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Monday, February 10, 2014

Fun in the Sun Party


Prior to the birth of my second set of twins, I worked part-time as a school social worker. It was a job that I absolutely loved but it certainly came with a fair amount of stress due to the nature of the profession. Every year when June arrived, I got just as excited for summer as the kids and teachers did. No early morning alarm going off, long, hot days at the beach, sunshine, grilling, fresh fruit, I could go on and on. With all this excitement came an idea to host a "welcome to summer party" that included bubbles, inflatable pools, slip n slides, water balloons, silly string, sprinklers, sunshine, and a group of very excited kids, mommas, and even a daddy! The guests included my wonderful friends from work and a Friday play group at church. They all have children the same age as mine. One of these amazing women was pregnant and in the hospital so her brave husband brought their daughter to this party as the only man among all the other moms and kids.  

That year our last day of school was on a Thursday, this party took place the following day, on a hot, sunshine filled morning! With this age group of children, naps are a must so I invited everyone over around 11am to play, eat lunch, and then head home.

The boys and their cousin checking everything out before their friends arrive. The pick flamingos are from Oriental Trading and always a colorful addition to an outdoor party. The bubble machine was also going and creating large bubbles all over the yard.

When I began planning this, the first thing I wanted to make was the water blob I first saw on mommiesmademedoit.com.  The materials consisted of a large, clear painter's tarp, duct tape, and a hose. It looked easy to make and lots of fun. Although when I began filling it that morning it did have a handful of small holes which I was able to cover in more duct tape. I was five months pregnant at the time, so sitting in the bug filled grass assembling this a couple nights prior was a little daunting. I also learned that when doing this, it needs to be on a completely flat section of the grass. In the end, it was functional and I think the pictures speak for themselves.


 
 

I had a couple of planned activities, but most of this was set up for free play so the parents could kick back and relax while watching the kids play! I had the Little Tykes bounce house up and running, two inflatable pools, a water table, home made side walk paint (equal parts corn starch, water, and a couple drops of food coloring), chalk, a slip n slide, the big red ball, a bug dig, bubble wands, and various pool noodles, balls, and outdoor ride on toys available. Much of the yard is under the bright noon sun at this time, so I added a beach umbrella and a couple of blankets for a little shade.

My adorable niece loved the sidewalk paint



I found the inflatable ball at Costco. You can climb inside and roll around. It's always been a favorite summer time toy!

I brought our rice bin outside, added a pack of plastic bugs from Dollar Tree, and a few plastic shovels for some clean bug digging.

After the kids all played great together and the parents relaxed for hour or so it was lunchtime. Everyone generously offered to bring something which I happily accepted. We had a rainbow display of fresh fruit, kid's yogurt, pasta salad, veggies and chips. I grilled hot dogs for the kids that morning and kept them in the warmer until it was time to eat. I also made sandwiches for the adults and had a cooler of water and juice boxes. Our friends also brought cookies and popsicles for dessert. The food table was covered in a dark blue table cloth and sprinkled with brightly colored summer time confetti. For the kids' meals, I used our red food baskets lined with red and white checkered paper and red plastic utensils. 

For the adults I made these "crab-wiches" filled with either chicken salad or egg salad. Source: Family Fun magazine
After everyone ate, it was time for a little more fun before they left. I had blown up blue balloons and drew a shark face on them which I put in one of the pools and had the kids do what they could to pop the balloons.

This kept them busy for a little while.

The parents joined in and we used our large play parachute for a water balloon toss. Although, this didn't keep the kids' attention for long so we ended up having an old fashioned water balloon fight!

I called the kids over then and handed each of them a can of silly string from the dollar store and told them to go after their parents. It was hard for little fingers to spray these so the parents happily joined in to help out.


After every last can of silly string was sprayed and water balloon tossed it was time for a nap and sweet dreams of the summer ahead!
To see more of my party ideas, home decorating, favorite recipes, twin activities x 2, and all things "Mrs.Party Planner" please check me out on facebook and "like" the page. New blog posts will appear in your news feed.

2 comments:

  1. What a fantastic party! And I am inspired -- already talked to daughter about doing this for granddaughter and a few of her friends come June. We love having water fights around here but I never thought to make a party of it and invite her friends. Thank you!!!

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  2. Thank you Kc! I can't wait to see pictures of your party!!! :)

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