Daily Party Dish

Teddy Bear Hats for a Kids Birthday Party

I love celebrating my nieces’ and nephews’ birthdays!  They are still so young (all of them under 3!), and each birthday is a new surprise where they get to be the center of attention.  My little niece Lily is turning three next week, and her mother is hosting a Teddy Bear Birthday Party!  Because I’m the auntie with all the best Kids Birthday Party Ideas, I knew I just had to make these adorable teddy bear party hats as my contribution to the festivities!

They were easy to make (all I needed to know were a few simple sewing techniques), and I’m sure these party hats will last for years to come in everyone’s dress up bins.  Plus, my baby niece Lizzy loved this hat (see pic above) - wouldn't these be great 1st Birthday Theme Party Ideas, too? Follow my tutorial below to make your own easy headbands, and take a look at our Personalized Kids Party Invitations and Kids Party Favors to coordinate your party’s look! 

Materials (makes one party hat)

• 1-2 sheets brown felt
• 1 sheet tan felt
• 1 plastic headband
• Dark brown embroidery floss
• Embroidery needle
• A little poly-fil (for the ears!)

Directions

1. Cut out four half circles from the dark brown felt. (These will be your ears!) Next, cut two smaller half circles from the tan felt.
2. Using the brown embroidery floss, use a straight stitch to attach each of the tan half circles to one of the brown half-circles.  These will be the front of your ears.  
3. Next, put the ear pieces together, wrong sides facing each other.   Use a blanket stitch (see tutorial here) around the curved bit to attach the pieces. (For right now leave the bottom of the ears open.)  You should have two ears ready to go!  Lay these off to the side.
4. Then, cut a long strip about 1 ½” wide to wrap around the headband.  The length of this strip will depend on the size of your headband.  I actually needed two strips (about 18” in length total) to make it all the way around mine.
5. Lay your strip(s) flat and fold it around the headband. Using a straight stitch, work around the inside of the headband until it is completely encased in felt.
6. Finally, fill each of the ears with poly-fil, and then position the ears where you like on the headband.  Wrap the bottom straight edges of one ear around the headband, and sew them together with a straight stitch so the ear is attached to the headband. Repeat this with the other ear, and you’re done!

Have fun planning your little one's party, and Happy Birthday from the Party Girl!

Easy St. Patrick’s Day Party Games for Kids

This year, why not host an Easy St. Pats Open House Party. Sham-ROCK the House.   Of course, you’ll need to find a way to keep the adults and kids at your party entertained.  We have tons of great St. Patrick’s Day Party Games for adults, but if you’re inviting younger guests, there are definitely a few fun themed games you can throw together with little preparation. 

I came up with five fun party games the kids can start playing the second they step through your door.  Check them out below, and don’t forget to take a look at my other great St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas, too.

St. Pat's Day Party Games

1. “Wearing o’ the Green” Door Prize:  On your party invitations, make sure you tell your guests to wear green!  As the kids arrive, count how many articles of clothing have green on them.  The guest wearing the most green wins a door prize!  Of course, the prize should be green, too – like one of these awesome St. Patrick’s Day hats.

2. Rainbow Matching Game (see pics):  Attach circles of paper with double stick tape to the undersides of Hershey Kisses.  The paper should be all the colors of the rainbow. (ROY-G-BIV!)  Have players stand all the kisses up and play a matching game.  When players get a pair, they get to keep and eat the kisses!  No prizes needed for this tasty game…

3. Find the Four Leaf Clover: Depending on how many players you have, cut 100-200 three leaf clovers from green construction paper and at least one four-leaf clover per player.  Scatter the clovers around your venue, and let the game begin!  Have players hunt for a four-leaf clover, and once they find one, they can turn it in for a prize!  These St. Patrick’s Day Theme Candy Bar Wrappers make perfect prizes.

4. Shamrock Scavenger Hunt:  Of course, it’s not St. Patrick’s Day without hunting down a leprauchan and a pot o’ gold!  So make sure you have a Shamrock theme scavenger hunt.  Write clues on green construction paper shamrocks, and make sure they’re in limerick form, like this one-

                        There once was a St. Patty’s party,
                        Where all of the kids were big smarties,
                        They looked for a clue,
                        Underneath all the shoes,
                        Then said, “Maybe we’ll win a Ferrari!”
Include 5-6 clues in your scavenger hunt that takes players all over your venue and leads them to a large plastic “pot o’ gold” filled with St. Patrick’s Day prizes (think Halloween decorations – a black cauldron works!). 

5. Guess the Gold:  Fill a glass ball jar with gold coins, and have guests write down how many they think there are.  The player with the closest guess gets to take the jar home as a prize!

Good luck planning your St. Patrick's Day Open House from the Party Girl! 

St. Patricks Day Shamrock Party Favors

I've been coming up with a lot of St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas for my family's annual get-together (we're Irish!), and, of course, I decided on a chocolate favor that is everyone's favorite St. Pat's color - green!  

Making these St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Favors was pretty easy and a blast!  I modified this great idea from Qbee's Quest to make the favors larger so they could hold more kisses.  Follow my tutorial below, and check out some of our St. Patrick's Day Party Favors for more inspiration!

Materials (makes 1 favor)

• 1 sheet green cardstock (8 ½ x 11”)
• Paper cutter and scissors
• Double stick tape
• 6 Hershey kisses

Directions

Step 1: Cut a strip of paper, 1 ½ x 9 ½”.  Then, make two slits on one side of the paper at 1 ½" and 8". Cut a slit on the opposite side at 4 ¾". Make sure that the slits are cut halfway up the cardstock.

Step 2: Loop one end of the strip around and attach the 1 ½" slit into the center notch.

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 on the other side, making a second loop.

Step 4: Cut a second strip of paper, 1 ½  x 6 ¼”. Then cut notches on one side of the strip at 1 ½ " and 4 ¾”. Make sure that the slits are cut halfway up the cardstock.

Step 5: Bend the strip in a loop so the two notches align.  Add the loop to the center of the first larger strip.

Step 6: Attach the "stems" of the shamrock with double stick tape.

Step 7: Cut three more strips that are each 1 ½ x 4". Mark and score the papers at 1" intervals.

Step 8: Fold the slips into three triangles and add two Hershey's kisses to each. Secure the triangle with a piece of double stick tape.

Step 9: Insert a triangle into each loop of the shamrock. Display on a tray or in a bowl for guests to enjoy on their way home from your Easy St. Pats Open House Party. Sham-ROCK the House.

Have fun making your favors, and take a look at all of our other St. Pats Day goodies, too:

• St. Patrick's Theme Invitations and Party Favors
• St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl
• St. Patrick's Day Party Games

Valentine's Day Couples Party Games

If you’re hosting a Matchmaker Party for Singles or you’re just having over a few of your best friends (who are couples, of course!), you’ll definitely want to have a variety of fun Valentine’s Day theme couples games to keep everyone entertained. Try out a few of my favorite games below, and don't forget to check out our other Valentine's Day Party Ideas for more inspiration, too:

• Orange Pass:  Form two teams (at least 8 people on each team), and have them form a line.  (Try to have couples stand next to each other!)  Give an orange to the first person in each line and have them hold the orange with their chin against their chest.  The point of the game is to pass the orange down the line and back, neck to neck. Players can’t use their hands, and if the orange is dropped they have to start over.  This game makes for some great pictures, and it makes couples get awkwardly close!
• You’re a Lifesaver!: Like with the orange pass, form two teams of at least 8, and have each form a line.  Each player gets a toothpick which they must hold in their mouths.  The first person in each line puts a lifesaver on their toothpick and then passes it to the next person without using their hands. The object of the game is to pass the lifesaver down the line and back without dropping the lifesaver or breaking it. The first team to do so wins! Like the orange pass, this game requires players get very close – perfect for Valentine’s Day!
• Love Song Game: Have couples form teams of two, and print out the lyrics from famous love songs (about 20 songs should be good).  Say (or sing!) a line from each one, and the first couple to sing the following line in the song gets a point.  Example: You say, “At last, my love has come along…” and couples respond, “…My lonely days are over, and love is like a song.”  Award an extra point if the couple can name the artist/song title. (“At Last” by Etta James, of course!)
• Heart Lava: Give each couple two large hearts cut from red construction paper.  Using just the two hearts, each team must move across the room, hopping from heart to heart and not touching the floor. (The floor is "lava"!)  Watch as couples come up with crazy strategies to make this happen (piggy-back rides included!).  The first team to make it across the room without touching the floor wins!
• Couple’s Minute to Win It Games:  Try a fun variety of easy games that couples must complete in under one minute.  Have couples stack conversation hearts as high as they can, transfer as many pink marshmallow hearts from one bowl to another using chopsticks, and toss as many conversation hearts from one cup to another with couples standing at least three feet apart.  Make sure to hand out Valentine’s Day theme toy prizes to the winners!

I love these fun party prize ideas, too!  Customize them with your own Valentine's Day message:

• Valentine's Day Theme Candy Bar Wrapper
• Valentine's Day Theme Mint Tin
• Valentine's Day Custom Cookies