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PrintPlan a Cool Winter Wonderland Party!
As a December baby myself, and even though I LOVED Christmas, I didn’t like the fact that all my birthday parties had a Christmas theme. After all, there are only so many things you can do with red and green! A “Winter Wonderland” party can be a great way to celebrate the season without getting all “Christmassy,” or it can be a great party for January.
Cool Colors
Start with your color scheme; no red and green for this party! Go with icy blues, silvers and whites, and let snowflakes abound!
The Invites
You can use pre-printed invitations with a snowflake theme or, with just a little extra effort, you can make your own. Depending on your kids’ ages, letting them help with crafting the invitations is a great way to get them involved in the party planning process. Your invites can be as simple as folded blue cardstock with snowflake stickers. Print the party details on the inside.
Let it Snow
Before the party, get the entire family (or some of the birthday child’s friends) together to make paper snowflakes. If you don’t remember how, a quick search on YouTube will bring up literally thousands of tutorials. Use different sized paper so you have a variety of snowflakes. Use white string or fishing wire to hang the snowflakes from the ceiling of the party area.
Crafts
Greet your guests by welcoming them to a craft table where they can work on a craft while other guests arrive. These homemade snow globes are easy enough for toddlers:
- Use a small water bottle (Poland Springs makes a bottle called an AquaPod which is a perfect shape and size). Remove the label and provide colored glitter and sequins (snowflake shaped if you can find them) along with small spoons. Help the children place a small amount of the glitter and sequins in the bottle and use a funnel or small spout to add water to each bottle. If you mix a few drops of glycerin (available at drug stores) with the water, it will thicken it a bit and the glitter and sequins will “float” more slowly.
- Older guests can make fancier versions of the snow globe using baby food, pimento or pickle jars, gluing figurines to the lid and decorating the outside. You can also provide beads and wire and let guests make beaded snowflakes.
Winter Activities
Snow Ball Hunt. When all the guests have arrived, divide them into two teams and send them on a “Scavenger Hunt” for cotton balls that have been hidden throughout the party area. Depending on the ages of the kids, you can use one or more rooms for this. Appoint one person as the “team captain” and give them a gallon sized plastic bag. As team members find cotton balls, they place them in the bag. (You can make the game more difficult by only allowing them to place one ball at a time in the bag.) After the bags are filled, gather the teams in a cluster and have two adults empty the cotton balls on them, creating a “snowstorm.” Anticipate a few “snowball fights” as the kids clean up from the storm!
Ice Fishing. Young kids love fishing games. Set out a small plastic swimming pool and fill it with ice cubes. Then use a magnetic fishing game and let your guests go “ice fishing.”
Winter Comfort Food
Food for your winter wonderland can be very simple. Cupcakes frosted with white icing and sprinkled with glittering sugar resemble snow balls, or you can make a snowman cake using three round cakes and candies.
A hot chocolate bar will be a hit with kids of all ages; provide mugs of hot chocolate (filled only about ¾ full) and a variety of toppings, flavored whipped cream, crushed candies, sprinkles marshmallows and whatever goodies you can imagine. Let the kids create their own hot chocolate creation. (You can even provide some adult-only additions like peppermint schnapps for the parents).
It’s in the Bag
What’s a party without a goody bag? For your winter wonderland party, collect all kinds of small, inexpensive winter-themed items from the dollar store and/or Oriental Trading – think erasers, mini sticker books, pencils, markers and buttons. You can also include some small wrapped candies. Group the items in cute baskets and bowls (winter themed, of course) on a table near the door. Give each guest a small goody bag and let them fill their own bag from the “treat buffet” as a thank you for coming to your winter wonderland!
