Birthday Parties Birthday bashes Continued from page 21
Cowboy Roundup
Prep time: 1-2 hours depending on what you have on hand and what you need to gather Opening presents: 15 minutes Activity time: 2 hours (including clean-up) Location: Because of the amount of space needed, it is best to hold the party in a park or large backyard when the weather is still warm. Hobby horse construction • Any kind or color of sock. Just look in your sock bucket for socks that don’t have matches; the larger the sock, the better the head proportion. A 6-pack of white tube socks can be purchased for less then six dollars if you don’t have socks on hand. • Yarn for the mane — any color, any weight. You will be surprised how many girls like horses with blue, green or pink hair…so really, any color will do. Use what you have and attach it with a glue gun. Using a low-heat glue gun would be best. • Googly eyes — can be purchased at your neighborhood craft store. They come in all sizes. Use double-sided tape to attach them to the head. Tape works better than glue. • Markers to draw the mouth. • Felt for the ears — it doesn’t matter what color. Children don’t care if things match. Or you can use paper grocery sacks if you don’t have any felt lying around. • Rope of any kind — for the halter and reins. Soft nylon or clothesline rope work well. You could even braid yarn or strips of fabric if there is time instead of using rope. Ribbon will work well too. If time is an issue, don’t worry about making reins. The children will not use them during the rodeo anyway. • Sewing notions — not a necessity, but if you have some, the children can decorate their horses. • Wrapping paper tubes, one-inch PVC pipe or wooden dowels for the stick. Don’t make them too long or it will be difficult for the children to manipulate them in the races. Rodeo: In a real rodeo the riders are awarded cash for their performance. You might give cash prizes in play money that can be exchanged for candy, treats, ribbons or an overall trophy for the best buckaroo. Their prizes can be placed in a decorated paper lunch sack as their party favor to take home. Shooting gallery: Place a 2x4 board between two supports. Line up paper or Styrofoam cups along the board. Have each child take turns trying to shoot the cups off the board with a squirt gun, Nerf gun or marshmallow gun. Have the children stand close enough to the board that the gun has enough power to level the cups. Time each child. The winner is the one who levels the most cups in one minute. Barrel racing: Set up a barrel racing course using three 5gallon buckets. The buckets form a diamond from the starting line and are equidistant from each other. The rider with his hobby horse is timed running the course. The rider with the best time wins.
22 November 2015 | Idaho Family Magazine
Steeple chase: Set up an obstacle course where participants can jump over barriers of different heights. The lowest height could be a 2x4 on the ground. The next height a 2x4 across two #10 (1-gallon) cans. The third height is a 2x4 across 5-gallon buckets. Each contestant is timed running the course. The contestant with the best time is the winner. Calf roping: Small hula hoops that you can purchase at the dollar store make the best lariats. You can have the children rope a bar stool at a distance according to their skill. We made a horse and calf out of saw horses and old pop bottles if you want to get fancy. Or you can just have the kids rope each other like a variation on a game of tag. Saloon: A folding table surrounded with a large cardboard box can serve as a bar at a saloon. After the rodeo, the children can step up to the bar for root beer floats and cupcakes and eat on the grass while the birthday person opens presents.
Pirates Rendezvous
Prep time: 1 to 2 hours depending on shopping needs Opening presents: 15 minutes Activity time: 2 hours (including clean-up) Pirate swords • Supplies needed: cardboard, glue guns, glue gun glue, scissors, buttons, jewels, feathers, sewing notions, markers, anything to decorate the swords with. • Cut out swords ahead of time with an exact-o knife. Pirates’ plunder • Purchase prizes or little trinkets at the dollar store, also chocolate coins, little toy guns, necklaces and dress up jewelry, etc. • Place each prize in a paper sack and tape or staple the sack shut. You will need at least one sack for each person. • Pirates sit in a circle and take turns rolling the dice. • The leader calls out a number. If the number comes up on the dice, the pirate chooses a prize, but does not open it. If he does not throw the correct dice, he passes the dice on to the next pirate in the circle. • The leader can change the numbers called at will or call several numbers at once if he or she wants to speed up the game. • Continue playing until everyone has a prize. • Next, begin the lightning round. In this round the order of play is the same, but this time the pirates can exchange their prize for someone else’s in the circle. The prizes still remain closed. • At the end of the lightning round the pirates open their prizes. Sink the ship • Decorate two large appliance boxes to look like a ship, or tape cardboard together to make a box. Position ships about 12 to 18 feet apart. The pirates kneel or stand in their ships. • The object is to sink the other ship with cannon balls (ping pong balls, large marshmallows, etc.).
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