Themed Parties - Homemade Birthday Party Ideas

Cake Decorating with Edible Flowers

I adapted this chart from one published by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service – Basically theirs had several more flowers listed, but these are the only ones that would be suitable for cake. I mean,you don’t want to put onion flowers on your cake, or something whose taste is described as bitter, or strong. I eliminated all the ones that weren’t sweet. At the bottom of the chart is a list of books that the University recommends, to learn more about edible flowers.

Common name	Scientific name	Flavor	Color	Comments
Anise hyssop	Agastache foeniculum	Anise	Lilac	Self seeding perennial
Apple	Malus spp.	Floral	White to pink	Eat in moderation since flowers contain cyanide precursors
Bee balm	Monarda didyma	Minty, sweet, hot	Wide range	Perennial
Chamomile	Chamaemelum noblis	Sweet apple	White	Perennial; drink tea in moderation — contains thuaone; ragweed sufferers may be allergic to chamomile
Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale	Sweet, honey-like	Yellow	Perennial; use young flowers, mature flowers become bitter; flowers close after picking
Daylily	Hemerocallis spp.	Vegetal, sweet	Wide range	Perennial; may act as a diuretic or laxative; eat in moderation
Dianthus	Dianthus spp.	Sweet clove flavor	Wide range	Perennial; remove the narrow base of the petals (bitter)

Elderberry	Sambucus canadensis	Sweet	White	Perennial; do not wash flowers since it removes much of the flavor

Fennel	Foeniculum vulgare	Mildly anise	Yellow-green	Normally grown as an annual
Hibiscus	Hibiscus rosa-sinensis	Mildly citrus	Rose, red	Showy edible garnish

Honeysuckle	Lonicera japonica	Sweet	White to pale yellow	Perennial; do not use other honeysuckle flowers
Johnny-jump-up	Viola tricolor	Wintergreen	Purple and yellow	Annual; the petals have little flavor unless the green sepals are included; contain saponins and may be toxic in large amounts
Lavender	Lavendula spp.	Sweet, perfumed flavor	Lavender	Perennial; use sparingly due to intense flavor; lavender oil may be poisonous
Lilac	Syringa vulgaris	Varies	Lavender	Wide variation in flavor — from no flavor to green and herbaceous to lilac
Linden	Tilia spp.	Honey-like	White	Frequent consumption of linden flower tea can cause heart damage
Mint	Mentha spp.	Minty	Purple	Perennial; each type of mint has its own unique flavor
Pineapple sage	Salvia elegans	Sweet, fruity	Red	Perennial; flavor has a hint of mint and spice
Red clover	Trifolium pratense	Sweet	Red	Annual; raw clover flowers are not easily digestible
Rose	Rosa spp.	Perfumed	Wide range	Perennial: remove the white, bitter base of the petal
Sweet woodruff	Galium odoratum	Sweet, nutty, vanilla	White	Can have a blood thinning effect if eaten in large amounts
Violet	Viola odorata	Sweet, perfumed	Purple, white	Perennial; use candied or fresh

Flower Fairy Birthday Invitations

We made Tinker Bell Birthday Party invitations. It was so fun and easy. We cut two large two skeets of pink tissue paper into a circular, imperfect shape with wave, irregular edges. Then, we wrinkled them up & put them back together, kind of offset so that the edges didn’t exactly match up. We put a little bit of glue in between them, in the center only. Then, we laid a bowl on a round piece of cardstock so we could trace and cut a perfect circle. On that circle, we wrote the pertinent party information and glued it to the center of the tissue paper. Because the black ink on white paper didn’t look too cool, I marbled over it with a green and brown watercolor wash. Another option would be to create a double-layer card that opened, and have the top look textured or beaded like the center of a flower.

After the glue dried, we folded the “petals” in, by going around the circle and bringing small sections in. This helps it “fan” out when it “blooms. Once it’s all folded in, wrap a sleeve of paper around it for a note that says “Please help this flower bloom Love, Tinkerbell” I used a piece of handmade parchment-looking paper, with raw edges and infused lavender petals. When the “sleeve” is removed, the flower is unfolded to reveal the party invitation. Amazing, we had ALL the RSVPs back immediately, within 48 hours of mailing.

Luau Party Foods

Pineapple party foods are fun to look at and to eat. Slice a pineapple in half and hollow it out, then fill it with tuna salad or chicken salad or even just some veggie dip.

Fruit kabobs make great tropical luau foods – line up grapes, chunks of watermelon, cantaloupe, berries, mandarin orange slices, bananas, pineapple, apple chunks and pear wedges, then display them by poking the bamboo skewers into a pineapple

Use a fishbowl to serve goldfish crackers and call them “koi”

Macadamia nuts are tasty, add them to trail mix or party mix

Place a large bowl inside of a beachcomber hat, to decorate the table.

Luau Party Games

Maggie Stewart from Associated Content has published a fantastic article with 15 Luau party games for kids to play. Look for The Great Shell Search, Musical Beach Towels, Lay on the Leis, Crazy Beach Dress and Dash, Luau Coconut Roll, Coconut Bowling, Hot Flamingo, Fish-Fish-Shark, Beach Bingo, Pin the Coconut on the Palm Tree, Pass the Kiwi, Flip-Flop Frenzy, The Great Poi Eating Contest, Sharks and Minnows, and Guess the Shells. Click here for 15 Luau Party games.

How to Make a Bean Bag Tossing Game

There are a few ways you can do this, a bean bag toss works well for all ages.

1- place a few baskets, buckets or rubbermain boxes at the end of a “lane” similar to bowling – each bin has a different point value

2- cut large holes from a piece of plywood and paint the area around the holes to indicate the points each hole is worth

3- forget about the values and just cut one hole – and paint a funny picture on the front, an open-mouthed clown would work well for a circus or carnival party. The name of the game could be “feed the clowns” or something.

4- shaped beanbags could change the game, too. If you have access to fish-shaped beanbags for example, you could paint your plywood to look like a sea lion or a shark. Food shaped beanbags can be thrown at a fruit stand. I’m sure that there’s something funny a beany baby could be thrown at. Any ideas?

For more carnival type games, see “Making Games.“

Bargains on Hello Kitty Birthday Invitations

You can make Hello Kitty Invitations, or buy them. Amazon has 8 packs of Hello Kitty Invitations, as well as the Hello Kitty Notecard Portfolio Invitations and finally the Easy Invitation Design Program.

Making a Hello Kitty Birthday Cake

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty Birthday Party

Hello Kitty is a popular birthday theme. Hello Kitty is simple, fun and sweet, supplies for a hello kitty party are easy to come by and to make.

Making a Hello Kitty Birthday Cake

A Hello Kitty cake can be really easy to make. For a double layer cake, cook Three round layers of cake. Stack two like you normally would for a layer cake. Then, cut the third into 4 triangular pieces, and stack two for one ear, two for the other. If you want the chin flatter, just use a bread knife to trim it down. Cover the whole cake with a layer of white fondant and use black frosting in a piping bag to trace the outline of Hello Kitty’s head, nose and eyes. For her whiskers, cut six black licorice strings in half, you might want to thread a toothpick through the underside to keep them stable. For her bow, use a red floral bow or create one from fondant. Roll out a portion of red fondant and cut it to size. Trace the outer edges of the bow and the knot area with black frosting.

Spongebob Party Resources

First of all, this “Spongebob list of places” is so insanely thorough. I can’t believe someone documented all of this.

Next- here are some Spongebob Party Supplies you can buy.

Teddy Bear Scrapbook Invitations

Visit your local craft store, paper art supply store or scrapbooking store to create custom teddy bear invitations. Scrapbooking stores have a huge array of patterned paper sheets, as well as teeny embellishments, just the right size for a bear. They also have idea books that you can use for inspiration. Some stores offer an open studio time where visitors can access all of the fancy cutting tool, hole punchers, rubber stamps and other items for a flat rate. Staffing at these stores is often comprised of scrapbook enthusiasts who enjoy sharing the craft with others, and can help you with your project.

Wild Western Cowboy Party Games

# Wagons and horses Wheel barrow race
# Escape from Jail Divide the kids into 2 teams of bandits, each with a sheriff. The sheriff has to catch a member of the opposite team by touching them. They are then considered to be in jail and must stand still. Their team mates can rescue them by crawling though their legs but if they are caught doing so, they are also have to stand still and are in jail. First team to catch all the other bandits is the winner.
# Horseshoe toss Set up some plastic bottles filled with sand. The kids have to see if they can toss the horseshoe over the bottles. If you don’t have any horseshoes, just use rubber dog rings.
# Water gun shoot out See how many plastic cowboys they can knock down using water pistols
# Bandit hunt Hide some plastic cowboys around the yard or the house. See who can find the most.
# Boot Toss The children need to try and toss the bean bags into some big Wellington boots or a large cowboy hat.
# Panning for gold/nuggets Spray paint small bits of gravel in gold and bury in the sand box. Add water. Give each child a disposable aluminum pie tin with holes punctured in the bottom. Let them sieve the sand/water and see who can find the gold nuggets.
# Gold Rush Hide chocolate money around the yard or house and send the kids on a gold rush to see who can find the most coins.
# Rattlesnake rumpus Make a rattlesnake out of a long sock stuffed with a rattle at the end and then padded out with newspaper. Sit the cowboys/girls in a circle and put on some music. Whilst the music is playing, they have to pass round the rattlesnake but once the music stops, the person left holding the snake is said to have been bitten and sits out of the game.

Homemade Birthday Party Ideas

Easy Balloon Arches

Print Pictures on Cake