Toy Story Birthday Party

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic is of Mikie and the kids at Bass Pro Shop yesterday. (The "good one" is in Project 365!)

The Gallery Pics are from Bev's birthday party Saturday night. I'll be posting our Father's Day photos Tuesday... just to spread it out a bit!

Weekend Review

Our weekend was busy, busy, busy, but filled with moments to remember and time spent with family.

On Friday night, two of the Faulkner Five made it to the Toy Story 3 premiere. A third member of our clan went Saturday morning. All of them declared it to be a hit. Mikie and I are in the depths of despair. Well, I am. Mikie asked me if I wanted to see it next weekend (which I do), so I'm really looking forward to that date!

Saturday was spent getting ready for Bev's birthday party Saturday evening. Keeping with the Toy Story 3 "theme" of the weekend, Roxie made Beverly a cute "piggy bank" cake. (Roxie makes Bev's birthday cakes, and Katie makes my birthday cake each year.) She did a very good job, and although it was a shame to cut into the masterpiece, the guys had no problem eating that pig.

My Mom had an idea which was a first for our clan... we played Bunco after dinner. It was so much fun, and everyone enjoyed it. We're going to play again on the 4th of July. We've decided to sedate Zac and Katie. It seems they inherited the "obnoxious Aunt Belinda" gene when it comes to playing party games. It's like looking in a mirror, I tell you! (And it ain't pretty!)

Sunday was spent with Mikie's family. My great-nephew, Matthew, was unbelievably precious in his Hawaiian shirt and tiny flip-flops. Talk, talk, talk... he can (and will) say anything. At two and a half, he's a little myna bird. You say it, and he repeats it!

When we left Mike's family, we headed to the Bass Pro Shop. That store is incredible. I love it! I can see why Roxie wants to work there when she gets old enough. I want to work there when I get old enough, too. It is like being outside... but with air conditioning. It's genius, I tell you!

Of course, we ended the evening with a late dinner at Dreamland Barbecue. Ribs for the guys and sandwiches for the chicks and we were happy campers. (And with a full to-go box sitting in my fridge, I even have something to feed these boys at lunch today. Life is good.)

It was a nice weekend, but I'm looking forward to this week, and maybe a little more normalcy. Josh has summer football and Austin will be working off and on at the Chick. If I can get just a few minutes to myself each and every day, maybe (just maybe) I can catch up on some laundry and dusting. Only time will tell!

Toy Story Birthday Party (Ages 4 - 6)

I woke up at 4:00 this morning (which is unheard of for me), and started brainstorming about a Toy Story Birthday Party. If it is okay with you, I'll share it today.

Schedule: (Let's say the party is from 1:00 until 2:30, shall we?)

1:00 - 1:15 Craft
1:15 - 1:25 Game
1:25 - 1:35 Game
1:35 - 1:50 Cake
1:50 - 2:00 Devotion
2:00 - 2:10 Game
2:10 - 2:20 Game
2:20 - 2:30 Open Gifts
2:30 - 2:40 Free Play AND Pick Up

You will need the following:

Queen Size Sheet
Stuffed Pig
Bag of Army Men
Hula Hoops (1 per child)
Toy Story Soundtrack (CD)
Toy Story Figurines and/or Toys
Quarters
Sugar-Free Gum (1 pack per child)

Have the CD playing throughout the entire party (except for the devotion).

Pig Toss Game - Using a queen size sheet, have the children stand in a circle holding it taut. Throw the stuffed pig into the middle of the sheet. Half of the kids are trying to "pop" the pig off the sheet while the other half is trying to catch it and keep it in the sheet. Simple, but definitely 10 minutes worth of fun!

Army Man Hunt - Before the party, hide an entire bag of army men around the yard area. Most bags have green soldiers AND tan soldiers. Give each child their goodie bag, and tell them to find as many army men as they can in five minutes. If they find a tan army man, they need to run quickly to you and you will drop a quarter in their goodie bag before they run off to hunt again!

At the end of five minutes, blow a whistle. Have the children empty their goodie bags and the child (or children) with the most army men will also have a quarter dropped in their goodie bag.

Piggy Bank Cake - Go to www.familyfun.com. For a picture and instructions for this EASY to make cake, go to Search and type Fat Piggy Cake.

Devotion - The scripture reference for this party is James 1:17. Have the kids sit in a circle on the floor. Sit in a chair with a pillowcase beside you. Inside the pillowcase you will have five wrapped gifts. (If you have more than five children at the party, you will need a wrapped gift per child.)

Explain to the children everyone is about to open a gift. HOWEVER, it is not a toy for them to keep. It is something to help you with the story.

NOTE - To keep the kids from being disappointed about the contents of the box, put a pack of sugar-free chewing gum in each box. They can have a piece, and put the rest in their goodie bag.

Look for a child who is sitting quietly. Ask them to walk up to you and pick a gift out of the bag. When they sit down again, ask them to unwrap the gift. Inside they will find a "gift" which comes from God... and a pack of sugar-free gum for them!

Here are some ideas of things to put in each individual box.

A miniature home or a picture of a house (representing shelter)
A can of ravioli (representing food)
A picture of your family (representing family)
A dollar bill (representing a job)
A Bible (representing God)
A flag (representing a country where we are free to worship)
A notebook and pencil (representing schools)
A picture of children (representing friends)
A stuffed heart or a picture of a heart (representing love)

After all of the children have unwrapped one gift (and deposited their package of gum in their goodie bag), read the verse to them. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights." James 1:17.

Talk to them about things we might take for granted... like home or food or going to church on Sunday. God is so good and He has given these things to us.

Ask the kids, "What was God's greatest gift ever given to us?" The answer... His Son, Jesus.

Ask, "What are we supposed to say when someone gives us a gift?" Hopefully, the answer will be, "Thank you."

"Let's thank God for every good gift he has given us." Take a minute or two to thank God for each and every child at the party (by name).

What's Missing - Since the children are sitting in a circle, get on the floor and play What's Missing. On a towel, have as many Toy Story figurines and/or toys you can find (around 10 to 12). Tell the children to look carefully, at all of the toys.

Now cover the toys with another towel. Tell the children to close their eyes and tilt their heads back. Quickly slip one toy out from under the towel and put in under your leg.

Tell the kids to open their eyes and look. See which one can figure out which toy is missing. Replace the missing toy and play a few more rounds.

Gallop Races - Before opening the gifts, since the kids have been sitting for a few minutes you will need to let them get rid of some excess energy. Have a starting point. Line the kids up and show them how to gallop (kind of a half skip... you may need to practice a little before you show them). For this race, they need to gallop across the yard to the finish line, touch your hand and then run as fast as they can back to the starting line. The winner gets a quarter to put in their goodie bag.

You may want to do this relay one or two more times depending on the energy level.

Gift Opening - After the races, place hula hoops on the ground or deck. Ask each child to sit in a hula hoop. Let the birthday boy or girl sit in a chair. Watching for a child who is sitting quietly, ask them to get their gift from a pile and bring it to the birthday boy or girl. They can stand beside them while they open the gift and have their picture taken. Then they must go back and sit in their hula hoop.

Take turns until all the children have given the birthday child their gift.

As the gifts are open, put them in a red wagon or a wheelbarrow. As soon as the birthday child is finished, roll the gifts around the corner of the house (out of sight), and let the children play with their hula hoops.

By this time, the moms have returned to pick up their happy party-goers. Everything is finished in 90 minutes!

Oh, and their goodie bags are filled with army men, quarters, sugar-free gum and they have a hula hoop to take home with them! Not too shabby!

Have a fun Monday. There are two more Tuesdays left in June... which equals two more homemade ice cream recipes. Yum! I don't think the recipes will disappoint!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda