"Make and Take" Party

James came up with the phrase "Make and Take" to describe his ideal birthday party.  It would be a party where his guests would make crafts and art projects and then take them home as their party favors.  To set the creative tone, Chad provided pattern blocks from school as we waited for our few guests to arrive (James chose to keep it small and selective this year - one friend from his current kindergarten class, one friend from preschool, and one friend from outside of school.)

The first thing our guests did was decorate paper party favor bags with Star Wars stickers and a variety of drawing tools.

We had a suncatcher station where they filled frames with glass beads to be melted in the oven.

At another station the kids painted unfinished wood "treasure boxes."

After a short lunch break (waffles, fruit and scrambled eggs), the kids assembled candy necklaces.  Their options were candy beads, lifesavers, and short lengths of red vines.

While they diligently worked away I got the cake ready.  (Isn't it pretty?!?!?)

But the kids didn't want any cake.  They wanted to finish their candy necklaces.  This was by far the most successful of the art activities.

Finally it was time to light Darth Vader's saber and sing a song to the birthday boy.

Making a wish . . . .

Nailed it!

Time to eat huge pieces of cake and reflect on the morning's fun.

Of course we did presents, too.  James was pretty thrilled with them - we have some friends with mighty good taste.

Happy Birthday, my big six year old!