picture is repeated
    throughout the video.
    
    There's three types of videos...a counting, an alphabet, and 
    a "Mr.Tibbs & the Great Pet Search".   Each video is $34.98 ea
    and runs 20 min ea.  
    
    Doesn't that sound so cute???
    
    						cj *->

    Ryan had just turned 3 when Christopher was born, and was very much
    into action figures. To this day [4 yrs later] he remembers that his
    Spiderman was a gift from the new baby:-)D

    
    We attended a party at the Zoo and had a wonderful time.  
    I noticed that the mom brought some wipes for the kids which seemed
    like a good idea.  After petting animals it was good to wash hands. 
    
    The cake was nice..(ice cream cake ) and they had lots of juice. 
    The party Guide was nice.  The party bags they gave out didn't contain 
    much, but thats my only complaint.   I imagine it might be a little 
    hot there at this time.  Maybe hats would help. 
    
    Teri                              
    
    

    Another alternative is having a pony come to your house. I saw an ad in
    the Landmark [local to Holden/Paxton/Sterling/Rutland/Princeton] for a
    woman who brings her pony to your house for the party. She's coming a
    week from Sunday for my 4 yr old son's party. 
    
    

    
    When my 2nd child was born, we bought Tyler (3 yrs old) a "I'm 
    The big brother T-shirt.  We gave it to him when I left for the
    hospital.  He wore it to meet his new brother that night.  
    
    We also asked Tyler to pick a gift for the new baby.  He picked
    one of his favorite stuffed animals, wrapped it, and gave it to
    Jacob in the hopital.
    
    Jacob (only hours old) picked out a "doctor's bag" for Tyler which
    was wrapped and given to Tyler in the hospital.  For weeks, Tyler
    took care of Mom & new brother by taking temperatures, giving
    shots, etc.  Everything went over great!
    
    	cb

    I'm in need of some game ideas for a Sat party (pray for good weather!)
    Thanks to this notes file, I've got plenty of ideas, but want more
    just in case.....
    
    Someone told me of a Disney book that had theme games.  We're doing
    Lion King.  Does anyone have that book they're willing to call
    me and describe some of the games?    I'm running short on time
    and can't go shopping for it.
    
    We're doing a safari hunt for the contents of goody bags, safari
    rummy, dunk for apples, copper mining, pin the tail, a pinata,
    hopscotch, saucer games and more I'm sure I've forgottten for the 
    moment. 
    
    Thanks - Kathy   223-8499 (using a co-workers phone)

    
    Wow!  That's a lot of activites!!  How old are the children
    you are inviting?
    
    cj/

    Last June just before school got out the school had a "fun day", the
    game that I was "in charge" of was a dress up game.  We had two sets of
    clothes, a *man size* shirt, Man size cut off jeans, and a hat.  Of
    course we're talking whole classes of 20something kids, so we did
    everyhing in duplicate.  Each child had to put on the pants, shirt and
    hat and run to a chalk line (the white stuff they use on grass at
    sports games) and run back.  the team with the fastest time wins.  AT
    the end it was the *teachers* who did a water balloon toss.  Guess
    what, the Principal and thy Phys Ed teachers were the winning team!!  
    
    And for refreshments they sent out to SubWay for the huge long subs,
    and gave each child a part of the grinder and a soda with a cookie for
    lunch.  It was less messy and more pleasant than most of the lunches!
    
    Also, a variation on musical chairs, it's more of a "cake walk".  Start
    as you would for normal musical chairs, as the person is eliminated
    give them a prize.  In our case it meant they could pick a cupcake and
    go off and decorate it!

    I want to add something I did as more of a "cheer up" gift earlier this
    spring.  I don't want to make this sound any less serious than is *was*
    but one of our children in the church got in the way of a tree being
    cut and it fell the "wrong way".  He was confined for several weeks to
    a body cast, and full bedrest, and good news is that he will make a
    complete recovery as soon as he strenghthens his muscles a little more.
    
    Anyway, he was in a wheelchair in a reclining position.  Someone
    fashioned a cariage type handle out of ordinary copper pipe and the
    foam pipe insulation covering.  That was for his parents sake.
    
    I went to the Christmas tree shop and bought about 10 small gifts for
    him, wrapped each one individually, and put them in a gift bag.  One of
    them was an adult size Tee shirt with a cat and dog design, just too
    cute!  His mother would take adult tee shirts and put either snaps or
    velcro on the bottom "to protect his modesty"  I suggested that she
    take them afterwards and wash them in hot water and dry them on hot to
    get these huge tee's to shrink to a 7 year old size.  I also marked
    this gift to be opened first.  
    
    Other things in the bag (NONE of which required batteries!) were
    coloring books which needed only water to activate the color, a plastic
    Slinky in rainbow shades, puzzles, a paint-yourself sun catcher-in 
    Power Ranger motif, cards, Wonderful Waterful hand held games and so
    much more I can't remember.  He was instructed to open one per day, or
    if he was having a read "down day" he could open more.  He loved the
    idea.  I also baked a fresh fruit yeast based coffee cake for the
    parents.
    
    He's doing fine now, thank you.  He has truly experience a miracle!
    considering internal injuries and spinal compression.
    
    I learned this gift idea from a former manager, who did something like
    this for my son when he had one of his many surgeries.
    
    Lyn

    
    just a general gift idea.  this actually may come in handy on
    those rainy days.  building masks for kids.  you can do it from scratch
    or pick up some pre-cut ones.  
    
    what reminded me of this was some Power Ranger mask books that i recently 
    saw and purchased.  i found them at Odd-Lot (NYC, Odd-Lot is a store that 
    buy out "lots" of stuff and sell it fairly cheaply).  the masks 
    surprisingly were quite intricate (kids need adult help to put them 
    together) and 3-D.  not like the old flat mask with rubber band loops f
    or the ears to hold the masks onto the face.  i gave the mask book as
    a present and the kids had a ball.
    
    the mask book were $1.99.  but just to give you an idea of Odd-Lot
    prices, friends of ours that were shopping with us bought a Power
    Ranger night light.  the one that projected the Power Rangers onto the
    cieling when turned on.  they got it for $2.99.  later we went to visit
    FAO Schwartz and they had the same night light for $20.
    
    jo
    

    
    Does anyone have any experience with magic shows put on by the
    Balloonary/Magic World in Shrewsbury (Rt 9 near Ground Round &
    Spags)?    I've booked them for a party for my son; but am 
    concerned by how nonchalant they were on the phone around the
    date and time - I don't want a no-show!   Please send me any
    input (positive or negative).
    
    Thanks,
    Carol Stolicny
    CNTROL::STOLICNY

    My daughter, Emily, will be 4 on Sunday, Dec. 3rd.  Up until now only
    family has been at her birthday parties but this year she wants to have
    a party with her friends from daycare.  She tells me it can't be at home.  
    
    Here's my problem.  Her best friend from daycare will be 4 on Dec 2nd. 
    There is another girl in her class who she is friendly with who 
    will also be 4 on the 3rd.  I've asked the other mothers and they both
    said they're having parties.  Since the girls are all friends it seems
    likely that the guest lists for each party will be similiar.  If there
    are 3 parties the same weekend it is likely that there will be overlap
    and each party will suffer - not to mention that a lot of parents might
    prefer to spend their Saturday Christmas or Hanukkah shopping.  It
    would be okay with us to double up/triple up on a party with the
    other families but I don't see how you can ask guests to bring 3
    birthday presents.
    
    Does anyone have any creative suggestions on what I should do?  If
    we're going to have the party someplace I think I need to book it
    fairly soon.  I don't mind spending the money to have the party
    someplace but it would be a real shame to spend the money and then have
    noone be able to come.
    
    Carol
    
    Carol
    
    

    
    Hmmmmmm ... well, maybe you could have all 3 girls have their party
    together, and ask the guests to bring 2 "smaller" and more generic
    presents.  Make sure they're all wrapped and only have "from" tags, but
    no "TO" tag.  I THINK that that should work.  Then toss *ALL* the presents
    in a large 'bin' (garbage bag?)and have each girl take turns picking
    out presents, and opening whatever comes out.  You may need to bring a
    couple "extra" presents to be sure that each girl gets the same # of
    presents, and may need to put something on the invite like "Please
    bring 2-$5.00 presents so that it's fair for all the girls".  
    
    And then just explain to the girls that since their b.days are close
    together, that if you did it differently, they wouldn't have many
    people at all be able to show up.
    
    ALSO, as an added bonus, then you and the other mothers could take only
    the 3 b.day girls out someplace "special" to make up for a shared
    b.day??
    
    OR, plan B is to have the "daycare" party *AT* the daycare, (skip
    gifts, or see if the counselors will help the kids make gifts)and then
    have a separate family/neighborhood party, in the more traditional
    fashion. 
    
    HAVE FUN!!
    Patty

    How many guests do you think there might be?  I would guess that if all
    three girls go to the same daycare center, the list of children would
    be similar.  So, I wouldn't worry too much about number of gifts. 
    Anyone who comes can decide on their own whether they want to buy three
    $5-10 gifts, or three $25 gifts.  They will probably even be grateful
    that the three parties were combined...
    
    If you are concerned about other ADULTS that might be there, and who
    might not know all three children... I'd tend to have a separate family 
    party for them, maybe even later that evening...  If they want to
    attend the "event", just ask them to hold onto their gifts so that your
    daughter can open them later, at home.
    
    Peggy

Well - I didn't see another note that seemed like an appropriate spot
for this, so I'll start a new one for Birthday Party Ideas!

The theme for my son's birthday party this year is "Pirates"!  I will
be making a treasure box to put all of the goodie bags in.  What I would
like to do is have a "treasure" hunt for the kids, with clues that
they can follow to lead to the treasure.  I found a Treasure Hunt Game
in one of my mail order catalogs - (boy was it expensive!) - and from the
advertisement I got the following 2 clues:

"I'm here so you can soak or scrub; fill me up and rub-a-dub-dub!"

"I ring when you push me, although I can't talk. I save your
knuckles from having to knock."

I thought maybe you folks out there could help me come up with some
more clues.   Thanks!

Lila

   My 6yr old is really good at this stuff - she even makes up scavenger
   hunt games for her sisters, and did it for her own party... maybe
   she'd consider a consulting engagement?  :-)  :-)
   
   Really, though... here's my thoughts on it:
   
   o Decide how many clues you want, and the final destination.  

   o Decide on how many teams you want - smaller teams mean more chaos
     and potentially more work on the clue end, but larger teams mean
     that some kids may not get to participate much either... its a
     balance depending on the mix at the party.
   
   o One thought would be to have multiple teams moving in different
     directions between all the clue-stations.  That is, mix up the clues
     so that each team has to follow a different path to the end-point.
     If you have enough places (and energy), you could even give
     different teams a completely different set of clues and places.
   
   o When setting it up, be careful - its really easy to get clues mixed
     up and leave a team with a loose end because their clues didn't run
     in the proper sequence.  Consider staging it all on paper first, or
     at least setting up each team from start to finish before going on
     to the next team.
   
   o Be careful of local/family customs - that is, you may have a special
     place where you do "xx", but that may not be customary for other
     families... try not to use "xx" in the clues, because the kids
     probably wouldn't figure it out.
   
   o Be prepared to moderate - some teams just won't get it, and some
     teams will get it wrong and end up with the clues out of sequence
     anyway... 
   
   o Have fun!
   
   - Tom
   
   ps.  Rule#1 - Don't sweat the small stuff.
        Rule#2 - It's all small stuff!

    I do this to find the Easter baskets, at birthday parties, and the
    like.  My 5-year old just loves this.  It's like hide and seek and word
    problems all in one.
    
    My advice is to just figure out where you want the kids to go, and then
    create a clue from there.  I wanted them to burn energy and go inside,
    outside, upstairs, in the basement, and so on.  My husband was appalled
    at this and wanted them not to be in the house so much.
    
    You don't need to be incredibly clever, since anything you do will be a
    thrill for the kids.
    
    judy

Re: -2

I have many good things to eat I'm told; please close my
door or I'll lose the cold.

When it's cold outside you light me up; the fire inside
me warms you right up.

Ok so they are a little corny but I'll keep thinking...

    re -1
    Thanks for those clues!  That's exactly what I needed.  And thanks
    to the other replies for the ideas on actually doing the treasure
    hunt.  The party we're having will be pretty small (just his 2 cousins
    and his brother) and they will all be looking for the same treasure box
    (which will have their goodie bags in it).  My mom used to have hunts
    for us, too, on Easter and other Holidays but I can't recall any of the
    clues she gave us.  Keep those ideas coming!!  Thanks.  Lila
    

    I thought I'd share a "clue" that I came up with in case anyone
    else needs ideas for a treasure hunt:
    
    I'm in the van that your Mommy drives.
    I keep Matthew safe when he goes for a ride.
    

    My daughter's 4th birthday is in early December.  We've finally decided
    on a teddy bear theme which is very appropriate since everyone who
    knows Emily knows her bear Chester.  We'll ask all the guests to bring
    their favorite teddy or stuffed animal.  As far as I can tell even boys
    have teddies at this age.
    
    I'm thinking of letting the kids decorate party hats for themselves and
    their bears.  I thought we could play pin the nose on the bear and a
    variant of musical chairs which involves passing a bear around until
    the music stops.  I also liked the sounds of the Pass the Parcel game
    mentioned in here - pass the parcel until the music stops, unwrap a
    layer and there is a small gift in eacy layer.
    
    Are there any other ideas for bear-releated games?  Is it the custom to
    give a prize for every game?
    
    I was thinking of trying to either letting the kids decorate mini-bear
    cakes if I can find the pans or bear-shaped sugar cookies.
    
    I'm looking for someone to come and minimally do face painting and
    deliver balloons to the kids.  We live in Westford, MA.  Are there any
    reccomendations?  I would be preferable if the person was something
    other than a clown since my daugher isn't sure she likes clowns yet.
    
    I'm also looking for ideas for bear related party favors.  I've thought
    of Berstein Bear books or Cordoroy books, bear stickers, bear pencils,
    and packages of teddy grahams for all the teddies.
    
    Carol

    
    re: .365
    
    You should be able to find someone to deliver balloons and paint
    faces that will dress as a bear...

    One piece of advice on the pass the present game ... buy lots of flat
    shaped things, and make sure to get some small ones.  If you don't,
    you'll have a lot of trouble trying to wrap this and will end up with a
    huge unwieldy parcel.
    
    At one party where the Mom didn't plan ahead, she ended up wrapping
    everything and putting it into a bag and then passing the bag.  Each
    time the music stopped, the child would pick a present out of the bag.
    
    This worked fine too.
    
    judy

How did the clues work at the party?

Can you share what you used?

Thanks...Iris

    The kids had a great time on the treasure hunt!  Here are the clues
    that I used and the items I had hidden at each place:
    
    2 Steps down, I'm long and blue
    Where people sit when they visit you
    (Sofa - with pirate hats)
    
    Rock-a-bye baby don't you weep
    Mommy sits here to rock Sarah to sleep.
    (Rocking Chair - with eye patches)
    
    I'm here so you can soak or scrub
    Fill me up and rub-a-dub-dub!
    (bathtub - with swords)
    
    I'm brown with a lid, I get used every day
    I hold lots of stuff that you throw away
    (trash can - pirate drinking cups)
    
    I have many good things to eat I'm told
    Please close my door or I'll lose the cold
    (refrigerator - refrigerator magnets)
    
    I ring when you push me although I can't talk.
    I save your knuckles from having to knock.
    (doorbell - I ended up not using this clue)
    
    I'm in the van that Matthew's Mommy drives
    I keep Matthew safe when he goes for a ride
    (Matthew's car seat - Skull Pez dispensers)
    
    I keep you warm when it's cold outside.
    Santa comes down me when Christmas arrives
    (Fireplace - this was the final stop.  Here I had a large
    treasure chest filled with shiny gold paper strips, bags of
    gold coins "chocolate", miniature treasure chests - 1 for each
    child, and their goodie bags)
    
    There were only 4 kids on the hunt so it didn't get too crazy!!
    
    Lila
    

    Awesome clues!  It sounds like the little pirates had a great time.
    
    judy

    Hi
    
    	I signed up for the Digital Gift drive for underprivileged kids,
    and I got two guys, ages 9 and 10 to buy gifts for. I know nothing
    mor than their names, and would like ideas for gifts from some of you
    that have kids in the 9-10 range.
    	There is a $25 limit, keep that in mind, and please offer some
    suggestions as to what is good for that age group, as well as typical
    sizes for that age (or a "safe" size to buy :). Toys, clothes,
    particular styles/labels are all helpful.
    	Send email if you prefer.
    
    
    		thanks
    			Steve

    
    Steve,
    
    Some ideas I came up with:
    Clothes with sports emblems on them
    Sizes - Boys large, adult medium
    Sweatpants are good because they can be worn even if a little too big
    Sports equipment - basketball, baseball glove
    building stuff - k-nex, legos, etc...
    
    That's all I can think of right now,  
    Pam

    
    Hmph .... and I was going to write just what Pam wrote!!  (-:
    
    Also books!  Goosebumps is particularly popular these days, though this
    is also a good age to start getting into the Hardy Boys Mysteries.
    
    ... or a race track set - Criss Cross Crash can be had for ~$25.00, and
    looks WICKED cool!
    
    

Just adding a confirmation of .1, I know that for my neighbor's kids, who are
now 6 and 9, *any* item of clothing with a sports logo is immediately popular
(well, maybe not underwear!). But hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets are all
great. Buy 'em big, it's in style and will fit for a while (that's boy's medium
and boy's large/adult small for this pair). Any pro sport is acceptable. Just
watch where you shop for this kind of stuff. A store that specializes in team
sports apparel will run you $15-40 for a t-shirt, $35-90(!!!!) for a sweatshirt,
and $50-200 for a jacket (yes, these are the prices for the kid stuff!). You are
probably better off at Sears, Caldor, etc. to keep prices in reasonable range.

    
    
    I bought a Patriots winter jacket at Marshalls for 29.99 on Saturday.
    I know it is over the limit, but it is a functional, desired gift for 
    any teen!  

    I will be having 2 birthday parties in the next 3 months, one for a 9
    year old (WOW, how did she get that old?) and the other one will be 7,
    both girls and we will probably continue to have an all girl party with
    between 15-20 kids at each party.  I was thinking of maybe a magician
    for the 9 year old and a clown for the 7, but wanted to see if anyone
    had any recommendations.  Also does anyone know of anyone who does
    puppet shows (there is nothing listed it the yellow pages of any phone
    book I've looked at).
    
    The parties will be in Westboro, Ma, one is the end of January the
    other the end of February.
              
    Thanks in advance,
    Roberta

  I wanted to post a bit of info on my daughter's recent party.  We had
a catered tea party.  There is a service called A little Vanitea which
does theme tea parties.  They come to your home with costumes, makeup
and food.

  My daughter chose the royal princess party.  Each guest gets to choose
a gown and accessories - shoes, jewelry, purse etc.  After each guest
is dressed they get their makeup done - including nail polish.

  After photos it's time to eat.  Tea party sandwiches, cookies and popcorn
were served.  The "tea" was actually pink lemondade.

  My 5 year old daughter had a wonderful time.  All of her guests seemed
to enjoy themselves as well.

  I'm not sure which towns the service is available in - I live in Dracut,
MA.  I believe the office is in Salem, NH. phone 603 893 5713


Elizabeth

    Ok, I need help.
    
    We are having a neighborhood holiday party this coming weekend - and
    that means 25+ kids between the ages of roughly 2-7.  Santa will be
    visiting mid way thru so that'll take up a good deal of time and we
    have all the usual Christmas type video's but I'm at a total loss to
    what to do with the kids the balance of the time.  Outdoor activities
    are pretty much "out" because it'll be evening and likely still bitter
    cold.
    
    I'd like to do (I think) something project oriented.  But what I don't
    want is a bunch of kids running thru the house with glitter, magic
    markers and such.  I'd like it to be something that even the little
    ones can do (with the older kids pitching in to help them) so the
    parents can have a few free minutes minus the kids.  If it's something
    that requires lots of cut outs I'd prefer to do those prior to their
    arrival so as to not have little ones fighting over scissors.  
    
    ANY suggestions (besides not answering the door...)???

    How about getting popsicle stick or tongue depressors and have them
    make their own picture frames.  Then they can put the picture of
    them with Santa in it.  They can paint them, glue them with elmurs
    and add glitter or what ever they want.
    
    You can have them make all kinds of designs, square, rectangle,
    diamonds etc...
    
    Karen
    
            
    

    You could have them string macaroni necklaces and bracelets, the
    appropriate holiday colors.
    
    You could have them make some name tags for each person there.  (This
    can be done with crayons and pencils, if you want to skip the markers.)
    
    They could also make hats (paper ones) and decorate them.  They could
    make them for their parents, as well as themselves.
    
    Get a simple holiday drawing and xerox it for each kid to color.  Have
    a contest and make sure everyone wins in a different category.  Give
    out candy canes as prizes.
    
    Put cloves into small oranges or apples and have the kids make
    ornaments to take home.
    
    judy 

    I'm looking for ideas for a birthday party with a Star Wars theme. My
    son will be turning 5. Any ideas?
    
    Thanks,
    Andrea

    
    There is a store in Natick, MA called the Big Party.  I was there a
    couple of weeks ago and saw some party supplies for Star Trek but no
    Star Wars.  They had alot of neat things; however, I noticed mostly
    geared for girls.  My son will be 2 soon and the choices were limited
    but neat.
    
    Joyce

I believe there's also a Big Party on route 1 south in Dedham or thereabouts.

    I am looking for a children's party entertainer that will help with
    Karaoke for a bunch of 12 year old girls. My daughter envisions
    dressing up in costumes and singing to a karaoke machine. I could rent
    the karaoke and the costumes and then set it up myself, but I would
    prefer an entertainer. Any ideas? (I live in Sudbury.) I have tried
    rental/entertainer agencies. They are geared to adult parties, 4 hour
    minimum, $250, no supervision...
    Thanks,
    Marjorie 

    If you can't find anyone, I'd try calling the local children's theater
    group and ask for a recommendation.  Many times the group has teenagers
    that play the leads so they can sing and are good around kids.
    
    For example, in Nashua the Peacock Players are associated with the
    American Stage festival.  
    
    judy

Shruthi(almost 4) wants a Winnie the Pooh party!  I have about a month to plan
this party...and am looking for ideas about games, decorations etc to fit this
theme. I am going to get Winnie the Pooh invitations, Winnie the Pooh cake and
tableware.  I would like to get something related to Pooh for each kid's goody
bag.  Any ideas where I could find a variety of this stuff?  I did think about
decorating my living room as the Enchanted Wood...but have no clue how to go
about doing it.  Ideas, suggestions very much appreciated!!

    
    You should be able to get Winnie pencils, stickers, and that type of
    thing at the Disney store.  However, that would be my last resort,
    because I suspect they would cost more there.  Winnie stuff is
    relatively easy to come by.  I'd try party stores like Paperama (or in
    Nashua, Party Center on 101A or Party Time on West Hollis), to begin
    with.  Then try Walmart, Kmart, Bradlees, and the like.  
    
    My son likes Winnie a lot so I notice Winnie stuff often.  
    
    Good luck!
    
    judy
    
    

    AS always, a variation of Pin The Tail can be done - maybe pin the
    honeypot on Pooh or even pin the tail on Eeyore.  I am also planning a
    Pooh party for my daughter's 2nd birthday in May so If I can think of
    any ideas I'll be sure to let you know!!  Lila
    

    My sister just did a WTP party for my nephew.  They played pin-the-tail
    on Eeyore (it was bought, not sure where), and had Pooh figures on his
    cake.  She put pooh stickers (from Bradlees, I'm 90% sure) in the goody
    bags, plus  "Honey Sticks" (me and my kids thought that they were
    gross, but the UPclass kids in their neighborhood thought they were
    MAAAAAAAHHHHHHvelous!!  Buffy.)  
    
    Since Teddy's bday is right before Christmas, she included a Christmas
    theme, and had scanned in a pic of WTP with a Santa hat, made copies,
    and we cut them and some x-mas trees out, and made a x-mas scene with
    glitter and the like.  Cute, but a LOT of work ahead of time, cutting
    things out.  
    
    Shaw's is selling WTP hardcover books.  I think it's the typical "First
    book is $1.00, the rest are $8.00" or something like that .... you may
    be able to get the kids a nice book each.  
    
    I know I've seen WTP party stuff at Toys R Us, but if I remember, it
    was kinda pricey, Paperama ought to be cheaper.
    
    Ask the kids to wear Orange, and get red t-shirts for them ... maybe
    write "Pooh" across the front.  Or if there's girls, dress them in pink
    and make piglet (striped) t-shirts, and ears.
    
    Instead of party "bags" maybe you could find something similar to a
    honeypot that doesn't cost a fortune.  A perm. marker, and you can
    write an inscription to remember the day ....
    
    Good Luck!
    Patty
    

    
    	Question on party etiquette:
    
    	My daughter is attending a party for a schoolmate at
    	the Discovery Zone on Saturday.  The party is for a five
    	year old.  Am I expected to stay at the Zone, or leave ?
    
    	I don't mind either way, but I'm curious as to what most
    	parents expect.
    
    

    karen,
    
    Call the parents and ask.  different parents like different things. 
    Me, I am always willing and happy to have an extra set of hands, but
    don't insist that a parent stay.  
    
    meg

    
    When my oldest was that age, I always brought a book or the newspaper
    and hung around for the party.   I did not feel comfortable leaving
    him in that environment w/o my supervision (weekends can be so crazy
    at those places)  I did not join the party unless I knew the parents 
    well (and was invited -  since they typically have to pay even more to 
    feed the chaperones).  I've relaxed a  little 8^) as he's gotten older.   
    Now, when I RSVP, I usually ask if they'd prefer that I stay or 
    drop-off.   
    
    YMMV, cj/

Discovery Zone has a large area with tables for the adults to lounge around
(if they can stand the noise :).  There shouldn't be a problem with you staying,
because there will be other people there anyway - you don't get the building to
yourself for a birthday party, you do it during normal operating hours (at
least that's the setup at the one we've been to several parties at).  Generally
a parent stays if their child asks them to (and often the kids only need a
parent for 5-10 minutes until they get revved up), ands leave for part or all of
the time if their child says that's fine with them.  At 5 years old, there are
definitely children in both categories.

The only reason I would think the parent(s) giving the party would care
whether the other parents stayed would be if they were/weren't planning to
buy food (mediocre pizza) for whatever adults were there.  Generally the staff
handles everything that you might have other parents help with at a private
birthday party.

I've always stayed, not because my son cared much one way or the other, but
because there wasn't anything else I was interested in doing that was nearby
enough to get there and back before the party was over.  (I hate malls :).

						cheryl

    
    	Thanks.
    	
    	I wanted to ask the parents what they preferred, but they
    	weren't home when I responded to the invite.
    
    	I had intended to stay, then I thought, "I could hop across
    	the street and pick up the decorations for Andrew's party
    	while she's at the party."
    
    	I'm planning to play it by ear - I'll join them for a bit,
    	and see what other parents seem to be doing.
    
    	Karen
    

    Karen,
    I usually stay for a bit, to make sure the parents and chaperones can
    handle the situation. Sometimes I pitch in and help if they appear to
    be overwhelmed. If all appears to be going well, I leave and do errands
    (Spag's! Without a child in tow!), or I bring a book and sit in the car
    to read. 
    Sarah

    
    And I really missed it last year when the neighbor was snowed under in
    homework and missed coming over for Carrie's party.  She is quite good
    at keeping things flowing while we change locations or whatever.  (We
    typically feed kids at our house and then walk up to the park for games
    and pi�ata bashing and I have to string the pi�ata just before we bash
    it.)  fortunately I did get my sister to help out on pieces as
    11-year-olds are impatient, easily bored and, in many ways, worse than
    smaller kids.  ;-)  We needed all three of us (Frank, Gen and myself)
    to keep things moving and minimize horseplay.  
    
    meg
    
    

We are having a couple of games at Shruthi's 4th birthday party.  My question
is, do you usually give out prizes for the person who does the best at these
games?  We were at a party last year where a prize was given and I know Shruthi
was miserable because she was second-best and didn't get a prize!  I am not sure
if 4 yr olds can be understanding about the winner/loser concept!

--Chaya.

    
      Maybe a conselation prize for whoever doesn't come in first? 
    You can pick up bags of party favors at Spags or somewhere. Maybe
    even fill a little bag up for each child with little gifts. This
    way they each get a little something, the winner gets a little more.
    
        Rosie 

    
    I usually give a "goody bag" at the end of the party.  This way the
    games are just that, games.  Not a competition.  Kids and Mom like it
    better...nice way to go home....
    
    I usually put pencils, erasers (big), doddle pads, noise makers, etc. 
    
    
    Kathi
    
    

I brought my son to a 4-year-old's party where they gave out prizes to all who
participated in each game.  We usually give goody bags at the end, and we don't
have competitive games.  I would caution against prizes just for the winners
for the 4-year-old crowd, even if you rig things so that everybody wins at
something.

						Brian

Thanks for the replies.  You just confirmed what I was thinking!  I do have
goody bags for all the kids and was not planning on giving out any *prizes*, but
I thought I'd check to see if this is what people/kids woule expect!

--Chaya.

    We have always done non-competitive games, with the possible exception
    of the annual pi�ata for Carrie's birthday.  (In classic style this is
    rigged for the b-day kid to get the final blow on the pi�ata)  
    
    I do always keep extra goodies on hand so that any child who is shy or
    not as uick as the others still winds up with a fair amount of stuff. 
    We do use loot bags, and send each child home with a balloon at the end
    of the party. 
    
    meg

    My daughter (6) has been invited to a birthday scheduled in two
    weeks.
    
    The invitation states that the child is "registered" at a local
    store.  Is this common???
    
    She goes to at least one party a month, so we are not new to this
    game.  However, previously, the unstated rule was that presents
    were in the $10 range, essentially what it cost to have the child
    at the party (given entertainment, food, goodie bag...)  The items
    at the "registered" store are well over $10.
    
    What should I do?
    
    (I've also been at the receiving end of this extravagance; at
    my son's recent 2 year old party he received a truck that cost
    easily $30!  This is too much!  How can I stop it!)
    
    Tara
        

    Tara,
    
    	There isn't an easy way to stop this...My little one is invited to
    6 or 7 birthday parties every year.  We, too, have the $10 limit...BUT,
    we do break the limit.  If the party is for a "cousin" or her best
    friend we go over the limit.  
    
    	As for being registered...personally, I would ignore this and
    purchase a gift in your price range.  I have received invitation to
    baby/wedding showers that tell you were the receiver is registered.  I
    go over and look over the "requested" list and go from there.  
    
    	I think that some parents are getting to greedy.  I have an only
    child and we are are very careful to make sure that we don't "over do"
    or let our little "show off" an extravigent gift.  
    
    	On the other hand, it could be that the child's parents are trying
    to make your life a little easier....
    
    Kathi
      

    I agree that information on store registration is a *suggestion*, not a
    mandate.  A recent Ann Landers column had a recent bride (or bride
    wannabe) foaming at the mouth over "cheap" wedding gifts because the
    value of the gift does not equal the amount spent by the bride's family
    on the guest.  !!!!!!!  Ann gave her a verbal lashing, fittingly IMO.
    
    I invite guests for the pleasure of their company, and gifts (birthday
    or otherwise) are a pleasant surprise: NOT expected and certainly not
    rated against the cost of entertaining.
    
    Hmph!
    Leslie

    
    	I'm looking for party location ideas for my daughter's
    	5th birthday in May.
    
    	I want to do something outside, though I'll consider indoor
    	locations if they are unique (after my last experience at
    	a birthday party at the local indoor kids' playground, I've
    	absolutely positively ruled those out!).
    
    	Thanks,
    	Karen
    

    karen,
    
    I don't live in your part of the country but.
    
    How about a picnic in the nearest park?  We do this for Carrie each
    fall.  I do recommend a backup strategy, in case your mays are like
    ours.  70 one day 23 and snowing the next.  
    
    meg

    
    	I'm still looking for an idea for a party location...
    
    	ANYONE ?
    
    

    
    As a town resident, you can reserve a pavillion at 
    Dean Park.   Also, they may do birthday parties at
    Weagles Farm/Ice Cream.  There is also a farm in
    ?Sterling? that I have heard does fun parties in
    that age group - or the New England Science Center.
    
    cj/

    My kids went to that farm in Sterling and it was a blast. They get
    pony rides and get to pet/see a lot of animals.  We only had cake
    and icecream, but I think you can have food too. Not sure.  And
    for the life of me I can't remember the name of the farm.  One
    of our technicians here had his son's party there. I'll ask and
    post the name later.  The picnic tables were in a covered tent
    which made it nice to get away from the heat.  (It was August).
    There was a playground area across from the tables.  Whole party
    took about two hours. 
    
    Rose

    My sister does pony and ponycart rides.
    Where do you live?  She is in Merrimack, NH.
    
    If you are interested, send me mail.
    
    Dolores

    
    My daughter had her party there 2 years ago. Now their in their new
    place across the street from the original and it's great!! I was just
    there this weekend. Lucy (one of the goats) had triplets!! Lots of
    babies to see. Dahli LLama is going to have a baby some time in
    June/July. They are located on the web at:
    
    	http://www.davisfarmland.com/index.html
    
    Have fun!!
    
    Patty

    Its called Farmland Petting Zoo, in Sterling Ma.
    
    nmp

    
    	Patty, thank you for the pointer to the website.
    
    	Looks like it can get pretty expensive (We've got 12 kids
    	just among relatives), but with all that's included,
    	I still plan to consider it as an option.
    
    	Karen
    

    There's always Cogshall park in Fitchburg.  A beautiful
    playground/park.
    
    Holly
    

    
    	Thanks.  I'm pretty certain we'll go with Farmland.
    
    	I want something a little more structured than a park
    	or playground, or we'd just have it at my house.  
    
    	Karen
    

    I remember someone in this conference mentioning a man who will come to 
    a birthday party with all sorts of reptiles to entertain the children.
    I couldn't find the note.  Does anyone have a phonme number or any
    details on him?
    			Thanks,
    			Mary

    I don't remember the name, but if you get a Parenting Times paper (at
    the Nashua public library, various daycares/doctors offices) they have
    ads for a couple of different outfits that do this.
    
    judy