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If you’re planning a kids Xmas Party, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got Xmas party invitations, decorations, foods and beverages as well as xmas party games and even music. Here are a few ideas for planning a xmas party
Xmas Party Invitations
- Use green construction paper to make an xmas tree invitation that opens in the center. Just fold a piece of construction paper in half, then open it up and fold each half inward. Lay a Christmas tree stencil on top of the paper or draw your own
- Make a snowman invitation by cutting a snowman from card stock and writing the pertinent party information on the backside.
- Make a Christmas stocking with a real pocket that opens. Write the party info on a cut-out candy cane and stick it in the pocket for a 3d xmas party invitation
Xmas Party Decorations
- Soak horse chestnuts in water and string them up for an old-fashioned nut garland.
- collect fresh scented pine branches and needles from the Xmas tree lot and use them in potpourri blends or sprinkle them on the tables for decoration
- Re-purpose tree decorations to make an Xmas centerpiece
- Remove all the pictures from your walls and wrap them in gift wrap, with a ribbon.
- use twinkling white lights as interior decor, not just on the tree, for a magical feel.
For more artsy Xmas activities, check ArtsyFartsyFamily.com
Xmas Party Foods
- Christmas sugar cookies make excellent party decor
- Star fruit looks pretty and Christmas-y, if you have access to it.
- Divinity or Russian Tea Cakes look like snowballs
- A sprig of rosemary on top of savory dishes looks Christmas-y, especially when paired with fresh cranberries
- Traditional holiday foods like Turkey and stuffing are favorites during the holidays. Serve them at your Xmas party to share the seasonw ith everyone
Xmas Party Games
- A marshmallow snowball fight is fun for kids and grown-ups.
- Have a build-an-igloo contest with toothpicks and marshmallows. Kids can work in teams or individually
- A pin-the-star-on-the-tree poster makes a fun game for smaller kids
Xmas Party Good Deeds
- Consider asking each guest to bring a gift for a family you’re sponsoring
- A white-elephant gift exchange is also fun. Make sure each guest brings something they already have at home, or something that costs less than $5
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.
I’ll never forget the year we sent out invitations without the actual time of the party. Truthfully, we hadn’t thought about it. We chose a theme, then picked a day. For us, the party would last all day long. We’d be setting up, preparing food, entertaining guests and then cleaning up. The guests, however, would only be there for a portion of our busy day and everyone wanted to know “when?”
It was a silly oversight, but a lesson was learned.
Never forget the Five W’s of Birthday Party Invitations
Who – whose party is this?
What – what are we celebrating? A fifth birthday? A sweet sixteen?
When- When is the party, include the date as well as the start and end-time.
Where – If all your guests will understand “our house” that’s fine, but for other locations, or for guests who haven’t been to your house, you might want to print a little google map
Why- give them a little sampling of the activities you’ve planned, by mentioning the pinata, the clown you’ve hired or the messy fun you’ll be having. This helps guests know what to wear and what to expect, and builds excitement.
I strongly feel that the effor thtat goes into makign homemade birthday party invitations is worth it, because people are more likely to come to a party when they can see the love and attention you put into the invitations. If the invitations are this good, imagine what the rest of the party will be like.
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.
Learning how to make pop-up cards is so much fun. It’s amazing how many cool things you can do with them. We use them for homeschool lap-booking, making invitations, birthday and Christmas cards, and so many more things.
make invitations for a baseball party, a football party, a basketball party, a soccer party or a tennis party. basically, any sports themed party with a ball would work for this invitation.
Fold a sheet of heavy card stock paper into an accordion
Lay a cup or bowl over the folded paper, so that it cuts across each edge, no more than 1/4 inch
Trace the cup and the cut along the lines, so that when it unfolds you have paper-doll style balls.
Use markers or crayons to color the front of one to look like the actual party ball theme, or print out a perfect one and adhere it to the front. On the inside of circles, write the pertinent party details.
You can use this purse pattern to print adorable little purse cards to use for invitations or birthday cards.
  Just right-click on each one and click “save picture” to get it onto your computer. Then, in you word processing program or your graphic design program, open the picture file onto a page and print it out on card stock. Cut it out and use it as a traceable pattern on patterned paper. Wouldn’t this be perfect for a little girl’s diva party? I wonder if I can make a little paper poodle to put inside?
STEP ONE-
Make a list of everything that has anything to do with your theme.
For example- if it was a Hawaiian Luau, I’d make a lit of things like “hula, luau, pig, sand, waves, beach, island, pineapple, fruit, lei and things like that
Then I’d answer the 5 w’s
Lindsay’s birthday party in the big picnic area at the park saturday at 2pm
Then I’d start to look for rhymes
Lindsey- is king of like Island-y
picnig area that’s big can rhyme with pig
Aloha. I, Lindsey and feeling Islandy,
please come to my Luau,
you’re sure to say wow.
We’ll meet at 2pm and roast a pig
at the park, in the area that’s big
Come at two
I’d like to see you
And we’ll have some good times
eating limes
because they rhymes
Anyway- they do not have to be perfect. The goofier the better. It gets the point across.
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