24112

Mustache Bash -7yr- Choose Your Stache!

October 2012

April in Gilbert, Arizona, USA

Runner Up

Mustache Bash party for 7-year-old Boys  My son turned seven and we decided to host a “Mustache Bash” for him and his friends, all of whom are boys.

INVITATIONS:  We wanted the invitations to include a bit of humor, so we designed the cover to include a black-and-white photo of my son in a tie and mustache along with the caption, We MUSTACHE you a question".  The inside of the invitation read "It's time to celebrate XXXXXX's 7th birthday! Will you come to our Mustache Bash?" We also added "Please come in a solid colored button-down shirt and be ready to wear a tie and mustache upon arrival.  The big event will include cake games a fun photo booth and a day to remember." 

COSTUMES:  Before the party we set up a tie and mustache table in the entry. On the table we included a framed sign that read Pick a tie choose your stache then come and join the Mustache Bash.  The table included a selection of old ties from my husband’s closet (already tied so they were easy to slip on and tighten) a variety of different adhesive fuzzy mustaches (easy to find online or at the party store) along with a hand mirror so the boys could see what they looked like once they  were all decked out.  If you don’t have a surplus of ties available like I did they are easy to find at your local thrift store.  To my surprise as I was preparing for the party I even found some ties at the dollar store.

DECORATIONS:  We decorated the house in barber shop style colors which incorporated the colors red white and a light turquoise blue along with red and white stripes here and there. We used streamers balloons and banners in these colors.  To add to our mustache theme we added little touches throughout the house that had mustaches on them.  For instance we set up a tub of water bottles on which I had taped a tag with a large mustache and wording that read Wet Your Whiskers.  I waterproofed it by covering it in packing tape and taped it to the top front of the tub.  To decorate the water bottles I removed the labels from them and replaced them with Mustache duct tape -- yes believe it or not the Duck Tape brand actually makes a mustache design!  (Hint: I found it worked best to cut each strip of tape in half lengthwise before adhering to the bottle.  On the water bottles I was using this reduced puckering on the tape).  We also made tags for the water bottles that people could use to write their names on.  I did this by creating round tags with a mustache on them (I just used my computer to put mustaches inside of circles and printed them out on cardstock leaving space for people to write their names) then I waterproofed them with packing tape hole punched the top and strung them onto the bottles with thin elastic.  We provided a Sharpie for parents to write their names on them at the party. 

For the boys I created special drink tags in turquoise blue that had their names already on them (and of course mustaches too).  We also had some candy jars on the food table which actually ended up being my favorite decoration because they came out so cute!  I took old pickle jars that I had cleaned out really well and added a band of red & white striped paper around the middle of each along with a round label in the center of the band that bore a circle containing a mustache and the name of the candy.  These really came out awesome and they were not that hard to do!  We served cupcakes for dessert which also bore mustaches in the form of cardstock cupcake toppers.  These I made on the computer by adding mustache clip art inside a circle printing it out cutting out the circle with decorative scrapbooking scissors then taping them to a lollipop stick and inserting them into the cupcake.  For variety some of the toppers said Happy Birthday and some only had mustaches.  Also some I kept as circles and on some I taped black squares behind the circles (I used decorative scrapbooking scissors to cut the edges of the squares).  They looked awesome on my cupcake stand.  The food table was done up with a light turquoise blue tablecloth and red tableware.  I had the striped candy jars in the center of the table on a red square platter atop red placemats to add color.  This made a great little centerpiece.  With all the other decorations using these colors the table was very festive! 

PARTY SNACKS/CAKE:   I kept the party food simple with cupcakes ice cream old-fashioned bottled root beer for the boys candy (Malted Milk Balls and Cherry Sours) and Pretzel Cigars which I had made out of pretzel rods dipped in light blue candy melts and sprinkled with blue sugar (these were in their own candy jar in the center of the table).  The cigars especially were a big hit with the boys and they all enjoyed the fact that they got their own bottle of root beer and even took their unfinished bottles home! Additional snacks you could also offer are white chocolate covered strawberries with the tips dipped in blue sugar mustache shaped cookies or mustache lollipops made with candy melts. As I was preparing for the party I discovered that both mustache cookie cutters and candy molds are readily available as mustaches are all the rage these days.

ACTIVITIES/GAMES:   Once the boys arrived and got decked out in their mustaches and ties the first thing they did was go on a Mustache Scavenger Hunt.  I had ordered 100 1-inch mustache die cuts and stuck them all over the house using poster tack.  The boys were each given a paper entitled Mustache Scavenger Hunt on which to stick the mustaches as they found them.  This ensured that they removed not only the mustaches but the poster tack as well.  After the party was over we only found 12 unclaimed mustaches so they found most all of them!  The winner of the game was the boy who collected the most mustaches.  Hint:  I made sure they all understood that the mustaches were within their reach and not hidden behind any closed cupboards or doors. 

After this we had a photo booth.  This gave us a great opportunity to take pictures of the boys in their ties and mustaches both individually and as a group.  To set up the photo booth I hung up a black king-size sheet prior to the party and assembled a basket of photo props including hats earphones wigs glasses bandanas eye patches pirate earrings and even stuffed animals. (Hint: If you don't have all of these items you'd be amazed what you can borrow from friends and family or find at your local thrift store). I also included a couple of 11x14 size frames (from which I removed the glass and backing) so the boys could hold them around their faces for some of the photos.  The props gave the boys an opportunity to assemble some really funny getups. Some of them REALLY got into this and the pictures were pretty hilarious!  Great for party memories!  Of course we made sure we took plenty of pictures of the boys in just their ties and mustaches before we let them get into the prop basket as the ties and mustaches alone made some pretty awesome photos.  As an added benefit we were able to include some of these photos in the thank you notes we sent out later. Of course our guests really enjoyed that and now have lasting memories to hold onto! 

We then played the Balloon Pop game.  I had previously filled about 30 balloons with confetti and/or candy which the kids got to pop and then keep any candy they found (Hint: Have bags labeled with names ready to hand out before you start this game). I used black balloons so the kids couldn’t see through them.  Some of the balloons contained confetti only some had both candy and confetti and some were completely empty. To set up this game after you fill the balloons simply adhere foam board to the wall with Command Strips and then use T-pins to tack the balloons onto the boards.  Before the party I experimented with adhering balloons with duct tape but the weight of the candy had the balloons falling off so I highly recommend going with the foam board!  To make the game tie in with the mustache theme you can use newspaper taped together and cut out to create a huge mustache pattern trace around this onto your foam board and then tack the balloons on in this shape.  Or you can opt to just tack up the balloons in rows.  To create a tool for popping the balloons I took a screw with a very sharp point and tied a ribbon onto it so the boys could pass it around without losing it.  The boys took turns popping the balloons and collecting any candy that came out of them.  It was a fun twist on a piñata; a little messier to clean up afterward but much more orderly as the kids didn’t rush the ground all at once to collect the candy. Plus because some of the balloons were empty or contained confetti only it added to the element of suspense. It was so much fun!  One good tip: before the game set an order the kids will go in; we had the kids choose from numbered popsicle sticks to determine their turn and had them stand in line in this order. Also do know that if you plan this game stuffing the balloons beforehand is a two-person job and should be done no sooner than the night before.  I would highly recommend a balloon pump to inflate them (I got mine at the local dollar store and it worked great).

Our next game was a twist on the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  I took a photo of my son and had it blown up into a 16x20 size poster (most photo developing places can do this) then I cut out large mustaches using black cardstock and we played Pin the Stache on the photo.  Very entertaining!  After this the boys needed some down time so we headed to the food table for refreshments.  Our last game was called Sink the Balloon where the boys were split into teams of two and had to use silly string to weight down a mustache-bearing helium-filled balloon.  We did this outside of course. The first team to bring their balloon down from waist high to the ground won the game.  I let the boys end the party by spraying each other with the remaining silly string which was a really fun ending to a great party. 

FAVORS:  As our guests were leaving they were greeted with a sign I had taped to the door that read Thanks for coming to our bash now grab a bag before you dash.  I made one favor bag for each kid which was simply a white lunch bag tied closed with red white and turquoise blue ribbon.  On the front of the bag I taped a tag that read My Stache in large letters and in a smaller font Thanks for coming to our Mustache Bash!  Each bag contained a pair of silly glasses (the kind with the plastic nose and silly mustache and eyebrows) some Finger Stache tattoos I got at the party store (you put them on your finger then when you hold your finger to your nose you look like you are sporting a mustache) and a miniature Wooly Willy board also purchased at the party store (remember him? You use the magnetic pen to move around the black magnetic shavings to give him hair). Other things you could include in the favor bags are more mustaches the boys could play with later bubblegum cigars or pretzel cigars and mustache cookies or candy mustaches on a stick. The kids all had a wonderful time. Believe it or not they all wore their ties and mustaches for the entire party only taking them off to eat and then putting them right back on again. We let them take both their ties and mustaches home and they loved this. Some moms commented to me that their boys even wanted to wear their mustaches to bed that evening. Such a fun memory for all of them!  We had a lot of comments about how creative the party was and the boys really did have a great time.      "

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