After working with so many children's parties, we've learned alot about party planning tips, decorating ideas, creating theme parties, unique invitations, and more! We thought we'd share some of our ideas with you in the articles below. We hope you find them to be helpful and informative!
Just click on the article title below and you'll be directed to the specific party tip.
What if it rains on your party?
It never rains in San Diego, but sometimes it does, and sometimes that rain is headed here on the day of your party. You have already sent the invitations to your guests, your child has done a "count down" to their party and can't wait, and who knows what next weekend has to bring.
What do you do?
Consider options on how you can bring your party indoors yet still keep the kids entertained and busy. This could involve (1) hiring professional entertainer(s), (2) creating your own party games and activities, or (3) some combination of both. Below are some of our most popular options for a rainy day.
Option One: Hire Professional Entertainer(s):
Clowns. Our clowns specialize in balloon animals, face painting, and silly humor which can keep any party laughing all day long. A balloon animal is not only amazing to watch being made, but also gives each child a small present to take home. Prices for clowns are $150/hour, $215 for 90 minutes, and $255 for 2 hours.
Magic Shows. Kids love magic especially when they can get involved in the action. Our 90 minute combined magic, balloons, and tattoos show is one of the best values around for an indoor party. We start with a ½ hour of balloons and tattoos while building up the excitement of the magic show. A smooth transition to a ½ hour magic show, and then followed by another ½ hour of balloons and interactive silliness. This will have the kids smiling all day. The price of the 90 minute show is $225.
Indoor Bubble Shows. These shows are best in an area that can get a little wet such as a kitchen or garage, but tarps are used to keep all areas dry. The bubble show is one of the most interactive ideas that we offer. The show is broken into 4 parts: The price of the show is $250.
1. Music and Bubble making
2. Colors with big rainbow bubbles.
3. Shapes of bubbles where we make a square and other shaped bubbles.
4. "The Big Bubble" where each child may be made inside a bubble.
Option Two: Be Creative with Games & Activities!
It can be a little daunting to try and entertain a group of active kids indoors -- but, it's been done lots of time with great success. Of course the type of games and activities need to be age-appropriate and it will be easier if you can have some of the other parents stay to help you coordinate the activities, but some of the ideas our customers have shared with us as their favorites include the following:
Scavenger Hunts --- this can be as creative as you have time to make them! You can hide things around your house (not near anything too fragile!) and give the kids some clues or riddles of how to find them. Gear the clues to the age of the children so they can be sure to figure them out. When they find them, you can have a stash of "goodies" for each child to gather. You may want to break the kids up into teams to make it more manageable and give them different clues so it doesn't get too crowded in any one place. In the end, the kids all have fun and everyone gets prizes and wins
Cup Cake Decorating --- you may dismiss this idea for boys, but don't be hasty in that decision because many a boy has had hours of fun decorating little treats! If the kids are little, substitute the cup cakes for play doh and various cookie cutters. If you do the cupcakes, be sure to have lots of variety in the types of decorations such as: candies (gum drops, candy corn, licorice, M&Ms, squiggle gummy worms, etc), various colors of frosting already mixed (be sure to include black...for some reason the kids like it....), different types of sprinkles, and even cake decorating tools if you have them. You may also consider using a tray of smaller cupcakes so that the kids can have more decorating options. Let them bring these home to show their parents and as part of their "goody bag"
Games - these really do need to be tailored to the age of the kids and the best games seem to be one in which there are lots of winners -- not just one. If you have a theme party, you can tailor the games to fit the theme (e.g. "Princess May I" for princess party, "Pin the Tail on the Zebra" for a safari theme party, "Captain Jack Says" for a pirate theme, Pinatas come in lots of different themes -- but, it might be best to use the pull-string type unless you have a very large room or have the kids out in the garage, etc). Depending on the age of the kids, a good circle dance like the "Hokey Pokey" or the "Chicken Dance" can work well. If you have room, London Bridge and Ring Around the Rosie are still party classics!
Making Costumes - kids love to dress up and if you provide some simple items that you may have around the house or others can be found at craft or thrift stores -- you can create some fun  entertainment. For example, if the kids want to dress as animals -- just buy some cheap zebra or leopard fabric and cut it into squares to be worn as a bandana, or as a simple cape around their shoulders. Face paint can add a wonderful touch and some basic eye masks or decorated paper plates with feathers or fur strips can add even more character. If you use 2 paper plates, one can be the mask while the other can be cut into big ears for a rabbit or rolled into a nose for an elephant. If you do an animal theme, try singing the "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" song and let each child make the noise of his/her animal -- you'll have some very funny results! One of my favorite costume parties is a "clown" party in which all the kids dress like different types of clowns -- use some spray paint for hair, makeup, post-Halloween wigs, and whatever you can find at nearby shops. You can turn paper grocery bags into some interesting "fun" hats and construction paper as overlays for their shoes or tape to their shirt to be big buttons....there are lots of ideas! And, of course -- once the kids are all in their costumes -- they need to have a parade around the house and a photo shoot. If you have a digital camera and printer, you can also have them decorate a custom frame for their group photo to show to their parents what fun they were having!
Crafts - let the kids decorate something that they'll find fun and useful, such as flip flops or visor, a party box that can then be used as their goody bag, a frisbee can be decorated by renting a Spin Art Machine, (but, consider letting the Spin Art masterpieces dry out in the garage or some place where paint won't be an issue) or just let them decorate a collage with a cardboard picture frame to display on their wall. For the younger kids, provide various different coloring sheets with crayons.
build a bear or a cuddly stuffed animals, our Stuff 'n Fluff Animals can come to life right in your own home! There is a wide range of cute bears and animals from which to choose, with lots of adorable outfits to fit any occasion or theme. The kids will have lots of fun stuffing, naming, dressing and making a "rainbow star" wish for their animal.
These are just some of the ideas we have, so if you need any other ideas on what to do for your party when rain is in the forecast, please give us a call (858) 272-2700. We are always happy to help out with a variety of different ideas and options.
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