...And lest you think the only thing at the party was food, here's our version of *pin the beak on the penguin* (it was a penguin party, in case you hadn't noticed!!!)It proved to be insanely popular, and would be very easy to replicate for any party.
I found a copyright free image online, and took it to Officeworks where they printed it onto Plan paper for me - it's only available in Black and white, and because the image was embiggened so much it did have a little pixellation, but then again, it was blown up to A0 size, and cost less than $6. Awesome! I found some bright orange post-it notes that were shaped like hearts, and I just cut the hearts more-or-less in half, so they looked beakish. And then, as each child placed their *beak*, I simply added their name with a sharpie.
I didn't do a prize for the closest beak...the deal with the games at the party was that everyone got a prize if they'd had a turn/tried something (one prize per kid, not per game - I guess it was an alternative to party favours?), which meant everyone was happy and there were no dramas about who had an advantage etc etc, especially as we had kids from 2 to 8 playing along. As the mother of 2 naturally competitive little souls (who inherited that spirit in equal measure from both paretns!), I have definitely learnt the value of encouraging something for the joy it brings rather than (just) the goal of competition. Thank you Montessori for yet another important life lesson!
The *prizes* - indian rubber balls, cute post-its, yo-yos, fun pens and pencils etc, and lollipops - were all tossed into a pillowcase and each child reached in and grabbed something without looking. If the first thing they'd selected wasn't to their taste, they got to put it back and have another turn, but they had to keep their second selection. (I modified this for the little ones - they could see into the pillowslip) Funny thing - everyone wanted the 2c lollipops, which I only added as an afterthought in case the *good stuff* ran out. We are now well stocked with yo-yos and cute post-its, ha!
This old favourite was so popular and most kids had multiple turns....in fact I may or may not have hidden the rest of the *beaks* after the first 100 were used (there were fewer than 20 kids at the party all told...and the picture above was taken after I'd removed at least half, phew!) This is definitely a great job for the fun auntie/grandpa/etc who wants to help!
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