A Non-Scary Ghost Hunt!

This is such a fun and non-scary idea for Halloween! Create "ghosts" using a cut up sheet, lollipops and ribbon! Cut the sheet into squares, put it over the lollipops and tie a ribbon right below the candy. Draw a face on the sheet and wah-la! You have a ghost!

Hide these ghosts in the yard and have your kiddos try to hunt for them using a flashlight and a bag to put them in.

When I did this last year, I created "special" ghosts, which had googly eyes and a silver ribbon. If any kiddo found a special ghost, they won an extra prize! This year I am thinking of creating ghosts with glow in the dark paint or fabric! I will post new pictures after this year's hunt!

A Perfectly Princess Party!

For Curly's 3rd birthday I created a princess themed party. We invited all of her girl friends and had a special visit from Cinderella, who sang a song for the girls and helped Miss Curly blow out her candles on her cake!

I created a dress up area, where the girls could pick out a gown, jewels, tiaras, etc.

There were different stations where the young ladies could have their make up, hair, and nails done.

They feasted on yummy snacks in their royal dining room.

There was even a VIP (Very Important Princess) area.

Loads of food!

Treats!

And even a cotton candy station!

Fun was had by all!

Great Custom Dog Tags!

Does your child like to pretend that they are a dog or a cat? Perhaps you are throwing a dog/cat themed birthday party?

This is a cute, very reasonable idea for party favors or dress up. Purchase printable Shrinky Dink paper at your local craft store (Michaels or Hobby Lobby carry it) or you can purchase it online. You can create a little template with circles, bones, etc. in Photoshop or there are templates available online if you search for "shrink dinks" and "dog tags". Place the name of each child on the tag, print the templates, cut them out, punch a hole in the tag, and bake. Once they cool, add a ribbon to the tag and its all set to go!

Kids LOVE these little tags. They could also be used for tags for lunch boxes or backpacks.

Major party decor for little cash!

This was a super great idea to add some major impact to your party, for very little cash! I purchased
6 plastic table clothes at the dollar store (2 of each color). Bunched up one side of the table cloth and pinned it to the center of the ceiling. On the other end, I spread out the table cloth and hammered a nail in each side. Once all of the clothes are hung, attach some colorful balloons and ribbon in the middle (hanging down), to bring it all together. Total cost around $8!

Who Doesn't Like Hot Dogs?

I was looking for a fun and reasonably priced way to feed a party of 100. I decided to go with a hot dog bar, which was a big hit! First I scoured the web for some yummy recipes for topping the dogs, and then printed those out and attached them to the wall behind the hot dog bar on decorative paper.

I put all of the toppings in little bowls and plates and placed all of the hot dogs in a crockpot standing up, side by side with no other ingredients and turned it on for 3 hours. By the time the party started all of the hot dogs were cooked to perfection! The guests loved being able to try new hot dog recipes and the whole setup cost less about 50 cents per guest!

A cardboard fort they soon won't forget!

I was looking for a unique way to build a doghouse/fort for Curly's 4th birthday without spending a ton of $$$. I came up with this fun idea for around $20. I used:

1. 4 Large Moving Boxes - free from Craigslist
2. 5 Foam Poster Boards - ($5 -$1 each at the dollar store)
3. 6-8 packages of tissue paper ($1 each at the dollar store)
4. A Boatload of Hot Glue ($5 total for a large bag).
5. A roll of duct tape ($3)

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1. Create the house by cutting up the cardboard and duct taping them together to form the house.
2. To make roof  place the white foam poster boards in the shape of a triangle on top of the house and tape them together at the very top and then attach them to the house with duct tape.
3. Hot glue various colors of tissue paper to either side of the house to decorate the walls.

4. For the roof shingles, cut out many colorful circles of tissue paper using a large roll of tape as a pattern.  Then glue rows of each color, overlapping them to make it look like shingles.

5. The front of the dog house takes the longest to complete, but definitely added some major character. Use the same circles that are used for the roof, but fold each piece up to make little "flowers" then glued them onto the house, varying the colors.

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6. Finally decorate the inside of the house with large sheets of tissue paper, just like the sides on the outer part.

 

Organize your child's dress up clothes on the cheap!

I was looking for a way to organize Curly's 101 costumes in new playroom without spending a fortune! My husband suggested something that would be cost effective as well as unique. We went to Lowes and purchased a 6 ft long board for $2 and a box of 18 screw-in hooks for $2.50. I painted the board white then had my little girl put her personal touch on it with her colorful paints.

I then screwed in all of the hooks and hung it up in her playroom. Wah-la! An organization system for under $5!!