Party Themes 101 Part Two

Brainstorming Themes, Part 2

        Brainstorming with the guest of honor

Ok, so this week it's time to take the theme brainstorm one step further.  Last week, we made a list of possible themes.  And if you're like me, you've been mulling over that list off an on and have come up with your favorites from the list.

This week, it's time to collaborate with the guest of honor.  I like to choose 2-3 of my favorites from the list and pitch those to the GOH.  When pitching to my 5 year old, I give examples of what each theme might look like: possible activities, cake options, favor ideas, etc.  This doesn't have to be very detailed.  You don't want to put too much thought into it, because you never know which theme the GOH will choose.  You want to save your effort for the chosen theme.

But here's what my pitch might look like to Monkey:

Fossil Excavation:

Activities-

    *fossil dig  (baby pool filled with sand and fossils)

    *make your own fossils (with plaster of paris)

Cake Ideas-

    *fossil cake (cake and pudding and crushed oreos on top with gummy dinosaurs inside)

    *dinosaur egg cupcakes (dinosaur eggs baked inside the cupckes)

Favor Ideas-

    *personalized shadow box for displaying the found and created fossils

    *fossil book with a group picture inside

    *excavating tools

Pirates:

Activities-

    *treasure hunt

    *pirate swagger dance

Cake Ideas-

    *Pirate cake bites (cake balls with an eye patch)

    *Pirate ship

Favor Ideas-

    *treasure hunt loot

    *pirate accessories (eye patch, bandana, etc.)

Bike Parade:

Activities-

    *Bike decorating

    *Parade

Cake Ideas-

    *Bike wheel cupcakes

    *Cupcakes made into the shape of a bike

Favor Ideas-

    *Bike horns, personalized with names

    *Bike baskets with streamers

So, I would talk this out with Monkey, and she would choose the one she wants.  NOTE- Make sure to only pitch ideas that you can live with!  The GOH won't always choose the theme you expect.  

Sometimes, the GOH will have a theme all their own.  If it's one you are not too keen on, I would try to really sell the others that you do like.  If you are unsuccessful, it's probably best to go with the GOH's theme choice because if the GOH isn't happy, no one is.  Don't worry, ANY theme can be tweaked to be wonderful, especially if you have plenty of time to let your creative juices flow.