Theme Thursday: Make it a Superhero Birthday
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Make your child’s next birthday a superhero party and save the world, or at least the party. Read on for great party planning tips for a superhero-themed celebration.
Looking for ways to get adults involved too? Live up to your hero status and help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays by visiting morebirthdays.com and telling your friends.
Here are some party food and decoration ideas that are sure to thrill your young guests:
Fun Ideas to Set the Mood
A really super party starts with colorful decorations! Consider these fun, simple ideas for tying your superhero theme into your decorations:
• Buy streamers in colors associated with your child’s favorite superhero – for example, use red, yellow, and blue streamers for Superman, or black and yellow streamers for Batman. Twist the streamers together, and hang them throughout the party area.
• Cut cartoon caption bubbles out of cardboard, and write superhero action words on them, such as “POW!” “ZAP!” and “BAM!” Hang them on the walls throughout the party area.
• Using chalk, draw the bat symbol or Superman’s “S” crest on the sidewalk or driveway.
• Use comic books or pages from comic books as place mats at the party table. You can also provide Silly Putty so that the children can “lift” pictures off of the comics (i.e. by pressing the putty against the page and peeling it back) and have fun stretching them out.
• Buy inexpensive capes, or make your own using rectangles of brightly-colored cloth. Hang a cape from the back of each guest’s chair before the party. If your guests wish, they can wear their capes during the party and take them home afterwards.
Superhero Snacks
When it comes to food, partygoers often serve up pizza or hotdogs, which can seem easier on the hosts.
However, if you want to give your superheroes the energy they need to run, jump, and save the world, offer a super menu with healthy snacks. Making healthy choices is also one way to help create a world with more birthdays. Consider these food ideas:
• Cut sandwiches into bat shapes or diamonds.
• Cut carrots and pepper strips into lightning bolts, and serve them with Spiderman dip.
• Serve fruit kabob ‘swords’ and let them fight off evil villains.
• Let the children use their super powers to change the color of their drinks! Before the party, freeze colored 100 percent juice in ice cube trays. Let your guests pick their own colored ice cubes. As the children drop ice cubes into their water, the drinks will change color!
• Bake the birthday cake in the shape of your child’s favorite superhero’s emblem. If you cannot find an appropriately-shaped cake pan, you can bake a round, square, or rectangular cake, and carve it before you ice and decorate it.
Games and Activities
Every party needs some upbeat and invigorating activities. Here are some favorite games:
Superman Tag Game.
Preparation: Mark two lines in the grass or play area, at least 20′ apart. Pick one player to be Superman, and have him or her stand in the middle of the play area between the two lines. The other players are the “bad guys,” and they should stand behind one of the lines.
To start, Superman yells, “Up, up, and away!” All of the bad guys must try to run through the play area and across the other line without being tagged by Superman. If Superman tags a bad guy, that child is caught and must hold hands with Superman during the next round. As more players are caught, they join hands with Superman, extending his reach. Play continues until only one player is left. That player gets to be Superman for the next round. Play as many rounds as desired.
The Web
This one is perfect for Spiderman-themed parties. Have the children sit in a large circle. Give the birthday child a ball of yarn, and instruct him/her to hold onto the end.
To start, explain to the children that they are going to make a net in which to catch bad guys. Ask the children to pass the ball around the circle until it comes back to the birthday child. Next, the birthday child must walk across the circle and hand the ball to another child, taking their place in the circle and holding the part of the yarn circle that the other child had been holding. The child with the ball of yarn then walks across to a different child, exchanging the yarn for that child’s place in the circle. This continues as the children weave a web. You may need adult assistance in keeping the string taut as the children transfer the ball.
When the net is finished, the children can pull on their strings and see how it affects the others. You may also toss a stuffed animal or bad guy action figure into the middle to show how the web pulls and captures the bad guy! Scissors may be handy for the clean up.
This weekend, my 12-year old daughter and her friends are hosting a surprise birthday sleepover for one of their friends whose mother lost her very short battle with lung cancer this past July. Each year, her Mom would have a huge sleepover birthday party for her which all the girls looked forward to. This will be the first birthday she will have without her Mom and it will probably be difficult for her and her Dad and brothers.
