Curious Parents Party Resources

Party

KICK OFF SUMMER with a Party for Your Children & Their Friends
By Jamie Jarvis

A summer kick-off party is a great way to bring your child’s friends together to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer vacation. Hold the party in your yard or at a nearby park, swimming pool or beach.

A luau is a fun summer party theme that appeals to children of all ages as well as adult chaperones. Decorate with pineapples, coconuts and palm fronds. Make colorful surfboards and tiki totems out of poster board. Ask guests to wear Hawaiian shirts and give them a colorful lei when they arrive. Play Hawaiian music and teach hula dancing. Let guests assemble and erupt a science kit volcano. Cool off with tropical fruit smoothies and pineapple upside-down cake. Give blowing bubbles and jump ropes as party favors.

If you have access to a pool or water park, kick-off summer fun with a pool party. For young children, create a mini-water park in your yard with plastic pools and water toys. Ask guests to bring swimsuits, towels, and goggles. Decorate the party area with beach balls and other inflatable pool toys. Play Marco Polo and water volleyball. Satisfy hungry swimmers with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese crackers, rainbow sherbet, cookies and lemonade. Give beach balls or toy boats as party favors.

Even if you can’t travel to the beach, you can still have a beach party at a nearby park that has a large sand play area or even in your own yard. Just fill a few plastic pools with sand and break out the sand toys, beach towels, and lawn chairs for an instant beach. Make invitations in the shape of a sun, beach umbrella or sunglasses or write the party details on a beach ball or plastic sand pail. Ask guests to bring swimsuits and towels, if water activities are planned. Decorate the party area with a giant paper sun and colorful beach towels. Entertain guests with a water balloon toss and pirate treasure hunt and provide sand toys and flying discs for free play. Serve sandwiches, chips, fruit, and ice cream bars. Send guests home with a pair of colorful sunglasses or flip-flop sandals.

An under the sea party can be geared to various ages and interests ranging from young mermaid fans to budding oceanographers. Make invitations in the shape of a fish or seashell and decorate with glitter pens. Hang paper fish from the ceiling and make curtains of blue, green and silver streamers over doorways. Entertain guests with fishing games and a bubble blowing station. Serve bite-size cheese sandwiches, fish-shaped crackers, seedless grapes, and ice cream floats made with lemon-lime soda. Decorate cupcakes with blue sugar and fish-shaped candy. Send guests home with sea-life stickers and a fish-shaped water squirter.

And, don’t forget the most important thing: fun!

Jamie Jarvis has operated www.KidsPartyFun.com  since 2000. She has a 13-year-old son.