Renovation blues draggin’ ya down? Why not have a drop off birthday party with 7 kids under the age of 5.

Shake off the sawdust and cover those outlets! Be sure to remove all table saws and 10″ screwdrivers from the play area. Or if you are like me you do this as guest arrive.

Plan to get behind on your scheduled projects and try to have fun. I really believe hospitality is an attitude not a state or condition of my home.

Here are some highlights from Ryan’s 4th birthday super hero party.

We used cardboard and pipe cleaners (yes I know they are chenille stems but I just can’t convert) to create a party sign for the front door. Placing a sign at the door before company is expected is a welcoming tradition that Ry has established.

Pre-party happy jitters.

I keep a stack of white lunch sacks on hand for parties. By decorating them myself I always have the ‘theme’ I need.

Contents: mini play-doh cans (purchased at 50% off in the Halloween area), candy and batman fruit snacks.

I bought only a few commercial items. The balloons were a gift from Ry's party helper Grammy Lu.

We made a Bat Cave from a washing machine box, Spider-Man and Friends Memory game pieces and tempera paint. We kept the top open a bit and cut out two eye spy holes on one side and a secret mail slot on the other side.

For this super hero party I gathered all the toys in the house that would work as party props. Featured here is singing Spider-man with steamers.

Each guest wore a custom painted Super shirt. They each used fabric markers to decorate their own capes (white flour sacks). The little guests 2 and under had capes (1/2 a flour sack) with Velcro tabs on their shoulders. The doorway shown in the upper left of this photo was draped in red streamers for decoration and fun!

Super Molly snacked on pretzels.

Super Colin goes for a ride without his cape!

My baker Sam made this cake for Ryan. You know Sam don't you? He has his own club and everything. Sam put in extra Spider-Man details since we were having a multi-hero party.

This picture speaks for itself.

Who wants a photo? We want CAKE!

Of course the nice part about not having any furnishings in the party area was freedom! We ran, played Spider-Man Hoops, Spider-Man Clothes Pin Drop and Super-Man Jump.

Of course you can't beat an after party, "I love you Mom!"

]]> http://justablink.com/2008/11/party-time-during-home-projects/feed/ 7 http://justablink.com/2008/06/tryin-cryin-ryan-fryin/ http://justablink.com/2008/06/tryin-cryin-ryan-fryin/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:12:44 +0000 Jessica http://themcwilliams.info/?p=86 Thanks to Dr. Suess and Wonder Red from Super Why Ryan is in a rhyming phase. Everything has to have a rhyme even when no English word exists- he just makes one up!

He is learning to skateboard and he loves wearing his red skate helmet and pads [largely due to the fact that I think he feels more inline with what a superhero looks like than the actual safety they provide].

We are always pretending to be a family of supers or rescue heroes. I am often addressed as Spiderman-Lady and Molly, of course, is Spiderman-Lady’s baby. He has great sense of justice and right and wrong.

He pretends to play army and says he’ll be in the army for Minnesota when he grows up! He even converted Molly’s exer-saucer into a tank by flipping it on it’s side and adding a radio for communication. He is very brave in most ways but he still hasn’t quite overcome his fear of bugs.

He loves sweets, his sister and the beach.