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Blues Clues Party for ToddlersMay 16 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line The party turned out to be a huge success;both kids & adults had fun. It was easy to plan after watching the Blues Clues Birthday video.
There are two characters that my 2-year-old son is in love with…Elmo and Blue. When given a choice of which one he wanted as the theme for his party…his 1st choice was Blue. So we started the search for ideas and supplies to put on a Blues Clues Party for a group of about 9-12 toddlers from his playgroup. It was a laid back party, no place settings for each child, since they ran around more than anything, plus we really didn’t have the room in our house to set up a separate table (and the fact that we live in Louisiana…home of mosquitoes plus the fact that it rained that weekend…pretty much ruled out an outdoor party). This Epinion will cover some different areas of planning a birthday party: 1. Favors 2. Decorations 3. Menu 4. Entertainment 5. Misc. Ideas 6. Additional Resources Favors My husband says I went a little overboard here, but there is so much out there! Here are the favors I chose to use: -little blue zipper pull -slippery soap bubbles -little Blue posable (plastic)---found at a local bargain store.... 99 cents each! -sheet of stickers -handy dandy notebook wrapped like a present with a crayon (the remainder of the crayons, box of 8...dollar store bargain...4 packs for $1) -blues "blowouts" [-Blues Clues Fruit Snacks: I was planning on putting these in, but when I went back to the grocery to pick more up, they were out!] Decorations After watching the Blues Clues Birthday Party video, I got a basic idea of what I wanted to do. -Balloons: Gathered in bunches of 3, both dark-1 and light blue-2, along with crepe paper streamers (again dark-2 and light blue-1) between them and curling ribbon (2 white, 2 each of dark blue and light blue---about 1 yard after curling) hanging down from the balloons themselves. I also had bunches of helium filled balloons (about 5-6) at the end of the main table. Along the table itself, I had more curling ribbon between the balloons that was sprinkled with Blues Clues confetti and blue foil balloon confetti ( I also threw confetti all over the table itself). We purchased a small helium tank rather than trying to cram a bunch of balloons in our little car. -Misc. “Decorations” -Party Hats: I made these myself (based on the video again). I found some blue party hats (.25 each) and bought some blue sticker dots and made hats with the dots, a yellow paint pen, and some curling ribbon on top. After placing the dots on the hats, I made little swirls with the paint pen and top off each hat with about 3 strands (about 4-5 inches after curling) of light blue curling ribbon. -Banner: I did like the banner that I saw in the stores, which consisted of 12 individual “flags” with a different character on each one. -Plates, napkins, etc.: Instead of buying the patterned plates, I again chose to follow the video. I bought dark blue and light blue of the following: paper plates, plastic ware (forks, spoons, & knives), and napkins. Menu -Cake/cupcakes: For the cake, I made a paw print cake-one layer round and four cupcakes. Since I had extra batter I made the rest into cupcakes and topped them with the little blues clues candy tops (found near the cake stuff aisle). I also used white vanilla icing mixed with blue food coloring to frost the cake and cupcakes. The kids ate the cupcakes and the adults had the cake, which worked out really well. I topped the round cake with a single white candle next to the Blues Clues candle (placed so that it looked like Blue could’ve blown out the candle herself.) -ice cream (vanilla and cookies n’ cream) -mini muffulettas [The muffuletta is an Italian-style sandwich, created in 1906 by Salvatore Lupo at the Central Grocery (in New Orleans), where they are still sold today. It's made with an Italian muffuletta bun or French loaf, layered with ham, salami, provolone or Swiss cheese, and topped with a special condiment made from olives, oil, vinegar, garlic, and pickled Italian vegetables] -pasta salad -celery/carrot w/ranch dip -grapes [attempted to buy strawberries as well, but the grocery store failed to produce these as well] -Cajun crab dip with crackers -potato chips with Creole onion dip -various sodas -coffee -bagel bites* -juicy juice* [*I forgot to set out these items] Entertainment Since this was a group a 2 year olds for the most part (with exception of my nieces: 15, 6, 3, and 1) I had decided not to do anything too strenuous, like a craft or a paid entertainer. Instead I had planned on playing the Blues Clues birthday video in the background (as well as the 2 other Blues Clues videos) and bringing out a parachute and bubbles (we did this at one of the toddler classes held locally). We ended up not using the parachute, but instead left a little basketball goal up with plenty of balls for the kids...they had a blast. We rotated through 3 Blue's Clue's videos and just hung out eating and visiting while the kids had “free play” throughout the party. Misc. Ideas Some of these I had either planned on using, but time ran out, or came across while researching on the web itself: 1. Draw some blue paw prints on the sidewalk leading up to the door with some blue chalk. (or print out from the web) 2. "Pin the flag on Mailbox" game 3. Placing a bunch of light blue/dark blue balloons on the mailbox (rain prevented us from doing this) 4. Using a swirl craft punch for confetti or use with other decor 5. Having a “Blue Food” Menu: -Blue corn tortilla chips -Blueberry cream cheese -Turkey & blueberry salad -Blueberry muffins -Blueberry cobbler -Blue Kool-Aid -Blueberry smoothies Additional Resources Besides finding ideas on the Internet, I also purchased some items online as well as in local stores. Below is a list of these: Websites: http://www.nickjr.com/grownups/home/shows/blue/news/blues_clues_news.jhtml [used for print-outs of paw prints, just look under “party”] www.iparty.com [I found the Blues Clues Birthday notebooks here; they have tons of other Blues Clues favors available as well] Local Stores: -Party City: Blue party hats -Hobby Lobby/Michael’s/Walmart: Swirl craft punch Some Closing Thoughts We took lots of video and tons of pictures. If you would like to see some pictures, you can see some at the following website (just look under “2nd Birthday Party”): http://photos.yahoo.com/mmounsey1 I also have some additional photos (close-ups) of the decorations, etc. that are not posted at the above website, but if you would like to see them, feel free to email me.  |
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