Tag: children

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Top 10 Children Pajama Party Ideas

What do you love doing with your friends when you were just little kids? No matter how advanced technology is today, one thing remains true for all kids—they love pajama parties and sleepovers. If you’re thinking about hosting a children pajama party, you have to make sure that they are all mature enough to handle it and that they understand the do’s and don’t’s in your household.

Here are the top 10 pajama party ideas you can follow:

1. Put up tents, pillows, and twinkling lights in the room.

Think Tinkerbell. The twinkling lights above the canopy of mesh and other types of textile will make the children feel like they are inside their dreams. Use pastel colors such as light pink, mint green, lavender, and other flowery designs. To make it even dreamier, you can buy an 8-pack, 20-LED starry string lights on extra thin silvery copper. It costs just $15.99 and emits that golden light you’re going after.

2. Setup a photo booth.

You don’t have to hire a professional photographer for this. You just have to setup a tripod with your camera on it, then put up a cloth on one wall and let the girls pose for the camera. Provide them with a couple of funky hots, sunglasses, and wigs, and they are good to go.

3. Give them the spa treatment.

Even little girls love having their nails done. You don’t have to hire actual spa therapists and manicurists. You and the other girls’ moms can do these for the group. Let them read their fairytale books and magazines while you cover their nails with glittery colors.

4. Personalize pillow cases.

All you need for this crafty activity is some plain pillow cases, which you can get for cheap. Throw in a couple of fabric crayons or paints, add some glitters, buttons, and other accessories, and your daughter and her friends will surely love them.

5. Put up dreamcatchers.

It might be a bit complicated to let the children make dreamcatchers but if they can, then why not? It is so easy because all you need are colorful threads to make one. Let the children’s imagination rule over.

6. Have a glow-in-the-dark party.

There are plenty of available products that would turn your daughter’s room into a glow-in-the-dark party. You can also buy non-toxic pens, so that the kids can draw on each other’s faces or better yet, draw on plain white shirts and have fun with the camera.

7. Food, food, food.

Can there ever be a pajama party without midnight snacking? Be sure to prepare food for the kids. You can either go healthy and prepare something nutritious for them, or you can treat them to their favorite fastfood chains.

8. Prepare a list of movies.

What better way to spend the night with friends than prepare their favorite movies? Do they want to watch the usual fairy tales or simply scare each other’s wits with movies like “It”? Prepare a list of movies they can choose from.

9. Teach them how to bake.

Even if you don’t know anything about baking, there are a couple of recipes that are so easy to follow even the kids can do it. Learn together and enjoy those cupcakes you’ll bake.

10. Have a “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” night.

You are probably familiar with “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” where a group of people take turns telling scary stories. You can do these with the kids and let them share stories that scare them.

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5 Reasons Not to Give Away Birthday Party Favors Anymore

Birthday party favors have become a staple. Whenever there’s a birthday, expect your kids to be bringing home a goody bag packed with candies, chocolates and very small toys.

While this has been a norm—and I confess that I am one of those who offer birthday party favors—some parents advise against them. Based on my readings and asking other parents about it, these are the 5 reasons they told me why we should not consider giving away birthday party favors anymore.

1. “They Add to the Budget.”

Having a birthday party will let you spend on the cake, other foods, drinks and balloons. In some cases, you might even consider renting a venue to save you from the trouble of cleaning up the mess if the party was held in your home. Add to that the pay when hiring performers or a host if you wish to make the event really fun. Offering birthday party favors will just bloat your expenses, especially when you have a lot of guests.

2. “Some children will not appreciate what’s inside anyway.”

Some children may have already received the same toys you have put in their party bags or the content may not be appealing to them. In the end, not only will you disappoint them, but chances are, your party favor might only hit the trash can once they arrive in their homes.

3. “It is unhealthy.”

Other parents, particularly the health conscious ones, dread those small candies and chocolates packed in their children’s party favors. As we all know, too much of these sweets can result to toothaches or if the child has a pre-existing health condition such as diabetes, it could definitely cause harm to them.

4. “Small contents can potentially cause harm.”

Among the all-too-familiar stuff we see in our kid’s party favors are those small toys, keychains or the ever-popular fidget spinners. You should be very careful when putting them in your take home bags. Some toys contain small parts that can lead to choking, which is one of the primary causes of deaths in small children. Then others that haven’t undergone proper quality control or were made without compliance to federal regulations may contain chemical substances which may cause illnesses or fatality. Moreover, there are toys with sharp or uneven edges that can result to minor or serious cuts.

5. “They will just add up to waste.”

Last but not least, parents usually find the small candies, chocolates and miniature toys scattered over their kids’ rooms or in the living room. In the end, these will just find their way into the belly of a vacuum cleaner and eventually into the garbage bin.

My Thoughts

Many parents, including me, still believe that birthday party favors are essential. Majority of the parents I talked with about the matter said that children deserve goody bags as they won’t be little kids forever.

Perhaps one way to avoid having your kid’s birthday party favor turning up into trash as soon as the guest brings it home is to provide them with useful stuff. Go for the educational toys or those that hone their skills like Rubik’s Cube, mini-books or other art supplies.

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5 Helpful Tips About Planning a Kiddie Party

There are many ways of planning a kiddie party. While we could not list everything here, it is important to know the basic stuff in order for the event to be successful and memorable to the celebrant and guests.

Check out these 5 essential tips that will help you in planning an awesome kiddie party:

Tip Number 1: Prepare in Advance

Preparation a week before the party makes a huge difference compared to cramming two to three days before the event comes. The most ideal time to prepare is one to two weeks prior to the date. That duration will allow you to think better as well as have enough time to compare prices of party supplies, buy supplies in advance and make adjustments to the decorations or activities as you see fit. These will let you save a significant amount of cash and lessen the stress that comes along with organizing a party.

Tip Number 2: Visualize the Theme

Make sure that the venue is visually enticing upon entering the place. See to it that the decorations go harmoniously with each other and fit for the theme. Pay special attention to the things that make immediate impact like the colors of the tablecloth, banners, arrangement of furniture, food presentation and cake. Remember that first impressions are important, so pour effort into these.

It should be reminded that children are easy to please anyway, so you do not have to stress yourself too much on this matter. You can choose among the celebrant’s favorite cartoon shows or movies and then incorporate the characters into your decors.

Tip Number 3: Think Outside the Box

Having a party does not limit you to shopping in the party supplies section of the store only. There are many ways to make the event enjoyable by exploring other activities that the children will surely love. Examples include setting up an inflatable kiddie pool, organizing coloring activities, coaching kids how to craft, coming up with parlor games, playing ball games, role playing, book reading and many more.

Tip Number 4: Always Get the Balloons

A kiddie party will never be complete without the presence of balloons. These are simple and cheap but they never fail to put life into every event. Put some of them in the floor, line up the walls with them or just tie the strings of those helium-inflated types in certain locations. Children can play with them at the party and even take them home after as party favors. You will certainly never go wrong with balloons.

Tip Number 5: Buy Reusable Items

If you are expecting to throw parties every now and then, it would be wise to invest in reusable items. Buy reusable cupcake stands, serving trays, banners, plastic figurines, posters, curtains, kiddie chairs, plastic tables and other stuff that you can utilize again in the future. Ensure that the materials are high-quality for you to make the most out of them, and most importantly, the materials used in the mentioned products should be safe for children.