You are here: Home / Archives for games

Experience a First Night Celebration

December 26, 2009 By The Recipe Mom 1 Comment
2010

2010When it comes to family fun on New Year’s Eve it’s hard to pass up a First Night celebration. It’s a great way for the community and families to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

This idea began in Boston, Massachusetts. While celebrating the bicentennial in 1976, the inaugural First Night was a part of that celebration. Since, then it has caught on as a way for communities to reach a common ground and have fun at the same time.

First Night is celebrated in cities all across the United States along with three other countries. One place to celebrate is the birth place of First Night, Boston. It’s definitely a celebration of the arts.

From painters to dancers, artists to sculptors, the night is filled with fun for the entire family. It wouldn’t be a celebration if the night didn’t end with fireworks and Boston has their fair share. There are two fireworks displays for those who knock off early and those who can see the night through.

If you live out west, think about First Night in Spokane, Washington. Here the artistry of the cultures in the area is celebrated. Depending on your tastes you might get into the rhythm of gospel, rock or Salsa. View ice sculptures and other artistic displays.

If you live down south, think about taking in First Night in Austin Texas. Like the other locations, families can enjoy music, food and participate in various activities. Here, kids can join in a chalk drawing presentation. For the person who likes games, try your hand at chess or checkers.

Try a First Night at the Penn State community for a First Night celebration. The streets are filled with ice that sculptors will turn into art as well as parades, music, interactive activities and food.

Down in the southeast, Florida offers a First Night celebration in St. Petersburg. Feel the beat with bluegrass music, drum presentations, Caribbean music and other tunes. Families can visit local museums and other attractions set up for the event.

Why not create your own First Night in your city? Talk it over with the local legislature and the artistic community. Bring a new unity at the end of the year and also a new tradition.

Are you trying to decide what to do for New Year’s Eve? Support a community and have a good time at a First Night function.

Filed Under: Today's Kitchen Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Host a New Years Eve Potluck

December 17, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
confetti

confettiBring your family and friends together on New Years Eve with a potluck dinner. Each household can contribute something when you have a potluck dinner. That way, the responsibility of the food is not on just one person or family.

If you are fortunate enough to have other members of your family around, plan a potluck dinner to bring in the New Year. Begin by setting your plan in motion.

Start with the planning. Find a time when everyone can meet to hash out the details. You can come up with a menu together and then divide it into parts so that each household knows what they are bringing. Begin with what you may already have in your home. If anyone has paper goods, sodas or the makings of a dish, that will save money.

Set the time. Keep in mind that family members may have other activities planned for the evening. Usually earlier is better. Decide which family will host the dinner. You can rotate each year so that no one is missed.

Pre-dinner fun – Bring everyone together an hour or two ahead of time to spend quality time together. One activity that gets everyone up and on their feet is interactive video games. Anyone have a Wii in the house? Playing a game like Guitar Hero or Super Smash Bros. Brawl will fuel the appetite.

Don’t forget the card games. Families can have a great time playing Hearts, Rummy and Spades. For the kids, there’s Old Maid, Go Fish and Uno to name a few. Make it interesting and play for a golden prize of candy or small change.

Potluck – What are you serving that smells so good? Set up a table where everyone can serve themselves buffet-style. To avoid a messy rug or floor, place drinks in the kitchen on the counter along with cups and a bowl of ice. Using paper products makes clean up easy for the hosting family.

If you live in the south, no New Year’s meal would be complete without the traditional foods that may bring good fortune in the year to come. These include black-eyed peas for wealth, pork for prosperity and cornbread for gold.

Dessert will put the finishing touches on your potluck meal. Each family can bring their own offering for the after-dinner treat to add variety. The taste of these endless treats will give a sweet touch to your New Year celebration.

Post-dinner fun – Before everyone gets away, try this activity. Go around the room and let each person tell one thing that they would like to accomplish in the New Year. Now, your family can help encourage you to meet that goal over the next twelve months.

A potluck dinner is a great way to get friends and family together to ring a New Year. Have some food, some laughs and make new memories that you can treasure for a lifetime.

Filed Under: Desserts, Today's Kitchen Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trick or Treat Ideas Don’t Always Include Candy

September 24, 2009 By The Recipe Mom 2 Comments
crackers

crackersCandy always seems to be at the top of the list when it comes to those treats we give to our scary visitors on Halloween. There are many alternatives to giving out candy. Here are few ideas on some special treats that won’t hurt the teeth, give anyone a tummy ache or make a parent cringe when there little ones come home after a fun filled night of trick or treating.

The Dollar stores may be the place to visit when choosing those special treats. During the year each time you visit one of these stores pick up crayons, coloring books or reading books. These are inexpensive and can be educational as well.

Small games such as jacks, card games, flash cards or even a jump rope will put a smile on any trick or treaters face. These treats will be fun and will last much longer than candy.

How about some coupon books? These coupon books can be found at places like McDonald’s and are pretty inexpensive to purchase. What child doesn’t like to get those chicken nuggets from McDonald’s? Not only are you giving out treats that are not full of sugar and preservatives but by purchasing these coupon books online you can earn college rewards for your own children.

Check with your local dentist and see if you can purchase sample toothpaste and toothbrushes. The kids may not be thrilled with this idea but if you include sugarless candy or gum they might just think it’s one of the best treats they received all night.

If you really want to give out edible snacks why not try one of the low calorie individual packs that many stores now have. These snacks are low in calories and in sugar content. Cookies, crackers and even chocolate covered pretzels are available in these along with many other tasty choices.

Another nutritious snack is individual packages of nuts or trail mixes. Microwave popcorn is another idea. You can find snack sizes, different flavors and no salt popcorn. Watch that you don’t purchase the heavily buttered flavors which can be less nutritious and contain a lot of salt.

Cheese and cracker snacks are also a great alternative to candy. There are many different varieties such as cheese and peanut butter crackers, breadsticks and cheese, cheese on cheese crackers or dunkers. These are inexpensive and children love them.

These are just a few ideas that can help you to change the routine. It doesn’t have to be candy that puts a smile on that goblins face and parents face as well.

Filed Under: Halloween, Kid Friendly, Snacks, Today's Kitchen Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inexpensive Ideas for a Halloween Party

September 22, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
orangebatshappyhalloween

glowdecorationsHalloween is such a fun time. From the costumes, to the pumpkins and trick or treating Halloween can be scary. Having a Halloween party doesn’t have to be the scariest part. There are many way to keep the party fun yet inexpensive.

Start with the invitations. There are some inexpensive invitations that can be downloaded from the Internet. The cost only includes the price of the paper and ink necessary to print them off. They come in all colors and themes to fit any Halloween party. Be sure to deliver your invitations early enough for everyone to plan on attending.

Decorations can make or break your party but they don’t have to be expensive. Carve a few pumpkins for the kids and use them to brighten the walkway. Let the kids create ghosts and goblins from empty containers or boxes and cover them with pieces of cloth or construction paper. Add a few cobwebs and spiders to the decorations. These can be found at a very reasonable price at many of the Dollar stores. Include homemade bats and those scary green witches and don’t forget the scary music. Halloween CD’s can be found a very reasonable price.

What about the food? It doesn’t have to be expensive either. A simple punch highlighted by spider ice cubes is a great refreshment idea. Chips and salsa or brownies decorated with powdered sugar ghosts are always a hit. Remember to use Halloween phrases such as Spider punch, Graveyard chips (blue tortilla chips) and blood salsa and Ghoul brownies. This will help to scare those guests while keeping them filled with delicious treats.

Costumes are also a necessity when it comes to Halloween parties. If the party has a theme, make costumes that follow that theme. Look at thrift stores for the clothing you might need. Colored hair spray, gloves and wigs can also be purchased for very little cash outlay. Old sheets, boots, scarves and hats can also be used to make the perfect costume.

Games are an important part in making a Halloween party a success. It doesn’t take a great outlay of money to have fun games to play. How about Mummy bingo? Make the bingo boards from old card board boxes. Use candy corn as markers just be careful that the kids don’t eat all their markers before the game is done. Ever heard of Guess the Ghost? It’s a fun game and it requires only a party guest and a white sheet. Cover the guest and let all the remaining guests try to figure out just how this Casper is.

These are just a few simple inexpensive ideas for a successful Halloween party. Use your imagination and items you can find around the house to make your party a complete yet inexpensive success. Happy Halloween!

Filed Under: Halloween, Today's Kitchen Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,