My son is in kindergarten and while this means several things; such as the necessity to find matching socks and pack sack lunches the school administration will approve of it also means that he will be invited to roughly 19 birthday parties…plus the one we throw ourselves. In fact I am sitting at the second of three scheduled for this spring break. You see with birthday party etiquette when one is in kindergarten you invite the WHOLE class as strong individual likes…and dislikes haven’t really been formed yet, well you either invite all 20 or you make it gender specific; you hold a tea party just for the girls or you hold a nerf war birthday just for the boys. But chances are you are destined to be inviting more than a basketballs team worth of kids for your offspring’s special day.

So what are you going to do!? Do you play the one-ups-manship game and match the parties already having been thrown by the mothers of the classmates?

 Do you take the easy – yet expensive way out and all head off to the local jumpy house venue or do you go the old fashioned yet unique way of a traditional backyard party?

 Either choice is rife with pitfalls. Woe be unto you party thrower who doesn’t have enough to entertain the kids, or those of you who provide lack-luster activities that no one can remember by the time the kids reconvene at school.

 Is there a sure fire way to personalize and add a shot of adrenaline to juniors party – I mean without letting them get tattoos of their favorite nick toon?

Yes, possibly there is….eschew cookie cutter parties, just say no to corporate party land, embrace a theme! Decorate with home grown ideas in your childs chosen theme. Carry the idea over to party favors, I mean REAL party favors. Send the kids home with potted flowers from your garden party theme, a small remote control car from your race theme party. Don’t load my kid up with plastic magnifying glasses or spinning tops that are just fodder for the vacuum cleaner. Stuck for a theme? Ask your child’s teacher what the current unit in school is, there is certainly an idea there (this month my sons kindergarten is studying plants, butterflies and has had a guest artist who works in ceramics come in – all of which would be great themes!

Yes, it takes more thought. It possibly might be as expensive as a jumpy house but you will be off the Richter scale when it comes to the coolness factor. It will be a party to remember.

5 steps to the worlds best party

1.       Employ a theme and carry it all the way through from invitations to thank you notes

2.       Money does not a good party make. Instead try ingenuity and creativity

3.       Send them home when theyre still happy. This means don’t go too long. If they are bored, asking to go home or causing problems its already too late

4.       Feed me! It’s a scientific fact that kids with low blood sugar are not fun party guests

5.       Activities. Think about when the guests arrive, make sure there is something for them to engage in – better yet some activity to get them interacting! If your budget can afford it consider novelty entertainment, better yet work it with your theme. Hire a face painter to paint butterflys, flowers or puppy dogs. Have the local reptile show come in and introduce your kids to iguanas and geckos. Have a magician or mad scientist give a command performance, think novel, think theme, think fun.

FairyDust Faces

Experience the Magic of FairyDust!

http://www.FairyDustFaces.com

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FairyDust Faces has been offering storytelling in conjunction with our other face painting and body art services to local birthdays all year long. We are in the process of applying for a sponsorship from Prilosec OTC…but we need YOUR vote to make it a reality.You can vote here: http://www.officialsponsor.com/applications/view/4692

Here is a snippet from our application.

Storytelling is what connects us as a community and a people. Stories are an antidote to the growing sense of disconnection from what is real and deep and meaningful in our individual and collective lives. As life speeds up, stories tie us together and provide the golden thread that guides us back home.

Children especially need a dose of life affirming story. The arts are something that has been cut from the curriculum of most struggling schools, but it is through the arts that children are provided an alternative form of emotional and expressive outlet. Storytelling is accessible to all, regardless of age or ability. No special equipment or prior knowledge is necessary to employ the power of imagination and the opportunity to learn through listening. These benefits transcend the art experience to support daily life skills. In our fast-paced, media-driven world, storytelling can be a nurturing way to remind children that their spoken words are powerful, that listening is important, and that clear communication between people is an art.

As the mother of 5 I have witnessed first-hand the ability of a story to give a kindergartner the courage to try new things, teach a teenager about the pain of an embarrassed friend and give a young adult pause to think about risky behavior. Storytelling can do all these things and more.

FairyDust Faces

Experience the Magic of FairyDust!

http://www.FairyDustFaces.com

facebook.com/FairyDustFacePainting

At the start of 2010 its time to get squared up again. So for the first post this year I want to consider volunteers and volunteering to face paint at events. Many professional entertainers have lots of thoughts on volunteers and volunteering themselves.

These considerations run the gamut from having untrained and/or unskilled volunteers working and taking a job that could possibly go to a trained individual to having a volunteer painter do actual ‘damage.’ Most often this is by having the volunteer use materials that aren’t for use on the skin, the child having a bad reaction and then being afraid to have their face painted again. This can be exacerbated by the well meaning parent reminding a child ‘don’t you remember how hard it was to get it off/how much it itched/the rash you got etc should the child want to be painted again.

This of course has the unintended effect of putting the professional in a position to try and explain what good and bad products are, often during a busy festival or under a time pressure. Sometimes the parent relents and the child is painted, sometimes they agree to a patch test but sometimes the parent assumes the entertainer is just trying to make that extra buck and isn’t being truthful.

I encourage parents to give it a try if they don’t have the resources to hire a professional and I also direct them to quality products and recommendations on where they can buy them online or at local retailers. The internet is a wealth of information and a motivated parent should be encouraged to seek out the info they need.

As a business we do donate to some very specific charities during the course of the year.  We also offer a nice non-profit discount to other charities once our limit oif volunteer events is full. In 2010 we will again be donating in-kind services to various organizations and have just completed our first event, a post-holiday party with Bob Burke’s Kids, an organization that helps terminally ill children and their families in Sonoma County California. These kids are battling cancer and other serious illnesses: http://www.bobburkeskids.org/ the pink tiger and floral crown were done on teenage boys connected with the special Olympics. We were also blessed to paint several *fabulous* teens with Downs syndrome

This month we will also be doing a story telling/face painting presentation in honor of Martin Luther King JR. http://eventful.com/santarosa/events/martin-luther-king-jr-annual-birthday-/E0-001-027187243-7

FairyDust Faces

Experience the Magic of FairyDust!

http://www.FairyDustFaces.com

facebook.com/FairyDustFacePainting

Took some time at the end of last week and painted at Rohnert Park Gymnastics. The kids were allowed to pick from pages of things I HADN’T done before…so these are all new ideas for me. I painted two sisters who looked like twins bu weren’t. Actually when the second one came and sat down I had to ask her if she had a sister out on the gymnastics floor since I knew I wasn’t seeing double. She said they  werent twins but people always assume they are. What do you think…twins? Also tried a new unicorn since Im looking to do a different one from my standard and have been meaning to do this warrior helmet forever….Of the 3 siblings who wanted it was the girl who wanted it in ‘girly’ colors of blue and pink vrsus grey and green. It was pretty good for the first go-round. Also painted that day were rainbow spidermen….

Face Painting, Henna and Airbrush Tattoos for all Occasions

Experience the Magic of FairyDust!

www.FairyDustfaces.com

http://fairydustfaces.posterous.com

http://fairydustfaces.blogspot.com

Face Painting, Henna and Airbrush Tattoos for all Occasions

Experience the Magic of FairyDust!

www.FairyDustfaces.com

http://fairydustfaces.posterous.com

http://fairydustfaces.blogspot.com