Outdoor Movie Night Birthday Party

Posted on September 30, 2012 by jewelsathome

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? Well, life hasn’t given me lemons, but it has given me an unattractive concrete back “yard.” I’m not fond of it, but once in a while, it does work out nicely, like when the boys play basketball with their buddies and recently, when we figured out we could make it into a drive-in movie theater!

As the kids get older, we’ve been shifting towards small get-togethers rather than large parties to celebrate their birthdays. Last year, we had a simple sleepover for our oldest, with pizza, cake, and a movie. The kids had a great time, and this year, I decided to change things up by taking the movie outdoors.

Here’s what you’ll need to put together your own outdoor movie night!

Outdoor movie basics

A movie, of course! There are lots of helpful lists and reviews over at Common Sense Media. Here was our short list for a group of 9 and 10 year-old boys:

The Incredibles
The Princess Bride
Wall-E
Superman: The Movie
Harry Potter
Kung Fu Panda
Hugo

The birthday boy settled on Kung Fu Panda 2, which was a big hit with the kids. I was pleasantly surprised myself, especially given the low expectations that come with anything that has “2” in the title. It was funny and sweet with the right amount of slapstick comedy to please our crowd.

Projector: I looked into renting one, but at $100 a day, I felt we were better off buying one. We lucked out and found a lightly used projector on Craigslist for less than half the original price. I’m certainly not an expert, but I did figure out that you want lots of lumens, for brightness, and you also, if you are buying used, be sure that the bulb isn’t worn out, as these can cost $100 themselves.

Speakers: We hooked up our computer to a big speaker using an amplifier. If you need more technical details, I’ll have ask Steve…

Screen: A butyl-coated painter’s dropcloth makes the perfect movie screen, a tip I found over at Prairie Hive. This is the 9’x12’rubber coated canvas drop cloth I found, and it worked perfectly. It’s large and white, and the plastic coating has a slight sheen that makes the movie look nice and bright.

Accessories for an outdoor movie party

Decorations

Christmas lights would look great around the screen. I tried to make glow in the dark lanterns made by tying glow bracelets inside balloons. They didn’t end up noticeably glowing, so I would recommend putting several inside each balloon to see if you have more success. The balloons themselves still looked festive, at least.

Snacks

We made s’mores in a cone, aka campfire cones, which I actually baked in the oven. Each kid made their own mix of strawberries, raspberries, bananas, chocolate chips, marshmallows, butterscotch chips. The fruit made the cones a little soggy in spots (may be better to omit the berries and try something like apple), but the result was definitely yummy.

Make “s’mores in a cone” with the kids.

“S’mores in a cone” ready to bake.

And what movie night would be complete without popcorn? I served the popcorn in brown paper bags decorated with red scrapbook papers and “popcorn” printed, appropriately, in Broadway font. To fight the chill, we finished the evening with hot chocolate.

Decorate popcorn bags for a home movie night.

Movie-themed labels for a home drive-in party.

And the fleece blankets I made for the boys worked out perfectly – they kept everyone warm for the movie, and I was very gratified to see the boys curling up in them to play games and sleep, as well.

Cozy monogrammed fleece blankets.

And finally, a few pictures of the home drive-in party. They turned out a bit dark, but that only makes sense, right?

The drive-in birthday party was such a success. We’re definitely all exhausted, but they boys had a great time and made many memories. I’m thinking we should make the drive-in a regular occurrence!

“Jewels”

Quick and Cozy Fleece Blankets

Posted on September 29, 2012 by jewelsathome

Here’s the thing about the fog in San Francisco: you have to believe it is mystical and beautiful, or else you would just become horribly depressed. See that giant “cloud” at the base of Sutro Tower? Yes, that is fog. Brrrrrr.

So, when we started planning an outdoor movie night for our oldest’s birthday party, I was a bit nervous, since the evenings are often chilly where we live. I decided to make fleece blankets for the boys to use during the movie, thinking they would also be great party favors. I mentioned in the post on alternative birthday gifts and favors that I like to give one or two larger items that can get some long-term use, rather than a lot of small disposable items.

There are a lot of ideas for fleece blanket projects out there. I was looking for something that would be substantial, easy to make, and still look great. That’s a tall order, and I was very happy to find this tutorial for an “Easy Peasy Fleece Blanket” from Polka Dot Chair. I made a few small changes when I did ours, and now everyone can stay toasty warm during our movie!

Supplies

fleece – 1.5 yards of two fabrics (front and back) for each blanket. I found some fleece on sale or as remnants at the local fabric store and bought the rest from fabric.com. They had the best price I could find, when you take into account shipping costs and clearance items.
scrap fleece or felt for monogram letters
Heat’n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive
Computer and printer for making letter templates

Applique letters

I can do appliques in my sleep after all the recent appliqued clothes I’ve made for the kids! I decided to do first and last initials for our monograms, since we had a few kids at the party with the same first initial. I printed the initials in Century Schoolbook font in 430 pt bold. I then traced them in reverse onto the Heat ‘n Bond. I held them up to a window to trace.

Monogrammed cozy fleece blankets from Jewels at Home.

Print out the letter templates and trace them in reverse onto the Heat ‘n Bond.

I ironed the Heat ‘n Bond onto the fleece, cut out the letters, and ironed the letters on to one side the blankets, using a press cloth. Because the fabric is so thick, it helped to iron again from the back, to get the letters completely fused to the blanket fabric.

I wanted to apply the letters before sewing the blankets, so the stitching would not show through on the other side of the blanket. I had trimmed the fleece for each blanket already, so I knew the finished size. I then used rulers to mark off 5″ from each edge (3.5″ for the fringe and 1.5″ for spacing) and placed my letters in the corner (first picture below). I then sewed around each letter to secure it (second picture below).

Iron your monogram in place in the corner. I measured 5″ from each edge, to allow for the fringe and some extra space.

Sew around each letter to secure it to the blanket.

Blankets:

After choosing the fabric combinations, I laid out the top and bottom of each blanket and trimmed off the selvage and any other uneven areas. (top left picture below)
I then sewed the letters on one side of each blanket, as described above.
I pinned the two sides together (top right picture below).
Then, I sewed the sides together, with the seam 3.5″ from the edge. I found the easiest way to do this was to mark a 3.5″ seam allowance on the sewing machine using painter’s tape. (bottom left picture below)

Lay out your fabrics, wrong sides together. Pin and trim. Sew with a 3.5″ seam allowance.

When I was done sewing, I cut strips about 1.25″ wide all around the blanket to make the fringe, stopping 0.5″ from the stitched line.

Here are the finished blankets. I love how each one is unique. The younger boys had fun prints on their blankets, and the older boys had solid fabrics or the graphic stars.

So many ways to vary this simple fleece blanket design!

My younger boys were clamoring for me to finish their blankets, so they could use them right away!

I like how Baby J’s firefighter blanket fits in with the rest of his nursery.

And here they are one more time: cozy fleece blankets all ready for movie night! If I remember, I’ll take some pictures of the boys bundled up for the show.

Yay! I wish I had the energy and fabric to make one of these for myself. I think I will have to wear a parka when we watch the movie…

“Jewels”

Racing Stripe Magnet Boards

Posted on September 17, 2012 by jewelsathome

Steve took our two older boys on a camping trip this weekend. I wanted to surprise them all with a few little projects when they got home, so this is what I did for the boys’ room. They have lots of pictures, cards, and art that collect in little piles, and I wanted to make a place for the boys to display and enjoy them.

The boys’ room has a huge wall of closets that made the perfect blank slate for this project. The closets, by the way, are amazing. This is a favorite trick of the design-build team that did our renovation – they take Ikea Pax closets and frame them with drywall, for inexpensive built-in closets. Since all the parts are pre-cut, the cost is a fraction of custom cabinetry, and Ikea has tons of options for customizing the insides to maximize storage. We were able to eliminate the boys’ dressers completely, since all their clothes fit inside the closets, with plenty of room to spare for other storage. I chose the Bergsbo closet doors, which match our paneled doors well (Steve commented the other day, “Hey, our closet doors go really well with our regular doors.” Yeah, honey, do you think that was an accident?). I added these 10″ square bar pulls for a clean, contemporary look.

Ikea Pax wardrobes used as built-in closets.

To make the magnet boards, I started with these 11.5″ square magnetic white boards. They cost half of most of the others I saw. You can’t pick the colors (I got three white and three different colors), but that was okay, since I wanted to paint them anyway. I sacrificed the dry erase function when I painted them, but I actually find dry erase stuff a bit creepy with all the black dust the markers make when you wipe it off. Finally, I will say that they are a bit lightweight (tin wrapped around cardboard), but mine arrived in overall very good condition, and again, it worked well for me, because I wanted to mount them on the doors, so the lighter weight was perfect.

Painting the racing stripes:

sand the boards lightly, including the sides, with a fine sandpaper
spray a coat of primer over the whole board, including the sides. I used white primer, which made the next step easier.
spray a band of white (or your choice of color) about 3 inches from the top. This may take a few coats for good coverage. Let it dry thoroughly, even overnight.
Using a ruler and painter’s tape – I used 1.5″ wide designed for delicate surfaces, tape over the white area. I placed the bottom of my tape 4″ from the top of the board. (top left picture below)
Spray a band of red (or a color of your choice) above the tape. Again, this will take a few coats and should be thoroughly dry before moving to the next step. (top middle picture below)
Using the ruler, place painter’s tape 1.5″ from the top of the board, so that you are masking off a 1″ band of red. (top right picture below)
Spray the whole board with grey. (bottom left picture below)
Peel off the tape and spray your finished product with a couple of coats of clear paint. (bottom right picture below)

Tutorial: painting racing stripes on a magnet board.

Here’s a close-up view of the finished board:

Magnet board with racing stripes.

And here’s how the boards look in the boys’ room:

The boys were very excited to see their new magnet boards, when they got home. Here’s how our 6 year-old personalized his board, with Pokemon cards and Ninjago Lego figures.

I was looking for pictures to put up on the boards this afternoon and found this photo from 2007 of our older boys with our old dog, Cooper. He looks so big in the picture, but it’s only because they were so small! We miss you, Coops.

And what did I do for Steve (and myself)? We were overdue for some new reading lamps for our nightstands. Our toddler, who stayed home with me – we hope to make it camping next year! – didn’t mind going out to Marshall’s for the lamps, especially since we also found some new fruits for his play kitchen. He was “feeding” them to me all weekend, and he cracked up every time I “ate” the lemon and made a sour face.

New bedside lamps on the nightstand. Jewels at Home.

New bedside lamps on the nightstand. “His” side.

New bedside lamps on the nightstand. “Her” side.

Well, I’m very happy to have Steve and the older boys back home. It was just a day and a half, but I missed them so much. I guess, I’m used to a full house these days.

“Jewels”

Appli-crazy: More Inspiration for Kids’ Clothes

Posted on September 8, 2012 by jewelsathome

Yes, I know I tend to get carried away with projects, and there have been a lot of posts lately about different appliques on kids clothes. In this age of mass-produced everything, I really love the look of something unique on the little ones. Here are the other recent posts with ideas for decorating kids’ shirts and clothes:

“Tie” T-shirts
Onesie Decorating Party for a baby shower (detailed instructions in this post)
3-D Balloon Applique with puffy balloons

And here are some pictures of the last few shirts I’m making for a while – I need to get back to the rest of the house! I have had a lot of fun making them, and I think they have a unique and retro feel that’s very cozy. Again, I got the shirts and dresses from Rock Bottom T-Shirts, which seems to have the best prices around for blank items.

I made these for our baby, when I was preparing for the baby shower. I wanted them as examples of designs people could try, and I chose gender-neutral patterns, since we don’t know if Nicola and Victor are having a boy or a girl.

Lots of ideas for kid's appliques at Jewels at Home.

More ideas for kid’s appliques. I tried to make designs that would work well for boys and girls.

Make you own applique T-shirts. From Jewels at Home.

Baby J sporting his DIY caterpillar shirt.

And for my twin nieces, I made these butterfly dresses. Twins are just twice as cute, especially my nieces, and I love it when they are in coordinated but not perfect matched outfits.

Add appliques to inexpensive blank dresses and shirts for a unique gift.

Butterfly applique for girls' shirts and dresses. Many more ideas at Jewels at Home.

Close-up view of the butterfly applique for girls’ shirts and dresses.

I drew all the designs freehand, and the details on how to make the appliques can be found in the post for the Onesie Decorating Party.

While the girl appliques here turned out very feminine, I tried to make the others more neutral. It’s so challenging to find things that are truly gender-neutral these days, and with our house full of boys, I get a little tired of all the footballs and race cars sometimes. When I was growing up, it seemed like a lot more girls wore blue – it was my favorite color! Today, it feels like every color and every animal has been divided up between the genders, and there is very little overlap. I was talking about this with my friend Ari, remarking on how odd it is that cats are always for girls, giraffes are always gender-neutral, and dogs are always for boys… except for the poodles, she said. So true! Social conventions can be so odd, and I realize this is the least of it!

“Jewels”

3-D Balloon Applique

Posted on August 23, 2012 by jewelsathome

My craft projects tend to come in waves. I find a great idea and love creating variations on it. At the moment, this idea is fabric appliques for kids’ clothes. I made tie t-shirts for the boys, co-hosted a onesie decorating party for my friend Nicola, and most recently, I decorated this cute hoodie sweatshirt for our neighbor across the street, who is turning 3!

3-D balloon applique on a sweatshirt.

Here’s what you’ll need

sweatshirt or t-shirt
fabric
iron-on applique material, such as Heat ‘n Bond
batting
ribbon

Here’s how to make your own puffy applique:

Draw your shape in two sizes – one the size of the finished piece and one about 1/4″ smaller all around, as shown below.

Following the instructions detailed for the tie t-shirts and onesie decorating party, create a large shape with the fusible applique material on the back and cut the small shape out of batting. The batting will flatten out when you iron it down, so use enough to make it a little thicker than you want your finished shape.

Place your applique on the shirt, first the batting and then the fabric centered on top. I also tucked some ribbon under the fabric, to make the string for the balloon.

3-D applique tutorial from Jewels at Home.

Place the batting on your shirt, and layer the fabric on top.

Iron and sew your applique in place according to the instructions for the tie t-shirts and onesie decorating party. I also sewed down the ribbons and tied a bow, which I also sewed in the center. I left the loops of the bow and the bottom of the ribbons free. My balloons didn’t turn out as puffy as I had envisioned, since they got flattened when they were ironed down, so I would use thicker batting next time.

3-D balloon applique

I’ve got a few more applique projects to finish up, and then I need to move on to something else!

“Jewels”

Decorate a Quilt Block – Party Activity

Posted on August 19, 2012 by jewelsathome

It has been a few months since I organized a bug-themed birthday party for our six year -old. At the party, he and his friends drew pictured on blank quilt blocks, and I’m finally getting around to finishing the quilt.

This was a very simple quilt but one with a lot of meaning. My friend Ari’s mother is a talented quilter, and Ari and I had helped her make quilts for the school auction, first with our older kids’ class and more recently with our younger ones. Through some type of temporary school spirit insanity, hubby ended up purchasing the first quilt, but our wallets were not up buying another quilt this year, and I wanted to find a way to make it up to our second boy. As I am sure all of you with multiple children know, our love for each of them is unique, but it does seem that the second – and in this case also middle – child tends to feel a need to fight for your attention and love. This instinct can make our dear boy act out some times, and I’m always looking for ways to remind him that he is special. This quilt was a part of that effort as well.

Before the party, I cut 7.5″x7.5″ squares of white pre-washed cotton and taped them on to cardboard for stability. I cut more than enough for the guests, and it is a good thing, because many of the kids wanted to draw more than one picture, including the birthday boy himself, who drew three! I also set out fabric markers. I like these Marvy Uchida Fabric Markers that come in many beautiful colors.

Decorate-a-quilt-block activity at a birthday or baby shower. From Jewels at Home.

Decorate-a-quilt-block is a great activity for a birthday or baby shower.

Here is how some of the quilt blocks turned out. Each one is different and expresses the artist’s personality, but they work together.

Incorporate drawings into a memory quilt.

And here is the finished quilt! As I mentioned, this is a simple quilt. I found fabrics that had animals and other prints in a range of primary colors and mixed them randomly with the drawings (and I should add that mixing “randomly” actually took ages, because I wanted to balance out the colors through the quilt).

Quilt incorporating blocks drawn at a birthday party.

By the way, here is how the amazing inspiration for this project looked. Ari’s mom designed the pattern, and each child in the class painted a leaf. It’s hanging in our older boys’ room, and I love looking at it every day.

“Family Tree” quilt for a classroom art project.

Though far, far more humble from an artistic perspective, I think this smile says that the new quilt’s recipient appreciates his special keepsake.

Quilt made with blocks drawn at a birthday party.

To finish the quilt, I sewed a label on the back with a special message for Lucas. You could also have party guests all sign a fabric quilt label. That’s what we did with the class quilt for Lucas’ class – each child signed the back. And I know first-hand how special it is to have the story of a quilt sewn on the back. Below is a quilt that is hanging in my craft studio. My mom made it for my birthday, and while she made many beautiful quilts, this one has particular meaning, because she made it when she was sick from chemotherapy.

A label on the back of a quilt helps tell its story.

A special quilt with its story on the back. From Jewels at Home.

So, finishing this quilt definitely overdue, but hopefully, it was worth the wait, and I hope our little guy can feel how much he is loved, when he curls up under it.

“Jewels”

Onesie Decorating Party

Posted on August 12, 2012 by jewelsathome

When I first saw the idea of doing appliqué onesies at a baby shower at the Cutting Table, I immediately thought of doing this project at Nicola’s baby shower. I did have some trepidation about having to stitch around the appliqués, but thankfully my co-host Maura convinced me that it would be worthwhile, and it certainly was.

Here’s what you’ll need to do this at your party:

blank onesies. I was unable to find these in any color besides white in local stores, but I ended up getting a good selection between Rock Bottom T-Shirts and these Disney solid bodysuits. These MoonTree Kids Bold Colors Bodysuits are very cute as well! I got a range of sizes from newborn to 18 months, because we all know how fast babies grow!
fabric – I pulled a bunch from my stash, and Maura brought an adorable charm pack
fusible webbing – I used Heat ‘n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive
iron and ironing board
pencils
scissors
optional: stencils or objects to trace (cookie cutters are good for this), examples of appliqued onesies

Supplies for a DIY Onesie Party.

I wrote up a set of instructions with a storybook theme that you can download here: DIY Onesie Instructions from Jewels at Home. It also helped to show the first people step by step, and then they helped the next group. It all went quite smoothly, and there were just two that I needed to fix up afterward, because the Heat ‘n Bond didn’t stick. I’ll show you the “rescue” tips later in the post, but first, here are the step-by-step instructions for decorating the onesies.

DIY Onesie Tutorial

Choose a design and fabrics.
Sketch your design onto the paper side of the iron-on paper. Note: your drawing will be reversed when the design is finished, which is important for letters.

Sketch your design onto the paper side of the Heat ‘n Bond.

Cut out the paper with your design with a small margin around it
Place the sticky side of the Heat’n Bond Lite facing the back side of the fabric and iron for just 2 seconds.

Cut out your design and iron it to the backside of the fabric.

Cut out the design exactly along the lines you sketched
Peel off the paper backing
Place your design on the onesie and iron for 8-10 seconds
Optional: Add words or details with the fabric markers. We signed the “bums” with our names!

Sign your DIY onesie.

Onesie decorating party. I love how each one is unique!

DIY Onesie Party from Jewels at Home.

Finishing the Onesies

After the party, Maura and I split up the onesies to take home and sew the edges. For the simple outlines, I used a small zig-zag stitch, which I think is the most secure. For the ones with fine details, I used a straight stitch, so I could follow the shape more neatly.

Finish the onesies by sewing around the appliques with a zig-zag or straight stitch. I used a zig-zag for the simple shapes, as I think this will be the most secure.

Finish the onesies by stitching around the edge of the fabric. I used a straight stitch for more detailed designs like this one.

If you end up with some onesies with appliques that didn’t stick, I thought of two ways to rescue them.

Pictured below, place the fabric on the sticky side of the Heat’n Bond Lite. Use some glossy paper (this is from some contact paper) face down on the fabric, and iron. Cut out carefully.
You could also place the fabric on they sticky side of the Heat ‘n Bond, trace around the design with pencil, and cut out the paper. Then iron the fabric onto the cut-out paper.

Adding Heat ‘n Bond to the fabric, after it is already cut out.

This was a lovely project – it was wonderful to see so many people try it, even those who don’t usually do craft projects, and it was fun to see how each onesie reflected a little bit of the artist’s personality.

Can’t wait to see these on the new baby!

“Jewels”

Baby Shower Scrapbook Project – Wishes for Baby

Posted on August 11, 2012 by jewelsathome

Wow, we did a lot at the recent baby shower for my friends Nicola and Victor. I wrote about the tea party and cloth diaper cake, and there’s even more to come. Since the shower had a “Storybook Tea Party” theme, it was fitting that we made our own scrapbook storybook for the new baby.

The inspiration for this scrapbook came when I was collecting ideas for the shower and came across the idea of a list of “wishes” each guest could fill out for baby. This was such a sweet idea that I knew I wanted to incorporate.

Here’s what I prepared:

scrapbook – I took a plain scrapbook and decorated the cover with ribbon and stickers
blank pages – I made some simple backgrounds by gluing patterned papers onto solid colors, so that even if people simply glued in their wishlist, it would look complete.
“wish lists” for guests to complete for baby
photos – I asked Nicola and Victor’s parents to send some baby pictures of them and collected photos of their family, their wedding, and other events
old storybook(s) that can be cut up for pictures – the best part of a craft project at a party is when your guests think up something creative that you had not even planned! This happened when a few of our friends took pages out of a book that were were cutting up for wooden blocks (more on that later) and cut out pictures to add to the scrapbook. I hadn’t thought of it, and it looked great!

Scrapbook and Blank Pages

Decorate a scrapbook for a baby shower.

For a scrapbook party, prepare simple backgrounds to inspire guests.

Wish List

Did I mention that I love these baby wish lists?! You can buy them on Etsy, and there are other free printables out there, but I decided to make my own to fit with the Storybook theme. The beautiful castle graphic comes from “Lita Lita,” a teacher in Spain. This graphic and others can be found in her store on Teachers Pay Teachers, and the picture of the books is free clipart.

Storybook-themed wish list for baby. Free printable.

Click here to download a PDF of the Storybook-themed wish list for a new baby.

Pictures and Pages

The pictures from Victor and Nicola’s childhood, wedding, and friends really made the book come together. Here’s the first page of the scrapbook that I made. I pulled it out and put it up on a recipe holder as part of the decorations for the shower.

Gather old pictures of the mom and dad to make a scrapbook at a baby shower.

And here are the pages made by the shower co-host, Maura, and our family. I loved reading what my 8 year-old wrote. It’s always a treat to get a little insight into a child’s mind.

This scrapbook was so much fun to create at the party, and we all enjoyed reading the touching – and often funny – wishes. It was also a lovely way to include family and friends who live out-of-town and cannot attend the shower in person. I mailed a blank wishlist with each invitation, so people could return it in the mail or bring it with them. I also e-mailed electronic versions and printed extras to have on hand at the party.

And they all lived happily ever after…

“Jewels”

Inspirations from Daily Life – July 2012

Posted on July 25, 2012 by jewelsathome

Okay, the month is winding down, but there’s just enough time to share some of the beautiful and inspiring things I’ve seen as we go about our daily routines.

“Do well, but do some good.”

To start, I love this phrase I saw on a utility pole today. It’s a variation on Minor Myers, Jr.’s quote: “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” This is exactly the message I want to teach my boys about how to conduct themselves in life. I plan to put a short version framed in a cute way somewhere in their room.

“Do well, but do some good.” The perfect message for how to live life.

Potty Training/ Diapering Trick

Okay, so it’s hard to believe that I am well into toddlerhood with our third child, and I just learned this trick from a friend. To keep the tails of a onesie from getting dirty during a diaper change or potty training, snap them up over your baby’s shoulder! Now, if only the rest of potty training were so easy!

Potty/ diapering trick: snap the tails of a onesie over the baby’s shoulder to keep them clean.

Love,

“Jewels”

Alternatives for Birthday Gifts and Party Favors

Posted on July 21, 2012 by jewelsathome

My kids have so much in the way of toys and games – proving it is indeed possible to have too much of a good thing. Not only do I worry that this makes it hard for them to learn the true value of things, but the ubiquitous toys and trading cards simply make a mess in a house that is already cluttered, and when the boys start arguing over a toy, then I’ve really had it!

So, this post on “Less is More” at My Modern Asian Family blog really resonated with me. I’m sure a lot of us can relate to this mom’s frustration with kids’ clutter, including the little plastic bags of little plastic toys that accompany a lot of birthday parties.

Over the years, my friends and I have tried a variety of innovative alternatives to birthday gifts and to the treat/loot/goody bags that are given out as party favors. Quick summary: for parties, you can try having no gifts, gift exchanges, donations, or gift/donation hybrids; for treat bags and gifts, think of some truly useful items or ones that can be used up and not leave a little trail of plastic crumbs…

As for the parties, I’ve been lucky that my kids have always been receptive to these alternatives. I explain that their birthday party itself is a gift and that they will still get some presents from their grandparents and aunts and uncles, and I haven’t had any arguments so far. I try to rotate the ideas around – sometimes we’ll do a standard party with gifts, especially if it’s small; sometimes we’ll do an exchange, and I plan to try the donations soon.

No Gifts
We’ve thrown several parties where I simply asked for “no gifts, please.” This works, though only to an extent. I think we are all so accustomed to bringing a gift to a birthday party that some parents don’t notice the request and others just really want to bring something for the birthday boy. This is very kind, though I do worry that it might be awkward when some guests bring a gift and some do not. If you try this, I would recommend putting it in big bold print and really emphasize it, eg. “Please do not bring a birthday gift. Our children are already fortunate to have so much, we would like to spend this day focusing on the celebration, rather than gifts.” A little cheesy but also to the point, you could add: “Your presence is your present.”

Gift Exchange
This is a favorite idea at our house. We’ve done both book and puzzle exchanges, in which each guest brings an unwrapped book or puzzle and each child takes one home. This can substitute for both the birthday present as well as for the treat for guests. You can let the birthday boy or girl pick first, so he or she still feels special, and I always put a few extra books or puzzles in the pile, so there’s lots of choice and a little bonus for the birthday boy. I find the exchanges get more universal uptake than simply requesting “no gifts,” because the parents all feel like they brought something. Another great thing about this idea is that a book or puzzle makes a more substantial and useful treat to take home, without breaking the bank for the party host… Though admittedly I have a lot fun with the treats and sometimes still do them.

Instead of birthday gifts and party favors, do a book exchange!

Donations
We have some friends who have done a wonderful job throwing “pay it forward”-themed birthdays for their daughter. One year, they collected change in a jar to donate to charity; other years, they have collected canned goods for a food bank. Again, I think this satisfies people’s sentiment that they want to bring something to a party, and what a wonderful lesson for all the children! I’m ready to try this idea with the older boys, now that they are at an age where they can appreciate the concept.

Gift/Donation Hybrid
My friend Betsy co-founded this clever organization called Clover by Clover. You should check them out for the details, but the idea is that your child can pick a charity and a single gift. Then, people donate to a fund, and the money will be divided between the gift and the charity your child picked. What a good way to make your birthday child feel like they got a special gift while also teaching about the value of sharing.

Innovative Gifts to Give
No doubt, the kids love toys and gadgets, and I’m happy to indulge that for a special occasion. For those times I’ve felt like doing something different, here are some non-toy options that will still be fun for the kids:

Magazine subscription – There are lots of fun kids magazines that could be suited to a child’s interest, and we know kids love getting mail with their name on it. Some titles they might enjoy are Ranger Rick from the National Wildlife Foundation or American Girl magazine.
Adopt an animal – Almost every child has a favorite animal, and you can find an organization that helps these animals and make a donation on their behalf. Many have “adoption” programs where you’ll get a certificate and maybe some information about the animal and a small toy. Some examples are the World Wildlife Fund and the San Francisco Zoo.

Inspirations for Treat Bags
Into each birthday party, some plastic junk must fall, but I do try to minimize it. Here are some examples of great small gifts we’ve given or gotten at kids’ parties. My favorites are items that are can either be used for a long time or consumed right away, so all my mommy friends will not be left with an unpleasant birthday aftermath.

Ideas for enduring party favors:

Cloth bags – I’ve decorated these cotton canvas drawstring bags/backpacks for several of our parties, and I know people often use them for taking toys on a trip or to a restaurant. I add an iron-on appliqué to fit the theme of the party and write each child’s name in puffy fabric paint. Kids love seeing their names on things! We’ve also received some of the larger tote bags from parties, and we reuse those for groceries or bringing toys to the beach.
High quality toys and books – I usually pick just one or two high quality things to give away rather than a lot of smaller items. Examples are the small paperback books, which I have sometimes found in the Target dollar zone, or the wooden-handled skipping rope I gave away at our Pioneer-themed birthday party.

Decorate cloth bags for a birthday party favor that can be put to good use.

Ideas for party favors that won’t linger and clutter

Healthy snacks – dried fruit or healthier types of crackers and cookies can make a nice addition to a treat bag. For our bug-themed party, I made these cute butterfly snack bags to go with the theme of the party. We also did a book exchange at that party.
Stickers or art supplies – these almost always get used up, at least at our house, so they make fun little gifts that won’t end up as immortal clutter in the toy bin.

Butterfly snack bags for a bug-themed birthday party.

So, for Modern Asian Mom and the rest of us drowning in clutter and tripping over small toys, go ahead and try some of these ideas for the next birthday party you give or attend.

Love,
“Jewels”