Category — Party Ideas

Darling themed party supplies for all occasions. You can buy them individually or in a complete pack.
More Party Pack Ideas

The Saturday after school is out, for me and my grandkids, we have a “School’s Out Party”. Everyone comes for dinner and I use all the extra napkins and other items left from special occasions throughout the year. Nothing matches but that’s the fun. We even have party hats. The highlight is when I give each child a bag filled with activities and projects for the summer. This doesn’t have to be expensive. I collect items over the course of the year that I find on sale. Some items I make myself. It’s always a fun event.

Some of my grandkids were with me on Saturday and I got out the Box of Creativity (some people might call it the box of junk). The kids had a great time using their imagination to create things. Later that day other family members came for dinner so we decided to display all the creations. You can have a Box of Creativity too, just collect lots of different items you think you’re kids will enjoy. I often go to thrift stores and find bags of small pieces of wood, pompoms and beads. Keep everything in a box so it’s easy to store.

You can have loads of fun with your grandchildren creating crafts using Shrinky Dinks . Just draw your design on the plastic sheet of paper and decorate with colored pencils, permanent markers or paint. Pop in the oven and watch your design shrink. Check out the website to see all the possibilities.

Celebrate National Nutrition Month by serving your grandchildren healthy snacks when they come to visit. You can make it fun by having them create
Edible Creatures.
You can use:
peaches, pears, raisins, cherries, lettuce, celery, carrots, cottage cheese, almonds, or cheese.

Combine any of the items above to create people, animals, monsters or aliens.
Use your imagination and enjoy!

FamilyFun.com

Decorating Pumpkins

The annual Chili Fest and Halloween Party was great fun. The grandchildren’s costumes were so cute, even the ones that were suppose to be scarey. My mom and I dressed up as witches and we got some strange looks from the kids when they arrived. My daughter brought a graveyard cake that everyone enjoyed. It was loads of fun doing all Halloween activities.More Chili Fest ideas.

We have a family tradition that occurs each October – The Family Chili Fest. I have it close to Halloween so my grandchildren can wear their costumes. It’s usually the first time they get a chance to wear them so they are very excited. The adults even get into the act by dressing up. We begin with dinner which is, you guessed it, chili. I make many different kinds because some family members like traditional chili, some prefer vegetarian and others favor something in between. After dinner we clear the table and decorate cookies and pumpkins and then end with a spooky story. This year I have 2 new grandchildren so it will be fun to see how they come dressed.
I’m including a great chili recipe that I got from a friend many years ago. I can alter it to make everyone happy.
Surprise Chili
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. cooked bacon
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
Cook together in heavy kettle until meat is brown. Drain off fat.
1 Tbs. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
¼ C. flour
¼ C. brown sugar
Mix together and stir in with meat. Cook for 1 min.
45 oz. Italian style tomatoes, untrained
30 oz. black-eyed peas, drained
30 oz. red kidney beans, drained
3 -15 oz. pineapple chunks, untrained
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Add the remaining ingredient and break the tomatoes into smaller chunks. Simmer 3 hours. Add water if necessary.