I have planned my last outdoor party for awhile. A long while. With both of our boys having summer birthdays (Carter in late June, Ben in late August) I decided to plan a joint splash party for both boys in August. I assumed there would be the chance of afternoon showers on any given day in August...but what I didn't expect was a forecast of a high in the 60s and 70% chance of rain. Too cold for a splash party in August? Really? Thankfully, we were able to reschedule and all but one family was able to come on the new and sunnier date. Still...that forecast raised my stress level entirely too high and I am retiring my outdoor party planning hat indefinitely.
Despite the delay...we had a wonderful splash party and I think a fun and wet time was had by all!
Disclaimer: There are a lot of details below. I got a lot of great ideas from surfing Pinterest and I hope that a tip or idea below might help someone else plan a fun party down the road! So enjoy the pics only...or read every detail. But just consider yourself warned that it is wordy. :)
When I first starting tossing around birthday ideas, I thought our new backyard would be perfect. It gets shade from the house in late afternoon. It is fairly large...and flat...and currently pretty open. Perfect for neighborhood wiffle ball games...and sprinkler fun!
We kept the decorations simple. Our colors were blue and green - our boys' favorite colors. The best decoration by far were these balloon strings. It took about 40 balloons but really made the backyard feel fun and ready for a party. We are keeping the balloon strings in hopes we will use them again some day (with new balloons of course - but without having to re-measure).
I had fun brainstorming "splash party" food ideas...and appreciate my sister-n-law helping too. The teddy graham slip-n-slide snack was all her idea and I think it turned out great! We also had "inner tube" donuts, twizzler "pool noodles" and goldfish, marshmallow, and raisin "fish food". We also "dove in for pizza" and had "water" melon for some fruit to go with dinner. Tried to keep with the water theme as best I could.
We planned some fun games and you know me...I had a list and a schedule. I actually printed it out so Adam and I could both have a copy...but I left it on the printer in the last minute planning...so we sort of improvised. For those of you that are interested...here was our official game plan.
5:00 - guests arrive; dolphin sprinkler, beach ball sprinkler, water squirters
5:20 - Ben friends: Drip Drip Splash; Carter friends: Sponge Bomb Toss
5:30 - Switch Activities
5:40 - Ben friends Car Wash; Carter friends: Slip-n-Slide
5:50 - Switch Activities
6:00 - Dinner (pizza delivered at 5:45)
6:15 - Cake
6:20 - Water Balloon Fight
6:30 - more sprinkler/car wash play; party favors as guests depart
It was a tight schedule...but it worked. I feel like the party went by very quickly and I think/*hope* the kids were entertained most of the time.
Here are a few pictures from the games...
I found this fun dolphin sprinkler on Amazon for less than $10...it might have been the purchase that sealed the deal on this splash party! It came with a ball that you try to shoot into the ring while the water is spraying you. The kids loved it!
Here is the big beach ball sprinkler. You can toss it around and roll it. Lots of fun!
Here is a good shot of the big kids playing "Drip Drip Splash." Just like Duck Duck Goose...except we used a wet sponge bomb to drip water on everyone's head as we said "Drip/Duck." And when you decided to say "Splash/Goose" you squeezed all the water out and left it on their head. Very fun. The little kids were pretty nice with the water...the big kids refilled the sponge several times!
And here are the little ones...
While I helped with Drip Drip Splash...Adam was playing with a bucket full of sponge bombs! These were super easy AND cheap to make. (thank you $ store). I purchased a pack of 10 sponges for $1. And then I went back and bought 5 more packets. I cut the sponges into vertical strips - 3 per sponge. (If you are following along...the top left picture below). Next I created a 3X3 grid of sponges (top right pic). On some I alternated colors...some were very random...and some were solid colors because I have a boy that LOVES all things BLUE! Next I grabbed the middle of the stack and squeezed the sponges together and used a hair rubberband (don't need too many of those after my 10" haircut - ha!) Next thing you know I had a bucket full of sponge bombs (bottom right pic).
We used these at the party to play toss, shoot them in the bucket, and Adam had a great time asking the little ones to play tag with the sponge bombs. We will be using these again for sure!
I think Adam ended up a bit wetter after the big kid games than the little kid games.
Our next round of games were slip-n-slide and the car wash. Even though we have a flat back-yard, we have a pretty good hill for sledding/slip-n-slide leading to the back-yard and the kids agreed! Here is one of the birthday boys coming down the slide!
We saved the highlight of the party for the end...the Car Wash! Or what the kids ended up calling the "Mechanical Cleaners". I showed Adam a couple of pics online of a simple car wash contraption made from PVC pipe and asked/begged him to make something for the party. He did just that and it turned out AWESOME!
We brought out every ride-on toy we had that could get wet...filled up a couple of buckets with bubble water and asked the kids to clean the toys. They worked hard...and laughed...and got wet...and had a great time!
Inserting my super appreciative plug for my husband. I don't know why I decided to throw such an involved party. I enjoy it. Really, I do. But I must admit I ended up a bit stressed putting this one together...largely due to the weather. But Adam was so supportive every step of the way. Building this amazing contraption...blowing up balloons with me...coming home early on party day to help me set up...bringing everything in after the party while I put the boys down. Truly...he is one super supportive husband/dad and I couldn't be more thankful for him. Now, back to another shot of his super cool car wash...err, Mechanical Cleaners.
We ordered pizza for dinner...and the kids gobbled it up. They played hard and ate fast.
Then it was finally cake time. Despite the fact that Wal-Mart FORGOT to make our birthday cake that we ordered, I was very pleased with how our last minute cupcakes turned out! To prove my stress level...I first started making a green 3! Carter had to correct me. Ha! Carter - the 5 year old likes green...not the other way around.
We ended the party with a quick water balloon battle...then Adam brilliantly challenged the kids to see who could bring him the most water balloon pieces. Here they are during the pick up process.
I attempted a group shot. Ben was not interested. At all. I snapped a quick pic and decided not to push it.
My sweet friend Bridget grabbed my camera at one point and got a family picture...so glad she did!
We sent the kids home with water squirters and a note that said "Thank you for splashing with us! -Carter and Ben." And if you are still reading this...thank you too! We hope you enjoyed the stories...we sure did enjoy all the squeals and squirting!
PS...a little video if you want to see some of the games:
