Flock Party: Shirley’s Wool

In Shaun the Sheep’s flock there is one very large sheep called Shirley. She is so big she is often pushed from place to place. She has been used as a trampoline and the bottom of sheep pyrimids. Her wool is like a magnet for stuff. It is amazing the things they find when they go searching in her wool. Shirley’s Wool inspired several kids’ games for our Flock Party.

I purchased a bag of Poly-fill stuffing from the local craft store and a bag of 50 assorted small party favors from Oriental Trading Co. I used my Excess Baggage Tote by Baggallini to hold my “wool”. Any bucket or bag which won’t easily tear will do. I used about 1/3 of the Poly-fill stuffing. You could also use real wool or cotton, scraps of yarn, or even fabric in place of the stuffing. If you use wool you may want to make sure none of the participants have a wool allergy. I pulled small pieces of the stuffing apart and stretched it before putting it into the bag. Then I added the bag of party favors. Mixing the stuffing and toys together stretched the stuffing out more and tangled the toys so they all didn’t just sit on the bottom of the bag.

As the party wrapped down I pulled out the bag of Shirley's Wool and let the kids reach in to pull out a toy. They were told not to peek but there was definite peeking and even some toy trading, but that was okay. They had lots of fun trying to find what was hidden in the ‘wool’.

Here Fishy Fishy

Continuing with the love of science the same holiday festival had Under the Sea (http://www.touchthesea.org ) come for an hour long educational program. The marine scientist brought out critter after critter with explanations of who they were and other information. Some of the critters were held up high so all the kids (and parents too) could see them. Others were put into a small tank in front of a projector. Things such as shrimps were projected larger than life onto the screen so we all could it in all of its glory. The show was wonderful and the kids were told they could touch the shells, models and skeletons and ask all the questions about the coolers full of critters, but please no touching, after the show.

Kid Hover Craft

I love science and want encourage my kids to have the same love. I was thrilled to find one of the holiday festivals included a demonstration by Mad Science. The kids got to see flash paper, tricks with water absorbing powder, and Styrofoam melting chemicals. They thought that was great and then… Well then they got to ride a hover craft made with a board and a leaf blower. They had a blast.

Party Decorations: Balloon Clips

The large “Mylar” balloons I purchased didn’t come with any weights or anything to help keep them in place. Once I had them home I decided to attach them to the arms of the family room futon. Rather then tying the ribbons, I decided to use the plastic bread bag clips. I looped the ribbon around the arm and back up towards the balloon. When the balloon was at the height I wanted it I simply clipped the ribbons all together. The clips are holding the balloons securely in place. The kids are able to unclip the ribbons and move the balloons to pieces of furniture or to different rooms as they please. I’m not sure if this would work in a breezy outdoor environment but they work great inside.

Sparkling drinks: Champaign

My husband doesn’t drink and my children are too young. So when I was trying to find beverages for our New Years Micro Party I was concentrating on sparkling apple cider and sparkling cranberry. Trader Joe’s carries a very nice line of sparkling drinks which I tend to only pick up for those special occasions with kids or non drinkers. This past holiday season I noticed they had these really cute little bottles of Champaign. Their resident wine expert said it was a very nice Champaign so I decided to pick up a bottle for myself. This ¼ bottle by Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champaign is just enough for 3 Champaign flutes. It was a very nice, not to dry Champaign. I would definitely get it again.

New Years Micro Party

What is a New Years Micro Party? Well it is a very exclusive party for a few very special New Year’s Eve guest – My kids.

I needed party hats but these guests deserved something special. I stopped by the local craft store to pick up 2 foam hats, one princess hat and one crown, and some sticky foam ‘gems’ to decorate them with.

Then a stop at the party store for 2 mylar balloons. I really don’t like the risk of the latex balloons and for the venue 2 special balloons was much more fitting. I picked out one large super hero balloon and one large princess carriage. I rounded out the decoration with a simple “New Year” center piece (no date so reusable), a table cover, paper cups and plates, and four small chip bowls.

One more stop at the grocery store for cheese, healthy chips and popcorn, bananas, apples, crispy pea pod chips, salsa, and sparkling cider. The menu would be rounded out with a cake already at home. Then I was off to pick up the guests of honor for an evening of movies and crafts.

The kids thought the ‘micro party’ was fantastic. They decided they needed fancy party clothes for their party. My daughter pulled out her Disney Princess Bell dress and my son found his Lego king cape. Once they got going on the crowns they decided to also decorate their existing water jug crowns I made them last spring. It was a perfect party. They got to eat party food for dinner, do crafts and watch movies until THEY wanted to go to sleep. About an hour after they normally go to bed they were tucked into bed and I got to watch the Times Square celebration with my own little ‘micro’ bottle of Champaign.

Let Them Eat Cake

I was hoping to make a cake for a birthday party that would stratify several dietary restrictions. I was hoping to find a nice firm cake that would work in my Nordicware® Castle Bundt® cake mold and taste good. A co-worker who has won awards for baking recommended the Wilton® basic cake recipe which I could find on their website. I substituted the wheat flour with spelt flour and did a test run in 2-9” round pans. The resulting cake was quite tasty but seemed a little too soft to nicely slide out of a fancy Bundt cake pan. We at one of the cakes over the next few days and the other one was slid into a freezer bag and popped into the freezer.

While I was planning a New Years Micro Party the kids announced we had to have cake for a party. It sounded like a good idea since I had one in the freezer waiting to be eaten. I purchased frozen blue berries and strawberries to top the cake. The kids were not thrilled with this part of the plan. I offered Nutella® spread as an alternative. They were liking that a bit more. My son thought peanut butter would make an even better frosting for his cake. So there you are personalized cake slices. I used silicone cup cake holders to hold 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter or Nutella spread which I placed on a plate next to a slice of cake. The kids had fun ‘frosting’ their own piece of cake. I didn’t have the heart to tell the two kids who will typically lick off all of the sugary frosting and leave the cake that they picked a much healthier alternative.