Happy New Year Cookies

A few years ago friends invited us to a family New Year's Eve party and asked us to bring a dessert. I wanted to bring something both entertaining and festive, and so the idea for our Happy New Year cookies was born. I brought the sugar cookies pre-baked and let the kids decorate their own set with frosting and sprinkles. They were a hit and have been requested by my kids every year since. I made a pattern for the numbers on pieces of a recycled cereal box and just traced around them in the dough with a sharp knife. I just free-handed these numbers, but you could make a pattern on Word and just enlarge the font to your liking. (The numbers here are about 6" high and 4" wide.) This little guy was especially interested in the numbers this year and how the combination of them indicated our new year. Oh, and eating his creations was pretty interesting too!

Hurray for Half-Days!

The girls had a half day of school so we celebrated this gorgeous September day by going to the Drumlin Farm. Boy was it fun! Horses, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens. The whole shibang. Highlights included "riding" on the old tractor, a photo display of "how baby cows are born," and seeing wild turkeys. It made me realize how urban my kids have become. Though I didn't grow up on a farm, my grandparents had orchards with farm animals that we visited every summer. I wish now that I had enjoyed (or even been interested!) in farm life back then. So, I took a picture of the make and model of the tractor, just for my Grandpa Buswell. Don't you think a few solid hours of picking peaches, cherries or apples would do these hooligans some good?!

Scavenger Hunt in Harvard Square

This year our oldest celebrated her 11th birthday by inviting a few friends for a scavenger hunt in Harvard Square. The girls had a blast going to Pinnochio's Pizza, Curious George's Bookshop, Out of Town News, an "ancient" cemetary, the Irish Potato Famine statue in the Cambridge Common, counting the rocks in front of Harvard's Science Center and lastly sketching their favorite animals at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. In all, I think we walked about 3 miles! I just felt lucky to keep up with these gals! A fun day was had by all!

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

We celebrated our oldest's 11th birthday this weekend.  Among other festivities, she asked to take in cupcakes to her classmates.  Just to spice things up a bit we decided to make them earn their cupcakes!  In order to get a cupcake, each student had to compute their favorite equation.  Apparently some of the kids grumbled as they figured the equations on their napkins before getting the cupcake, but overall, it turned out to be quite fun!  See if you can answer any of these off the top of your head!  

For her birthday date out with mom and dad, guess where she chose to go?  Yep, the bookstore!  We went in to Harvard Square and had a blast browsing through the Harvard COOP and the Globe Bookstore.  We love that she is such a bookworm (though I think it does run in the family)!

Bob the Builder

Every morning when the Little Mr. wakes up I have to ask him, "Who are you today?"  The answers range anywhere from Batman or prince charming to a fireman, but usually it's simply, "I'm Bob the Builder." Of course there is a prescribed uniform connected to each persona that must be strictly followed.  Only one pair of jeans qualifies as Bob's jeans--and mismatched boots and a hard hat are a must.  Heaven forbid the jeans are in the wash or the boots are hiding under the couch when the "Bob mood" strikes!  Naturally when birthday time came around, the Little Mr. hoped his party could be a real Bob party where they could build stuff and paint stuff and bang stuff.  So with a little imagination and a lot of help from The Mr., we pulled it off!  Let's see activities included digging in our yard with real shovels and toy dumptrucks, etc.  Painting our shed with real paint (I have to say this was the hardest part for me to watch!  I panic about kids and paint!).  Helping cut a chunk of wood.  Nailing into boards.  Running around the yard.  Eating chips and hotdogs and strawberries (Bob's favorite foods).  Oh, and the cake.  The backhoe cake was so easy, but turned out quite cool.  I think Little Mr. and all his buddies had a great time!  

Red, White & Blue

So earlier this year (January to be exact), my twins announced the theme for their birthday (in early July): a Red, White & Blue birthday.  We then spent the next six months gradually collecting plates, cups, flags, activities, etc. that matched those colors.  As we got to the park to set up for the party, we noticed a few raindrops and then by party time it was a full-blown thunder and rain storm.  It was a doozy (luckily the party was set up under a pavillion!). The girls were thrilled to see those friends (all proudly wearing r, w & b) who braved the storm and made it to the party!   Party foods included: Blueberries, strawberries, red doritos, red licorice, red juice boxes and white cupcakes with little flags on top.  Activities included patriotic hat making, face painting, playing on the playground and a water balloon toss.  Oh, and I can't forget the Virginia Reel led by my talented friend Sherie!  We had a great time in spite of the rain!

Birthday Bags & Banners

In the past my oldest daughter has had big birthday parties.  And I mean BIG. One year she invited her entire class plus church and ballet friends.  I think 35 kids showed up!  We held our own olympics, complete with an opening ceremonies parade (with flags!), gold medals and lunch fit for champions.   So this year I was so relieved to hear that she wanted a small party.  Really small.  Just two friends invited.  It was actually the most fun I've ever had hosting a party!  We went all out.  A visit to the Aquarium followed by lunch at the nearby (and delicious!) Panera Bread and then a few more hours at the Aquarium.  

 

Since it was just a few girls, I was able to make the most fun goody bags.  I made each girl her own bag (tutorial coming soon!) with the first letter of her name appliqued on the bag.  These bags (filled with water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks and a cute animal magnet) were presented to the girls when we picked them up in the morning.  After lunch, cake & ice cream and opening presents, we gave them each their very own stuffed penguin (as a way to remember our very favorite penguins at the Aquarium).  They were delighted!  

On another note, a few years ago I made a huge Happy Birthday banner for another birthday party.  It turned out so cute (and took so much time!) I couldn't bear to throw it away, so we've used it for every birthday since.  Although a bit time consuming, it was really easy to make. 

 First, buy a roll or two of your favorite sturdy wrapping paper.  Use one roll to cover the birthday party tables and the other roll to make the banner. Next, type Happy Birthday [Birthday Child's Name] and then select a different font for each letter.  Then, format the letters to be the biggest font you can print on the page. Each letter should take up one page.  Print the letters in "outline" form.  Glue to various colored cardstock that matches your wrapping paper.  Use fancy scissors to cut out pendant triangles out of the wrapping paper.  Glue pendants to the bottom of the cardstock sheets and glue on cut out letters.  Use ribbon to string letters together and enjoy!  Just fold it up and stick it in a file folder for future birthdays!