Recycle / Reuse Baby Food or Spice / Seasoning Jars

Im getting a collection of baby food jars and small jars from spices & seasonings.

Im also looking into ideas for my kids upcoming birthday parties and have come up with the plan to use the little jars to package up candies for the loot bags!

I can decorate the lids with fabric or have my daughter decorate with stickers.

This will save on the plastic baggies I am trying to live without!

(of course they could also be used to make snowglobes, storage for nuts/bolts, hair elastics, pushpins, bread bag tags, musical shakers, large shot glasses, small vases, or small drinking glasses)

Bugs or Flower Garden Birthday Theme

Great theme for any child - boy or girl - and any age! Can be an indoor theme on a cold winters day or an outside party in spring, summer, or fall! Very versatile!

Invitations
Make fun flower garden / bug themed birthday invitations for your party. Your child could make several 8x10 abstract paintings - then cut into a butterfly shape. Write party details on the back. One 8x10 painting could be for two invitations.

Write party details on a recipe card and attach some themed stickers. Hole punch a corner of the recipe card and tie to a plastic flower.


Decorations
Cover the top of the tables with sunny yellow tablecloths (or other vibrant colours)

Add large artificial flowers all over the room

Blow up helium balloons and tie them with long strings of curling ribbon. Attach butterflies, dragonflies or any flying bug to the end of the curling ribbon. Let the balloons float to the ceiling and the butterflies and bugs will “fly” around the party area.

Coffee Filter bugs - let child decorate a coffee filter with bingo dabbers or markers. Scrunch in the middle and clip with clothesline pin. Glue or draw two eyes on clothesline pin. Create several and hang from ceiling or curtain rod.

LADYBUGs: All decorations would be red with black dots.


Activities

Nature Scavenger Hunt. This can be done at a park, lake, pond or backyard. Each guest receives a nature scavenger hunt list and collection items. They then are sent off in pairs or groups to look for the items on their list. Have a prize for the winning team who finds the most items. Give each hunter a gallon size plastic baggie, bucket and spoon (the bucket & shovel might be their loot bag too!) to collect their items.
Scavenger item ideas: pinecones, leaves, white rock, feather, birch bark, etc. You could also hide a few plastic bugs that they are to find.

Pin the bug on the flower. Played just like pin the tail on the donkey only use a large poster of a flower and bug stickers. Buy or draw a flower on a poster board. Make sure the flower has a stem and leaves and doesn't take up more then 10% of the poster. Mark a spot on the flower with a sticker or marker in case more then one player gets their bug on the flower - the player closest to this mark wins. Attach the poster to a wall. Give each party guest a bug sticker with a number written on it. If you can't find stickers then you can make ladybugs and beetles out of construction paper.

Bug Landing (variation of musical chairs). Cut large leaves out of poster board or felt - at least large enough for two children to stand on. Make one leaf per guest. Place the leaves around the floor of the area you will be playing in. Tell birthday guests that they are going to pretend to be bugs. When the music plays they will pretend to fly around the room, but when the music stops they must find a leaf to land on.

If you are giving away prizes: Before the party buy small prizes - enough for each guest - with a bug / flower theme.

Digging for Bugs: Fill a large bucket or shallow rubbermaid container halfway with soil. Add enough water to make it goopy and muddy. Mix in different rubber and plastic bugs & reptiles. Each child gets to dig out an item until all the items have been found. (Have a bucket of soapy water handy!)


Craft Activities

Make bug antenna's with headbands, pipe cleaners and Styrofoam balls.Decorate sunny yellow foam visors to look like flowers.

Paint picture frames green and then paint on bugs or flowers. An easy way to make bugs is to have them dip their index finger in paint and make dots on the frame. Then come back when dry with a small paint brush and paint on dots, eyes and antenna’s. You can also let them decorate the frames with stickers, jewels or foam cut-outs.

Decorate clay pots with paint. Then fill with dirt and add few flower seeds. This makes a great party favor for the guests to take home.

Decoupaged clay pots. Using slightly diluted white glue, let the children paint the glue on the pot and put on small pre-cut squares of fabric scraps. Paint a layer of glue over finished product. Tissue paper also makes a great decoupage medium.

Bug Pet Rocks - Find or buy several very smooth round flat rocks. Let the party guests paint their rocks to look like bugs. Glue on googly eyes if desired. Then let the guests name their pet rocks and take them home for a party favor.


Food

Cut Jell-O jigglers with a bug, butterfly or flower shaped cookie cutter.

Sandwiches cut with flower or bug shaped cookie cutters.

Honey Bee crackers.

Bow tie pasta - it looks like butterfly wings!

Cheese (cut with butterfly cookie cutter) and crackers.

Make dirt / garden cupcakes. Fill individual cupcake liners 1/2 way with chocolate pudding. Crush Oreo cookies and sprinkle them on top of the chocolate pudding to fill the liners. Place gummy worms in the cupcakes and a pretty plastic flower on top. This a also a fun activity for the party goers to make!

Chocolate Pudding cups with a gummy worm or spider

Birthday cake shaped like a caterpillar, butterfly, or a dirt cake (google it for recipe but I think basically a frosted chocolate cake that is then sprinkled with oreo crumbs and gummy bugs)


Party Favors

Bug Nets
Magnifying glass
Plastic bugs
Stickers of flowers and bugs
Small terra cotta pot with a packet of seeds
Small toy rake or hoe
Any item that the birthday party guests have made as a craft

**For instance, the kids painted or decoupaged a clay pot. When it's time to leave, place a baggie of soil, flower seed packet, a baggie of gummy worms, and a thank you note inside the pot. A complete loot bag that will be used rather than tossed because it's all plastic junk! **

Make Your Own Loot Bag Favours

Check this link out for some amazing ideas on homemade Loot Bag Favours.

*would also be items that would be great as Christmas Stocking Stuffers!*

Everything from felt play food, lollipops, superhero masks, etc.

http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009/10/homemade-party-favors.html

Homemade Chunky Crayons - Recycling!

My Aunt found a big bag of crayons at a second hand store, so I went to work at making the chunky toddler crayons I have heard about.

1. Peel off all paper from crayons (kids might enjoy this task!)

2. Cut into small chunks

3. Prepare Pan.

Muffin Tin: use an old one because it will get wax on it and surprisingly it is very hard to remove it all afterwards. Or purchase one from second hand store.

On my first batch, I put pieces of tin foil in each cup (I have heard you can buy muffin cup liners made of foil but haven't seen them). 7 out of 9 cups had wax leak underneath the foil and make a mess. Plus the crayons turned out very wrinkly due to the creases in the foil. * Not recommended unless you use the aluminum liners but I didn't try that.

Second batch, I sacrificed my muffin tin since it already had wax on it from the first batch. I sprayed it liberally with cooking spray. * This worked the best.

4. After preparing pan, pile your crayons chunks. I liked to stick to 2 - 4 colours per cup and grouped each colour together.

5. Turn oven to 250F (no need to preheat, this isn't a cake we're making!) and put muffin tin in. It took about 10 mins. Even if not all the chunks were melted, I turned the oven off and left it inside for awhile.

6. Remove from oven and let cool on counter. When they started to solidify, I stuck them in the freezer. An hour later they popped out so easily.

Option 2: Film Canisters - Place film canisters in a baking pan lined with a piece of tin foil to catch drips. Using a tin can, melt your crayons in the can by placing it in a saucepan with an inch or two of water on the stove. Stir the chunks (wooden skewer worked great) until melted. Pour carefully into film canisters. Some of them I layered a few different colours for a cute effect.

*Unless you want to use a dozen different cans, start with your lightest colour and then reuse for the next darker colour. This way the leftover wax in the can won't distort your colours too much.

Finished product from Film Canisters

Finished product from aluminum foil lined muffin tin.

Finished product from greased muffin tin & my Favourites!

These crayons will be used in the loot bags for my daughter's birthday party and the less pretty crayons will be used at home & our cabin.

I read somewhere that the washable crayons don't work for this. Whatever makes the washable will rise to the top and the kids won't be able to colour with them. Since my crayons were a mixed assortment of unknown brands, I made sure to use some of each type in a muffin cup.

I really enjoyed the project and couldn't stop once I started creating my little masterpieces!

Loot Bags

I made these mini drawstring bags this weekend for the loot bags at my daughter's upcoming birthday party. Im doing a 'green' theme so these are more environmentally friendly than the tradional plastic dollar store variety.

I used scraps of fabric that I have saved over the years and found instructions on the internet.

It was so super easy (I am not an advanced sewer). The instructions were for a certain sized bag but I just 'winged it' with my own sizes depending on the size of scraps I had.

Im hoping the kids (& Moms) will enjoy these and use them for storing little cars, snacks, doll accessories, whatever!

I enjoyed making them (since they were so quick & easy) and made extras of various sizes for myself. Im thinking that perhaps future gifts will be encased in a homemade drawstring bag as well!

The Loot Bag

Oh the dreaded loot bag. I was very disappointed in the loot bags I gave out at my daughter's last birthday. I had given no pre-thought into what to give so I went with a variety of cheap plastic stuff. I spent a lot and could have given some neat items for the same amount or less. I don't believe that loot bags need to cost more than the present, they are meant as a thank you token in my opinion. So here's some ideas:

Content Ideas:
-Homemade chunky crayons – melt paperless crayons in small muffin tins
-Joke Book
-Cookie decorated with child’s name
-Homemade Playdough or Store Bought
-Activity Booklets & Crayons (purchased or print out pages from internet and staple together)
-"A scoop of Hugs and Kisses for you". Laundry Scoop filled with Hershey kisses wrapped in cellophane & ribbon
-Something made by the Birthday Child as a thank you to her friend
-Bean Bags
-Homemade bookmark
-Notebook & fancy Pen
-Bubbles & Wand
-Hair Accessories
-Candy or Homemade Goodies (ie. rice krispie squares)


Activity from Party that results in a Take Home Item:
-Crown
-Mask
-Scavenger Hunt/Treasure Hunt
-Playdough
-Picture Frame
-Superhero Cape & Foam Mask

Kits:
-Make a candy necklace (licorice string, lifesavers)
-Craft Kit – large Ziploc bag with stickers, construction paper, ribbon, glue stick, printed out colouring pages etc.
-Dry cookie mix with instructions of wet ingredients, cookie cutters, cookie decorations


The Actual Loot Bag:
-Drawstring Bag
-Purse
-Tote
-Lunch kit
-Paper Bag decorated
-Canvas Bag
-Clay Pots (decorated by child) w/ baggie of dirt & seed packet
-Sand Pails w/ sidewalk chalk, shovel, etc.
-Small cellophane bag tied to a helium balloon
-Small Jar decorated (with decoupaged pictures on inside of jar)

-Party Popper (like Christmas Crackers)
-Tea Cup filled with cookies, wrapped in cellophane
-Small Box (decorated by child) filled with gold chocolate coins and a flashlight (this would be cool for a Pirate or Rainbow Party)
-Helium Balloon with a baggie of candy tied to it.
-Dress Up bag – purse with scarf, necklace, hat

And of course:
*THANK YOU CARD INSIDE*

Be sure to have a couple extra in case a sibling or extra friend comes over. If there's extra then the birthday child gets one too!

Dollar Stores are wonderful for creating your loot bag but think outside the box. Don't necessarily only check the party section ;-)

Birthday Party Ideas

Location: Your house is great but it can get overwhelming with a few toddlers plus parents in it. In our town, we could rent the library basement, school gym, or church basement. But other locations could be a park or beach.

Invites: Im all for making your own invites and not buying premade (although that is what I did last year) Using Word and some easy clipart you could make some really fancy invitations. Or use it as a craft project a couple weeks before the party and have your child draw multiple pictures. For my daughter who is just a scribbler at this point, I would have her scribble on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and then cut that into four invites.

Then just write the party details over the drawing with a dark marker. There are also websites with free printable invitations, google it!

Activities:

*Name Tag - have each kid decorate a name tag when they arrive. Or just draw a picture and they get to wear it.
*Dance Party
*Colouring
*Charades, Simon Says
*Hook up Video Camera to TV and let kids see themselves dance & pose
*Story Telling with a book based on birthday theme
*Treasure Hunt (picture clues)
*Watermelon Seed Spitting
*Bean Bag Toss
*Cupcake Decorating
*Bucket of Dirt/water with plastic frogs, bugs, etc hidden inside. Kids have 1m to grab all they can
*Spin the bottle – for who’s gift gets opened

Party Themes:
*Talent Show
*Carnival with facepainting, bean bag toss, ring toss etc.
*Arts & Crafts Show – fingerpaints, foot painting, crafts, etc. Clothesline for artwork display
*‘Green’ Birthday –gently used toy/book as gift, recycled invitations, Pot w/seed&soil as lootbag, Gifts wrapped in newspaper or reused bag, regular dishes & fabric napkins.
*Costume Party
*Spa Party w/ nail painting, face masks, pink grapefruit pop in wine glass
*Pirate Party – treasure hunt, eye patch, bandana
*Cooking Party –Invites on recipe cards, Aprons (to decorate), printed out recipes, everyone make a pizza, Red & White tablecloths, Decorate cupcakes or cookies
*Fear Factor - 'spin the wheel' to decide who eats what - mashed avocado, sardines, pickled eggs, etc.
*Pajama (or sleepover) Party – movies, popcorn, etc.

Crafts (double as Giveaways):
*Picture Frames
*Loot Bags
*Superhero Masks – provide each child with small cape
*Decorate Notebooks
*Paint a clay pot (later add a baggie of soil & seed packet for giveaway)
*Wooden Box to paint or decorate
*Doorknob Hangers to paint or decorate
*Playdough – small dowels as rolling pins, cookie cutters, etc.
*Jewellry – bracelets, necklaces, etc.
*Homemade Soap –hide small token inside
*Candy Necklaces – licorice rope with lifesavers, gummy rings, etc.

*Necklaces (made from salt dough) - make them ahead of time and then the kids can paint them. http://123mytoddlerandme.blogspot.com/2009/08/salt-dough-recipe.html

*Tie-Dye t-shirts or pillowcases

Decorations:
*Mini piñata made of brown paper bag decorated with tissue garlands.

*Streamers

*Loads of balloons everywhere!

*Happy Birthday Banner - reuse year after year

*Put out a few pictures from previous birthdays. Perhaps using pictures to create a special place mat for the birthday child (put pictures on construction paper and laminate)

Snacks:
*Jello cups with gummy fruit inside
*Edible playdough with decorations such as pretzels, smarties, raisens, *etc.
*Cupcakes
*Chocolate Pudding with gummy worms
*Finger foods a must :-)

Check out these neat sites:
http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/party_ideas.html
http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/
http://familyfun.go.com/parties/birthday/