Elmo-themed party

Goal: An Elmo birthday party that includes lunch and activities for lots of little guests and parents.

Kids' Lunch Menu:

*Stars & Stripes sandwiches (bread/butter/strawberry jam cut into flags and stars)

*Gelatin bowls with Swedish fish tucked in (to look like Dorothy's fish bowl)

*Heart-shaped watermelon pieces

*Cucumber wedges

*Sesame Street juice boxes

Adults' Lunch Menu:

*Vegetarian and regular hot dogs

*Four-bean salad (kidney bean, black bean, garbanzo bean, green bean)

*Chips

*Watermelon pieces in a carved watermelon

*Soda and water

Party Menu:

*Elmo cupcakes

*Sugar cookies cut into the letter and number of the day (in this case, the first letter of the birthday child's name and the age he was turning)

The childrens' lunch food featured Elmo-red items
Stars and Stripes jelly sandwiches

Home-decorated party favors

Activities:

1. Icebreaker--the park's play equipment

2. Lunch

3. Run after bubbles (use bubble machine)

4. Obstacle course (over/under/through/around/throw/etc)

5. Coloring station (personalized packet)

5. Musical blanket (instead of musical chairs--in this game, everyone wins every time!)

6. Puppet show

7. Hand out party favor Elmo bags

8. Sing Happy Birthday

9. Open presents

Decorations: Elmo tablecloth for kid's table; red tablecloths for

Finding "Dorothy"--look for bath toys hidden in the newspaper and take one home!

Home-made Elmo gift bags and Elmo-related party favor contents

Puppet show to music

Coloring station with personalized coloring books

Party planning thoughts:

*Party location is a public park-->make sure to check with the city for the park's rules, restrictions, and BBQ-use fees; set up Reserved signs a few hours in advance.

*The party will run through lunchtime-->offer lunch; kids will get hungry faster than adults so two menus allows parents to help kids eat first and then linger at the adult tables later while kids are involved in activities.

*Young party guests are all between one and four year's old-->alternate short active and restful activities so that they do not get bored or have meltdowns; set out blankets for parents and infants to use as needed; remember the playground equipment can always be a backup activity.