Guest Collaborator: Throwing a Kids' Easter Party

Hi! How are you guys? Hope you had a great weekend:)

Going to try something a little different today here on the old blog...handing the mic over to my new friend Sophie Miller of Napkins.com! We have something in common...we both like throwing parties:) Oh yeah, and we're both done with winter and ready for spring!! Bring it on! I'm so ready that I actually already have my Easter mantel up (pretty much looks almost the same as last year) and that is saying a lot...its still like a month away and I'm usually way behind on this sort of thing. But enough patting myself on the back, let's get to it. Sophie's here today to talk about hosting an Easter party for the kids. She's got ideas for everything - the invites, food, activities, favors. So fun! Thanks so much for joining us, Sophie!

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Easter is the time of year that feels like a series of new things to be excited about. Partially this comes from spring finally arriving and winter starting to fade in the rearview mirror, but the other part is about getting together and spending time with family on Easter Sunday. While your plans for the weekend might be set in stone based on family tradition, implementing another event on Easter weekend could be another way to spread extra joy around. Why not throw an Easter-themed party for your kids on Friday the 18^th? It’s a great way to start off what will be a great weekend for everyone, and you’ll be dubbed as the ‘coolest parent ever’ – at least for a few hours. Here are some party ideas!

Invitation Extravaganza

For those into DIY and spending time crafting, coloring, cutting, and caring, making Easter-themed party invitation cards can be a fun little way to make use of the day. One relatively simple idea is to cut out cardstock paper into the shape of an egg. I generally go with light blue, yellow, light purple, light pink, light green and similar colors when choosing invitation card color. Decorate the card as you like with stickers, borders, and various designs. List all the party information on the reverse of the card, complete with party date, time, location/address, contact information, and any additional information you feel necessary.  

{or use these pre-cut cardstock egg shapes from Paper Source...pack of 20 for $8.50}

Dessert Delights 
 

It’s no secret that kids love sweets. With that being said we can still be health-conscious and make sure that the little ones don’t consume an excess of sugar. This is for long-term and short-term benefit. The long term is that these sweets don’t contribute to unhealthy habits. The short term benefit is that 30 minutes from now you don’t have a wild house of young devils fuelled by sugar highs and making messes throughout the house! Anyway here are some ideas that shouldn’t be too sweets-packed but still a yummy treat that all will enjoy:

• Chocolate-dipped strawberries 
•  Easter-themed sugar cookies
• Glazed cupcakes
• Dipped marshmallow pops
• JELL-O eggs with vanilla frosting dabble

For some other Easter favorites, check out some of these delectable treats on the Betty Crocker website.

 

{Easter nest cookies from Betty Crocker}

Egg-straordinary!

What is an Easter party without some egg coloring? This can be the set-up event for the Easter egg hunt or for other games (egg toss perhaps?) later in the party. Depending on the number of kids attending the party will dictate how many eggs to buy and boil before the party begins. Just set the boiled eggs away in the refrigerator, and allow each kid to decorate and color 3 eggs. Set up an open table with all egg coloring and decorating supplies laid out. Don’t forget to cover the table with paper towels or disposable table cloth, because there will likely be some spills and messes made.

  

Party favors aren’t a big necessity since the kids should be taking home their three boiled eggs, but if you do feel the need to send the kids home with something extra, I remember PEP as my go-to. Pencils, erasers, and Peeps (the little marshmallow bird treats). Send them home with these in addition to their eggs and they will be happy little campers!

An Easter-themed kids’ party is a sure-fire way to bring kids, parents, and your community together to celebrate the onset of real spring weather (when it’s actually warm, not 40 degrees with rain). Since April 20^th is still a little while away yet, start planning your Easter party now so all the preparation work will simply be following a bullet list on a sheet of paper. If you’ve got other ideas for an Easter party, go ahead and comment in the section below where we can collaborate together!

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Awesome, Sophie! Thank you again for sharing all this with us. I know I personally have thought it would be so fun to have more exciting and unique play dates with Maura (and Ian) and their friends, but then I get stressed about all the details and how to get it all done in advance and tend to just go back to the same old thing (whoever is coming over grabs coffee and donuts on the way)! I'm definitely inspired now to go for it and really create some wonderful memories with my little ones. 

What about you guys? Any cool Easter kid ideas? Do you tend to get crazy with themed play dates or are you boring like me?