Happy Birthday Dear Crispian (Cha-Cha-Cha)
Sunday afternoon, after the Steelers debacle that is also called a football game, my sister hosted a bunch of Crispian's friends and their families to celebrate Crispian's 8th birthday. The party was held at one of the playgrounds at Frick Park. When we asked Crispian what kind of decorations he wanted for his party, we were surprised when he said he wanted a Chinese theme. A Chinese theme? What a surprise. So we tried to go to town with the Chinese New Year decorations. Red and gold table cloths, paper lanterns, and a big paper dragon. Unfortunately the wind was pretty strong, so nothing stayed hung up for very long. But, hey, beats the rain that had been in the forecast.
One of the activities we did was popular with the girls and the younger siblings of the second graders. We made Chinese lanterns. If you follow that link I would recommend using construction paper instead of newsprint as directed. In my practice run on Saturday my newsprint lanterns didn't turn out at all. Cheap construction paper is the way to go. While the paint and glue dried, some of the kids hung theirs in a tree.
For most of the party the kids played on the playground. Most of the boys were in the field playing football. Among Crispian's classmates, there are a core group of boys that take football Very Seriously and play it at every available opportunity, like recess or after school. It would have been futile to plan any other activity for this party. They just wanted to play football.
For party favors for the kids, we filled take-out containers with red and gold M&M's and then gave them plastic chopsticks and some glowsticks. For two kids at the party with nut allergies we used Red and Gold Swedish Fish. I briefly considered getting small fireworks, too. You know, in keeping with the Chinese New Year theme, but then I came to my senses.
By the way, if anyone else wants to do this, please let me know. We had to buy the containers by the case, so now we have 360 8-ounce take-out boxes left.
One thing I wish we had done is hired someone to write the kids' names in Chinese, like a local college student. But maybe that would have put this over-the-top. Well, that and fireworks.
One of the activities we did was popular with the girls and the younger siblings of the second graders. We made Chinese lanterns. If you follow that link I would recommend using construction paper instead of newsprint as directed. In my practice run on Saturday my newsprint lanterns didn't turn out at all. Cheap construction paper is the way to go. While the paint and glue dried, some of the kids hung theirs in a tree.
For most of the party the kids played on the playground. Most of the boys were in the field playing football. Among Crispian's classmates, there are a core group of boys that take football Very Seriously and play it at every available opportunity, like recess or after school. It would have been futile to plan any other activity for this party. They just wanted to play football.
For party favors for the kids, we filled take-out containers with red and gold M&M's and then gave them plastic chopsticks and some glowsticks. For two kids at the party with nut allergies we used Red and Gold Swedish Fish. I briefly considered getting small fireworks, too. You know, in keeping with the Chinese New Year theme, but then I came to my senses.
By the way, if anyone else wants to do this, please let me know. We had to buy the containers by the case, so now we have 360 8-ounce take-out boxes left.
One thing I wish we had done is hired someone to write the kids' names in Chinese, like a local college student. But maybe that would have put this over-the-top. Well, that and fireworks.
Comments
rc
Can you?
rc