Spring Birthday? Pull Together A Quick & Inexpensive
Indoor
Garden Party
L
ooking for an easy, fun
birthday party celebration
for elementary school-age
children? Browse these ideas and pick
and choose what works for your birthday
girl or boy. You can grab supplies for a
garden party at the craft and dollar stores
and be all set up and ready to host after
an hour or two of prep (although, every-
one will think you worked much harder).
In a high-sugar world, this low-
sugar party does not lack sweetness and
may even spark interest in taking better
care of the earth. These party sugges-
tions work well indoors, but if guests get
to go outside and shake some ya-yas out,
that’s an extra bonus.
Décor Ideas
Twisted paper streamers from
ceiling to floor
The premise is simple: scotch tape
colored party streamers to the ceiling,
right up against the wall, and then twist,
twist, twist each one and tape it to the
bottom of the wall, just above the floor.
Run a dozen or more of these a couple
inches apart for a celebratory backdrop.
Try two tones of the same color, like
green, or go for colors that match your
party theme. Perhaps, decorate the wall
behind your food buffet or find an empty
wall to use as a photo booth backdrop.
Sunburst wall
Start with a central round
yellow object like a large yellow
party fan or a yellow paper plate.
Mount the disc two thirds of the
way up the wall with masking
tape. Then, using scotch tape,
send yellow streamers bursting
out in every direction. Tape an
end close to the central object, then
18 WNY Family January 2019
— by Christina Katz
reach each streamer straight out, twisting
as you go, and tape it down once you get
to the edge of your burst area. You can
make a round burst or fill an entire back-
drop wall with sun streamers.
Rainbow wall
Purchase balloons in rain-
bow colors: red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Use primary colors or pastels to
match your party theme. Blow
up 4-6 balloons in each color and
scotch tape them to the top of the
wall, just beneath the ceiling in rain-
bow order. Next, tuck matching color
streamers underneath balloons and twist
each before attaching to the bottom of
the wall as in the example above.
Balloon flower wall
Make the center of each balloon
flower white or green. Tape each flower
center balloon to wall with scotch tape,
then surround each center with five or
six colored balloons. Try multiple colors
like yellow, pink and lavender flowers or
have all flowers on one wall be the same
color for a more coordinated look.
Indoor Activity Ideas
Tape a large plastic tablecloth to the
floor and cover a kitchen table or long
folding table with another. Put supplies
in the middle of the table with enough
room for guests to work on projects
all the way around the table. A
checked plastic tablecloth that
matches your theme will look
great on an activity table.
Fairy Gardens
Supplies: Shallow plant lin-
er, plastic planter or dollar store
tray, potting soil, planter moss,
glass beads, small polished stones,
wooden houses, alyssum starts, plastic
animals and figures.
Custom Birdhouse
Wooden birdhouses with hanging strings
already attached, acrylic paints,
paintbrushes, glass beads, but-
tons, other ephemera, Craft-
er’s Pick - The Ultimate
glue. When hosting birth-
day crafts, start activities
early to allow for drying time
before guests depart.
Potted Flower Planters
Supplies: Colored plant-
ing pots with liners, potting soil,
plant starts like pansies, alyssum, and
fuchsia. Glass beads or stones. Wooden
stake for each guest’s name.
Food Ideas
• Let guests graze instead of having
a sit-down meal. For long parties, set
aside time for food breaks.
• Veggie and fruit cups look great
in short, translucent plastic cups. Veggie
cups: cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery,
broccoli, pea pods, jicama. Fruit cups:
red and green grapes, strawberries, tan-
gerine slices, honeydew melon chunks,
watermelon chunks, cantaloupe chunks,
kiwi slices.
• Simple sandwich rolls can be eat-
en on square napkins: On large flour tor-
tillas, spread a thin layer of mayo, then
add even layers of:
turkey, swiss cheese, lettuce
and garden vegetable cream
cheese
roast beef, havarti cheese, spin-
ach and chive and onion cream
cheese
hard salami, provolone cheese,
lettuce and plain cream cheese