Spring Party Ideas

What You Need:

• Card stock
• Markers
• Puff paint
• Construction paper
• Tissue paper
• Tape or glue
• Scissors
• Streamers or crepe paper in spring colors
• Balloons in spring colors
• Rubber bands
• Plant seeds of your choosing (choose only plants that can be started in a container)
• Potting soil
• Pint-sized cardboard milk cartons or 20-oz plastic soda bottles, washed well and dried (you need one per guest)
• Kid gardening gloves (optional)

What You Do:

1. Start by creating the party invitations. Ask your child to fold each piece of card stock in half width-wise to make a card.
2. Invite her to decorate the front with spring-inspired images such as flowers, grass, and rainbows using puff paint. Encourage her to draw a different picture on each invitation.
3. Open each card and write the party information inside: party address, date, time, theme (spring flowers), and a contact number that guests can call to RSVP. You can hand write this part or type it up on the computer.
4. Now design your party decorations. Help your child cut large circles, ovals, and rectangles out of the construction paper and tissue paper and use them to create huge, over-sized flowers.
5. Make balloon flowers. Bunch together several balloons in the shape of a flower and secure them together with a rubber band.
6. Now plan the party activities. These can range from crafts to outdoor fun. Think up simple activities with a flower theme. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
   • Make prints using flowers and paint. Dip the flowers in acrylic paint and press onto paper to create a print.
   • Design flower collages. Gather enough flowers and leaves for all the kids. Invite the kids to glue the flowers onto paper in a pretty design. Pressed flowers work well for this craft (click here to find out how to make pressed flowers).
   • Throw a flower tea party outside. Serve mini sandwiches cut into flower shapes with cookie cutters and flower-based teas (iced or hot) for the adults and fruit juice for the kids. Some good flower teas are jasmine green, orange blossom, or rose.
   • Decorate cookies shaped like flowers with spring-colored icing and sprinkles.
7. Time to select a menu. Make sure to choose a variety of foods that kids and adults will both like. Here are some ideas:
   • Serve fresh veggies in the shape of a flower, with celery sticks as the stem, broccoli as the center, and carrots as petals.
   • Bake a flower-shaped cake or spring cupcakes.
   • Bake sunflower seed granola and serve with fruit and yogurt.
   • Grill up some veggie burgers (they're made from plants!).
   • Make mini sandwiches cut into flower shapes with cookie cutters (it doesn't have to be for a tea party).
8. Finally, make the party favors. Cut off the tops off the milk cartons or soda bottles. Fill each container with potting soil. At the party, give each child a few seeds and a container filled with soil that they can plant their seeds in. For a special touch, include inexpensive kid gardening gloves with each favor.

On the day of the party, put up your huge paper flowers and hang streamers and balloon flowers in the yard and around the house. Set up craft and activity stations and lay out the food, then welcome the kids in and let the spring fun begin!