January 19, 2010 - Posted by corina.volegna - Comments Off
There are many ways in which you can encourage your child’s creativity. But, if you seem to run out of ideas, give this fun game a try. It requires very little props and it is an amazing indoor pastime that will give you and your children many great memories.
Keeping kids occupied isn’t always easy. Most of us don’t want our kids raised by the television or video games, we want to come up with more interactive and wholesome activities that teach our children to be more creative, dynamic individuals. Both little boys and little girls need these kinds of activities, but today we’re going to explain an activity specifically (though not primarily) for little girls. One great pastime involves that old favorite, the teddy bear. You can create your own workshop for designing and dressing up a teddy bear, (or any other stuffed animal if your child has another favorite).
You can take several tacks for this project, and you can either use an existing toy from your little girl’s collection, or you can buy a brand new one. This works best if you get a new toy that is “naked” and not already covered in accessories or clothing. First thing you’ll need to do is get the teddy bear you’re transforming, and some potential accessories, these can include some of your child’s old clothes, a pair of scissors, ribbons, and clothing tape. Now that you’ve got that ready, lay the groundwork. Get some white sheets of paper and crayons. This will allow you to create blueprints for the bear. Start by drawing the bear itself and then dress it up as if it’s your model. Be creative and use your imagination. You could draw a fun beach outfit with a hat and sunglasses, or maybe make it in to a winter bear, with a hat, scarf, gloves and coat. The possibilities are near endless. Use the accessories you already have and consider carefully what they can be made into.
If you need a further example, just take a look at what my daughter and I created one afternoon. This was in the middle of winter, and she wanted to make sure that Snuggles, her favorite plush dog, would be warm and ready for the cold nights ahead. So the first thing we did was make a couple of drawings until we came up with one that was perfect. Then we dressed him up. We had some old baby socks of hers, and so we used them to create four “booties” for his paws. Some of these were too big for Snuggles, but we made it work by using some pretty matching ribbon to make sure that they were tied on tight. Next, we used an old t-shirt of hers, cut it into a square, and sewed some ribbon on the edges. This created a nice blanket for Snuggles, which we wrapped around his shoulders so that he got to be “super dog”. This way we made sure the blanket wouldn’t get lost, and Snuggles would get to stay warm!
Next, we decided to create a night cap so that he was all ready for bed. This was the most difficult of all our accessories to create. Originally we had planned to use one of my shower caps, but it turned out they were all too big for her stuffed puppy’s head. So instead we improvised. We cut the top of one of her dad’s white socks, and used some ribbon to make a pom pom on the top. So it looked like he was wearing a real winter cap! Snuggles was one stylish (and warm) stuffed dog! This was really a great activity to keep my daughter busy on a cold winter day, and we created some great memories!
So as you can see, this could be a great activity for you and your little girl too. It’s also a perfect indoor hobby, for those unpleasant rainy or snowy days outdoors. This is a great way spruce up an old toy, or a fun and creative way to create a new toy!
October 20, 2009 - Posted by corina.volegna - Comments Off
Slumber parties, well great fun for the kids, can be a lot of work for you as the hosting adult. Not only do you have to make sure your house is presentable and child friendly, but you also have to prepare food and do some planning to keep everyone occupied.
Food is a big part of the night. You’ll need to get plenty of snacks together for the evening. These can include pretzels, mozzarella sticks, cookies and chips. You’ll also need drinks, but to keep the hyper-activity levels down you’ll want to stick with those drinks that are low in sugar, such as water and milk. Juices often contain a fair amount of sugar, so you’ll want to save those for the morning, along with things like toast, peanut butter and jelly, and pancake mix.
So, once you have your menu planned, it’s time to move on to the entertainment. A few slumber party games can go a long way toward making your party a night to remember.
Friendship Bracelets
This is a great, low-key way to cement friendships and start off the night right. Get some embroidery thread in different colors, and show the kids how to make friendship bracelets. First, start off with six strings, about 10 inches long, for each bracelet. Second, tie a knot at one end and then group the strings two by two. Now you’ll start braiding, making sure that one third of the way down you switch the pairings, so that you get a pattern. Switch again when you get another two-thirds of the way down. Finally, when you are almost all the way to the end of the threads, tie a know. And there you have it! Now all you have to do is have the kids pass the bracelet that they made to the child on their right, and everyone will get a token of friendship.
Stuffed Animals Game
This will require a little planning ahead. Ask each child (and their parents) to bring their favorite plush toy to the party. Make sure that you have a couple of extra teddy bears on hand, because you never know if someone will forget theirs. Take each child’s stuffed animal, and put it in a large bin. Then each kid will be blindfolded and have 20 seconds to go through the bin and find their toy by touch. At the end of the game, celebrate their success with some milk and cookies. This is a great game because there are no losers!
Decorate Your Pillowcase
What could be a better activity for a slumber party then decorating a pillowcase? You’ll need to gather some items for this one: plain white pillowcases, paint, stickers, glitter, and markers. Have each child decorate one of the cases in any theme they desire. This is a great arts and crafts project that really lets the imagination roam free, and it allows the kids to bring home a fun souvenir from the party!
Lullaby Game
Now it’s time to calm the kids down so that they’ll go to bed. The plushies they brought earlier for the bin game will make a great tool. Have all the kids put their stuffed animals to bed, and tell them that they need to sing a lullaby to their toys so that they go to sleep! You can have them sing alone, or together. When they get done singing, tell them that they have to be quiet now so that their plush toys can fall asleep. And there you go! Everyone’s asleep and ready for another great day tomorrow, and your party’s a success!
September 10, 2009 - Posted by corina.volegna - Comments Off
For my soon to turn 6 year olds birthday this year, she decided that she wanted to have a stuffed animal party. A stuffed animal party basically means that all the little girls invited will bring their favorite plush toy so that they can all play with them together. This is a great theme, but in order to keep the young ones attention, I knew I would have to be very inventive when it comes to creating games in order to keep everyone happy.
We had ten girls invited as guests, and I knew that with those kinds of numbers it was quite possible that someone would forget their plush toy at home. So that is why I decided to have a couple extra stuffed animals and teddy bears on hand. And sure enough two girls forgot their toy. One of the girl’s forget her favorite teddy bear in her mom’s car, and the other had just lost her favorite plush dog at school. Luckily, my extras managed to head off the tears at the pass, and then we could get to the games. Here are some of the games we played, and hopefully they’ll be able to help you if you want to create your own stuffed animal party.
The Stuffed Animals Treasure Hunt
This one I had to think ahead for, as before the party started I hid a teddy bear somewhere in our house. I then used post-it notes to write down some clues. The first post-it note I gave to my daughter’s plush dog, Fluffy. This clue would lead them to the next and so on, until they (and their companion stuffed animals) finally found the teddy bear. But the game didn’t end there. The teddy bear himself contained another clue. You see, I had gotten some teddy bear cookies (to continue the theme) and hidden them also. This was a great game and all of the girls had a lot of fun.
Pin the Tail on the Bunny
While not as inventive as the treasure hunt, this variation of pin the tail is a classic for a reason. My daughter had a big stuffed bunny she had gotten for Easter. Realizing this would be perfect, I turned the bunny around so it’s back was to the girls, and made a tail out of Velcro and some bandanas. That way, the girl’s could be blindfolded, and whoever got the tail in the right place would stick with the Velcro. We played in teams, and the team that won (by pinning the tail the most times) would get to be the first to take a picture in the bunny’s lap. This kept the girl’s busy, and the prize was benign enough that we didn’t have any jealousy issues.
Stuffed Animals Fairy Tale
After stuffed animal crackers and cake, we had time for one last game. We turned their plush toys, every plush dog, stuffed cat, stuffed raccoon and teddy bear, into a character in a fairy tale. This really let them be creative, and I was careful to make sure that each little girl’s plushie got an important role. Since everyone wanted to be princesses, I let everyone do that and then they had to work together to overcome obstacles and get to the palace in time for the queen’s birthday. This imaginative game was a great success.
As you can see, everyone had a wonderful time and my daughter said this was the best birthday party she had ever had! And the best part, I was able to throw a great party without breaking my budget! My daughter decided that this was a good omen for her year six, and I have to agree. With a little bit of imagination, a stuffed animal party can be a great way for everyone to have a blast!
