Beach Party

We had a fun beach party this year for my 7 year old. And like all my parties – the average busy mom can put it together, even the cupcakes, without breaking the bank.

While all the girls arrived, they colored pictures of shells to decorate their goody bags. Once everyone was here the real fun began. They played ring toss and bean bag toss. They ran through sprinklers and had so much fun on the water slide.

It ended up being an easy, fun party because there were things for the girls to do and they had fun running around and playing for two hours. There was no organized play or games. Love it.

The Cake

Sadie did not want cupcakes this year but my brainstorm for her cake was in fact cupcakes. So we compromised and did both. The cupcakes were for the party and we saved the cake for family. They were easy enough to make, even the birthday girl helped. The sand is made with crushed graham crackers (on top of tan frosting). The waves are made by piping blue frosting with one side of the bag filled with white frosting to create foaming waves. Throw on a teddy graham and an umbrella and Viola!

I felt like the cake needed some finishing touches so I added striped paper for beach towels and edged the beach with Pepperidge farm Pirouette wafers.

I don’t spend a lot of money on goody bags but I do like them to be fun. I included a small beach ball (amazon), cheap sun glasses (amazon), and some treats with a thank you note. I spent about $1 per bag.

Enjoy the sun and let the kiddos play!

Invites & Thank you cards

Download Blank Invite HERE

Download Thank You QPs HERE

Pinewood Derby

We just finished a fun and successful Pinewood Derby race. Being the Cubmaster I was in charge of the whole production but did it with lots of help. We had 16 boys participate, which was a perfect number.  With that many the boys didn’t have to wait too long between races.  Here’s some ideas if you get to run the show for your pack.

The Display Table

I ran a rope under the table cloth for the cars to straddle. We didn’t lose any cars to accidentally running off the table. Husbands first idea was to put a 2x4 under the cloth. That would have worked well too – but the rope fit in my bag better :) Don’t forget to put out “Do Not Touch” signs and station a leader at the table as your security officer.

We also decided to display little labels stating the scouts name and the award they earned. This way you could actually figure out the creative awards while looking at the cars.

Awards

Of course the racing isn’t all about winning, but I still think winning cars deserve some recognition – along with all the boys. So each boy received a printed certificate with a unique recognition for their car. Cars were turned in and weighed the night before giving the committee time to review each car before the races began. The extra time was nice.

Along with a certificate  – because, let’s be honest, boys want something they can eat and mom’s want something they can throw away when it’s all over – their award was a giant lollipop – Pinewood Derby Speedster 2014.

The place winners were given these awesome (simple and inexpensive) awards made by my friend. I know I’m a hater – but I really do hate trophies and ribbons. I thought these were unique and a fun way for the boys to display their achievements.

Pit Stop

When the races were finished and the awards were handed out, the kids enjoyed the Pit Stop with it’s Antifreeze, Motor Oil and Stop Light Brownies. There’s a ton of cute ideas for food for such an event but when you have 5 different treats to choose from kids take 5 desserts. This worked perfectly and we had plenty thanks to all the parents who brought them.

Photo Booth

We also set up a backdrop for pictures. I’m so glad we did this – Pinewood Derby night is full of pictures and this was better than the carpeted walls of our church.

I’m always about sharing! Why do the same work twice. If you need any of the things I printed you are free to download them here. SORRY LINKS ARE NOT WORKING.

Squeeze-it labels (6 to a page)

Awards (2 to a page)

Sucker Awards (printed as a 4x6 photo)

Photo booth Sign for 2014 and 2015

Road Signs

Pit Stop Sign

Sign in Spreadsheet