Slumber Parties

Slumber

Parties

25 Fun-Filled Party Themes

by Penny Warner Illustrated by Stephanie Roth

Slumber Parties

25 Fun-Filled Party Themes

by Penny Warner Illustrated by Stephanie Roth

Slumber Parties Electronic book published by ipicturebooks.com 24. W. 25th Street New York, NY 10010 For more ebooks, visit us at: http://www.ipicturebooks.com All rights reserved. Copyright © 2000 by Penny Warner Originally Published by Meadowbrook Press in 2000 No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. e-ISBN 1-59019-909-X Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Warner, Penny. Slumber parties / Penny Warner. p. cm. 1. Sleepovers. 2. Entertaining. I. Title. GV1205 .W379 2000 793.2’1—dc21 00-030569

contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Academy Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Arty Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Cartoons and Comic Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Castaway Island Luau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Cool Camp-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Crack-Up Comedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Creative Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Custom Circus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Drama and Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fabulous Fashions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Fifties Sock Hop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Foreign Feast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Friends Forever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Karaoke Celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Midnight Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Miracle Makeover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Music ’n’ Mayhem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Now You’re Cookin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Pillow Pals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Scavenger Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Secret Séance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Silly Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Sixties Hippie Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Sorcerer’s Magic Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 TV Talent Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Acknowledgments I’d like to thank the following students for their helpful contributions: Shamim Ahmed Dione Cook Katie Culhane Alynn Kakuk Anne Kornahrens Becca Krauss Natalie Krutilla Sreela Kulshi Rebecca Lindquist Emily Mumma Michelle Neary Ashley Nelson Rebecca Ney Ann Taylor A special thanks to my wonderful editors, Christine Zuchora-Walske, Liya Lev Oertel, and Megan McGinnis, to my terrific desktop publisher, Danielle White, and to my incredible publisher, Bruce Lansky.

INTRODUCTION M

the duties before, during, and after the party to make things fun and easy for all. In addition, check out the following tips for throwing a terrific slumber party.

ost kids love slumber parties and sleepovers—especially kids between the ages of eight and fourteen years. In fact, 97 percent of American kids have been to a slumber party at least once. What is the appeal? Well, all-nighters give kids a chance to spend lots of uninterrupted time with good friends—playing games, doing activities, eating snacks, and best of all, staying up way past their bedtime! For parents, slumber parties usually mean noisy nights, crazy kids, and no sleep. But if you host one of the super slumber parties in this book, you can enjoy the party, too! In the morning, instead of growling, “Never again,” you can say, “So, when should we have the next one?” As long as the kids have fun and the parents are relaxed, everyone can have a great time. Keep in mind that both you and your child are hosts for this party, and your child is an invaluable source of knowledge regarding what the guests might like. So plan the party together every step of the way. Leaf through this book with your child, pick a party that suits you both, and follow the simple, detailed instructions. Divvy up

TIPS FOR A DREAM-COME-TRUE SLUMBER PARTY

• AGES: Make sure the guests are about the same age, so they’ll all enjoy doing the same things. Slumber parties are not recommended for kids younger than seven years, because young kids may never have spent a night away from home and might be homesick and scared. Slumber parties begin to lose popularity with kids over fifteen, who prefer one-on-one sleepovers. • INVITATIONS: Get your guests in the groove with creative invitations. For example, Movie Poster invitations will set the stage for an Academy Awards party; Makeup Bag invitations will help your guests prepare for a Miracle Make-over party; and Friendly Faces invitations will emphasize the theme

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evening. Plan lots of games and activities to entertain the group, allowing for the fact that some of your choices won’t keep their attention for even five minutes, while others may keep them occupied for hours. Each party in this book offers plenty of choices.

of a Friends Forever party. You will find instructions for these ideas and many more throughout this book. • WHAT TO BRING: In the invitation, ask each guest to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, pajamas, robe, slippers, and a toothbrush. Keep some extras on hand for the guests who either forget or do not have some items. If you like, ask each guest to bring something related to the party theme; this will make the event more fun, offer more variety in props, and get the kids personally involved.

• PICTURES: Get out the Polaroid camera or give each kid a disposable camera for taking pictures all night long. Don’t forget the video camera; you can even show the party movie as a late-night activity. For added fun, make picture frames during activity time so the kids can frame their snapshots, or make scrapbooks to help them start photo collections. Both frames and scrapbooks make great party favors.

• DECORATIONS: A little creativity and imagination, as well as a few props, can help you transform a living room or a bedroom into a special party setting. Technically all you need to do is spread sleeping bags on the floor, but if you add decorations like colored lights and glow-in-the-dark star stickers, the kids will be magically transported as soon as they step through the door. For extra atmosphere, play music and videos in the background.

• SNACKS: Provide plenty of fun and healthy goodies for midnight and morning munching. Consider letting the kids make their own snacks as an activity, and always supervise the use of appliances. • TRADITIONS: If the kids don’t already know these traditional slumber party staples, suggest ghost stories, a dance contest, Truth or Dare, and of course a pillow fight!

• GAMES AND ACTIVITIES: The success of a party depends largely on how you keep the kids busy during the

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• PRANKS: Discuss pranks with your child and explain that they can make people unhappy and ruin the party. If all practical jokes are against the rules, make sure your child knows that. If not, suggest that the kids keep the jokes mild and always consider the feelings of the victim.

• PRIZES AND FAVORS: Send the kids home in the morning with their snapshots, some leftover snacks, and homemade crafts, along with any trinkets that fit the party theme. You will find appropriate suggestions for each party. • RULES: Make a list of rules to make sure the party goes smoothly and safely; for example: volume down for the neighbors’ sake, the upstairs off limits to guests, no use of stove without supervision, and so on. You and your child should agree on rules before the guests arrive, and your child should be in charge of making sure everybody follows them. Decide on a secret code for requesting your intervention if the party gets too rowdy or anyone has any sort of trouble.

• VIDEOS: A video gives the kids a chance to quiet down and fall asleep, tired from all the games and activities. Videos are a great way to end the festivities. Now you’re ready to start planning your slumber party. Settle in with your child and check out the twenty-five themes offered in this book. Choose one, then have a great time. I can’t promise slumber, but I can promise lots of fun!

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ACADEMY AWARDS Invite your guests to spend a glamorous evening at Hollywood’s favorite gala—the Academy Awards—and vote for their favorite stars. If the guests are unable to gather the night of the Awards, tape the show. Advise them not to watch the show or learn about the winners. If they simply can’t hold out that long, have them send in their picks before the show airs. The envelope, please!

Invitation 3. Add party details and quotes from the films using speech bubbles. 4. Take the poster to a copy store and make a copy for each guest. 5. Roll up the posters, tuck in mailing tubes, and mail to guests.

MOVIE POSTER 1. Buy a large sheet of white paper (at least 11 inches by 17 inches). 2. Collect popular magazines and cut out pictures of the Academy Award nominees. Glue them into a collage on the paper.

What to Bring VIDEOS • Gone with the Wind (G) • The Sound of Music (G) • Beverly Hillbillies (PG) • Bye Bye Birdie (G) • Beverly Hills Ninja (PG-13)

Ask the sleepover stars to bring their fanciest pajamas. Add glamorous touches like glittery glasses, feather boas, faux jewelry, and fancy wigs.

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Craft STAND-UP STAR PLACE CARD 1. Cut 2 identical 5-point stars about 4 inches tall from heavy paper. 2. Glue a small photo of a guest directly under the top point of one star. Glue a small photo of a celebrity under the top point of the other star. 3. Fold the stars in half horizontally, with the photos inside the folds. 4. Glue the top halves of the stars together back-to-back. 5. When the glue is dry, splay the unglued halves so the star will stand up.

black-and-white theme throughout the party. • To dress up the table, place mirrors under candlesticks and centerpieces. Glue glitter to paper doilies and place under dishes and glasses. • Create place mats by gluing celebrity photos onto sheets of paper. • For simple place cards, cut stars out of poster board and write guests’ names on them in glitter. For stand-up place cards, follow the directions above.

Decorations ACADEMY AWARDS GALA • Lay a red carpet on your front walk. • Play soundtracks from nominated movies. • Have a parent take paparazzi pictures of the guests as they arrive. • Arrange chairs in clusters around the TV for guests to enjoy the show and provide snacks on fancy trays. • Set a table with a lacy tablecloth, fancy dishes and glasses, candlesticks, expertly folded napkins, and confetti. • Use black-and-white paper products for an elegant effect. If you like, carry the

Games FAMOUS SCENES Write down famous movie scenes, such as a missed putt in Happy Gilmore or the king-of-the-world stance in Titanic, on separate slips of paper. Place slips in a deco-

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STAR-CROSSED FACES Collect large head shots of movie stars. Cut out the eyes, mouths, noses, and hair and back the features with paper. Write the names of the stars on the paper backing. Mix and match features on a table to create crazy new faces.

rative container. (If you don’t have a glitzy container, spray-paint a box gold.) During commercials, have a guest pick a slip and act out the scene. The first guest who guesses the movie gets a point. Continue until all the slips are read, then award a prize to the guest with the most points.

THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE… Create a large grid listing the major Academy Awards categories across the top and the nominees down the side. Have the guests write their initials in the squares that correspond to their choices in each category. When winners are announced, award prizes to guests who chose winners.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Inexpensive videos • Glittery sunglasses • Giant containers of popcorn • Pairs of movie tickets • Posters of movie stars

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BEST OF THE WORST At the end of the Awards, have everyone vote on the Best of the Worst: Worst Outfit, Worst Hair, Worst Speech, Worst Walk to the Podium, Worst Stage Presence, Worst Pairing of Presenters, and so on.

Recipe STARRY EGG TOAST 1. Cut stars from bread slices with a cookie cutter. 2. Butter 1 side of each slice and place in hot frying pan. 3. Crack an egg into each star cutout. 4. Fry until egg is firm. 5. Flip carefully and briefly fry the other side. 6. Remove the egg-stra special toasts from the pan and serve starry-side up.

Activities STAR GAZERS Buy inexpensive sunglasses for all the guests. Provide glitter, sequins, buttons, feathers, rhinestones, and other decorations. Let guests decorate their sunglasses to make fancy Star Gazers.

markers). Have them sign their prints. If using large sheets of paper, use the prints to decorate the room.

WALK OF FAME On the sidewalk or patio (or on sheets of paper), have the guests outline their hands and feet with colored chalk (or

AUDIENCE AWARDS Hand out blank sheets of paper to all the guests. Using felt-tip pens, stickers, glitter, and so on, have them create awards to present to one another, such as Funniest Comments, Best Guesser, Worst Guesser, and Cattiest Remarks. Present the awards after the show.

Recipe 3-D STAR COOKIES 1. Roll out sugar cookie dough. 2. Cut into stars using cookie cutters. 3. Decorate with candy sprinkles. 4. Bake per package directions. 5. Immediately after removing from oven, slit each star from one edge to the center using a knife. Widen the slit by wiggling the knife. 6. When cool, take two cookies and turn them perpendicular to each other. Carefully slide their slits together.

Refreshments • Sparkling cider in plastic champagne flutes with a cherry in each • Finger-food buffet including veggies and dips, cheese and crackers, melon balls, and fancy nuts • Chocolate-dipped strawberries: Have guests dip their own strawberries!

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ARTY PARTY Showcase your guests’ creative talents with an awesome Arty Party!

Invitation PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST 1. Photocopy pictures of the guests. (Get pictures from yearbooks or borrow them from each family.) 2. Color each copy with felt-tip pens and colored pencils. Make the invitations look interesting, not necessarily realistic! 3. Cut a small frame from poster board and glue the colored copy inside. 4. Glue 2 tongue depressors on the back of the portrait in an inverted V shape, with the legs sticking out the bottom to look like an easel. 5. Write party details on the frame and/or tongue depressors.

6. Mail each guest her own portrait in a padded envelope.

What to Bring Ask the artists to bring smocks to wear over their pajamas. Provide scrunchies or headbands to tie back loose hair. Ask guests to bring art materials to share.

Decorations VIDEOS • Gumby: The Movie (G) • Art instruction videos from the library • Yellow Submarine (G) • Flubber (PG)

ART GALLERY • Line one wall with several large sheets of white paper connected together. Create a mural during the party. • Cut frames from poster board and tape them to the walls.

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• Tape posters of famous paintings to the walls for inspiration. • Set art supplies on the table for easy access. If using paints, provide plenty of clean rags and bowls of water to wipe and rinse paintbrushes. • Make a tablecloth from butcher paper. Draw a picture frame at each place setting, then have the guests draw their own faces inside the frames and decorate the frames with glitter, sequins, markers, and other craft items. • Create flowers from colorful pipe cleaners. Poke the stems into a block of Styrofoam covered with green tissue paper. Use as a centerpiece.

• Cover the entire floor with a drop cloth, then set up easels, worktables, and a variety of art and craft stations.

Games FAMILIAR FACES Write the name of each guest on a strip of paper. Sit the guests in a circle and give each a drawing pad, a pencil, and a name strip, making sure everyone gets someone else’s name. Tell the artists they have ten minutes to draw portraits of the people whose names they have. When the portraits are complete, have the artists hold up their drawings one at a time as the rest of the group try to guess who it is. It won’t be easy!

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ART INSTRUCTOR Find a familiar cartoon character. Have the artists sit in a circle with drawing pads and pencils. Choose one guest to be the Instructor, and have her look at the character. The Instructor must explain exactly what the artists should draw by telling them where to move their pencils (“Draw straight up an inch. Then back down. Then over to the right . . .”). The artists are not allowed to ask any questions. After the Instructor finishes giving directions, have the artists display their drawings one at a time. Then reveal the cartoon character and compare it with the drawings. Repeat with different Instructors and cartoon characters. MY LEFT FOOT Seat the guests on the floor in a circle. Place drawing pads and pencils flat on the floor in front of them. Set an object, such as a bowl of fruit, a teddy bear, or an article of clothing, in the center of the circle. Ask the

artists to remove their footwear and draw the object with one foot. When everyone finishes, take a vote on the best picture and award the artist a blue ribbon. (To make the game more challenging, limit the drawing time.) PICTIONARY If you don’t have the board game, create your own. Prepare a stack of cards with words or phrases. Divide the group into two teams: Team A and Team B. Set a large pad of paper on an easel. Have a member of Team A pick a card and draw the word or phrase. If the other members of Team A guess the word or phrase in less than a minute, they get a point. Alternate between teams until all the cards are gone. The team with the most points wins the game.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Art supplies • Drawing pads • Art instruction books • Craft kits • Colorful smocks • Art books for kids

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Activities

Refreshments

GROUP MURAL Tape several large sheets of paper to the wall. Provide lots of art materials, such as felt-tip pens, crayons, watercolors, poster paints, glitter glue, magazine cutouts, fabric pieces, and so on. Have the group decide on a theme, such as “Life of a School Kid,” “Today’s Pop Music,” “Going on a Picnic,” or “Summer!” Place each guest at a section of the mural and ask them all to create artwork that goes with the theme. When everyone finishes, stand back and admire the mural. After everyone has studied the mural for a few minutes, ask the artists to explain how their sections tie in with the theme.

• Fancy Finger Sandwiches: Order loaves of white bread tinted various colors from a bakery (or do it yourself if you have a breadmaker). Offer colorful cream cheeses, such as salmon, blueberry, or plain cream cheese tinted with food coloring. • Palette Cookies: Bake sugar cookies in the shape of artist’s palettes, then have the artists fill the palettes with color using frosting tubes.

Recipe RAINBOW PARFAITS 1. Buy a rainbow variety of sherbet flavors, such as raspberry, orange, lemon, lime, and grape. 2. Buy plastic parfait glasses, rent them at a party store, or use tall, clear drinking glasses. 3. Place a scoop of sherbet at the bottom of each glass, then add a little whipped cream. 4. Add another flavor of sherbet and another dollop of whipped cream. Repeat until the glass is filled with a rainbow of sherbet. 5. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry. 6. Stick a small, stiff, clean, new paintbrush into each concoction and let the kids eat their parfaits with the brushes for fun.

LIGHT UP YOUR ROOM Buy one light-colored plastic switch plate for each guest. Provide stickers, adhesive letters, stamps, magazine cutouts, candy wrappers, acrylic paint, colored tissue paper, and so on. Let the guests decorate their switch plates. When they finish, create a mixture of 3 parts white glue and 1 part warm water. Have the artists apply a coating of the diluted glue over their designs to preserve them. The kids can take home their switch plates to use in their bedrooms.

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CARTOONS AND COMIC BOOKS Design, draw, and color your own cartoon strips, comic books, and funny pages at a creative Cartoons and Comic Books party!

Invitation COMIC BOOK 1. Fold 2 sheets of white paper together to form a booklet. 2. At the top of the first page, draw a cartoon character and a speech bubble, inviting the guests to your party. 3. Open the booklet and draw cartoon characters with speech bubbles on the

remaining pages. Fill the speech bubbles with more party details. 4. Take the booklet to a copy store and make 1 copy for each guest. 5. Sort and assemble the pages in order. Staple each booklet at the fold. 6. Color the cartoons with crayons, felt-tip pens, or colored pencils, then mail.

VIDEOS • • • • • •

Batman (PG-13) Superman (PG) The Lion King (G) Mulan (G) Aladdin (G) Beavis and Butthead Do America (PG-13) • The Flintstones (PG) • Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (PG)

What to Bring Ask guests to dress as favorite comic book or cartoon characters such as Mickey or Minnie Mouse, Dilbert, Spiderman, Pikachu, Bugs Bunny, Supergirl, Beavis and Butthead, Blue, Goofy, Arthur, and so on. Ask guests to bring comic books to share at the party.

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• Float balloons from the ceiling and tie a small figurine of a cartoon character to the end of each string.

Decorations TOON TOWN • Copy cartoon characters onto large sheets of paper, cut them out, and tape them to the walls using double-stick tape that does not adhere permanently. • Cut out comic strips and tape them to a paper tablecloth. • Play cartoon videos in the background. • Place a stuffed cartoon character on the table as a centerpiece. • Turn large appliance boxes into cartoon cars, houses, and stores using poster paint, markers, and other decorations. • Set a cartoon figurine on the table at each place setting.

Games GOOFY GUESSES On slips of paper, write the names of some cartoon and comic book characters such as Bugs Bunny, Superman, the Rugrats, Donald Duck, Mulan, Ariel, Charlie Brown, and Archie. Place all the names in a box or bowl, and have players take turns drawing names and acting out the characters. The player who first guesses the character correctly wins a point. When all the papers are gone, award a prize to the player with the most points.

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WHO AM I? As guests arrive, pin name tags that represent cartoon characters, such as Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snoopy, Tinkerbell, Tweety Bird, and Aladdin, on their backs. Tell the guests to treat each other as they

would treat the characters, without revealing the characters’ identities. After the kids have had time to think about how they’re being treated, have them guess the characters on their own tags. Award prizes to those who guess correctly. GIGGLE TUMMIES Have one player lie faceup on the floor. A second player also lies faceup, head on the first player’s tummy. The next player does the same, until all players are lying down with their heads on other players’ tummies. Have the first player say “Ha!” Have the second player say “Ha! Ha!” Repeat, with each player adding an extra “Ha!” each time, until the whole group is laughing uncontrollably!

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Cartoon videos • Comic books • Cartoon-character mugs, hats, and other accessories • Cartooning instruction books • Cartoon-making supplies

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comic books, then pass them around for all to admire and enjoy.

Activities CARTOON STICKERS Provide inexpensive picture books of cartoon characters and have guests cut out their favorites. Mix 2 tablespoons of white glue with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a paper cup. Paint the glue mixture on the backs of the cartoon characters. Let the solution dry, then remoisten with a damp sponge and stick the cartoon characters to the walls, windows, and so on. This solution washes easily off plain walls and glass windows. Peel off and restick.

Refreshments • Cartoon Cake: Bake a sheet cake according to package instructions, then use frosting tubes and candy decorations to depict a favorite cartoon character. • Cartoon-shaped crackers, cookies, and fruit snacks • Sandwiches cut with cartoon-character cookie cutters • Sarsaparilla, Daffy Duck’s Drink: Soda flavored with sarsaparilla root, which tastes a lot like root beer. • Carrots for the Bugs Bunny fans, pizza for Beavis and Butthead fans, spinach dip for Popeye’s fans, and so on

MAGIC CARTOONS Have guests cut their favorite cartoon characters out of inexpensive picture books and comic books. Mix 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon liquid dish detergent in a bowl. Paint the front of each picture with a layer of solution. Place a sheet of white paper on top of the picture. Rub the paper with a spoon until the picture begins to show through the paper. Peel the paper off to see the magical recreation! CREATIVE COMICS Gather the kids at the table. Provide sheets of white paper, lots of comic books and comic strips, and felt-tip pens. Have each guest fold 2 sheets of paper together to form a booklet and staple each booklet at the fold. Let guests create their own

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CASTAWAY ISLAND LUAU Spend the night shipwrecked on Castaway Island with no hope of rescue until morning!

Invitation TROPICAL POST CARD 1. Ask your local travel agent for brochures or booklets on tropical vacations. 2. Cut out tropical pictures and glue each onto 1 side of a 5-by-7-inch index card to make a post card. 3. Pour a cup of salt into a bowl. 4. Rub the salt with a large stick of yellow chalk to make “sand.” 5. Brush a line of glue along the bottom of the post card and sprinkle with the salt. 6. Turn the card over and draw a vertical line down the middle. Then write the party

details on the left side, and the guest’s name and address on the right side. 7. Tuck the card in a stamped, addressed envelope along with a small paper umbrella; mail.

VIDEOS • Swiss Family Robinson (G) • Beach Blanket Bingo (PG) • Hook (PG) • Mighty Joe Young (PG) • George of the Jungle (PG) • The Little Mermaid (G)

What to Bring Have the castaways dress in shorts and summer shirts and encourage them to go barefoot when they arrive. Ask them to bring large beach towels.

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• Cut tree trunks from brown construction paper and large palm leaves from green paper. Tape the palm trees to the walls. • Use coconuts as place markers. Serve beverages in hollow coconut halves garnished with paper umbrellas. • Carve a pineapple boat for a centerpiece. (See page 19 for instructions.) • Play Hawaiian, calypso, or reggae music in the background.

Give each a sailor hat or a straw hat, a flower lei, and a grass skirt.

Decorations CASTAWAY ISLAND • Spread sleeping bags on the floor and cover them with beach towels. • String colored lights from the ceiling. • Stick glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling so the guests can sleep under the stars.

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Games LIMBO CONTEST Have 2 players hold a long stick or pole horizontally, about 4 feet above the ground. Line up the rest of the players and turn on some calypso music. Have the players try to walk under the limbo stick by bending their knees and arching their backs. After everyone has a turn, lower the limbo stick and repeat. Keep playing until the limbo stick is so low, only one person can go under it. As a fun variation, play in the dark with a flashlight instead of a limbo stick! STEPPING STONES Cut large circular “stones” from construction paper. Place a stone at one end of the room. Place another stone about a foot away from the first. Continue setting down stones, increasing the distance between them. One at a time, have the players start at the first stone and try to follow the stones to safety. A player who can’t reach

a stepping stone sinks in the ocean and is out of the game. The player to make it to the farthest stepping stone wins a prize. BEACH BALL VOLLEY Inflate a beach ball. Have the players sit in a circle. Tell a player to toss the ball to anyone in the circle, who must volley it immediately to another player. Keep the ball in the air and moving fast—no holding it for even a second. Any player who misses the ball is out of the game.

Activities

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Sunglasses • Anklets • Sailor hats and straw hats • Goldfish crackers and gummy fish

GRASS SKIRTS Buy crepe paper in a variety of colors, 1 package per guest. Hand out the crepe paper and have the guests unwrap their

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packages. Wrap the paper around each guest’s waist and pin or tape it closed. Have the guests take turns cutting each other’s skirts into dangling strips. Do a hula dance when the grass skirts are ready.

Recipe ICE CREAM ISLAND 1. Pour a small amount of blueberry sauce into a bowl. 2. Scoop a ball of ice cream and roll it in green-tinted coconut. 3. Drop the coconut-covered ice cream ball in the center of the blueberry sauce. 4. Add a paper umbrella to the ice cream island. Serve 1 island to each guest.

HAWAIIAN LEIS At a craft store buy artificial flowers, colorful string, and large needles. Measure and cut enough lengths of string to make 1 lei for each guest. Have guests thread flowers onto the string to make floral leis. Or make candy leis by tying wrapped candies together with colorful ribbons.

ribbons, and other items.

SHIPWRECK SUNGLASSES Buy an inexpensive pair of sunglasses for each guest. Let guests decorate their glasses with puffy paints, glitter, stickers,

ANKLETS At a bead or craft store, buy a variety of beads, some elastic string, and needles. Measure and cut enough lengths of elastic string to make an anklet for each guest. Set out the beads, strings, and needles and let the guests make their own anklets. Help the guest tie their anklets around their ankles.

Recipe PINEAPPLE BOATS 1. Cut a pineapple in half, then scoop out the fruit and cut it into chunks. 2. Fill each pineapple half with pine-apple chunks, grapes, cherries, coconut, and other fruits and nuts. 3. Make a sail out of a paper napkin strung onto a wood skewer. Insert the sail into the pineapple boat. 4. Lean 2 large pretzel sticks on the sides of each boat for oars. 5. Use the boats as edible center-pieces.

Refreshments • Orange Cups: Cut tops off oranges and spoon out the pulp, reserving it for breakfast juice. Fill the orange shells with yogurt and top each one with a cherry. • Fishbowls: Fill small fishbowls with gummy fish and Goldfish crackers and set around the room for anytime snacks.

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COOL CAMP-IN You don’t have to wait for summer to go camping; you can have a Cool Camp-In any time of the year!

Invitation SKYLIGHT CARD 1. Buy black construction paper and glowin-the-dark stickers and pens. 2. Fold black construction paper in half. 3. Attach glow-in-the-dark stars to the front of the card. 4. Inside, write the party details with glowin-the-dark pens. 5. Tuck the invitation in a padded envelope along with a miniature flashlight. 6. Instruct guests to shine the flashlights on the cards (inside and out), then turn off the lights to see the surprise.

What to Bring Ask the campers to bring their own sleeping bags and any camping equipment they want to share, such as flashlights, pup tents, mess kits, and so on. Have them bring their favorite stuffed animals, too.

Decorations INDOOR CAMP • Stick glow-in-the-dark stars all over the walls and ceiling, so when the lights go out, the stars will shine. • Spread sleeping bags on the floor or set up pup tents. For makeshift tents, string

VIDEOS • The Parent Trap (PG) • Ernest Goes to Camp (PG) • Meatballs (PG) • Yogi Bear cartoons

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ropes across the room and hang blankets over them. • Spread a picnic tablecloth on the floor. • Make a campfire: Cut orange cellophane into long strips and tie them to logs. Set the logs in the middle of the room, and place a small electric fan nearby to make the cellophane whip around like flames. • Place small mats around the campfire. • Play recordings of animals, rivers, waterfalls, or other nature sounds in the background. • Place stuffed animals behind furniture as if they are hiding in the forest.

Games SHADOW CHARADES Write the names of many different animals on slips of paper and place them in a container. Hang a sheet across one end of the room and point a light at the back of the sheet. Have the kids sit on the other side. One player must draw a slip from the container, then stand behind the sheet in front of the light and act out the animal. The audience must watch the shadow play and guess the animal. Give a point for each correct guess, and then award a prize to the guest with the most points.

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and so on. Have everyone sit in a circle in near-darkness. One player must choose a paper and recreate the creepy sound using only her voice. The player who first guesses the correct answer wins a point.

CREEPY SOUNDS On slips of paper, write a number of creepy sounds like a squeaky door, rattling chain, rustling mouse, moaning ghost, rolling thunder, creaking staircase,

Activities CAMP SONGS Gather round the campfire and sing camp songs. Sing in rounds, make up new songs, and change the words in old favorites like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” For a modern songfest, sing along with a karaoke machine.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Flashlights • Glow-in-the-dark pens, stars, necklaces, and trinkets • Camping gear • Stuffed animals • Containers of trail mix • Scout camping handbooks

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chopped ham or bacon bits, cooked peas or broccoli, heated chili, spaghetti sauce, sour cream, butter, and chives. • Pretzel Dips: Let guests dip large pretzels into melted chocolate chips or white chocolate, then dip again into bowls of sprinkles and other candy decorations. • S’mores: Heat marshmallows in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them. Place a chocolate square on one graham cracker and a warm marshmallow on the other, then squish them together and eat. • Trail mix: Provide bowls of nuts, seeds, cereals, small crackers, dried fruit, and shredded coconut and let the campers create their own trail mixes. • Red-Hot Chocolate: Make hot chocolate and top with whipped cream and candy Red Hots.

GHOST STORIES Go to the library and check out some books on ghost stories. Memorize and recite the stories or read them at the campfire. Take turns telling ghost stories and urban legends. (Visit www.urbanlegends.com for a wide selection of urban legends and debunkings. Be sure to screen for kid-appropriate content.) WILD INDOORS • Animal Attack: After someone falls asleep, collect all the stuffed animals and place them around the sleeper. When she wakes up, she’ll think she’s being stalked by stuffed animals! • Creepy Critters: Buy a supply of rubber snakes, mice, and spiders from a toy store, then secretly slip them into everyone’s sleeping bag before the guests go to sleep. Listen for the screams! • Bear Scare: Rent a bear costume from a costume shop. Put it on after all the kids get into their sleeping bags and run through the party room growling!

Refreshments • Baked potatoes: Wrap potatoes in foil and bake them in the oven or on an outdoor grill. Peel open the foil and split open the potatoes. Let the campers fill their potatoes from a selection of toppings, including grated cheeses,

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CRACK-UP COMEDY Crack up the crowd with jokes and jests and crazy antics!

Invitation JOKE BOOKLET 1. Fold 3 sheets of paper together. 2. Staple them at the fold to make a booklet with 6 leaves (12 pages). 3. On the front of the booklet write “Knock! Knock!” 4. On the second leaf write “Who’s there?” 5. On the third leaf write “Boo!” 6. On the fourth leaf write “Boo who?”

7. On the fifth leaf write “Why are you crying when you could be laughing at my Crack-Up Comedy party?” 8. Write the party details on the last leaf, and illustrate the invitations with cartoon drawings.

VIDEOS • Liar Liar (PG-13) • Dumb and Dumber (PG-13) • Funny Farm (PG) • Age-appropriate comedies starring Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Whoopie Goldberg, Adam Sandler, or Chris Farley

What to Bring Ask the cutup clowns to bring their favorite jokes. Have them accessorize their pajamas with funny items like big hats, Groucho glasses, or giant rubber feet.

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• Place a smile cutout at each place setting. • Provide funny costume accessories, such as giant underwear, red noses, wild wigs, and false teeth.

Decorations COMEDY CLUB • Make a comedy stage by hanging bedsheet curtains across a corner of the room. • Make a sign announcing the comedians appearing at the party, and place it near the stage. • Cut out celebrity smiles from magazines and tape them to the walls. • Set the table with gag gifts like fake vomit, rubber chickens, and whoopee cushions.

Games WHO’S SMILING NOW? Tape cut-out celebrity smiles to the walls and to the place cards. Number each smile. Give each guest a sheet of paper and a pencil. Have guests try to identify the owners of the smiles. Ask them to write their guesses on paper next to the

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appropriate numbers. When everyone finishes, read the answers and award a prize to the person with the most correct guesses.

• Improv 1—Hats: Collect a variety of hats and place them in a box. Have the players stand in a circle around the hats. The group must think of a theme for the improv, such as “asking someone to dance” or “applying for a job.” Players close their eyes and each pulls out a hat. Go around the circle and have each player incorporate her hat into a theme-related skit. For example, if the theme is “asking someone to dance” and someone picks a cowboy hat, she might say, “Howdy, pardner, would you like to do the two-step at the O.K. Corral?” • Improv 2—Movies: Have the group call out movie genres, such as horror, science fiction, romance, comedy, and action-adventure, and write each down on a separate card. You should have at least as many cards as you have

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Play the Drew Carey TV game! Set up a circle of chairs in the party room. Time the improvised skits with a stopwatch or egg timer.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Inexpensive comedy videos • Joke books • Funny glasses, clown feet, giant noses, and other gag accessories • Fake vomit, rubber candy, and other gag gifts • Movie tickets to see a comedy

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players. Next have the kids call out activities, such as “meeting for the first time,” “going to the movies,” or “having lunch at the park,” and write these down on separate cards, too. Have a player pick a card from each pile. The player must dramatize the activity using the movie genre as a guide. For example, a player who picks “horror” and “going to the movies” might pretend to walk up to a ticket booth, buy tickets, sit down in a theater, and munch popcorn, all while moving stiffly like Frankenstein. • Improv 3—Rap: On separate slips of paper, write potentially funny situations like “late for school,” “got poison oak,” “lost a jacket,” and so on. Give each player a situation and have the players take turns making up raps to their themes. Or let all the kids make up a progressive rap, with each player contributing a line.

players try to match the jokes with their punch lines. FUNNY PAGES Have guests create their own comics or cut out comics from newspapers and rearrange the frames into new stories. GIGGLE FEST Watch comedy films while eating popcorn and yukking it up.

Refreshments • Punch with crazy straws • Snacks in goofy containers, such as popcorn in ice cream cones, cupcakes in scooped-out orange shells, and ice cream in pita pockets • Funny Face sandwiches made with veggies (for example, cucumber circles for eyes, red pepper strips for mouths, and olives for noses)

Activities

Recipe

COMEDY SHOW Let guests take turns telling jokes onstage.

HAMBURGER COOKIES 1. Squirt a bit of yellow, red, and green frosting onto the flat sides of 2 vanilla wafers to resemble mustard, ketchup, and relish. 2. Press a chocolate cookie between the vanilla wafers to resemble a hamburger between 2 buns. 3. Dot top “bun” with white icing to make sesame seeds.

JOKE BOOKS Pass around a joke book and have guests take turns reading jokes. PUNCH LINE Write a bunch of riddles or jokes on small slips of paper and write the punch lines on separate slips. Mix up the slips and have

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CREATIVE CRAFTS Host a make-it and take-it slumber party with lots of creative crafts to keep the sleepless crowd busy.

Invitation PARTY PENDANT 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. With colorful permanent markers, write a message like “Let’s party!” in large letters on a Styrofoam dinner plate or a clean, dry Styrofoam meat tray. (Wash in a mild bleach solution to kill germs.) Decorate the plate or tray with pictures and/or designs. 3. Use a pencil to poke a hole about ½ inch from the top edge of the plate or tray. 4. Put the plate or tray faceup on a baking sheet and place in oven for 45 to 60 seconds. The heat will make the Styrofoam curl and shrink, then flatten and harden.

5. Remove shrunken pendant from oven and let cool on counter. 6. While pendant cools, use a fine-point permanent marker to write party details on a length of ribbon. 7. Thread ribbon through hole in pendant. 8. Make 1 pendant invitation for each guest and mail in padded envelopes.

What to Bring Ask guests to wear their Party Pendants and bring any craft supplies they have, including old T-shirts to cover their pajamas.

VIDEOS • Flubber (PG) • Gumby: The Movie (G)

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• If you already own any craft items, display them on boxes spray-painted gold. Attach outrageous price tags and give each item a silly, arty title.

Decorations CRAFT CENTER • Cover worktables with newspapers or paper tablecloths. • For inspiration, display finished samples of the crafts guests will be making. • Set out a pair of scissors, tube of glue, set of markers, and any other necessary materials for each guest. • Make a centerpiece with craft materials. For example, attach paper flowers to paintbrushes and arrange them in an empty paint can. Add colorful markers, pencils, and so on.

Games BUG RACE Let guests make their own bugs by gluing pompoms onto small pieces of felt. Glue a metal washer to the bottom of each bug. Have guests decorate their bugs with wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners, and felt bits. Give each guest a large sheet of poster board, a marker, and a magnet. Have all the guests draw a similar winding path on

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their poster boards. Have each guest place her bug at the start of the path and hold her magnet underneath the poster board, directly opposite the bug. At the word “Go!” have players use the magnets to race their bugs along the paths. Award a prize to the winner. SPINNERS Use a large jar lid to trace a circle on a piece of cardboard; cut out the circle. Make a dot in the center of the circle. Divide the circle into 6 wedges and color the wedges red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Make 2 small holes, 1 on each side of the center dot, about ½ inch apart. Thread a 3-foot length of yarn through both holes. Tie the ends to make two loops. Put 1 finger in each loop and twist the yarn by whirling the spinner like a jump rope. Now move your hands apart and together to make the circle spin. Watch the colors disappear and see who can spin her spinner the longest.

Activities POTTERY PAINTING Buy an inexpensive unpainted pottery plate for each guest, a set of pottery paints, and some brushes. Let guests paint their plates and sign their artwork. After the party have the plates fired at a pottery shop, then hand-deliver them to the guests. STAINED GLASS Provide a small rectangle of clear glass or plastic for each guest. Let guests outline designs on their rectangles using black permanent markers. Have them paint inside the designs using glass paint.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Craft kits • Craft instruction books • Decorated smocks • Clay recipes and ingredients

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Wrinkle a large sheet of foil and flatten it out again. Then cut it into rectangles the size of the glass rectangles. Cut out black cardboard rectangles the same size. Lay the foil on top of the cardboard. Lay the glass on top of the foil, painted side down. Carefully press together. Wrap strong black tape around the edges of the pictures to frame them and hold them together. Attach a loop of fishing wire for hanging.

Recipe SANDWICH SCENE 1. Fill paper cups with 3 tablespoons of milk each. 2. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup. 3. Set out slices of white bread and new, clean paintbrushes. 4. Have the artists paint their bread slices with the colored milk. 5. Lightly toast the bread, then make sandwiches.

BEADED NECKLACE To make baker’s clay, combine 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 ¾ cups water in a bowl. Mix well. Divide clay among guests. Have each guest roll her dough into enough small beads to make a necklace. Poke toothpicks through beads to make holes. Leave the toothpicks in and place

beads on foil-covered baking sheets. Bake at 250°F for 30 to 60 minutes, until firm. Remove from oven, remove toothpicks, and let beads cool. Paint beads with poster paints and varnish for protection and shine. String beads onto elastic thread or colored string, tie the ends together, and wear.

Recipe

CUSTOM T-SHIRTS Provide a plain white T-shirt for each guest. Let guests decorate their T-shirts with fabric paints.

PEANUT BUTTER PLAY DOUGH 1. Mix 1 cup peanut butter with ½ cup honey. 2. Add ½ cup instant nonfat dry milk (or more, as needed). 3. Mix with hands to a doughlike consistency—not too dry or too sticky. 4. Divide dough among guests and let them shape it into anything they like. 5. Provide seeds, raisins, shredded coconut, and sprinkles for decoration. 6. Let the artists eat their creations!

Refreshments • Rainbow Milk: Tint milk with food coloring and serve with crazy straws.

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CUSTOM CIRCUS Host an evening of pajama-clad fun and games under the Big Top!

Invitation CLOWN CARD 1. Find a photo of your child; a 3-by-5 head shot is ideal. Have copies made. 2. Fold white paper in half. 3. Glue the photo onto the right inside page of the card. Write party details around the photo. 4. Cut a hole in the front of the card so the photo shows through when the card is closed. 5. Tape a small piece of clear cellophane over the cutout on the inside of the card. 6. Using permanent markers in a variety of colors, draw clown-face makeup on the front of the cellophane so that when the

card is closed, the photo is disguised to look like a clown. 7. When the card is opened, your child’s face and the party details are revealed.

What to Bring Ask each kid to bring a stunt to perform at the party.

Decorations

VIDEOS • Big Top Pee-wee (PG) • Dumbo (G) • King Kong (PG)

UNDER THE BIG TOP • Tape many long, colorful crepe paper streamers to the center of the ceiling. Twist them and tape them to the wall

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markers to make clownish disguises. Tape the photos to the wall. • Cover the table with a colorful crepepaper tablecloth. Make a balloon centerpiece and serve food in festive paper tableware.

about 1 foot below the ceiling, leaving long ends dangling to the floor. Twist the ends and tape them to the edges of the floor. Make sure the entire room is enclosed in crepe paper for a dazzling tentlike effect! • Inflate balloons with helium and tie a piece of colorful curling ribbon to each. Let the balloons float up to the ceiling, with their ribbons hanging down. • Make a balloon archway at the entrance to the party room. • If you can get photos of the guests in advance, take them to a copy store and enlarge them, then color the faces with

Games GOLDFISH TOSS At a pet shop, buy real goldfish in individual fishbowls. Arrange the bowls in rows on a table. Have guests toss Ping-Pong balls into the bowls from a distance. If a kid gets a ball inside a bowl, she wins it.

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HOW MANY GUMBALLS? Fill a clear plastic bowl with gumballs. Have guests try to guess how many gumballs there are. Count the gumballs and see whose guess is closest. The person with the closest guess wins the gumballs.

WALK THE TIGHTROPE! Place a rope on the floor and wind it around the room, making turns and loops. Have guests try to walk the tightrope without stepping off. To make the game more challenging, lay the rope in a straight line and have guests walk the tightrope with their eyes closed! CIRCUS ACT Make a circus ring out of rope. Choose one guest to be the Ring Master, who announces each act. Have the guests take turns performing the stunts they prepared at home. They can juggle balls, spin paper plates on their fingers, “tame” stuffed tigers and lions, and much more.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Inflated balloons with small toys inside • Miniature clown dolls • Face-painting kits • Books about the circus • Large containers of popcorn • Stuffed animals • Goldfish • Toy gumball machines

SLIPPER STEP Have guests remove their slippers and place them in a path going from one end of the room to the other, a foot apart.

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Guests must then try to walk the path, stepping only on the slippers.

Recipe BUBBLY FRUIT 1. Freeze a variety of fruit juices in ice cube trays. 2. Place different-colored cubes in tall, clear glasses. 3. Fill glasses with lemon-lime soda. Top with a cherry. 4. Cut ends off licorice twists and use as straws

SLEEPING BAG SHUFFLE Have guests line up on one side of the party room, standing in their sleeping bags. At the word “Go!” have them race to the other side of the room! Anyone who falls down is out of the game.

Activities FACE PAINTING Have guests make up each other’s faces with face paint. Or have guests paint their own faces. Set up a Polaroid snapshot booth and take photos of all the clowns, who then get to keep the photos as favors.

Refreshments • Cotton candy (available at specialty shops) • Slushies: Fill a blender half full with ice cubes. Pour in juice to level of ice. Whirl until slushy and serve in paper cups with small plastic spoons.

CONFETTI BALLOONS Fill balloons with confetti. Inflate the balloons and tie them off. When parents come to pick up the guests, have the kids surprise their folks by popping the balloons over their heads!

Recipe POPCORN CLOWNS 1. Melt 40 marshmallows with ½ cup butter in a large pan. 2. Pour over 7 cups of popped popcorn in a large bowl. 3. Divide among the guests and have them shape the popcorn with buttered hands to make flat, round faces. 4. Decorate with frosting to make clown faces.

Recipe COOKIE-ON-A-STICK 1. Roll out refrigerator sugar cookies and cut into large circles. 2. Insert tongue depressors into edges of cookies. 3. Bake according to package directions or until lightly browned. 4. When cool, decorate with frosting.

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DRAMA AND DREAMS This party is all about putting on a play— from designing a set to developing characters to staging the performance. Most of the games and activities are parts of a single play production. All you need is a short script, a few actors, and some simple materials. Then raise the curtain on your theater party!

Invitation CURTAIN CARD 1. Fold the short sides of a sheet of construction paper in to meet in the center. 2. Open the folded flaps and write the party details inside. 3. Close the flaps and seal them shut with a sticker.

4. Decorate the front of the flaps to look like theater curtains.

What to Bring Ask the actors to bring any costumes or accessories they might have, such as wigs, jewelry, gloves, vests, fancy shoes, gowns, hats, and so on, to share with the theater company.

VIDEOS • Grease 2 (PG) • The Truman Show (PG) • Little Women (PG) • Annie (PG) • Beauty and the Beast (G) • Stomp Out Loud (NR)

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• Hang playbills and theater posters on the walls.

Decorations ALL THE PARTY’S A STAGE • Provide wooden planks so the actors can put together their own stage. • Give the kids old sheets to make a curtain. • Have some large sheets of cardboard or cardboard boxes handy for backdrops and props. • Set up chairs for the audience. • Set up a video camera to tape the play.

Games SCENE CHARADES On separate index cards or pieces of paper, describe several memorable scenes from popular movies, such as “When Jack stands like the king of the world in Titanic,” “When Dot in A Bug’s Life realizes she can fly,” and “When

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Dorothy throws water on the witch in The Wizard of Oz.” Separate the actors into two teams and have team members take turns drawing cards and acting out scenes for their teammates to guess. Time the charades if you like. Award

points for correct guesses and give every actor a chance to perform. Award a prize to the team with the most points. CHARACTER AUDITION Choose a short script that will fit the actors’ abilities and interests. Write brief character descriptions on index cards and place them facedown in a pile. Have one actor draw a card and act out her interpretation of the character. If the rest of the group can guess the character, the player who drew that card gets to be that character. If not, she must return the card to the middle of the pile and wait until it’s her turn to audition again. Players take turns until all the roles are filled.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Videotapes of the play • Costume accessories and props • Scripts for short plays • Books on acting • Behind-the-scenes books on theater

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writing. Have them write detailed scripts, with dialogue, stage directions, and character descriptions. Bring the teams together and have everyone pass out scripts. Beginning with Team 1’s first act, perform the play by reading from the scripts and doing the actions as directed. Continue, team by team, to the surprising conclusion. Watch the videotape of your original—and probably very funny—play!

Activities PLAY TIME Have the actors read their parts to get familiar with their characters. Offer costumes and props. Gather the cast for a first reading. After reading through the play once, do a dress rehearsal, running through the play in full costume. If the actors can’t memorize their lines, they can disguise their scripts behind magazines or other items. It’s showtime! Set up the video camera, invite the audience (family and nonparticipating guests), and put on your play. Play back the video and enjoy the show again.

Refreshments • Intermission Bonbons: Scoop vanilla ice cream into bowls. Top with chocolate syrup that hardens when it gets cold. • Snack bar: Fill small bowls with snacks to pick and choose, such as popcorn, dried fruit, nuts, marshmallows, granola and other cereals, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, seeds, crackers, raisins, and so on. • After-Theater Supper: Offer a do-ityourself buffet of cold cuts, rolls, and condiments.

PLAY WRITE (This activity is an alternative to using an existing script.) Divide the group into three or four teams. Tell the actors the theme of the play, such as “mystery,” and the list of characters, such as Detective, Mother, Father, Teenager, Principal, Science Teacher, Custodian, Guidance Counselor, and so on. Assign a character to each actor. Assign each team to write one part of the play. For example, for a mystery play, give Team 1 the introduction of the suspects; Team 2, the opening murder scene; Team 3, the introduction of the detective and interrogation of the suspects; Team 4, the revelation of the killer as the mystery is solved. Let the teams separate to write their portions, so they don’t know exactly what the others are

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FABULOUS FASHIONS Whether you dress up in designer clothes or model the latest sleepwear, make a fashion statement at a Fabulous Fashions slumber party!

Invitation PAJAMA PAPER DOLL 1. Buy paper dolls or make some out of stiff poster board. 2. Photocopy pictures of all the kids. 3. Cut out the heads and glue them onto the heads of the dolls. 4. Draw plain white pajamas or nightgowns for the paper dolls, photocopy them, and cut them out, leaving tabs to secure to the dolls.

5. Write party details on the back of each doll and ask guests to decorate the paper pajamas and bring them to the party. 6. At the party, award prizes for the paper pajamas, such as Most Colorful, Strangest, Funniest, Most Creative, and so on.

VIDEOS • The Beautician and the Beast (PG) • Brenda Starr (PG) • Clueless (PG-13) • Earth Girls Are Easy (PG)

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What to Bring

Decorations

In addition to the decorated paper doll pajamas, ask each guest to bring a favorite fancy outfit, pajamas, robe, slippers, and any accessories that might be fun to share and wear, such as hats, shoes, costume jewelry, and so on. The guests will also need form-fitting attire (tights, bike shorts, tank tops, or sports bras) for the Blind Designs game.

FASHION RUNWAY • Drape one wall of the party room with sheets. Hang another set of sheets from the ceiling or a rope to create a curtain, leaving an opening for the models to walk through. • Create a stage and runway using long lengths of red or white fabric or several sheets of plywood.

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• Collect lights from around the house— lamps, flashlights, and so on—and set them up in the party room to spotlight the runway and stage. • Tape posters of models or fashion photos from magazines to the walls. • Set the table with makeup and a small mirror at each place and make a centerpiece using fashion accessories. • Play disco music while guests model their outfits.

Games BLIND DESIGNS Pair up the guests, then have them sit in a circle. Set out a large selection of dressup clothes, including dresses, hats, tops, skirts, shawls, scarves, jewelry, socks, and shoes. Select a pair of players and blindfold one of them. The blindfolded player is the Designer; the other is the

Model. To make dressing the Model easier, the Model should wear tights and a tank top or other form-fitting attire. At the word “Go!” the Designer has three minutes to select from the clothing pile and dress the model from head to foot— without looking! The Model can only stand still. She cannot help the Designer with the dressing. When time is up, remove the blindfold and view the Model’s new look! Take a picture, then repeat with other pairs.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Fashion accessories, such as scrunchies, scarves, hair ribbons, hats, socks, and so on • Small personalized mirrors or compacts • Fashion magazines • Disposable cameras

SCARF STYLES Collect a few dozen scarves, buy some from a local thrift shop, or make your own from silky fabric cut into lengths. Pile the scarves in the center of the room. At the

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word “Go!” the players may take one scarf at a time and design an outfit on themselves. They have five minutes to create their outfits. The player with the most complete outfit wins a prize. The rest win prizes for Funniest, Weirdest, Skimpiest, Dowdiest, and so on.

Recipe GLOVE SANDWICHES 1. Make sandwiches with white bread and favorite fillings. 2. Cut into glove shapes using a cookie cutter or sharp knife. 3. Attach candy rings to sandwich fingers. If you like, make cuffs of shredded lettuce.

Activities DRESS-UP DESIGNS At a thrift store, buy a variety of mismatched clothes and accessories, such as hats, shoes, wraps, tops, skirts, pants, jackets, wigs, jewelry, and so on. Or raid your own closets and attics and borrow from friends and family. Have the designers mix and match items to make unique fashion statements. Put on a fashion show by modeling the outfits on the stage and runway. Take turns playing announcer and describing the outfits for the audience, for example: “Liya is wearing a lovely sequined halter top with a square-dance skirt and combat boots. . . .”

DO-IT-YOURSELF FASHION Assemble an ample supply of tissue paper, crepe paper, and toilet paper in a variety of colors and set the supplies in the middle of the party room along with tape and staplers. Or use fabric remnants instead of paper products. Pair up the guests and choose a Designer and Model in each pair. Have the Designers use the provided materials to create fashions on the Models. When everyone finishes, have the Models model the creations for everyone. Switch roles and repeat so everyone gets a chance to be a Designer and a Model.

Recipe

Refreshments

PRETTY-IN-PINK DRINK 1. Mix 2 cups raspberry sherbet with ½ cup milk in a blender and whirl until smooth. 2. Pour into tall plastic champagne flutes. 3. Top with fresh strawberries and serve.

• Edible Jewelry: String Life Savers, Froot Loops, or other candies with holes onto licorice laces. Tie ends together, then wear or eat the bracelets and necklaces.

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FIFTIES SOCK HOP Put on a pair of fun socks and hop back to the fabulous fifties with some rock ’n’ roll oldies but goodies.

Invitation FORTY-FIVE 1. Cut a circle out of black poster board or construction paper, using a forty-fiverpm record or salad plate as a guide. 2. Cut 2 round labels out of iridescent colored paper and glue onto the center of the “record” on both sides. 3. In the center, cut out a circle about the size of a silver dollar. 4. On the labels, write “Come to a Fifties Sock Hop Slumber Party!” and the party details. 5. Mail in a medium-size padded envelope.

What to Bring Ask guests to wear crazy socks and fiftiesstyle clothes.

Decorations HIGH SCHOOL SOCK HOP • Decorate the room with colorful streamers. • String colored lights around the room, and use colored light bulbs in lamps.

VIDEOS • American Graffiti (PG) • Grease (PG) • Pleasantville (PG-13) • Godzilla (PG-13)

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song titles on the labels. • Make a sock bouquet for a centerpiece, or set out items associated with the fifties, such as hair gel and hair spray, ponytail holders and combs, and sweater sets and poodle skirts. • Play fifties rock ’n’ roll tunes in the background, such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Rock around the Clock,” “Earth Angel,” “At the Hop,” “Hound Dog,” and other favorites.

• Clear a dance floor. • Tape colorful socks to the walls. • Tape photos of fifties celebrities, such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Doris Day, Buddy Holly, The Supremes, and The Everly Brothers, to the walls. • Write song lyrics on strips of paper. Tape them to the walls and on the table for a Name That Tune game. • Make place markers out of forty-five-rpm records: Follow the instructions on page 44, then write guests’ names and funny

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Games SOCK MATCH Buy a pair of cute socks for each guest and tuck a small gift into one of each pair. Hide the socks with the gifts in them throughout the room. Give each of the guests one of the remaining socks, and tell them that the matching socks have surprises inside. Then set them hunting! NAME THAT TUNE Write lyrics from popular fifties tunes on strips of paper. Hold up one strip and have guests guess its song title. If they don’t know much about fifties music, provide them with several titles to choose from. The player who first guesses the correct title gets a point. The player with the most points wins a cassette or CD of fifties music.

person stand in the center. Then start the music. The Dancer must make up a dance for everyone to imitate. Change the music and the Dancer until everyone has made up a dance fad.

DANCE FAD Have everyone stand in a circle. Choose someone to be the Dancer and have that

HULA HOOP CONTESTS Buy a hula hoop for each guest. Clear a large area inside or move everyone outside. The more room the better. Distribute the hula hoops and hold hula hoop contests like “Who can keep the hula hoop in the air the longest?” “Who can roll the hula hoop the farthest before it falls?” “Who can jump through the rolling hula

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Ponytail holders and hair products • CDs or cassettes of fifties music • Hula hoops • Fancy socks • Rice Krispies squares

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Offer guests a variety of puffy paints or fabric paints, and let them paint creative designs on the socks. Let the socks dry overnight, then give them to the guests as favors.

hoop?” and so on. Award prizes to the winners and let everyone keep the hula hoops as favors. TAG DANCE Have everyone pair up except one player. Turn on the music and let the pairs dance. After a few moments, the extra player must tag someone and take her place in the dance. The tagged dancer must tag someone else and take her place. Tagging continues until someone tags a player who has already been tagged. The tagger is then out of the game and wins a booby prize.

PONYTAIL POINTERS Buy a variety of ponytail bands, scrunchies, clips, small stand-up vanity mirrors, hairbrushes, and hair gel. Let the guests do and redo their hair in creative ponytails. Guests with short hair can slick their hair with pomade or Dippity Do and shape fifties-style ducktails or create their own new looks with the goopy stuff! Take Polaroid snapshots and tape them to the walls.

DEEJAY DANCE Choose one guest to be the deejay and have the other guests pair up. The deejay starts the music and the pairs begin dancing. When the deejay stops the music, she must join the dance, and everyone must find a new partner. The player who doesn’t find a partner becomes the deejay. Continue playing until everyone has had a chance to be the deejay.

Refreshments • Classic fifties food—hot dogs, pizza, and tuna casserole • Jell-O with gummy fish • Cherry Cokes with crazy straws • Rice Krispies squares with chocolate chips, peanuts, and shredded coconut • Cake decorated like a forty-five-rpm record: Frost a round cake with chocolate icing and add a small circle of colored icing in the center for the record label. Write a fifties song title and artist with frosting on the label.

Activities SUPER SLIPPER SOCKS Buy a pair of colorful socks for each guest. Lay socks flat on cardboard and trace around each sock, making the tracing a little larger than the sock. Cut out the tracings and insert them into the socks.

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FOREIGN FEAST Share recipes for a variety of foreign dishes and get ready to feast!

Invitation PARTY RECIPE 1. Buy cute recipe cards from a stationery or culinary store, or make your own using colorful index cards and food stickers. 2. For each guest, write the party details on a card in recipe form. For example: Instructions: • Bring a recipe and necessary ingredients to make a favorite foreign dish. • Wear a fashion accessory from the country represented by your dish.

• Add your pajamas, robe, and apron. • Be prepared to feast! 3. Tuck the invitation into an envelope decorated with food stickers. Sprinkle some nonmeltable candy decorations into the envelope. 4. Mail or hand-deliver invitations.

VIDEOS • An American Tail (G) • Three Amigos! (PG) • Gulliver’s Travels (G) • Mulan (G) • The Red Balloon (G) • Walkabout (G)

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What to Bring

Decorations

Ask each guest to bring an easy-to-make recipe for a favorite foreign dish and the ingredients to make it. Or ask them to send you the recipes ahead of time, and you provide the ingredients. Ask each to wear an appropriate fashion accessory to go with her foreign dish. For example, the guest who brings a French pastry recipe can wear a beret, or the guest who shares a Russian tea cakes recipe can wear a colorful shawl, and so on.

FOOD AROUND THE WORLD • Tape travel posters featuring sites from around the world (available at your local travel agency) to the walls. • Play foreign music in the background like Irish melodies, African rhythms, or German Oktoberfest songs. • Set the table with items representing the country of each dish served. For example, if an Italian dish will be served, spread a red-and-white checked

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tablecloth, or provide chopsticks if a Chinese dish will be served. • Prepare the kitchen for easy access to appliances and utensils.

Games FOREIGN FLAVORS Prepare the foreign dishes, place them on the table, and keep them covered. Seat everyone, then blindfold one guest. Serve the guest a taste of one of the dishes and have her guess the dish. Have everyone take a turn guessing a dish before digging in. GUESS THE INGREDIENTS For this game, see Dish It Up! on page 51. Have each team try to guess the ingredients in the other teams’ dishes. Place a small portion of one team’s dish on a plate and have another team take a taste and guess all the ingredients. Repeat for all the teams. Award a point

for each correctly guessed ingredient and subtract points for wrong guesses or missed items. Award a tasty prize to the team with the most points.

Activities FANCY APRONS Buy an inexpensive white apron for each guest. Provide iron-on transfers, trim, permanent markers, fabric paints, stick-on jewels and sequins, press-on letters, and other decorative items, and let guests decorate their aprons. Have them wear their aprons while they cook.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Recipes and ingredients • Cooking utensils • Kids’ cookbooks on foods around the world • Homemade goodies • Aprons

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DISH IT UP! Divide the guests into small teams. Give each team a recipe and the ingredients to prepare a foreign dish. Stagger the preparation of dishes that need to be cooked at different temperatures. When the dishes are prepared, serve and enjoy!

Refreshments • African bread or sweet-potato cookies • Chinese fortune cookies • Dutch chocolate candies • French pastries or crepes with a variety of fillings (savory or sweet) • Greek dolma or baklava • German potato salad • Hawaiian poi • Indian flatbreads (such as puri) • Italian pizza or spaghetti and meatballs • Irish stew • Japanese rice or sushi rolls • Middle Eastern hummus dip with fresh pita bread • Russian teacakes or latkes with sour cream • Spanish paella • Thai coconut rice or sliced bananas simmered for ten minutes with coconut milk and brown sugar • Vietnamese spring rolls

TRIFLING WITH ENGLISH TRIFLE On an index card, write the correct order of ingredients for making an English trifle: ladyfingers, vanilla pudding or ice cream, sliced strawberries or raspberries, whipped cream, chocolate or rainbow sprinkles. Set the card aside. Write each of the following instructions on a separate index card: • Layer ladyfingers. • Scoop in pudding or ice cream. • Add sliced strawberries or raspberries. • Squirt whipped cream on top. • Sprinkle with chocolate or rainbow sprinkles. If there are more than five guests, create enough instructions, such as “Slice strawberries” or “Open container of ladyfingers,” so everyone can participate. Mix up the cards and distribute them to the cooks. Set the ingredients and utensils on the counter. Have the cooks follow their assigned instructions and let them put the dessert together in the order they think is correct. When they finish, show them the card with the correct order and see how close they came to making an English trifle correctly.

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FRIENDS FOREVER What better way to celebrate friendship than at a Friends Forever slumber party?

Invitation FRIENDLY FACES 1. Photocopy photos of each guest from yearbooks or snapshots. 2. Cut out outlines of the guests. Arrange then glue them in a group setting onto a sheet of paper. 3. Make a photocopy of the group picture for each guest. 4. Glue the group picture in the center of a sheet of light-colored poster board to make a frame. Write party details on the back.

5. Decorate the frame using stickers, puffy paints, and markers. 6. Mail or hand-deliver in a large padded envelope.

What to Bring Have guests bring items for a scrapbook plus an item they got from a friend to share.

VIDEOS • Little Women (PG) • Clueless (PG-13) • Anne of Green Gables (G) • Pippi Longstocking (G) • The Secret Garden (G) • The Brady Bunch Movie (PG-13) • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (PG-13) • Little Rascals (PG)

Decorations A FRIENDLY PLACE • Take Polaroid snapshots of guests as they arrive and glue them onto construction-paper frames. Tape them to the walls.

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Games FRIENDS’ FAVORITES Make a list of categories, such as favorite color, TV show, song, movie star, store, vacation spot, teacher, and so on. Make a copy of the list for each friend. Have the friends fill in their favorites under each category and sign their names. Collect all the lists. Read one list of favorites but not the writer’s name. When finished, have the friends guess the writer of the list. For more excitement, read one favorite category at a time, and have the friends immediately guess the identity of the writer. Keep reading favorites until someone guesses correctly. EMBARRASSING MOMENTS Give each friend a pad and pencil. Have her write down her most embarrassing moment. Collect all the pads, then read them one at a time and let the friends guess whose embarrassing moment it was. At the end of the game, vote who had the most embarrassing moment, and award that friend a prize. Some appropriate prizes might be posters of passé pop stars or dorky actors, love-advice books, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, and so on.

• Hang a banner at the front door that reads “Welcome Friends” in several different languages. Write guests’ names on the banner. Decorate the banner with markers, stickers, puffy paints, glitter, streamers, and other decorating items. Have the guests try to identify each language. • Set out friendship items on the table, such as bracelets, autograph books, photo books, scrapbooks, and mementos. • Enlarge the group picture made for the invitations. Make copies to use for place mats and wall posters.

FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGE Interview each guest before the party and write down her answers to personal questions like “Where were you born?”

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“What is your favorite vegetable?” “Who was your first crush?” “What time do you go to bed?” “What kind of car do you want?” “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “What did you do on your vacation last year?” Use the answers to create game questions, such as “Who was born in Germany?” “Whose first crush was Tommy?” “Who loves spinach?” and so on. Read the questions one at a time, and have the guests guess the correct friend. FRIEND-A-GORIES Draw a ten-by-ten-square grid on poster board to make a playing card; make enough cards for everyone. Cover the cards with clear contact paper or laminate them. Distribute the cards along with wipe-off felt-tip pens. Choose one player, then have everyone write as much of her full name as will fit in the first row, leaving the first square blank. Have everyone brainstorm and write the same nine categories down the left column, such as “candy bars,” “rock stars,” “boys’ names,”

“colors,” “animals,” “song titles,” “clothing,” “cartoons,” “body parts,” and “games,” one subject in each square, leaving the first square blank. Set a timer for 3 minutes, and have players race to fill in the squares with words that fit the categories on the side and begin with the letters at the top. When time is up, the player with the most filled-in squares wins a prize. Have the players wipe off the squares with tissues or rags and write another player’s name at the top. They can use the same categories listed down the left side or make up new ones.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Scrapbooks • Personalized pillowcases • Friendship bracelets • Framed Polaroid snapshots • Poster-size photos of friends

Activities FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS Provide lots of colored embroidery string and beads and have the friends make friendship bracelets. Have everyone write

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their names on slips of paper and place the slips into a bowl. Each friend draws a name out of the bowl and gives her bracelet to that person. Keep drawing names and exchanging bracelets.

Recipe FRIENDSHIP FACES 1. Pass out a cupcake to each friend. 2. Have the friends write their names on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. Have each draw a name. 3. They must then draw that friend’s face on the cupcake using frosting, shredded coconut, sprinkles, candies, and other edible decorating items. 4. Have everyone guess who each Friendship Face is before eating the cupcakes!

SCRAPBOOKS Buy a scrapbook for each guest, or have her make her own by covering two sheets of 8½-by-11-inch cardboard with decorative contact paper or glued fabric. Insert plain white paper between the covers, punch holes on the left side through all the layers, and tie together with colorful ribbon. Provide stickers, colored markers and pens, diecuts, punches, stamps, and other decorative items. Provide teen magazines, vacation brochures, yearbooks, and so on. Let the friends take Polaroid snapshots of each other. Have the friends fill their scrapbooks with the snapshots, friendship items brought from home, and the provided materials.

Refreshments • Signature Sodas: Let friends sign their names on clear plastic cups using puffy paints. When dry, fill with soda and serve with crazy straws.

Recipe

FRIENDSHIP NIGHTSHIRTS Provide a plain, long, white or pastel Tshirt for each friend. Let the kids pass the T-shirts around and sign their names with permanent markers or puffy paints. Have them decorate with fabric paints, iron-on decals, embroidery string, and so on. Have the friends sleep in their Friendship Nightshirts.

SPELL-YOUR-NAME COOKIES 1. Provide alphabet cookie cutters and refrigerated cookie dough. 2. Have the friends cut out letters of their names with cookie cutters. 3. Bake the cookies, then have the friends spell out their names and eat! 4. Or have the friends make up nicknames for each other and cut out letters to spell them.

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KARAOKE CELEBRATION Karaoke is the latest rage. Everyone gets a chance to sing her favorite songs, and off-key singing is welcome!

Invitations KARAOKE 1. Write a rough draft of your invitation. 2. Sing the party details, setting the words to an instrumental version of a popular song. 3. Tape-record your karaoke invitation onto a blank cassette. 4. Make a copy for each guest. 5. Mail or hand-deliver in padded envelopes. SHEET MUSIC 1. Write the party details on a blank page of sheet music between the treble and bass staffs. 2. Add musical notes in the staffs to make the words look like song lyrics. For added fun, make the words rhyme. 3. Photocopy the invitation for each guest and mail.

VIDEOS Sing along with ... • The Music Man (G) • Mary Poppins (G) • Hair (PG) • Bye Bye Birdie (G) • Grease (PG)

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• Place a microphone with stand in the center of the stage. • Set up chairs or spread sleeping bags for the audience. • Tape posters of pop stars to the walls. • Provide costume accessories.

What to Bring Ask the singers to wear costumes for their singing debuts.

Decorations KARAOKE STAGE • Make a stage out of a piece of plywood or by spreading a blanket on the floor.

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Games SING-ALONG MARATHON Tape-record the first few bars of ten to twelve popular karaoke songs onto a cassette, one right after the other. Select a singer to come on stage. Tell the singer she must sing along to the music and keep up as it changes from song to song—without help from the lyrics! If the singer makes a mistake or doesn’t keep up, stop the cassette and have someone else try. The player who sings the longest wins a prize.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Cassettes of each singer’s recorded performance • Videotapes of their performances • CD or cassette singles of popular songs • Sheet music of popular songs • Mini-microphones or megaphones

JUST THE WORDS Gather lyrics from a number of popular songs and slowly read them in a mono-

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formance on a separate tape. After everyone performs, play the tapes. When the party is over, let each singer keep the videotape of her performance.

tone voice. The first player to correctly identify the title of the song wins a point. Keep playing until all the lyrics are read. The player with the most points wins a prize.

RAP IT! Divide the group into teams. Place each team in a separate room and have them make up a funny rap. Once all the teams are ready, regroup and have them take turns performing their raps.

SAME OLD SONG, BRAND-NEW LYRICS Select a singer to come on stage. Hand her the lyrics to one song, but play an instrumental version of another song. The singer must try to sing the lyrics to fit the music. Have the players vote who did the best job, and that singer wins a prize.

KARAOKE COSTUMES Buy a white T-shirt for each singer. Have the singers create a group design. Provide fabric paints and pens so the singers can draw the design on their T-shirts. Let the singers wear the T-shirts for a group karaoke song, and videotape the performance.

RAPPIN’ MUSIC Select a singer to come on stage. Give her the lyrics to a popular song. The singer should then rap the words instead of singing them. Have the audience guess the title of the song.

Refreshments

Activities

• Microphone Cones: Scoop chocolate ice cream into sugar cones and top with chocolate sprinkles. • Musical Note sandwiches: Press a drinking glass upside down onto sandwiches, place circle cutouts onto plates, and decorate with carrot and celery sticks to look like musical notes. • Rockin’ Roller: Combine fruit juice and soda, serve with crazy straws, and watch the beverage rock and roll!

WACKY LYRICS Divide the group into teams. Place each team in a separate room with a cassette player and an instrumental version of a popular song. Have the teams make up new lyrics to go with the music—the funnier the lyrics, the better. Once all the teams are ready, regroup and have them take turns singing their made-up tunes. MUSIC VIDEOS As each singer takes a turn singing along to a karaoke song, videotape each per-

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MIDNIGHT MYSTERY There’s nothing mysterious about hosting a Midnight Mystery slumber party when we provide all the clues to the fun!

Invitation RANSOM 1. Write a rough draft of your invitation, such as “We’re holding your party favor for ransom. Here’s how to collect it. . . .” 2. From magazines, cut out the letters you’ll need to spell out the invitation. Or use a ransom-letter font available on some computer programs. 3. Arrange the letter cutouts into words and glue them onto a sheet of paper. (If you don’t want to make a ransom

invitation for each guest, make enough photocopies for the rest of the group, then color the letters different colors.) 4. Mail to the detectives.

What to Bring Ask guests to come dressed as their favorite detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, or Inspector Gadget. Or have them come dressed as assigned characters from the Clue board game, such as Miss Peacock, Mr. Green, or Colonel Mustard.

VIDEOS • Clue (PG) • Haunted Honeymoon (PG) • Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (PG-13) • The Great Mouse Detective (G) • The Man Who Knew Too Little (PG) • Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (PG)

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Decorations

Games

MYSTERY MANSION • Dim the lights for a spooky atmosphere. • Add cobwebs (available at gag-gift shops, costume shops, and party shops—or you can make your own by pulling apart fiberfill, available at fabric stores). • Provide detective props like flashlights, magnifying glasses, fingerprint identification kits, notepads and pencils, secret codes, sunglasses, fake noses, and so on. • Tape keys to the walls. • Set out young-adult mysteries.

WHO AM I? Cut out pictures of famous sleuths, such as Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Inspector Gadget, and so on. Tape a picture onto each player’s back and tell her not to find out who the picture depicts until game time. Give each guest a notepad and pencil and have her question the others about the sleuth on her back. Here’s the catch: She can only ask yes-orno questions. The first player to identify her sleuth wins a prize. Keep playing until each player knows her mystery sleuth.

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EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT Stage a jewelry store robbery, using props such as costume jewelry, price tags, and a store sign. On slips of paper, write various roles appropriate to your staging, such as jewelers, customers, custodian, security officer, and so on. Have a nonguest play the robber dressed in dark clothes, hat, and mask. Keep the robber out of sight until you give the prearranged signal. Have the players act out their roles in the jewelry store: buying and selling jewelry, polishing the displays, keeping an eye on the customers, and so on. After a few minutes, signal the robber to enter the room and cause a commotion, such as knocking over a chair, grabbing some jewels, dropping something, saying something, then fleeing the scene—all in a matter of seconds. After the robbery, have the eyewitnesses get out their notepads. Ask them questions about what they saw during the robbery, such as “What was

the robber wearing?” “What time exactly did the robbery occur?” “What piece of jewelry was stolen?” “What did the robber knock over?” “What did the robber drop?” “What did the robber do first?” “What did the robber say exactly?” After the eyewitnesses write their answers, read them and see how many answers they got right. Award a prize to the eyewitness with the most correct answers. SOMETHING’S MISSING! While the detectives sleep, steal items from the room or from the detectives and hide them in another room. When the detectives discover the thefts, announce in what room the items are hidden and have everyone try to find them!

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Mini flashlights • Magnifying glasses • Mystery books for young adults • Five-Minute Mysteries • Detective kits

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GIANT CLUE Create a giant Clue board using cardboard to make the different rooms. Play a liveaction game of Clue in character!

Recipe MYSTERY CUPCAKES 1. Make cupcake batter from a mix or a favorite recipe. 2. Place a toy inside each cupcake, then bake according to recipe instructions. 3. Frost, then top with gummy footprints. 4. Tell the kids to eat carefully and search for a mystery surprise inside!

Activities MYSTERY MASKS Provide an eye mask for each guest. Set out decorative materials, such as ribbons, feathers, beads, glitter, fabric, construction paper, and so on. Let each guest decorate her mask and model it when finished. Take Polaroid snapshots and have the detectives identify the faces behind the masks.

FINGERPRINTS Get a book about fingerprints from a bookstore or library. Have the guests make fingerprint cards. Have them try to lift fingerprints from a flat surface.

FIVE-MINUTE MYSTERIES Buy some books from the Five-Minute Mystery series. Have the detectives take turns reading the mysteries aloud and trying to solve them. Read the answers and see who came the closest to solving the mysteries.

Refreshments • Mystery Candy Bars: Cut up several different candy bars and place them each into seperate bowls. Have guests taste a piece from each bowl and guess what it is. • Mystery Soup: Serve several types of soups and have the guests guess what they are. • Mystery Snacks: Blindfold the guests, then set a variety of finger-food snacks in front of them. Have them guess the snacks.

CODE-BREAKER Have the detectives make up codes or provide them with codes, such as Morse Code, pig Latin, or others. Have them relay messages to each other using the codes.

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MIRACLE MAKEOVER Spend the night getting a Miracle Makeover and wake up with a brandnew look!

Invitation MAKEUP BAG 1. Buy a clear plastic makeup bag for each guest and fill with fun makeup items, such as glitter nail polish, black lipstick, temporary tattoos, and presson nails. 2. Write the party details on a colorful sheet of paper cut to fit inside the makeup bag. 3. Write a guest’s name on the outside of each bag with puffy paint; allow to dry. 4. Mail or hand-deliver in a padded envelope.

What to Bring Have guests bring their makeup bags filled with their own makeup, mirror, hairbrush, and other makeover accessories.

Decorations

VIDEOS • Clueless (PG-13) • Spice World (PG) • The Beautician and the Beast (PG) • Hairspray (PG)

MIDNIGHT MAKEOVER SALON • Cover card tables with pink fabric. Cut out pictures of famous models and glue them onto the fabric.

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• At each makeover station, set out mirrors, cosmetics, and accessories. • Tape pictures of fashion models, bizarre hairstyles, and made-up faces to the walls. • Play energetic dance music. • Provide lots of good lighting. • Set out style magazines and books on fashion and beauty.

Games BEAUTY SUPPLY SURPRISE Buy or borrow some unusual cosmetics and accessories, such as a pumice stone, nose-hair plucker, hair remover, vanishing cream, blackhead tape, eyelash curler, and so on. Set the items on a table and have the players guess what each item does. Award a point to the player who correctly guesses first. After all the items

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are guessed, award a prize (one of the items) to the player with the most points. Then have the players make up creative ways to use the items.

eyes, noses, mouths, and hair from the other photos. Place the cutouts in piles. Let each guest perform cosmetic surgery by gluing different features onto her celebrity’s face.

COSMETIC SURGERY Gather large photos of celebrities. Set one photo aside for each guest. Cut out the

Activities MAKEOVER MIRACLES Set out cosmetics, accessories, and mirrors. Let the guests give each other makeovers. Take Polaroid snapshots when the makeovers are complete.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Makeup bags • Fancy makeup items • Small mirrors • Framed Polaroid snapshots

MAKEOVER MADNESS Choose a few pictures of famous people, such as movie and rock ’n’ roll stars,

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athletes, and so on. Photocopy enough copies of each picture for each guest. Pass out the copies of the first picture and have the guests use markers to makeover the famous person. Tape the makeover pictures to the walls for a Mad Makeover Gallery and see how different the same person can look!

Recipe MAKEOVER COOKIES 1. Provide a giant cookie for each guest, plus frosting, gels, sprinkles, or other candy decorations. 2. Tell the guests to decorate their cookies with faces using the supplies.

WACKY HAIRSTYLES Pair up guests and have them make over each other’s hair in wacky styles using brushes, combs, clips, scrunchies, hair spray, gel, hair glitter, and so on. Have the guests vote for the wackiest hairstyle and award that stylist a hair-related prize. Be sure to take lots of photos!

pieces together at the top to make a frame that opens like a book. Have the guests decorate their frames with cut-out pictures of movie and rock ’n’ roll stars, beads, buttons, markers, puffy pens, ribbon, glitter, and so on. Provide each guest a Polaroid snapshot taken during the party. Have the guests tape the snapshots onto the insides of their frames. The frames will stand when opened at the bottom.

LOOK, BEAUTICIAN, NO HANDS! Have the guests pair up. Provide one of the pair—the Client—a big T-shirt. Ask her to put on the shirt and keep her arms inside. Have her sit in front of a mirror. Her partner—the Beautician—should sit directly behind her so her shoulders are level with the Client’s shoulders. She must pretend that her arms are the Client’s arms. The Beautician then does the Client’s hair and makeup from behind, using just the mirror as a guide.

Refreshments • Makeover Pizzas: Let guests makeover plain cheese pizzas by adding lots of toppings. • Beauty Shop Sundae: Scoop ice cream into bowls. Add hair and faces using syrups, sprinkles, nuts, whipped cream, and other toppings.

PERSONALIZED PICTURE FRAMES Cut out 2 equal-size pieces of cardboard or poster board for each guest. Cut out a hole the size of a Polaroid snapshot in the center of one of the pieces. Tape the 2

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MUSIC 'N' MAYHEM Pump up the volume! It’s time for some music ’n’ mayhem!

Invitations MUSIC VIDEO 1. Use a video camera to record a close-up of your TV showing the last few seconds of a popular music video. 2. When the next music video begins, zoom out to show the veejay (your child) standing next to the TV, holding a microphone, and inviting the audience to a party filled with music and mayhem.

3. Zoom in to show another popular music video. 4. Buy a blank videotape for each guest and make a copy of the party invitation. 5. Mail or hand-deliver in a padded envelope.

VIDEOS • Music videos of bands like the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and so on • Airheads (PG-13) • Dirty Dancing (PG-13) • Footloose (PG) • A Hard Day’s Night (G) • That Thing You Do! (PG) • Spice World (PG)

MUSIC CDS 1. For each guest, cut a circle the size of a CD from gold construction paper. 2. On one side, write “Music ’n’ Mayhem” with a black marker or puffy paints. 3. On the other side, use a black felt-tip pen to list the party details as if they were the song titles.

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Decorations MUSIC STUDIO • Decorate the party room with lots of colorful helium-filled balloons, each tied with a dangling ribbon. Cut out musical note shapes from differentcolored sheets of poster board and attach each to the free end of a ribbon. Let balloons float to the ceiling. • Hang streamers from the middle of the ceiling to the walls, then let the streamers dangle to the floor. • Tape posters of popular rock groups plus album, CD, and cassette covers to the walls. • Thread string through CDs and hang them from the ceiling. • Rent a big screen TV and play music videos (available from your local video rental store). • Buy inexpensive rock-star T-shirts and hand them out to the guests as they arrive. • Set the table with music-theme paper products. • Make record-album place mats by cutting record-album-size circles from black construction paper. Personalize each with a guest’s name made into a song title, such as “Dancin’ Darcy,” “Jivin’ Jana,” “Rockin’ Robin,” and “Salsa Sue.” • Decorate a cake to look like a giant CD.

4. Tuck the invitation inside the cover of a plastic CD case. 5. Mail or hand-deliver in a padded envelope.

What to Bring Have the guests wear clothes for dancing, or ask them to come dressed as rock stars. Have them bring any music videos they own.

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Games MUSIC TRIVIA ELIMINATION Before the party, buy some music fan magazines. Make up some trivia questions based on the information from the magazines, such as “What are the names of all five Backstreet Boys?” “Where does Britney Spears live?” “How old is Ricky Martin?” and “What is Christina Aguilera’s biggest hit?” At game time, have the players stand in a circle. Give each a notepad and pencil. Read the first trivia question and have everyone write down the answer. Let the players show their answers to each other before you read the correct answer. If a player answered incorrectly, she must sit down. If she answered correctly, she remains standing. Continue reading trivia questions until just one player remains standing. Award that player a prize.

NAME THAT MUSIC VIDEO Video-tape a few seconds of the middle of a music video, then record blank tape for a few more seconds. Repeat until you have taped portions of twenty or thirty music videos. Play the videotape for the players but mute the sound. See how many music videos the players recognize without hearing the music! Have them write the song titles as you play the tape, then replay the tape with the music, and announce the correct song titles. The players receive a point for each correct song title. The player with the most points wins a prize.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Music videos, CDs, or cassettes of popular bands and singers • Rock-star T-shirts • Pop-star posters

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POP STAR Write names of pop stars on seperate index cards and stack them. Divide the players into two teams. Let each team take turns having a different teammate draw a card from the pile and act out the pop star using body language only. Each team must guess the pop star within an allotted amount of time. If the team guesses correctly, it gets a point. If not, the other team gets a chance to guess and then draw its own card. After all the cards have been acted out, the team with the most points gets a prize.

POP-UP MUSIC TRIVIA Collect facts about pop stars from magazines, MTV News, and Pop-Up Videos on VH1. Cut long oval strips from white construction paper, one strip for each fact. Write each fact as a question on a separate strip. Write “Pop-Up” on the back of each strip and number the strips. On a sheet of paper, write the answers and number them to correspond with the number on each strip. Stack the strips facedown. Have the players sit in a circle. Ask one player to pick a Pop-Up strip and try to answer the question correctly. If her answer is incorrect, keep passing the question to the next player until someone answers it correctly. A player gets a point for each right answer. After all the questions have been answered correctly, the player with the most points wins a music video!

Activities MUSIC VIDEO MADNESS Have each guest choose a song from a collection of songs on CDs or cassettes you provide or the guests bring. Play the chosen song and have her sing along in front of a video camera. Video-tape each guest’s music video, then play the performances for the group.

Refreshments

T-SHIRT MAYHEM Give each guest a white T-shirt and let her decorate it with fabric paints, puffy paints, stickers, iron-on decals, and so on. Have the guests model their designs, then have them vote for the most creative T-shirt and award that designer a prize. Video-tape the modeling act and play it for the group.

• Musical Sandwiches: Using cookie cutters, cut sandwiches into the letters MTV or into musical-note shapes. • Shake It Up, Baby! Milkshakes: Serve milkshakes in different flavors. • Pizza Faces: Make English-muffin pizzas topped with pizza fixings to look like faces of favorite musicians.

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NOW YOU'RE COOKIN' At this party, you’ll be cookin’ all night, making and eating snacks!

Invitations COOKIE POP 1. Roll out refrigerated sugar cookie dough and cut out large circles by pressing a drinking glass upside down into the dough. 2. Bake according to package directions. 3. While the cookies bake, write party details on tongue depressors, one for each guest. 4. Remove the cookies from oven and immediately insert a tongue depressor into the side of each cookie to make a cookie pop; let cookies harden.

5. Using frosting, write “Now You’re Cookin’” or draw a funny face on each cookie. 6. Tie each cookie pop with ribbon and hand-deliver. SLUMBER PARTY RECIPE 1. Buy recipe cards or make your own by using colored index cards. 2. For each guest, write the following recipe for a fun slumber party: • Gather ingredients: Friends, pajamas, sleeping bags, and recipes for favorite snacks.

VIDEOS • Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (PG) • The Brave Little Toaster (NR) • Good Burger (PG) • Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (G)

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Decorations CREATIVE KITCHEN • Host the party in the kitchen and dining room. • Create an elegant look—fancy tablecloth, china, silverware, and candles—or a casual, fun look—funny place mats, silly eating utensils, and colorful paper plates. • Cut out pictures of gourmet food and use them as place mats. • Use hollowed-out oranges for drinking glasses, hollowed-out watermelon and coconut shells for bowls, tortillas for plates, and so on. • Set out all the utensils and appliances you’ll need, and tape funny labels to each one, such as “Milkshake Maker” for the blender and “Whirligig” for the eggbeater. • Tape food posters to the walls. • Play a Julia Child videotape. • Hang a row of plain white aprons on the wall, one for each cook to decorate then wear while cooking.

• Combine with music, games, and fun; mix well. • Serve all night long! 3. Tuck each card into a separate envelope along with some tiny hard candies; mail or hand-deliver.

Games

What to Bring

TASTE TEST Choose a variety of foods with interesting textures, such as cheese spread, salsa, chocolate syrup, buttermilk, and creamed corn. Place each food in a separate bowl and cover with foil. Have players pair up and blindfold one player in each pair.

Ask each cook to bring a recipe for a favorite snack and the ingredients to make it. Or have each mail her recipe to you ahead of time, and you buy the ingredients.

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Have the other player feed her partner a taste of each food, who in turn must guess the food she tasted. Award a prize to the pair who gets the most correct answers. Have partners switch blindfolds and play again with new foods to taste.

Activities INDOOR PICNIC Spread a picnic tablecloth on the floor and have a picnic indoors! APRON ART Provide a plain white apron for each guest. Let the guests decorate their aprons with fabric pens, markers, puffy paints, ironon decals, and other decorative items. When the aprons are dry, have the guests wear them while cooking. COOKIE EXCHANGE Ask the guests to bring two dozen of their favorite cookies. Set the cookies on a table. After all the guests—and cookies— arrive, give each guest a plate and let her

choose two dozen cookies from all the selections. Wrap her cookies in cellophane, tie with ribbon, and let her take the treats home. PORCUPINE PAL Cut watermelon, cantaloupe, melons, and bananas into bite-size pieces and place each fruit in a separate bowl. Set out bowls of strawberries, blueberries, mandarin orange slices, and grapes. Cut the bottom off a head of cabbage and set the cabbage on the table. Using toothpicks,

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Cookie Exchange cookies • Fun cooking utensils • Kids’ cookbooks, such as Kids’ Party Cookbook • Decorated aprons

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stick two strawberries on the front of the cabbage to make the porcupine’s eyes, a grape to make the nose, and a mandarin orange slice to make the mouth. Have the guests stick fruits onto long wooden skewers. When skewers are loaded, stick them into the cabbage to make porcupine quills. After the guests admire their new friend, they can gobble him up!

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES Provide a variety of ice cream flavors and large cookies. Let the cooks sandwich a scoop of ice cream between two cookies. Provide bowls of sprinkles and chocolate chips and let the cooks roll the edges of their sandwiches in the treats.

PANCAKE FACES Make pancake batter according to package directions. Let cooks carefully spoon batter onto a skillet and cook the pancakes until brown on both sides; place on a platter. Provide flavored syrups, fruit pieces, and jams. Let the cooks decorate their pancakes to look like faces. Have the cooks guess who the pancakes look like before eating.

• Pink Pucker-Upper: Whirl together a frozen banana, ½ cup fresh strawberries, and ¾ cup pineapple juice in a blender until smooth. • Crepes: Let the cooks follow your favorite recipe for making crepes, with your help if needed. Provide bowls of fillings, such as chopped ham, shredded cheese, steamed mixed vegetables, and scrambled eggs. Let them mix and match the fillings to create their own crepes. For dessert, offer fillings like pudding, ice cream, fruit, flavored cream cheese, chocolate frosting, and powdered sugar. • Brownie Pizza: Make brownie batter according to package directions and pour into a pizza pan. Top with M&Ms, mini marshmallows, nuts, and sprinkles; bake, drizzle with caramel sauce, and cool.

Refreshments

KRISPIE KONCOCTIONS Make a batch of Rice Krispies Treats following the recipe on the cereal box. Let the guests add food coloring, chocolate chips, M&Ms, nuts, or sprinkles to the mixture. Have them shape the mixture into desired shapes. For added fun, have them insert tongue depressors into the sides of the shapes to make Krispie Pops!

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PILLOW PALS Have all the Pillow Pals come share in the slumber fun!

Invitation PAPER DOLL 1. Buy or make paper dolls. 2. Gather photos of all the guests, cut out the outline of each guests’ head, and glue each cutout over the head of a different paper doll. 3. Place the paper dolls in various positions, such as standing, sitting, doing a flip, or lying down, and glue them onto a large sheet of paper. 4. Draw appropriate background details, such as sleeping bags, stuffed animals, and snacks.

5. Draw speech balloons and write in party details. 6. Make a photocopy of the invitation for each guest; mail in large envelopes. VIDEOS • The Great Muppet Caper (G) • The Velveteen Rabbit (G) • Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (G) • Ghostbusters (PG)

What to Bring Ask guests to bring pillows, sleeping bags, stuffed animals, and white pillowcases (or you provide the pillowcases).

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Decorations

Games

PILLOW PAL PARTY • Collect pillows and place them around the room. • Buy fun pillows with funny faces on them or shaped like animals. Set them around the room. • Set a small pillow at each place setting.

PILLOW FIGHT You can’t have a Pillow Pals party without having a pillow fight! Arm each guest with a pillow, remove all breakables from the room, then let the battle begin! To keep control, call a time-out every few minutes so the players can rest.

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PILLOW TAG Clear a large area or move everyone outdoors. Choose one player to be It and give her a pillow. Have her chase the other players and try to tag one of them with the pillow. Whoever gets tagged becomes It. PILLOW WALK Lay pillows a few feet apart across the floor. Have each player try to walk from one side of the room to the other by stepping only on the pillows. PILLOW TOSS On one side of a large appliance box, cut out a hole just a little larger than the fattest pillow. Have the players try to toss their pillows through the hole. PILLOWCASE HOP Remove the pillowcases from the pillows. Have the players step into them and pull them up as high as they will go. Line up the players along one wall and have them

hop to the other side of the room. The first player to reach the other side wins a prize. PILLOW CIRCLE Have everyone stand in a circle. Give one player a pillow and have her quickly toss it to the player next to her. Keep adding pillows at regular intervals. When someone drops a pillow, start the game over. Work toward tossing around all the pillows!

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Pillow Pals • Pillowcases signed with guests’ names • Cartoon pillowcases • Decorative throw pillows • Face Pillows

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FACE PILLOWS Gather photos of each guest. Take them to a copy store and have iron-on transfers made of the faces. Enlarge the photos, if necessary. Let guests iron their faces onto the middle of their pillowcases. Have them draw frames around their faces with permanent markers or puffy paint.

Activities PILLOW PALS Have each guest insert a sheet of cardboard into her white pillowcase and lay the pillowcase on the table. Provide permanent markers, fabric paints, puffy paints, iron-on decals, and other decorative items. Have the guests decorate their pillowcases to look like people or animals. When everyone finishes, have them slip the pillowcases onto their pillows and show off their new pals. Be sure to have them name their Pillow Pals!

MADE-IT-MYSELF PILLOWS Provide silky or velvety fabric for the guests and let them cut out their own pillowcases in any shape they want. Help them sew together the seams, leaving an opening on one side for stuffing. Let them stuff the pillows with polyester fiberfill, sew up the opening, and enjoy their madeit-myself pillows!

PILLOW SIGNING Set a pillowcase for each guest on the table. Have guests sit around the table. Ask each guest to pass her pillowcase to the guest on her left. Have each guest sign her name on the pillowcase in front of her. Have the guests keep passing around the pillowcases until each guest signs every pillowcase.

Refreshments • Pillow People: Connect colored marshmallows with toothpicks to form people shapes. • Omelet Pillows: Pour beaten eggs into muffin tins sprayed with vegetable oil; bake at 350°F until no longer liquid. • Pillow Cake: Bake a rectangular cake, frost, and place marshmallows around the edges. • Pillow Pockets: Stuff pita bread with favorite fillings. • Cotton candy • Hot chocolate topped with marshmallows

BACKPACK PILLOWS Provide a miniature pillow for each guest. Have them decorate their pillows using markers, fabric paints, puffy paints, iron-on decals, and other decorating supplies. Make a small hole in one corner of each pillow and thread a small chain or ribbon. The guests can tie their decorated pillows to their backpacks.

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SCAVENGER HUNT Come for a scavenger hunt and find all sorts of fun, cool goodies!

Invitation SCAVENGER SECRET 1. Make a list of ingredients to make pizza or another snack. 2. For each guest, fold a sheet of lightcolored construction paper in half. 3. On the front of the card, write “Come to a Scavenger Hunt!” 4. Open the card, and on the left side write “Please bring [one of the pizza or snack ingredients] to the Scavenger Hunt.” Ask her not to tell anyone what she is bringing. When each guest arrives with her ingredient, have her stash it in a paper bag. Use a different paper bag for each

guest and label each with the guest’s name. Keep the bags hidden from the guests until it’s time to use them (see Secret Snack on page 81). 5. On the right side, write the party details. 6. Tuck the card into an envelope and mail.

What to Bring

VIDEOS • Mouse Hunt (PG) • Boris Karloff’s The Mummy (PG) • The Goonies (PG)

Have the guests bring their secret ingredients, pajamas, and sleeping bags.

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DiCaprio’s hair, one of the Backstreet Boys, thousand-dollar bill, goat, and copy of next week’s newspaper.

Decorations SCAVENGER COLLECTION ROOM • Make collection boxes: Gather cardboard boxes and decorate them with contact paper or wrapping paper and label each one with a different guest’s name. • Set paper bags on the table for the guests to stash their ingredients. • Write lists of silly items for scavenger hunts and tape them to the walls. You might list things like a picture of the Invisible Man, lock of Leonardo

Games SCAVENGER HUNT Divide the players into two teams and place each team in a separate room. Give each team pencils and a notepad and have each list ten items for the other team to find. Decide beforehand whether the items are to be found in the neighborhood or in the house. Read the lists to make

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SCAVENGER HUNT IN THE DARK Hide items in the yard for the players to find. List on paper what you hid. When it’s dark outside, give a copy of the list and a flashlight to each player, and let them hunt in the dark!

sure the items are appropriate. Give each team its scavenger hunt list and a bag for the loot. Tell the teams how much time they have to hunt, then set them hunting! When time is up, count the items each team found. The team with the most items from its list wins a prize.

THEME SCAVENGER HUNT Divide the players into teams. Give each team a theme for its scavenger hunt, such as pizza-making ingredients, complete outfit, first-aid kit, furniture for a doll house, and so on. Allow the teams a certain amount of time to find at least ten items fitting their theme. When time is up, see if the items each team collected fit the assigned themes. Award a prize to the team with the most fitting items.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Decorative bags • Ingredients for a cookie recipe • Pads of paper • Mini flashlights

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MAGAZINE SCAVENGER HUNT For each player, give a copy of the same list of items likely to be found in a teen magazine, such as a photo of a movie star, instructions for a craft or a makeover, picture of a new hairstyle, or ads for beauty products, underwear, snack foods, music, or upcoming movies. Give each player paper, scissors, and a different teen magazine. At the word “Go!” have the players quickly search through the magazines and cut out the items on their lists. When time is up, see which player cut out the most correct items. Award a prize to that player.

Refreshments • Scavenger Snacks: Hide packages of trail-mix items around the room and have guests hunt for them. When everything is collected, make Scavenger Snack Trail Mix. • Secret Snack: Set out the paper bags containing the guests’ ingredients on the table. Have the guests take turns revealing their secret ingredients to the others. Have the guests guess what snack the ingredients make. Then let the guests prepare the snack. • Bottles of juice to drink while on the scavenger hunts

SCAVENGER ADVENTURE Have the guests collect three unusual items from designated rooms in the house or from the yard. When everyone finds their items, have them sit in a circle and set the items in the middle. Each guest must take a turn creating a silly story incorporating their collected items.

Activities SCAVENGER BAGS AND BOXES Give each hunter a plain paper bag, small cardboard box, or shoe box. Set out decorating materials like construction paper, paints, glitter, markers, colored pencils, glue, scissors, tape, and so on. Have the guests decorate their bags or boxes and use them to collect the scavenger hunt items during game time.

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SECRET SEANCE A Secret Séance party is the perfect way to find out what the future may bring!

Invitations CRYSTAL BALL 1. For each guest, fold a sheet of white construction paper in half. 2. Draw a circle, leaving off a 2-inch segment where the fold is. 3. Cut out the circle, leaving the fold uncut; this makes a round card that opens at the top. 4. On the outside of the card, write “Come and Find Out Your Future . . .” 5. Write the party details inside the card; mail.

TAROT CARDS 1. Buy or make tarot cards, three cards for each guest. 2. Write party details on the cards using fortune-telling phrases, such as “I see lots of fun in your future at the Secret Séance party on Friday night.” 3. Tuck the cards in an envelope and mail.

VIDEOS • Ghost (PG-13) • The Addams Family (PG-13) • Ernest Scared Stupid (PG) • Ghostbusters (PG)

What to Bring Have guests wear gypsy costumes and have them bring fortune-telling games, tarot cards, and so on.

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• Set a crystal ball (available at toy and magic shops) in the middle of the table. Or make one by setting a small fishbowl upside down on a plate. • For a mysterious atmosphere, set bowls of dry ice around the room. • Using glow-in-the-dark paper, cut out eyes, skeletons, and faces and tape them to the walls, drapes, ceiling, and séance table. • Draw outlines of your hand, cut them out, and draw lines on them for detail. Tape them to the walls or to the table. • Play spooky music, such as songs from Drew’s Famous Halloween Party Music.

Games MAKE A FORTUNE Divide the guests into two teams and place each team in a separate room. Have each team make up silly fortunes for the other team, such as “You will marry Prince William,” “You will become a famous rapper,” or “You will live on a houseboat.” Have them write the fortunes on slips of paper, roll the slips, insert them into balloons, inflate the balloons, and tie them off. Regroup and have one team place its balloons on one side of the room and the other team place its balloons on the opposite side. Have members of each team take turns choosing a balloon from the other team’s side, popping the balloon, and reading the fortune inside.

Decorations SÉANCE SITTING ROOM • Hang streamers from the center of the ceiling to each wall, letting the streamers hang down the walls. • Use colored light bulbs in lamps. • Place a table in the center of the room and cover with a red, black, or decorated tablecloth. • Place a chair for each guest at the table. Make place markers from tarot cards.

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Activities

MIND READER Choose one player to be the Mind Reader. Ask the Mind Reader to leave the room and secretly give her a note that reads “After I point to something blue, the next item will be the selected item.” Have a player select an item in the room, then ask the Mind Reader to return. Tell the group the Mind Reader will identify the selected item when you point to it. As you point to nonblue items, the Mind Reader should shake her head. Then point to a blue item, which will alert the Mind Reader that the next item is the selected item. Point to the selected item. The Mind Reader should nod and exclaim, “That’s it!” to the amazement of the group. Keep playing until someone figures out the trick.

WHAT’S MY FUTURE? Have an adult pose as the Fortuneteller and wear a gypsy costume, lots of jewelry, scarves, and makeup. Seat the Fortuneteller at a small table in another room, with another chair facing the table. Let the guests take turns having their palms, tarot cards, or crystal-ball fortunes read. SURPRISE SÉANCE Have everyone sit at the séance table and join hands. Turn off the lights. Have surprise guests stand behind a curtain or doorway and hint who they are in weird voices. You might include an older sister, a friend who’s moved away, a grandparent, a teacher, a scout leader, one of the guest’s parents, and so on. After each surprise guest has spoken to the group, turn on the lights and reveal his or her identity. SCARY TREASURE HUNT Hide a number of scary items around the room, such as a rubber hand, plastic eyeball, ball of slime, toy snake, and so on. Turn off the lights and have the kids try to find the scary items in the dark!

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Ghost Pops: Cover lollipops with white tissues, secure with black ribbon, dot eyes on with black felttip pen. • Glow-in-the-dark T-shirts • Tarot cards • Magic tricks

GHOST STORIES Have everyone sit at the séance table. Ask each guest to tell a ghost story. Or have the guests join hands and ask one guest

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to begin a ghost story. After a few sentences, the storyteller stops and squeezes the hand of the guest on her left. That guest must continue with the story. Let everyone have a turn adding to the story. The guest who started the story concludes it. Variation: Have the storyteller hold a flashlight under her chin while telling the story. When it’s time to move to the next guest, the storyteller shines the light on someone else’s face, who must then take the flashlight and continue the story.

Recipe CHOCOLATE SPIDERS 1. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat. 2. Mix in 1 cup crispy rice cereal and 1 cup shredded coconut. 3. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture onto wax paper to make spider bodies. 4. In a separate saucepan, melt 1 cup chocolate chips. 5. Stir in 1 cup chow mein noodles; let cool. 6. Carefully pick out chocolate-covered noodles and stick to bodies to make legs. 7. Add dots of orange icing for eyes.

SPOOKY FACES Provide white makeup and face paints and have guests design scary faces on one another. Award a prize to the designer of the scariest face! GLOWING T-SHIRTS Buy a dark T-shirt for each guest (or ask each to bring one). Buy glow-in-the-dark paints and markers. Let the guests draw monster faces, skeletons, or other scary designs on the T-shirts. Then have them put on the T-shirts, turn out the lights, and watch the spooky images glow.

Refreshments • Ice Scream Sandwiches: Have guests spread favorite ice cream flavors between large cookies. • Ghostly Guzzler: Combine 1 cup milk and 1 banana in a blender and whirl until foamy; pour into a glass and serve with a straw. • Message-from-Beyond Sandwich: Write messages on bread slices using a toothpick and milk. Have guests toast their bread first and read the mysterious messages on the slices.

ASTROLOGICAL CHARTS Have someone come and cast everyone’s astrological charts. Or provide large sheets of paper, markers, star stickers, and other decorative items and have the guests cast their own charts using books as guides.

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SILLY OLYMPICS The Silly Olympics are always held during slumber parties! Let the games begin!

Invitation MEDALLION NECKLACE 1. For each guest, cut out a pair of orange-size circles from white poster board. 2. Buy red-white-and-blue ribbon, and cut a length 12 to 15 inches long. 3. Loop the ribbon and glue ends onto one of the circles. 4. Glue a length of red-white-and-blue rickrack or narrow, gathered ribbon to the edge of the same circle, leaving some to stick out all around. 5. Glue the other circle on top, flush with bottom circle.

6. Write a guest’s name on the medallion in fancy 3D lettering. 7. Decorate using red and blue pens but leave some areas white. 8. Write the party details on the back of the medallion; mail in a large envelope.

What to Bring Ask the guests to bring their medallions and wear sweatsuits or shorts and Tshirts. Greet guests with red-white-andblue forehead and wrist sweatbands and give them scrunchies for their hair.

VIDEOS • Air Bud (PG) • The Bad News Bears (PG) • Happy Gilmore (PG-13) • The Karate Kid (PG) • The Mighty Ducks (PG)

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Decorations

Games

SILLY OLYMPICS STADIUM • Make a welcome sign that reads “Silly Olympics Stadium” and the date. • Tape American flags or flags from other countries to the walls. • Drape red, white, and blue streamers from the center of the ceiling to the walls. • Tape posters of Olympic athletes to the walls. • On a table, set bottled water, power drinks, power snacks, Ben-Gay, BandAids, wrist wraps, ice packs, and so on. • Play marching band music.

SLEEPING BAG RACES Have the players step into their sleeping bags and line up along one wall. At the word “Go!” have them hop across the room. If a player falls, she has to return to the starting line and start over. Change the races so the players must hop backward, hop sideways, roll sideways, or inchworm on their tummies—all inside their sleeping bags!

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prize for the fastest course completion. For added fun, have the players set up their own courses for each other.

SLEEPING BAG OBSTACLE COURSE Set up an obstacle course throughout the room. For example, stack pillows, line up chairs, set out a table, lay a plank across two sawhorses, and so on. Have the players get inside their sleeping bags and take turns maneuvering through the course. Time each player and present a

SLEEPING BAG SECRET Spread the sleeping bags on the floor. Choose one player to be It. Have her leave the room. Have each player get inside a sleeping bag other than her own and cover up completely except for one body part. Have It return to the room and guess who is in each sleeping bag just by looking at the exposed body part. Let each guest take a turn being It.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Flag pillowcases • Power snacks • Sweatbands • Olympic flags and medallions • Chocolate medals wrapped in gold foil • Pocket games

STUFF THE SLEEPING BAG Divide the group into two teams. Give each team a sleeping bag. See how many teammates each team can fit inside its sleeping bag!

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SLEEPING BAG STASH For each player, provide a different large object, such as a pillow, shoe box, stuffed animal, brick, rolled-up newspaper, pair of shoes, and so on. Have the players leave the room, and hide an item inside each sleeping bag. Have the players return to their sleeping bags. At the word “Go!” have them feel the outside of their sleeping bags and try to guess what’s inside. The first player to identify her item wins a prize—maybe what’s inside the bag!

WINNING MEDALS Set out white poster board, markers, glitter, sequins, trim, ribbons, and so on. Have the guests make their own medallions for the games. If you prefer, award a medallion for each guest for every event, a blue one for the first-place winner, a red one for the second-place winner, and white ones for everyone else. SLEEPOVER AWARDS In the morning, award medallions for Best Laugh, Loudest Snorer, Floor-Space Hog, Longest Awake, Earliest to Fall Asleep, First Up, and so on.

SLEEPING BAG SURPRISE! Select one player and have the others leave the room. The player must hide an alarm clock inside one of the sleeping bags and set it to go off in one minute. When the players return, they have sixty seconds to find the alarm clock just by listening for the ticking! Repeat until everyone has a turn hiding the alarm clock.

Refreshments • Bowls of vanilla ice cream covered with sliced strawberries and blueberries and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. • Baked potato bar: Offer baked potatoes with bowls of toppings, such as margarine, sour cream, grated cheese, bacon bits, broccoli, peas, chili, spaghetti sauce, and so on. • Power snacks • Power drinks

Activities SILLY OLYMPICS FLAGS Give each guest a white pillowcase. Set out materials for decorating the pillowcases, such as permanent markers, fabric paints, puffy paints, iron-on decals, and so on. Have the guests design their own Silly Olympics Flags.

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SIXTIES HIPPIE PARTY Put on a tie-dyed T-shirt and pair of bellbottoms for a trip back to the sixties!

Invitation TIE-DYED FLOWER 1. Buy large round coffee filters and a variety of food colorings. 2. Dot different colors of food coloring on a coffee filter; the colors will spread and overlap. Allow to dry. 3. Write party details on the filter. 4. Twist the center of the filter into a stem and wrap a pipe cleaner around it. 5. Fluff the filter’s edges to make petals. 6. Mail in an envelope decorated with happy face, peace symbol, and flower stickers.

What to Bring Ask the guests to wear bell-bottoms, tiedyed T-shirts, beads, flower necklaces, long-haired wigs, hats, sandals, and so on. Provide accessories from a thrift store (or from your closet!). Ask each guest to bring a white or pale-colored pillowcase, or provide one for each of them.

VIDEOS • Hair (PG) • A Hard Day’s Night (NR) • Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (PG-13)

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• Tape peace symbols and sixties posters to the walls. • Play sixties music. • Burn incense. • Light lots of candles and place them all around the room.

Decorations HIPPIE HOUSE • Set out lava lamps. • String colored lights around the room. • Use colored light bulbs. • Fill vases, flowerpots, jars, mugs, and so on with big paper flowers.

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Games DANCE CONTEST Gather CDs or cassettes of sixties dance music. Teach the players some dances from that era, such as the Stomp, the Swim, and the Mashed Potato. Hold dance contests to see which players can dance each dance the best and award prizes to those players.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Tie-dyed pillowcases or T-shirts • Headbands • Flower crowns • Bead necklaces • Sixties music, such as the Beatles or the Monkees • Candles

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BRAID CONTEST Buy long-haired wigs at a thrift store. Have the players pair up. Ask one player to wear a wig and be the Model and the other to be the Hairdresser. Have the Hairdressers braid the wig hair into creative styles. Award a prize to the pair with the grooviest hairstyle.

TIE-DYED PILLOWCASES Buy dyes and prepare them according to package directions. Have guests tie knots in their white or pale-colored pillowcases and dip the knots in the dyes. Have them untie the knots, tie new ones, and dip the new knots in different colors. When everyone is finished dyeing, have them untie all the knots, and dry the pillowcases. Let the guests show off the results!

NAME THAT TUNE Play songs from the sixties and have the players guess the titles of the songs and their artists. The player who first guesses correctly gets a point. Award a prize to the player with the most points. For added fun, make it an All-Beatles or an AllMonkees Name That Tune contest!

HIPPIE NECKLACES Buy needles, thread, and a variety of colorful beads at a toy, craft, or bead store. Let the guests make creative bead necklaces.

Refreshments

Activities

• Rainbow Popsicles • Vegetarian pizza • Brownies • Fruity herbal teas • Vegetable or fruit juices

FACE PAINTING Buy face paints from a toy or craft store. Let the guests paint flowers and peace symbols on each other’s faces. Award a prize for the most creative face. FLOWER CROWNS Collect lots of real or artificial flowers. Buy a large needle for each guest and strong thread. Let the guests string the flowers together with the thread to make flower crowns. Have them wear the crowns the rest of the night.

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SORCERER'S MAGIC PARTY With a few simple tricks, watch magic appear right before the guests’ very eyes!

Invitation INVISIBLE MESSAGE 1. Buy a set of color-changeable markers that includes an invisible-ink pen. Buy a decoder pen for each guest. 2. For each guest, draw a border of magic symbols, such as stars, question marks, or magic wands, along the edges of a sheet of white paper. Leave the center of the sheet blank. 3. Use an invisible-ink pen to write the party details inside the border. 4. Wrap a note around a decoder pen instructing the guest to “color” the middle

of the paper with the pen to reveal a magical message. 5. Mail in a large envelope—don’t forget to include the decoder pen!

What to Bring Ask each guest to prepare a magic trick to perform at the party.

VIDEOS • Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (PG) • Aladdin (G) • The Dark Crystal (PG) • Fantasia (G) • Hocus Pocus (PG)

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• Using double-sided tape, stick playing cards on the walls. • Cover the table with a white sheet decorated with playing cards. • Use a stuffed bunny in a magician’s hat as a centerpiece.

Decorations SORCERER’S STAGE • Cut out question-mark shapes from white construction paper and paint them with glow-in-the-dark paint. Tape the question marks all over the ceiling and walls. • Create a performance area by stringing rope from one wall to the opposite wall. Decorate a sheet with magic symbols or quotations from the Magic 8-Ball and hang the sheet over the rope to make a curtain.

Games PSYCHIC HOTLINE Before the party, ask a guest’s parent to be the Psychic, and explain to him or her the following trick: At game time, ask one guest to pick one playing card from a deck.

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Ask the guest to lay the card faceup on the table. Tell the guests you are going to call the Psychic Hotline and the Psychic will guess the chosen card. Call the Psychic, and when he or she answers, follow this script:

When the Psychic hears this, he or she counts from one to thirteen. You must interrupt when the Psychic reaches the number of the chosen card and say, “Is the Psychic there?” The Psychic then knows the number of the chosen card. Now the Psychic recites the suits. You interrupt again when the Psychic says the correct suit and say, “Could you guess the card my guest selected?” Then hold the phone out to the guests and have the Psychic loudly announce the chosen card to the amazement of all. Place a new call each time a player picks a card.

Psychic: “Hello?” You: “This is [your name].”

DISAPPEARING SORCERER Choose one guest to be the Sorcerer. Turn off the lights and have everyone close their eyes. The Sorcerer should hide somewhere in the house. Leaving the lights off, give each guest a flashlight to try to find the Sorcerer and make her reappear.

FAVORS AND PRIZES • Decks of playing cards or tarot cards • Simple magic tricks, such as the Coin Changer, the Finger Trap, or the Disappearing Coin • Books about magic tricks

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Activities

Recipe DECK OF SANDWICHES 1. Make sandwiches with white bread and favorite fillings and spreads; cut off crusts. 2. Cut each sandwich into 2 rectangles. 3. Press crackers shaped like hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs (available at gourmet stores, party stores, and some grocery stores) in the center of the top slice of each sandwich.

MAGIC SHOW Have the guests perform the tricks they brought from home in a Slumber Party Magic Show. Provide capes, top hats, magic wands, and other appropriate costume accessories and props. When each guest finishes, have her reveal the secret of the trick. Teach the guests a few magic tricks you know (or learned before the party). Get some books on magic tricks and provide the necessary props to perform some selected tricks. Then let the group make more magic! Each magician should master at least one new trick.

Refreshments

SORCERER’S SECRET STUFF Mix 2 cups of white glue and 1 ½ cups water in a large bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring. In a separate container, dissolve 2 teaspoons of Borax in 2/3 cup warm water; mix well. Combine the Borax solution with the glue solution. The mixture will turn into something like Silly Putty and Slime.

• Magic Potion: Pour lemon-lime soda into individual glasses and tint each glass with a different food coloring.

GLOWING CAPES Give each guest a large square of white fabric big enough to use as a cape. Provide glow-in-the-dark paints or markers. Let the guests decorate their capes. Then turn off the lights and have everyone creep around in their glowing capes!

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TV TALENT SHOW Showcase your guests’ talents with a latenight TV talent show!

Invitation TV MARQUEE 1. Cut out a large rectangle from a sheet of white paper and frame it with black paper to make a TV. 2. Write a headline at the top of the screen that reads “TV Talent Show.” 3. Cut out outlines of each guest from photos and glue the cutouts onto the screen. 4. Cut out star shapes from construction paper and glue them onto the screen,

VIDEOS • The Addams Family (PG-13) • The Brady Bunch Movie (PG-13) • Lost in Space (PG-13) • Pleasantville (PG-13) • The Beverly Hillbillies (PG) • Mission: Impossible (PG-13) • My Favorite Martian (PG) • The Flintstones (PG)

framing each cutout. Or draw stars using markers. 5. Write each guest’s name underneath her cutout’s frame of stars. 6. Write party details at the bottom of the screen using movie-poster format, such as “A Warner-Lansky Production Debuts Saturday at Midnight!” 7. Make a photocopy of the invitation for each guest, roll up and insert into mailing tubes, then mail.

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What to Bring

Decorations

Ask each guest to prepare a favorite song to lip-sync, a poem to recite, or a comedy routine to perform. Have her bring any costume accessories or props she’ll need for her performance.

TV STUDIO • Hang a white sheet as a backdrop. • Provide large cardboard boxes and let the guests create props for the show. • When the guests arrive, have them draw and cut out outlines of their hands and feet on paper, then have them sign the cutouts and tape them to the walls. • Set star place mats around the table, and use several small trophies as a centerpiece.

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Games TV TALK Before the party, tape-record a few seconds of a dozen TV shows while the char-

FAVORS AND PRIZES • TV bloopers and outtakes videos • Entertainment magazines • TV-logo T-shirts or mugs • Big tins of popcorn • Copy of Let’s Put on a Show! videotape

acters are talking. At party time, play the tape and have the players guess what shows are featured by hearing the characters talk. TV CHARADES Divide the players into two teams. Give each team a notepad and pencils. Have each teammate write the title of a TV show on a sheet of notepad paper. Fold each teammate’s paper and place in separate containers, one for each team. Have the teams sit on opposite sides of the room. Have a player from one team draw a paper from the other team’s container and act out the title of the TV show for her team to guess within one minute.

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Time how long each team takes to guess the title. Alternate players from each team until all the titles are guessed. Add up the guessing time for each team and award a prize to the team that took the least time to guess.

Recipe TV POPCORN CAKE 1. Make 6 cups popped popcorn. 2. Pour popcorn in a bowl and add a 6ounce bag of M&Ms. 3. Melt 2 cups marshmallows with 3 tablespoons margarine in a saucepan. 4. Pour melted mixture over popcorn. 5. Press into a buttered rectangular pan. 6. Use frosting to draw a TV on the popcorn mixture. 7. Cool and serve.

Activities LET’S PUT ON A SHOW! Divide the guests into two groups and put each group in a separate room. Tell each group it must create its own show—such as a mystery, comedy, or soap opera—to perform for the other group. Provide each team with notepads for brainstorming ideas and making storyboards. Give each props and costumes to use for its production. Let each create its own set out of cardboard and crepe paper. When the shows are ready, regroup and have each team perform its show. Video-tape the shows, then watch the tapes for an encore.

Refreshments • TV dinners served on TV trays

Recipe

MINI SHOW Have one guest lie faceup on a bed or couch with her head hanging off the end. Tie a scarf over the top half of her face so only her mouth and chin show. Use eyeliner to draw two eyes on her chin; add a mustache or lipstick. Have her act out a goofy skit with her new face. Video-tape the performance and play it for everyone.

TV PIZZAS 1. Divide refrigerated pizza dough into sections, one for each guest. 2. Have the guests make square pizzas with the dough and cover with pizza sauce. 3. Have them spell out titles of TV shows with toppings.

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