bean bag : Garden Party

Celebrate a summer birthday with a garden party. This party may be held inside or out but it is best if some of the activities can be done outside. Have your guests dress in casual clothes so they can get messy.

INVITATIONS

You will need white and yellow construction paper, glue and some markers. Fold a piece of the white paper in half. Cut a flower out of the white paper being careful to leave two of the petals joined together. Cut out a yellow circle and glue in the center of your flower. Open the flower to write the invitation inside. Be sure to include your own name, date, address and R.S.V.P. and phone number inside the invitation.

DECORATIONS

Decorate the table with a flowered tablecloth. Use a tin watering can as a vase and place cut flowers in it for your centerpiece. Set new, clean garden tools on the table to use as serving spoons for sunflower seeds or for the fruit salad.

SEED PACKET NAPKIN RINGS

You will need cardboard tubes, construction paper, scissors, glue and packets of seeds. Cut a 2-inch section from a cardboard tube. Cover the section with construction paper. Glue one seed packet onto each napkin ring. Insert the napkins into the napkin rings and lay one at each place setting.

MENU

Serve Garden Pizzas with fruit salad and sunflower seeds. For the grand finale, serve "Sunshine Punch" and Dirty Cupcakes.

GARDEN PIZZAS

Use refrigerated pizza dough to make individual pizzas. Let children create their own pizza. Supply them with tomato sauce, mozzerella cheese, and an assortment of veggies such as mushrooms, onions, and green peppers. Some of your party guests may prefer plain cheese pizza.

FRUIT SALAD

Mix together strawberries, cantaloupe, banana slices, or any other favorite fruit.

SUNSHINE PUNCH

Mix 2 liters of orange soda with one pint of vanilla ice cream.

DIRTY CUPCAKES

Bake cupcakes using your favorite cake mix. Frost the cupcakes with chocolate icing. Crumble crushed oreo cookies on top to make the cakes look dirty. Place gummy worms or gummy bugs on top for decoration.

Place a bowl of sunflower seeds or toasted pumpkin seeds in the center of the table as a snack for children.

ACTIVITIES

PIN THE BEE ON THE FLOWER

Using a poster size sheet of white construction paper, draw a large flower. Hang the poster up on a door or a wall before the party. Make a small bee out of construction paper for each of the children. Place a piece of tape on each of the bees. Have children line up one at a time, blindfold them and ask them to pin the bee on the flower. Give prizes to the children who get their bee in the correct place.

DECORATE TERRA COTTA POTS

Buy a 4" terra cotta pot for each of the children. Supply the children with paint, stickers, ribbons and glue and have them each decorate a pot. They will be able to take these home as party favors later.

PLANTING FLOWER SEEDS

Let the little gardeners plant flower seeds in their terra cotta pots. Have garden tools, dirt, flower seeds and a watering can available for them. Let them get messy since the invitation asked them to wear old clothes. If you have a small plot of dirt in the backyard let them plant a flower garden.

BEAN BAG TOSS

Place dried beans into snack size zipper baggies to make bean bags. Use two large empty coffee cans as targets. Line the children up in two teams. Give each team five beanbags. The children on each team will take turns tossing the bean bags into the coffee cans. They each get five tosses. The team that gets the most beanbags into the target wins. Give out prizes to the winning team.

FAVORS

Guests can take home the flower seed packets from their napkin rings as well as the terra cotta pots they decorated. Other ideas are gummy worms, flower stickers, and gardening gloves.

By Renee Kirchner