Greek Mythology Birthday Party

Noodlebug turns 7 today and we had a Greek Mythology birthday party in the park yesterday.  Because I am in the middle of a move, we kept it simple!

Noodle has loved Greek mythology for years. Ever since he went through my Barefoot Books inventory and found all the books on the subject.  For his party, my friend Susie created the wonderful Greek Temple backdrop from cardboard.  The perfect photo opp!  My son went as Zeus and I went as Medusa.

All Noodle's friends dressed up as their favorite mythological creatures and characters.  For activities, we had "Paint a Shield," "Paint a Greek Pot," and glitter tattoos.  For "Paint a Shield," I bought packages of 16 inch cake circles. They were the perfect size!  At $6.29 for a six pack on Amazon, it was MUCH easier than hand-cutting circles out of foam core.  I made handles on the back of each shield using silver duct tape.  The kids had a choice of using acrylic paint or paint pens. In retrospect, I would have only had paint pens out on the tables. Much easier and less messy to use.

(Noodle holding his shield!)

For "Paint a Greek Pot," I put out photos of ancient Greek pottery along with mini flower pots and paint.  I got the mini flower pots at the Dollar Store. They came in packs of 3.  Again, using only paint pens would have been best but the kids loved the activity.

I bought two kits of Glitter Tattoos and they were a big hit!  Super easy to use.  Much easier than face painting and less messy. Once the glue sets, the tattoos don't come off so there was no need to worry about them wiping off onto clothing. Plus, the stencils made it easy to get a perfect image every time.

For the grand finale, we had a pinata.  I just got a classic bull pinata and we pretended that it was the Minotaur.  Everyone loves a pinata!

For food, we did fresh fruit, cheese, and pretzel sticks and Noodle baked his own cupcakes.  It was a very simple party in the park but the kids had a great time!

As a bit of a joke, I grabbed a piece of cardboard and made a "burnt offerings" station for gifts.  I just propped up the cardboard in front of a big plastic storage tub.

For favors, we kept it simple.  Each child got one mythological character from the Mythical Realms Toob:

I also printed and laminated this free printable for Communications4all:

I think the kids had a great time.



I can't believe I have a 7-yr-old!

(This post contains some affiliate links to products that I used)

Pinterest Fail: Mickey Tie Dye Shirts

We are going to Disneyland next week with some friends and I very much wanted to make some special t-shirts for us to wear.  I saw this fun tutorial from the Kids Activities Blog and wanted to try it.

So cute, right?  I bought similar colors because I thought the shirts could be reused for Fourth of July later on.  I was excited to see the final results.


WOMP WOMP

 

 

Wow. Really really bad.  I followed the directions exactly.  100% cotton shirts.  Soaked them in soda ash.  Gathered the Mickey design with dental floss and tied off with one inch of rubber bands. Not sure what went wrong.  The red color seemed to leak a bit so the image became distorted. Looks like a giant bloody heart.  I cannot let anyone wear these ridiculous shirts. We will have to chalk it up to a Pinterest Fail.