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Army Party -7yr- Army Jagon Signs

June 2003

Lisa in Jacksonville, FL

Special Mention

Army theme 7 years The invitations were given out in medium sized manila envelopes. On each envelope was TOP SECRET EYES ONLY CONFIDENTIAL I did them on the computer to look like they had been stamped. They looked very official.  A white label was affixed that said birthday party recruit________. The invitation was a 5.5 x 8.5 inch card ( a sheet of card stock cut in half). On one side was a fierce looking Uncle Sam (cut from the internet) pointing,  it said on top  NICHOLAS WANTS YOU! TO JOIN HIM ON A TOP SECRET MILITARY MISSION below Uncle Sam it said I WANT YOU TO COME TO MY ARMY PARTY! The back had an Army seal at the top www.army.mil/armyseals.htm and all the pertinent information. Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to rendezvous with an elite force of young men to celebrate Nicholas’  \*7th birthday date:  Sunday march 30th    Arrival: 1300 hours   (1:00-4:00 ) departure: 1600 hours  location:  secret hanover park military base.(classified directions enclosed) Confirm : Our name and phone number  Gear will be issued, chow will be served, wear your camouflage (or green & tan) and prepare for battle! We may be getting wet and dirty during the mission. Please bring a towel and change of cloth  

I had a sign on the front door that said RECRUITS MUST REPORT TO CHECK-IN IMMEDIATELY As they came inside I had a check in table set up with a sign with a big army seal on it. My friend played the mean recruiter dressed in complete camouflage from head to toe Each boy was issued a camo helmet that made shooting sounds ($1 store), a plastic machine gun with lights and sounds($1 store, stops working pretty fast) & dog tags (oriental trading). They picked a card that gave them their rank, there were two of each rank and that’s how they were paired up for different missions. The ranks were pre-printed on address labels and affixed to the boys shirt. From there they had a patriotic tattoo applied. (Oriental trading) Then onto take an ID photo. With my digital camera I took their picture in full gear in front of a door cover (oriental) that said God Bless America and had a flag. It looked very cool. The pictures were then put on the thank you notes. I had black, green and tan streamers hanging like a curtain from the arched entryway into the main camp area they had to push through the streamers to get in.  My son’s GI Joe movie was playing while everyone completed check- in.

While they were waiting they got to guess how many toy soldiers were in a clear bowl.  They were all given the opportunity to write their guess down on a sheet of paper,  good estimation game. I bought the coolest Army party game at a store called Garden Ridge. It was a coded map that had to be decoded to reveal an important message.  Hard to explain here  but the boys loved it! I had them work in teams by rank and they really concentrated and worked together. The first team to finish with a correct message won! I  bought prizes at the dollar store Dollar Land and Dollar Tree full of Military toys. We then played hot grenade with a CD I got at the library (no need to spend money on one) it was full of Patriotic songs played by the military marching bands. I called a local recruiter but because of the war they were not giving out items for children's parties. Oh well. You might try when we are not at war.

The party was supposed to be outside but it ended up mostly inside because of a crazy weather situation that was reported days before. Lucky for me I had time to change my games. As it turned out, about an hour and a half into the party it cleared enough for the boys to go outside to play Army and they loved that! I took them prisoner and had them line up against the wood fence for a picture with their hands in the air. Very cute. We had also hidden little green army men all around the back yard (just in case it cleared up) I stuck them in the leaves of the bushes, on my son’s swing set, on the ground and around the windows.  I have pine trees with really thick bark I stuck them into the bark and they were poking out all over. They loved rescuing the plastic soldiers as well. They used their helmets to collect the men.

Back inside to eat chow! Before they could get in the chow line they had to prove themselves worthy by eating a grub. It was actually a cooked piece of gnocchi. Some of them were convinced that it was a bug but they ate it anyway. They were very funny. I served corndogs, hotdogs, chips, baked beans, grapes, carrots, mini bagel pizzas all on camouflage plates. I had green napkins and silverware from Garden Ridge. The tables were covered with khaki green plastic (it comes in a roll at Garden Ridge) and camouflage fabric runners. The paper product line is Amscan and every month or so they put all their paper products on half price. A great time to stock up on partyware! I had 3 big tables covered like that. One table each for food, presents and cake/supplies. We covered the floors with tarps and plastic to keep things easy to clean up. It worked!

The cake was made by Super Walmart, it was the Crocodile Hunter Cake but I had them make it camouflage instead of just brown and add a mountain. It had a mud pit in the middle that the boys thought was so cool. I then added my own soldiers and tanks. I hung Army planes on fishing line from the light fixture over the cake so in the pictures it looks like airplanes were buzzing the cake.  I bought mini flags from Oriental to decorate around the house and send home with the boys.  I also bought 75% off calendars of Army tanks and Humvees .They had great pictures and I hung them all over the house.  I also printed signs that said Latrine this way (for the bathroom), Danger Keep Out Explosives (for areas I didn’t want the boys to go). Weltron Urban font. The boys had a blast and went home with lots of goodies: gun, helmet, flags, green lollipops, dog tag, camo airplane (oriental trading), & Army prizes from the dollar store.

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