Crafts With a Theme

I think too often we over plan when it comes to creativity. I have found that the best creations (and the most requested) are the ones where I give a general theme, a bunch of random materials, and let the kids do the rest.
Get ready for a bunch of pictures and ideas for themes. It's amazing what kids come up with. And it's fun for me too! As they are making their crafts they also have to plan a presentation that includes giving a name to their creature, and other facts that apply to it, depending on what was made.


1. Robots: they were to give their robot a name and tell us what function(s) it performed.

2. Monsters and/or aliens: they were to give a name, place of origin, and fun facts about their creations.

3. Foreign planet and a creature that resides there: the assignment was to come up with the name of a planet and then have a creature from there, along with the name of it and what kind of habitat it needs. My daughters went a step further and actually created planets as well.

4. Mythological creatures based on real creatures.

5. Superheroes: they needed a superhero name and, of course, superpowers!

6. Make your own holiday and mascot: they had to come up with the name of a holiday, what it celebrated, where it was celebrated, and come up with a mascot to represent the holiday.

 7. Hybrid creatures: the animals had to be a combination of 2 or more actual animals.

8. Unknown insects: there are so many insects in the world that it's impossible to keep track of them all. We discovered some new ones.

 9. Endangered species: not only did they give names, but habitat, diet, classification, and what is causing them to be endangered.

Pumpkins

I know it is nowhere near Halloween, but I've been going through some old pictures and I came across some of my favourite pumpkins I have made in the past. I used to attempt carving, but I'm not the greatest and I lack the quality carving tools. I find that for me painting is so much fun and has so many possibilities.
Here are some of my past creations:

Mike Wazowski! Acrylic paint worked quite well (just keep it out of the rain), and I used felt to make the arms, legs and horns.

A minion. I used tuna cans for the goggles, and jabbed some wire into the top for hair.

Harry Potter and Voldemort.

A not-so-creepy spider.

Black cat on a fence.


The kids definitely love painting pumpkins. One of the benefits of painting is that the pumpkins last longer. Although you can finish with a varnish or other protective coating, it's still wise to keep them away from water!
My husband always goes the carving route. I am also a fan of that. Do what you love, I say! Whatever you choose, have fun making it a family activity!

Igloos

If you don't have enough snow for an igloo made out of snow, here's a great backup option:
MARSHMALLOW IGLOOS!

First, find a bowl. We used glass ones. I don't know if it would be any different using a plastic bowl. Go ahead and give it a try!

Using icing (I made buttercream because it's my favourite), attach the marshmallows to the outside of the bowl. Don't forget to make an entrance!

And just like that, you have your own mini igloo.

Monkey Time!

If you have a monkey lover, then do I have a party for you!

Game ideas (I wish I had taken more pictures of some of these because they were really funny to watch):

1. Bananas on a string.
    It's like donuts on a string, but replace those donuts with bananas.

2. Obstacle course and hanging competitions.
    On warm weather days we go outside for the obstacle course, but when it's chilly we take to the basement. You can do anything for an obstacle course using pillows, cushions, ladders...basically whatever you have on hand.
    We happen to have monkey bars in our basement so we had two kids face off to see who could hold on longer. We also had a rope hanging up so we timed them to see who could hold onto the rope the longest.

3. Animal charades.
   I have a bunch of little pictures of animals that I put in an envelope. Have a kid take one out and act it out. Simple. You can use whatever pictures you have, use a bag with toy animals, or just have the kid come up with an idea for an animal to act out.

4. Sock wars.
    Divide the kids into two teams. Make sure you have an area that has a divider so there are two equal sides. You give each team a bunch of socks. The object is for them to throw the socks onto the opposite side. They can only throw one sock at a time (it's not fair if they grab a pile and throw them all over at once, and it's not nearly as fun!) Whoever ends up with the most socks on their side when time runs out is the losing team.

5.  Monkey Tail Balloon Roundup
     I bought a bunch of leis from the store (although you could easily hang belts or other long objects from their waists to make tails). I cut each lei so that it would come down like a tail. Using these "tails" the kids had to move a bunch of balloons into another room. They couldn't use their hands or feet, only tails. It was pretty entertaining. The leis were pretty light so it took a lot of effort for the kids to move the balloons, so I'd recommend trying something with a bit more weight if you're able.

6. Monkey piñata!

Two balloons for this crazy monkey! I used felt for the arms, legs and tail.

Cake time:
My daughter has a stuffed animal named Oo Oo who she adores. She's had him since she was a baby. She insisted on an "Oo Oo" cake. Rather than get crazy trying to shape a monkey out of cake, I decided to draw him on with icing:

When she was really little, and before the time of birthday parties, I did make her some Oo Oo cupcakes for her birthday:

I used chocolate chips for the eyes and blue candy melts for the muzzle and ears.

Animal-themed birthday parties are really great because you can make games around the characteristics of the animals themselves. Plus, you don't have to worry about the party guests not understanding the theme (like if it's based around a show or character they may not be familiar with).
We had a great time monkeying around with this party!