Planning a Teenagers Party with Em Rusciano

As a comedian, writer, singer, television and radio presenter, Em Rusciano is one of the most well rounded and talented performers in Australia.  She's our guest blogger today and shares with us her experience of planning a party for a teenager. 

Hello friends

My first born, my baby, my glorious cherub Marchella recently turned 13.  I'm still waiting for the second head to appear, I'll keep you posted on that one.

Because I am an excellent Mother (read: idiot push over who never learns her lesson) both of my kids get to have a birthday party each year. Nothing outrageous and crazy Kardashian style (although last year things did get pretty wild when one kid accidentally snorted whizz fizz up his nose) just a few of their mates at out place, usually for a sleep over.  Sleep! Ha!

Well this year, things changed. They took a rather adolescent turn.  This year I was told that she would like a "gathering" not a party, I didn't take it well.

"A what? Are we not calling it a party anymore? Should I put the Women's weekly birthday cake circa 1975 away?

No Barbie swimming pool cake made from jelly and real barbie dolls then?" I quizzed her.  "No Mum, a gathering. People have gathoes not parties ok. No novelty cakes, no games, no lolly bags and no singing happy birthday."

Say what now? What's the point then?! What was I to do with the ten thirteen year old girls descending upon my house? Have them sit staring at a wall for 5 hours? My kid had taken away my best material! So now I was facing a "gathering" that was sounding about as fun as discovering a fermented nappy under your car seat after 6 months of "what is THAT smell?" (Obviously I don't need to tell you, this happened to me.)

I was most disappointed about the cake part, each time a birthday rolls around the girls and I pour over the birthday cake bible aka Women's weekly cake book and painstakingly pick a cake to recreate. I use the term recreate very loosely, one year I tried to make a caterpillar cake- it ended up something like this.

So I set to work researching what could be done at Teenage birthday parties and I thought I'd share with you what I came up with.

The party.. Sorry, gathering, was a huge success so I feel like these tips may actually be useful!

Activities (Do not call them games under any circumstances or they won't fly)

1. Balloon dares: 

Write dares on a small piece of paper, ram them inside a balloon, then blow it up. Hang the balloons off a washing basket and have the girls pop them with a pin one at a time. Some of our dares included: 

*Have the person next to you take a really awful photo of you, upload it to instagram. 

*Smell everyone's feet and rank them best to worst. 

*Swap pants with the person next to you. 

*Text "I like the smell of my own farts" to the last person you sms'd on your phone. 

*Spin in circles and put red lipstick on. 

I found incorporating their social media was a big hit, they all have their phones glued to their heads anyway so they were totally down with this one. (Sorry for writing "totally down" that will never happen again.)

2. Mummy make-over. 

Make two teams, give them many rolls of toilet paper, lipstick, glitter, scraps of material, gaffer tape and a black sharpie. One member must be wrapped head to toe in toilet paper and beautified. The most decorative mummy wins.

3. Wardrobe raiders. 

This one may not work for you but since I have a large costume/clothing cupboard it kept them entertained for at least an hour. The ladies were sent off to put themselves in my clothes and shoes. After they were done they stood in front of a large white sheet we'd hung up and an epic photo shoot commenced. I then emailed them all the photos.

The night ended with a giant chocolate non novelty mud cake I'd acquired from Costco and happy birthday was sung. I know I went against the directives with the singing however there was no way I was giving up that particular tradition.

Hopefully this has been of some use to those of you facing the transition from parties where your guests wet their pants to parties where your guests roll their eyes and scream a lot. Look as we all know the wee-ing of the pants can come back as an adult, if the party is REALLY good.

Sorry. 

Not sorry.

Good luck! 

Your friend, Em.

Web: www.EmRusciano.com.au
Twitter: @EmRusciano

Em Rusciano Official Face Book https://www.facebook.com/EmRuscianoOfficial 

Guest Blog - Origami-A-Go-Go

Origami-A-Go-Go Party by Guests Lisa Howe and Alison Kenter. 

Lisa and Alison, the Origami-A-Go-Go Girls, specialise in teaching groups of girls how to make beautifully constructed origami paper delights. A fresh, new party idea for girls aged 6 and up. 

Origami was HUGE in the 70s and with everyone loving a bit of craft these days it’s making a big comeback in kindergartens, primary schools and now children’s parties.  It’s good for the brain, the experts tell us. It’s great for hand/eye co-ordination and excellent at developing fine motor skills. It is also enormously satisfying – just ask anyone who’s mastered the classic crane!

Lisa Howe and Alison Kenter launched their ‘Origami-A-Go-Go’ party concept earlier this year after finding it hard to manage the long hours of a TV career with caring for their growing families.

“I fell in love with origami all over again,” says Lisa, “when I discovered the most exquisite 1950’s shaped origami dress at a craft fair. It appealed to the little girl inside me so I taught myself to make it and then I taught my nieces and friends’ daughters. They soon became as obsessed as I was!”

The technical aspect of origami is often overlooked but the construction of a 3D masterpiece from a flat piece of paper is a marvel to behold. 

“Origami teaches you patience, precision and persistence.  I look forward to hearing that my little folding party-goers have progressed to careers in architecture, industrial design or engineering, all because they learned how to fold a beautiful dress out of a piece of paper!”

Origami-A-Go-Go encourages co-operation amongst the girls. Listening and concentrating is essential to success and despite the educational aspect it is great fun –and environmentally friendly!

Book an Origami-A-Go-Go party and show your daughter that construction is a valuable, skill. It doesn't have to be all trigonometry and clipboards, your little engineer can be fabulous and graceful!

Disclaimer: your daughter may also inadvertently learn a bit about geography, history and Japanese culture during one of these parties!

Contact Us;

http://origami-a-go-go.com/

Lisa Howe 0416 221 834

Alison Kenter 0403 915 913

enquiries@origami-a-go-go.com

Make your Party an Educational Wonderland!

5 Ways to Make Your Party an Educational Wonderland 

by Guest Blogger,  Louise Jones from Learning that's Fun. 

Kids’ parties are so much fun, especially if you’re not the one organising them! I know party planning can be really stressful and hard work, but for others, they absolutely love it and really shine when they plan a party. I’m definitely the shiner. I love parties and often get called upon by friends & family to volunteer as a helper or dress up and dance around with the kids. I love it. But what I also love are the learning benefits for kids hidden in all that glitter and madness. So I’ve put together 5 tips to help uncover those hidden treasures and add a bit of sneaky education to the process.

1. Get Organised

Get the kids involved in planning right from start.  This is perfect timing to catch their imagination and add in some learning activities here and there without them suspecting a thing. There are loads of opportunities in the planning stages to practice reading, spelling, the art of handwriting and some maths.

• Write the guest list - practice spelling their names
• Design the invitations - I’m yet to meet a child who doesn’t love using the computer, so design them on there. But if you fancy handwritten it’s a chance for the kids to practice handwriting and get crafty with glitter & glue. Learn about dates, times, addresses.
• Make a shopping list - again, practice some handwriting, spelling and increase vocabulary. You might have a budget to stick to, so they can practice those maths skills they’ve been learning at school, as well as the hard line that money doesn’t grow on trees!
• Cook - Get all hands on deck. Cooking and preparing food is great fun for kids and a chance to work on those fine motor skills, not to mention reading recipes, learning fractions and measurements.

2. Choose a Theme

Having a special theme for your party is a great way to make that little more fun. But pirates and fairies are so yesterday. I’ve got a few themes with an educational twist the kids will love:

• Party Kitchen Rules – just like the TV show, in your own kitchen. Keep it simple, raw ingredients, non-cook recipes and pre-chopped. Turn on the timer and see who comes up with the most creative dish.
• Art Smart – let their imaginations go wild. Paint, play-dough, clay, coloured paper, pens, markers, art smocks, brushes, whatever you’ve got, bring it out or stock up from the local discount store.
• Story Town – does your child have a favourite book or genre? Have guests dress up as a character, match food, decorations and games to the theme.
• Alphabet Soup – this is fun for the little kids. Have them dress up as something beginning with the first letter of their name, make decorations out of letter shapes, arrange your food in letters, grab out all of those alphabet toys the kids have been hiding away and use them for decorations and games. Try games like I Spy or Hang Man.
• When I grow Up – get the kids to dress up as whatever it is they want to be when they grow up, lawyers, police officers, dancers, teachers, soccer stars, shop keepers, vets, artists.
• Little Olympics – if your kids are into sport host the Little Olympics. Egg & spoon races, sack races, 3-legged races, hopscotch, shoot hoops, coights, hit targets with balls for points. You could even serve multi-cultural dishes and decorate with international flags of the world. This will keep them active and burn off all those snacks too.
• Mad Scientist – here’s where you get to make a mess. Jump online and look for some simple school experiments. Be sure to wear your white coats and goggles, and some white curly wigs. Bi-carb soda and Vinegar? Can you clean a coin with Coke? What do those bugs look like under a magnifying glass?

3. Play Games

It’s not a kids’ party without games, but here’s a great opportunity to sneak in some learning benefits without missing a beat!

• Dancing – it’s not academic, but it’s all about movement, rhythm, creativity and just having fun. De-stress and let out all that built up energy!
• Story Time – do you know someone who is a great story-teller? Get them over, throw out some rugs and cushions and share some favourite stories with the kids. Get them to make up their own stories to tell too!
• Scavenger Hunt – everyone loves searching for treasure. So make up a list of A-Z, and send the kids out into the yard, the park, the rumpus room and find something beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
• Charades – creative thinking here people. Trying to explain something without using words is tougher than it seems.
• Giant Scrabble – have you seen these on Pinterest? I love the idea, make your own giant cut out letters, laminate them and send the kids out to play giant scrabble on the grass. Adapt it to any board game…anything giant is way more fun.
• Pass the Parcel – who doesn’t love pass the parcel? But forget the lollie in every wrapper and turn off the music, and go for dares or quiz questions that the kids have to answer in order to “win” the next layer. Who can jump the highest? Who has the longest hair? What’s a baby cat called?
• Bingo – and finally good old Bingo. You can make your own or buy game sets. Use pictures, words, numbers, maths sums and call out the answers.

4. Food for Thought

This is possibly the most stressful part of having a party. What do you serve? Do you cook, do you buy pre-made, do any guests have food allergies? But what about the nutrition? The food going into those little bodies is feeding their minds too. But that doesn't mean healthy has to be boring. In fact, trying to choose healthier options is about the most creative you can get! And, it’s another excuse to jump on Pinterest and spend a few hours “researching”. So here are a few starters:

• Celery Boats (cream cheese or peanut butter – remember the allergies)
• Fruit Kebabs (various fruits on a stick)
• Fruit Pops (use the moulds and fill with squishy fruits like mango and berries)
• DIY Ice Cream Sorbet (beautiful in a cone)
• Mini Pizza (English muffins with your favourite toppings)
• Mini Subs (Dinner size bread rolls filled with your favourite toppings)
• Corn Chips & Salsa (cut up pita bread, bake in the oven & DIY Salsa)
• Popped Corn (if you have an air-popper, the kids will love doing it themselves and filling a big cup like at the movies)

5. The Gift of Learning

And finally, every good party has a bag of treats to take home. Or if you’re the guest, you need a nice gift to take along. So again, take a moment to think about what you’re sending them home with? Is it going to break easily? Will their parents be thrilled to have a bag full of sugary sweets? Like always, here’s another reason to spend some time on Pinterest. (I do really love Pinterest in case you hadn't noticed).

Gift Ideas

• Board Games – there are zillions of great ones to choose from
• Books with Benefits – anything you can touch, feel, lift, squeeze, move, sniff, draw
• Science Kits – want to know what happens when you mix bicarb & vinegar?
• Building & Construction sets – lego, meccano, ABC blocks
• Play Money / Money Boxes – playing shops is great fun!
• School Supplies – groovy calculators, out there bags, cool books
• Computer Games – educational games for the computer / console
• Online Subscription – do they have an iPod or computer? Get a subscription to an online educational game like ABC Reading Eggs, Literacy Planet or Moshi Monsters
• Tickets / Membership – tickets to the museum, the gallery, a special event coming up

Bag Fillers

• Small / Mini books
• Dominos
• Deck of cards / Uno / Snap / Memory
• Note books
• Pens / Pencils / Crayons
• Stationery Supplies
• Try replacing traditional goodie bags with a lucky dip, or special thank you gift for each child. You’ll still spend the same amount, but they will go home with quality, not quantity.

·  Try replacing traditional goodie bags with a lucky dip, or special thank you gift for each child. You’ll still spend the same amount, but they will go home with quality, not quantity.

So there are my 5 top tips to make learning fun when you’re having a kids’ party. Making things educational doesn't have to be boring, and certainly not hard work, it’s a case of identifying the learning benefits during your normal planning. Even if you focus on one area for the next party, you can feel satisfied knowing that you’re contributing to the education of all the guests in your home, and hopefully inspiring them to be adventurous, to get out there and learn about the world.

Happy Learning!

Louise

Louise Jones, Ballarat VIC

Learning Funologist, Learning that’s Fun

Author of “Learning that’s Fun” 2012

CONTACT ME: 

http://www.blossomlearning.com.au

http://www.facebook.com/learningthatsfun

http://www.pinterest.com/lkbusija/boards 

learningthatsfun@gmail.com