InvitingSmiles Blog

This week marked Sesame Street’s 40th Birthday. Many of us remember learning our letters and numbers with Big Bird and the Count! What a wonderful show to survive for so many years.

Premiering on November 10, 1969, Sesame Street has withstood the test of time, and so has many of its characters. Caroll Spinney has played Big Bird since the beginning. Mr. Spinney was 35 years old when he started playing Big Bird (and Oscar the Grouch) and he is still darning the costume to this day.

Sesame Street has proven its worth as an educational show. One study of teens that watched Sesame Street as preschoolers showed they achieved higher grades than non-watchers. These teens also proved to spend more time reading for pleasure than those that missed the educational show.
Congratulations Sesame Street!

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Is it your turn to host a Thanksgiving gathering this year? If so, you may already be planning for the big feast.

Decorations are simple this time of year with all of the beautiful autumn colors. Bring some of the outdoors in with centerpieces made of colorful leaves and acorns. Your children will enjoy helping you find these!

Turkey and all its trimmings is the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Be sure to follow the directions carefully when thawing, cooking and handling your turkey. You may choose to ask your guests to bring one of their favorite dishes to compliment the main course. This will take some of the work off your preparation time.

Be sure to send out invitations early enough for all to plan accordingly.

We at Inviting Smiles wish you and your family a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday!

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It’s time to send out those Halloween party invitations. Be creative and set the mood for a spooky, ghoulish good time.

It’s A Halloween  Party!

Ghosts and Goblins of all sizes can come,
There will treats and eats for everyone!

Shivers, screams and frights galore,
Contests, games, prizes and more!

Be sure to plan a safety-first party.
Watch those costumes and fake hair around lit candles and jack-o-lanterns.
Be sure the littlest ghosts do not find and choke on small candies.
Make sure the pets are safe and secure (some will not like the scary costumes).
 
Click here for some more safety tips to help protect your little ones:
http://blog.invitingsmiles.com/?p=559#more-559

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A Halloween party is probably one of the easiest parties to have. The decoration choices are countless and trick-or-treating takes up much of the entertainment, so your main concern may be creative Halloween dishes.

A very cute idea for serving popcorn: Put a piece of candy corn in each tip of a clear plastic (non-powdered) glove to be the fingernails, and then stuff the glove full of popcorn. Tie the end shut with a Halloween ribbon.

Spooky ice cubes: Add toy spiders, bugs, etc. to your ice cube trays along with the water, and then freeze. Add these spooky ice cubes to drinks. Be sure to choose plastic spiders and bugs that are large enough to not be swallowed once the ice melts. Wash these spooky trinkets well before use.

Orange round crackers can be used in many ways for decorative snacks: add peanut butter and raisin eyes, nose and mouth (or use mini-chocolate morsels) for a jack-o-lantern look. Add stick pretzels as legs for a spider treat.

Choose orange or black colored chips and pre-made desserts that have the Halloween colors. This will be less work for you, but add to the ambiance of your theme.

Research your choices and be creative. Your Halloween party will be a great success!

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School carnivals are in full planning mode right now, and one theme to consider is a Safari Carnival. This can be fun and exciting. If you can coordinate this theme around a classroom field trip to the local zoo, it will be even better.

Have your carnival volunteers dress up like their favorite safari animal: Zebras, lions, tigers, hippos, elephants, giraffes, and so many more.  Each game area can center around one animal with information about that animal noted in the area.

Learn how tall a giraffe is by using the gym’s basketball goal. You will have to be creative. A giraffe’s shoulders are about 9 feet off the ground, but its total height averages 18 feet. A regulation basketball goal is 10 feet from floor to hoop.  Could your student toss a ball high enough for a giraffe to catch in its mouth?

The Hungry Hungry Hippo salad bar can offer information on the herbivorous hippo. 
They only eat plants, fruits, vegetables and leaves. So why is a hippo so heavy? They eat up to 100 pounds of vegetation each night as they graze. Just how heavy is a hippo? A male hippo can weigh as much as 7,000 pounds, while the females weigh about 3,000 pounds.

Camouflage safari animals in a large mural and let the children guess “How Many Safari Animals are in this Picture”. Teach children about the zebra’s stripes and how they are used to help camouflage the zebra. The zebra’s main predator is the lion. Lions are colorblind, so the wavy lines of a zebra are much more important the the color of the zebra. These wavy lines blend in with the tall grasses. If the zebra stands perfectly still in the tall grass, a lion may never see it.

Stuffed animals, life size photos of animals, a petting zoo, and many other options are available to make your Safari Carnival a huge success!

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Create a school carnival that is out of this world by using an Outer Space theme. Planets, stars, the moon and sun are just some of the decorations you may want to use. Space ships, astronauts, aliens and rockets will be fun to have around as well.

This carnival will not only be a ‘blast’, but will be a great learning experience. You may be able to coordinate the carnival around classroom activities of our solar system. This way the children can learn about our great solar system in class, and display some of their artistic classroom activities during the carnival as decorations.

Ask your volunteers to dress up as astronauts and aliens. Rent a bounce house and call it the Moon Walk. Instead of throwing balls, or tossing beanbags through holes in a board, cut the holes in a piece of plywood large enough to accommodate a Frisbee. Decorate your board like the solar system, or simply black with stars painted on it. You could wrap the Frisbees in foil to make them your UFO Invasion!

Research the internet for more out of this world ideas and make your carnival the best party of the year!

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Here is a great idea for a Bridal Shower! I have attended an old-fashioned pounding before where guests bring items to help stock the couple’s pantry, but now I have heard of a new ‘twist’.

The guests bring their favorite recipe along with the items it takes to create that recipe.

Non-perishables: Flour, salt, vinegar, sugar, etc.

Utensils: Measuring cups, mixing bowls, whisk, etc.

The new bride has new recipes, and the whole kitchen is stocked, not just the pantry.

While I find this to be a great idea, I do have some concern over duplicates. Most recipes will need measuring cups, and how many sets of these does one couple need. Therefore, planning and communication will be necessary. This may be a good idea for a small bridal shower of close friends.

Another idea is to designate some guests to bring a dessert recipe, others to bring a snack recipe, others may bring a main dish recipe and even a grilling recipe.

This is a fun idea for all of those creative hosts out there!

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Many times the first big event of the elementary schools is the school carnival. Each year, moms, dads, and school personnel volunteer to help make the carnival a huge success. 

Many school carnivals will have a theme. You may wish to stick with the Carnival theme and decorate with balloons, big tops, and large colorful banners. However, there are several themes to choose from such as a Fifties party, Disco Dance, Safari Adventure, Hawaiian Luau, or a Western Roundup. 

The carnival is a big undertaking. Be sure to ask for plenty of volunteers. Assigning 30 minute shifts for the parents may allow you more volunteers. This way the parents can help, and still have time to enjoy the carnival with their children. My husband and I would always volunteer for back-to-back shifts. I would take the first shift while he took our kids to some of the carnival games, and then we would switch.

The carnival is almost always a fundraiser for the school. It is very important to show your interest in your child’s school activities by volunteering to help their school become the best it can be.

Next Thursday we will Blog more about Carnival themes, ideas and decorations!

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Bring in the new school year with a Back to School Bash!

Starting school may be tough for some kids. Why not have a party to reunite old friends and bring in new ones.

If you have a pool, you can have an end of summer pool party.  No pool, but a large area to play in, can offer a Water Wars Party (http://blog.invitingsmiles.com/?p=773).
Either way your invitation opening line could read:

Come to my Back to School Bash,
For one last Summer party Splash!

You may wish to host a gathering of children and their parents, at a meet and greet.

A backyard barbeque is such a treat,
For friends and parents to meet and greet!

If you are inviting several school friends and their whole families, you may choose to meet at a local park. Be sure to make reservations if necessary.

A party at (name of park) park is such a treat,
For friends and families to meet and greet!

Having a party will open the doors to many new friendships. This will be very helpful, especially for those shy children who may have a hard time making new friends. Read our Party Planning Blogs for great party ideas: http://blog.invitingsmiles.com/?cat=5

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Are you looking for a gift for a posh baby shower? Look no further.  Here is a website that will offer you some of the hottest, poshest gifts.

From unique, custom note cards and address labels, to custom embroidery items, you will find that perfect gift for baby and for mommy as well!

Give a personalized shower gift in a customized, stylish onesie and/or a monogrammed diaper cover.

If you want something for baby and mommy, try the sterling silver matching bracelets.

Hot or cold travel mugs will help the busy mommy stay hydrated. Add to this a cute matching sippy cup, and your mommy-to-be will be thrilled.

Check out this website for excellent gift choices for the Poshest of parties:
http://www.poshpaperparty.com

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