Summer months are almost here ... ready for parties, events, bbq and reunions??
The next 4 months are busy with outdoor events, communion and graduation parties, company picnics and family reunions. It takes a lot of time and energy to put together a successful party: between food, drinks, location and entertainment we sometimes might not know where to start.
- Take some time to brain storm the purpose of the event, who will be in attendance, the age of your guests (pay close attention to the seniors and children) and how long will the event last. A communion party might work well in an enclosed pavilion so that all guests are comfortable in their church attire vs a graduation party could be a picnic in the park with a volleyball tournament.
When preparing your food, take into consideration to potential allergies your guests might have. It has become more common to see a ‘nut-free’ snack table or a ‘vegan’ station. It is also helpful to write out the names/ingredients of the food and include it in the decoration of the table. Most of the time, if someone has a severe allergy they will either contact the host ahead of time or they will bring something to the party that they can eat.
Some fun nut-free foods every child will love!
- Fish Bowl Jell-O: Blue Jell-O, Swedish Fish
- Homemade Pizza Bites: tart shells, slices of turkey pepperoni, slices of zucchini, crushed tomatoes, grated mozzarella
- Party Pinwheels: cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, green onions, flour tortillas, red bell peppers, celery, black olives, shredded cheddar cheese
- Rainbow Fruit: strawberries, oranges, pineapples, kiwi, blueberries, grapes
- Yummy Fruit Dip: cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, fresh lemon juice
- Corn Dog Muffins: cornbread mix, brown sugar, eggs, milk, cheddar cheese, hot dogs
- Apple Muffins: red apples, butter, eggs, coconut cream, flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, cinnamon, salt, stevia, chia seeds, desiccated coconut
When children are present, make sure to take the time to create a special area just for them. Have a table for arts-n-crafts, a photo booth, sport games, story time and bubbles are always a great hit. For larger crowds or work events, it would be a great idea to have an extra staff member assigned strictly to assist with the children area.
Beach/summer/picnic themed ideas:
Arts-n-crafts - Paper Plate Aquarium:
Give the kids a paper plate and have them create an aquarium scene on the top side of the plate. They can decorate with markers, stickers, yarn, tissue paper, googly eyes, etc. Then over that plate tape a second plate that you have cut out a hole at the top (can cover with Plastic wrap). This makes it look like your looking into an aquarium.
Arts-n-crafts – Leis
Cut out squares of different colored tissue paper and punch a hole through the middle (you can use a pencil or hole punch). Then let the children string the paper onto the yarn creating a great leis. Some children will use all one color, some will vary their colors, some will make unique patterns - one thing that is for sure is that they all will be unique.
What You Need: yarn (long enough to reach around children's necks), tissue paper
Arts-n-crafts – Sunglasses:
Buy a pack of cheap children’s sunglasses (could be paper or plastic ones) and glue on sparkle gems, stickers, ribbon, decorate with markers, etc. (can probably get a lot of this stuff at the Dollar Tree)
Numbers Activity:
You can buy a pack of seashells at the dollar store and write numbers 1-10 on the inside of the shells. Also, at the dollar store you can buy a pack of pearls/marbles/etc. Have children put the correct number of pearls into each numbered shell.
Letters of the Alphabet Activity:
Use a beach ball (dollar stores usually have packs of beach balls) and use a Sharpie marker to write the letters of the alphabet on the ball (can also write numbers). There are all sorts of games that can be played with these balls, like throwing the ball back and forth and the first letter or number that is in front of the child, when caught, they would name it out loud.
Build-a-Snack Snack Time - Make a Jello ocean and then eat it:
Give each child a small bowl/cup of blue Jell-O and a plate with tiny/cut up pieces of fruit/food to represent what you would find in the ocean: grape fish, apple rocks and sand, carrot coral, celery seaweed, banana whales and so on.
Materials: Blue Jello, grape, apple, carrot, celery, banana (all cut up/in small pieces)
Acting out/Movement activity – Ocean Animals:
Have the children act out/pretend they are certain ocean animals. Call out what the animals are/what they do and see how the children interpret them. For example:
- Shark – swim around with a fin on your head
- Clam – open and close your shell
- Crab – dig in the sand or do the crab walk
- Octopus – shoot water from your body
- Lobster – hide at the bottom of the ocean
- Sing like a humpback whale
- Jump in the water like a dolphin
- Fish – make fishy faces and swim around
Science Activity - Sink or Float?
Fill a large plastic container with water. Supply a variety of household objects and invite children to discover which items sink and which will float. After they test each object they can sort them into two containers. Label the containers with simple pictures such as a boat for the FLOAT container and an anchor for the SINK container (probably best to do this outside).
- By letting your guests know ahead of the time that a "children’s area" will be provided it will increase the participation and attendance. Especially if event is put together by a business in hopes to raise awareness/educate or to celebrate a milestone, doing this extra step can mean a higher attendance.
Our staff focuses on putting together a customized event plan based on the age and amount of children attending the event. We can bring games, snacks, arts-n-crafts, books and provide an educational yet fun experience for the little ones. We do have a 1 staff to 5 children ratio – with a minimum of 2 staff members present. This allows us to provide a safe environment and attention needed. If you are interested in finding out more information about our team of Personal Assistants we would be happy to schedule a complimentary meet-n-greet. Let us handle your event needs while you focus on your guests. As always, there are no minimums to utilize our services. Please note, on average it takes us 4-6 weeks to on-board a new client. Contact us early to make sure you give yourself plenty of time to go through our process. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
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