Party Tips - Have you booked Jonathon T. Wizard yet? Call 519-944-9424. 1. Mail invitations two weeks before the party date. 2. Plan a safe, comfortable place for the party where the children can have fun, but will not hurt themselves or your home. If planning an outdoor party, have a backup plan in case of bad weather. 3. Limit the party time to about two hours or so, for children under six years of age. Up to three hours is fine for older children. 4. Prepare more activities than you plan to use in advance. Activities often take less time than planned and you may want to keep the children busy. 5. Include the birthday child in preparations as often as possible. Let him or her stuff the party favor bags, make suggestions for games, help with the decorations, set the table, and mail the invitations - even if that only means putting them in the mailbox. Fun Activities Dress Up? Make this a costume party by inviting your guests to come dressed as magicians, wizards or fortune tellers! Have extra clothes or accessories, to offer to those who come without costumes. Be sure to take photos for intriguing party favors! The Magic Package This game takes advance preparation, but it's lots of fun to play. Before the party, find a small gift for each child, as well as varying sizes of paper or newspaper comics that you will use for wrapping. Wrap the best gift, the Magic Prize, first, with special gift wrap and then wrap it with a new prize, and wrap again, and again, continueing this process until you have wrapped enough gifts for each guest to unwrap one layer of paper to find a special gift for them- selves. At the party, seat your guests in a circle. Play some magical music and tell the children to pass the magic package around the circle as quickly as possible. When you stop the music, the lucky player holding the package must say "Abra Ca Dabra" before they are allowed to unwrap it. (Don't tell the kids there are other packages inside). Once a child has unwrapped the outer layer and found their gift, they must leave the circle with their gift. Start the music again and continue playing until each child has unwrapped a gift in the magic package. The child to open the last package wins the Magic Prize! The Magic Penny Pick 5 pennies with different dates and place them in a 'magic' hat. Ask one of your guests to pick a penny and look at the date, without telling what it is. Pass the penny around so everyone knows the chosen date. Quickly put the penny back into the hat and shake up the pennies. Let your "Penny Magician" (birthday child) reach into the hat and pull out the chosen penny. The Penny Magician will know which penny was chosen because copper absorbs heat, making the penny that everyone has handled warmer than the rest. Once everyone learns the secret penny magic, let each child take a turn being the Penny Magician. Hat Trick Set a 'magic' hat in the middle of a large room and tell the children to form a circle around it. Pass out an equal number of playing cards to each guest who take turns tossing the cards into the hat. (Adjust distance to match the skill and patience level of your guests.) Any player who gets a card in the hat gets to continue tossing until they miss. The player who tosses the most cards into the hat gets to start the next round. Magic Jelly Bean Bag Before the party, fill a zip-lock bag with coloured jelly beans. (Remember to count the jelly beans before putting them in the bag.) During the party, write down each child's guess of how many beans they think are in the bag. Later in the party, gather everyone together, announce the actual number of jelly beans in the bag. The child with the most accurate guess wins the bag of magic jelly beans! Card Memory Take a deck of cards, or animal cards or flash number/alphabet cards and shuffle them well. Lay them face down on the floor or a large table. Each player takes a turn flipping two cards over. If they don't match, the player turns them back over and another player takes a turn. If they do match, the player keeps them and continues flipping until they are unable to make a match. The object of this game is to find as many matches as you can. Sneaky Magician Only a sneaky magician can outwit a gang of thieves! Choose a child to be the Sneaky Magician, seat them in a chair, and blindfold them. Place a special magical item beneath the chair, (top hat, deck of cards, magic eight ball, etc.) which the Magician must protect from the thieves. Only one thief may try to steal from the Magician at any given time. Since the Magician is blindfolded he/she must listen closely for the thief and touch them with their hands or feet before they steal the magical item. A thief who is caught becomes the next Magician. If the Magician does not catch the thief, the magical item is replaced under the chair so another thief can try. Delectable Treats Magic Playing Card Treats Make your celebrations even more fun and easy with home-baked treats from Pillsbury®, a favorite brand of baking mixes. Ingredients (Makes 8 Treats) 8 (4section) graham crackers 1 1/4 cups Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting 10 drops red food color 1/4 cup Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Chocolate Fudge Frosting Directions 1. Remove 1 section from each graham cracker; reserve single sections for another use. Frost graham crackers with 1 cup of the vanilla frosting. 2. Place remaining 1/4 cup vanilla frosting in small resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Add red food color; squeeze bag until well blended. Cut off 1 bottom corner of bag to form small hole. Squeeze bag to pipe frosting onto 4 graham crackers in heart and diamond patterns. 3. Place chocolate frosting in another small resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Cut off 1 bottom corner of bag to form small hole. Squeeze bag to pipe frosting onto remaining 4 graham crackers in club and spade patterns. Queen of Tarts Purchase frozen pastry dough at your grocery store. Roll onto a lightly floured surface, cut into 3" circles, and press into tart pans. Chill while preparing filling. To make the filling, beat 3 eggs and blend in 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup chopped scallions, 1/2 teaspoon onion salt, a dash of nutmeg, and 1 1/4 cups grated Swiss cheese. Spoon filling into tart shells. Cut tiny heart shapes out of whole pimentos. Place one on each tart. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until puffy and golden. Serve warm. Magic Wands Make your celebrations even more fun and easy with home-baked treats from Pillsbury®, a favorite brand of baking mixes. Ingredients (Makes 16 Wands) 1 cup Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Chocolate Fudge Frosting 1 cup chocolate candy sprinkles 16 pretzel rods 1/4 cup Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting Directions 1. Line cookie sheet with foil. Place chocolate frosting in microwavesafe 13x9inch (3quart) glass baking dish. Microwave on HIGH for 10 to 15 seconds or until melted; stir until smooth. Place candy sprinkles in shallow dish. 2. Dip each pretzel rod in melted frosting, turning to coat completely. Roll in candy sprinkles; place on foillined cookie sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until frosting is set. 3. Place sheet of foil on work surface. Place vanilla frosting in small microwavesafe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 10 to 15 seconds or until softened. Dip 1 inch of each coated pretzel in vanilla frosting; place wands on foil. Let stand about 4 hours or until frosting is set. Magic Rainbow Punch Create a drink that's as much fun to make as it is to drink. Freeze several of your child's favorite Kool-Aid® flavors (berry, orange, lemon, lime, blue raspberry, grape, etc.) in ice cube trays. Fill trays half-full so more colored cubes will fit in each glass. When it's time to serve, place ice cubes in a large bowl and let each child fill their glass (tall clear cups work the best). Pour clear soda or juice over the colored cubes. Your guests will love watching as it turns into Magic Rainbow Punch. Fantastic No-Bake Cake Your guests are sure to be intrigued when you tell them this cake was "baked" in the freezer! You will need: 24 chocolate chip cookies, 3/4 cup quick oats, 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1/2 gallon ice cream or frozen yogurt (one or two flavors), and your child's favorite candies for decoration.First, place the ice cream in the refrigerator to soften. Meanwhile, put 16 cookies in a plastic bag and crush well with a rolling pin. Put crushed cookies in a bowl, add 1/2 cup quick oats, and stir in 1/4 melted butter. Press mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Scoop out half the softened ice cream and spread evenly over the crust. Crush the remaining cookies, and combine with the remaining quick oats and melted butter. Spread mixture over the first layer of ice cream. Then, add the second layer of ice cream and decorate as desired. Freeze until party time. Adapt this cake to your party theme by making a magician's top hat out of black construction paper, leaving the top piece off. Make sure the hat's diameter is larger than the cake, so it fits around it without touching. Before serving, place the hat over the cake, with the brim up, as if you will be pulling the cake out of the hat. (This also allows you to light the birthday candles.) Tap the hat with a magic wand, and say "Abra Ca Dabra!" before lifting the hat off the cake. For extra fun, place a magic rabbit ice cream ball (recipe below) on top! Magic Rabbit Ice Cream Balls Make a large ice cream ball for each of your guests. Roll each ball in coconut flakes and set it on a flattened cupcake wrapper. Use black jelly beans for the rabbit's eyes, and a red jelly bean for its nose. Use halved sugar cookies to make the rabbit's "ears." Store them in the freezer until ready to serve. These treats are sure to disappear fast! Decorating Tips Spread your tablecover on your party table. If your child has any theme-related toys, you can add them to the table for a more festive display. Cut several one-to-two-foot-long pieces of curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon by pulling it between your thumb and the blade of your scissors. Lay the resulting curls on your table for added color. Hang balloons in bunches for the best effect. If you choose to fill balloons with helium, wait until the party day to ensure they float well! Use balloons to mark the party spot; hang them on the mailbox, near the front door, tie them to the birthday child's chair to mark the seat of honor. Place balloons anywhere that strikes your fancy. The more the better! Gather six or eight streamers and attach them to the ceiling in the center of the party room (or over the table). Use a light fixture over the table, if you have one, as the center point for the streamers. To create colorful two-tone streamers, put two differently colored streamers back-to-back, twist as you walk them to the wall, and attach at shoulder height. Smile for the Camera! Be sure to take lots of pictures. You and your child will want to remember this special party. Polaroid pictures work well as party favors because they capture the fun instantly. A helpful hint when using regular film: Order extra prints and send them to the parents afterward. Remember, it's not necessary to have everyone in each picture. Focus on small groups and avoid posing all the photos. Candids capture the laughter best! TIP: Don't forget to get pictures of the Birthday Child with Jonathon T. Wizard! A group picture, of guests surrounding the Birthday Child, may need some extra help and time to organize. JONATHON T. WIZARD - 519- 944-9424 - Johnny Ould 904 Lawrence Rd. Windsor, Ont. N8Y 3Z8 |
A Magic Party - Planning Guide |
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