9096

Hello Kitty -3yr- Pin The Flower on Kitty

July 2004

Debbie in San Rafael, CA USA

Honorable Mention

Hello Kitty - 3 year old  When my daughter turned 3, she requested a Hello Kitty party.  While I knew the decorations would be easy, it was more difficult deciding what the kids should DO at the party, which needed to be organized since we're going to be overfull on attendance for our small house (this was before I'd found this site).  For invitations I used the "free" graphics I found on the Internet, and combined them with my own graphics into cute pink cards that I printed myself. 

For decorations, I used plates, banners, flowers, and Kitties purchased from the party and on-line stores.  A homemade Kitty piñata (I'll detail below), a party schedule poster, and a hand-drawn Kitty poster (for "pin the flower on Kitty") added to the decorations.  I covered our tables with pink plastic from a table cloth roll, and bought cheap pink and blue chairs from the dollar store to make sure all the guests could sit to eat and do crafts (the coffee table was easily covered to make a good child-size party table). 

As the children arrived they were directed to the crafts, which included decorating a crown (I bought trim borders at a teacher's store, which worked GREAT), and coloring Kitty pictures (using the "free" coloring pictures offered on the internet).  My sister and I were also available for face painting; making little Kitty faces, flowers or ice cream cones on the quest's checks, depending on the child's preference.  While 3 year olds are quite happy just playing in a new house, I thought it would be too much chaos for the space, so I planned organized games. 

To start I tried "Kitty says," using a Kitty puppet I had purchased.  3 year olds have trouble with the concept of only doing what Kitty "says," so it was more a game of follow Kitty than anything, doing silly things like jumping on one foot.  After Kitty says, a large bouquet of balloons bound into a large sheet was brought in.  We opened the sheet and had each child grab an edge.  Then we shook, and shook, and shook, making balloon "pop corn."  This game was easily the biggest hit of the party, with all the little girls giggling away, and the adults busy batting back into the center any stray balloons. 

The next game was "stick the flower on Kitty," using flower stickers I made myself on label paper.  Each flower had the child's name on it, and the Kitty poster we used for the game featured Kitty holding a large bouquet.  Because the guests were so young, I thought it was fun just to see where each flower landed, and not to have a "right" or "goal" spot. 

Unable to find a suitable Kitty piñata, I made one myself.  I purchased a large heart shaped hatbox, cut the necessary holes, and glued the top to the box.  I glued on 2 colored pictures of Kitty (one for each side; printed from the Internet), and decorated the remaining space with fringe-cut tissue paper, and flowers.  To finish it off, I used a pull-string kit (my daughter would have been in tears if anyone had "hit" Kitty).  All the children pulled at once, and all the children were prepared with bags to gather the candy as it fell. 

For cake, my daughter had requested both cake and cupcakes.  I found a Kitty party doll for the center of the main cake, and a flower mold that my mom used to make colored white chocolate flowers for decorating the tops of the cupcakes and the sides of the main cake. 

For favors I filled clear bags with a Kitty doll, some Playdough, Kitty stickers, and a flower lolly pop (a fraction of the price of Kitty lolly pops), then tied the bags with flower decorated pony tail holders as a final gift.  The bags looked really cute.  I confess I hadn't been sure I could have as much fun with a "girly girl" party as I've had with my son's themes, but this turned out extremely well. It was a complete joy for me to stage and for all the girls to attend.  Can't wait to find out what my daughter wants for number 4!

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