The Carnival Birthday "How To"

Noodle's birthday party was a big hit, so I thought I'd write down exactly how to do it for anyone looking to do something similar.

First, I bought prizes at the dollar store to hand out to the kids. There were lollipops, smarties candy, bubblegum, plastic whistles, plastic watches with gum inside, pumpkin straws, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, etc. Nothing gender-specific. I divided up the prizes into four gift bags, one for each game.

Second, I made a sign for each game. You can use poster board and markers. I used some runner material that I already had and drew on it with colored pencils. Some signs I hung with tape, others I taped to sticks and hammered them into the ground.

Third, I created the games.



The Bean Bag Throw
1 piece of plywood
craft paint
paintbrush
1 old t-shirt
rice

Cut four holes in plywood using a jigsaw about 6 inches each. I painted a very simple balloon design on the plywood with craft paint. Cut the t-shirt into 8 equal-sized squares to make the bean bags. Sew together 2 squares around four sides leaving a small opening for filling with rice. Turn inside out so that the sewn edges are on the inside of bag. Fill 3/4 full of rice. Sew up the opening. (Using a sewing machine, this took me only a few minutes during the commercials while watching one show on tv!) Kids will love throwing the bean bags through the holes. Simple and fun!



Bowling
6 two-liter soda bottles
construction paper
clear mailing tape
1 medium ball

To get the bottles, I bought lemondade two-liters and poured them into one large container for the party. Strip the lables off. Pour a small amount of water in the bottom of the bottles to help stabilize. Wrap with two sheets of bright construction paper. Use folded pieces of the tape to stick the paper to the bottles and to tape the edges together. Line up the bottles, evenly spaced, three in back, two in the middle and one in front. Kids can throw or kick the ball at the bottles to knock them over.



Fishing for Apples
1 small kid's swimming pool
apples (enough for each kid, and more)
curling ribbon
3 to 4 ft. stick
thin wire (found in jewelry/craft section of Walmart)

To make the fishing pole, cut a piece of curling ribbon to the same length as your stick and tie securely to the top of it. To make the hook, cut a 10 inch piece of wire and bend in half. Twist tightly together all the way up. Bend in half again, and twist two ends together again. Shape the wire into a hook. There should be a loop at the top of the hook to tie the ribbon on. Next, cut a length of curling ribbon and wrap around an apple the way you would a gift. Tie a tight bow at the top. Fill the pool with water and add the apples. Allow the kids to try hooking the bow loops on the apples to win an apple and a prize!



The Ring Toss
12 full water bottles (16oz)
construction paper
clear mailing tape
plastic rings

Strip labels from bottles. Cut construction paper in half. Use the half sheets to cover each bottle and tape. Place bottles in rows of four, evenly spaced. Kids, toss the rings to try to get them around the bottle and win a prize.

Buried Treasure
sandbox
plastic "gold" coins

I found a bag of the plastic coins at walmart, dumped them in the sandbox and mixed them all around. The kids loved digging up the buried treasure.

The kids just ran around the yard, back and forth, to each game and collected prizes in their goody bags. I enlisted an adult to man each game. And that was that! Controlled chaos. Throw in some food, birthday cake and presents, and you've got a party!