by Cynthia Jenson-Elliott
One year, after my son and I devoured most of the Lemony Snicket
books (HarperCollins Publishers), he decided to celebrate his
birthday with a Series of Unfortunate Events party. Like the
characters in the books (the Baudelaire orphans), he wanted
his guests to solve riddles and puzzles, invent things and
search for clues. In the weeks preceding the party, he created
an invitation that looked like the familiar covers of the books.
I wrote some rhyming clues for him and his friends to solve,
and together we made a simple piñata in the shape of
an eye (a recurrent motif in the books). The cake became a
mountain from one of the later books in the series, with tiny
Lego Baudelaires scaling the sides. Gift bags contained gummy
candies shaped like leeches, chocolate eyeballs and gum—all
objects that fans of the series would instantly recognize.
It was a wacky party and nearly as much fun for us to plan
as it was to carry out.
Many books are tailor-made for parties—with rich characters,
interesting settings and fantastic plots, they offer children
endless opportunities to enter another world for a few hours
of fun. With a little time and loads of imagination, anyone can
turn a book into a birthday bash. Here's how.
Go to the Source
Your child is an open book of party ideas. Brainstorm together.
What is her favorite book? What books inspire his play? How can
that book be turned into a party? It’s fun to think up
ways to have invitations, activities, food and decorations reflect
the theme, and many children relish the power of creating their
own event with an adult's help.
Activities
If the book is sports oriented, sports activities can rule the
day. If the book is historical—Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little
House books (HarperCollins Publishers) come to mind—children
can have old-timey fun hand cranking ice cream, learning old-fashioned
jump-rope rhymes, or making their own small rag dolls. A Narnia-themed
party based on C.S. Lewis' books (Collier Books) might include
making "jeweled" crowns, practicing archery using suction-cup
tipped arrows, or learning some rudimentary fencing techniques
with balloon swords.
If your child's chosen book is a mystery, create a scavenger
hunt that lets them gather clues to solve a mystery, or use
the board game CLUE as a template for creating your own mystery
story.
Or use the books themselves as jumping off points. Work together
with your child—kids come up with some great ideas.
My son's chosen theme for his eighth birthday party, the Artemis
Fowl books by Eoin Colfer (Scholastic, Inc.), presented us with
countless ideas and many challenges. By the time the dust settled,
the party had developed into mystery theater. We focused on one
book in the series, featuring the kidnapping of a fairy and her
ultimate rescue by members of the fairy police, the Lower Elements
Police (LEP). Guests became members of the LEP and attempted
to follow clues—written in fairy hieroglyphs called Gnommish—to
find where the fairy was located. They built fairy gadgets—helmets,
sonic devices and defense mechanisms—to try to overcome
Artemis Fowl, boy genius. At the end of an hour, the new LEP
officers found the fairy dangling in a tree near a fairy-shuttle-shaped
piñata. Fowl had been foiled at last, and it was time
to eat!
Food
Your child may have some great ideas about what food would fit
the theme. Since book characters have to eat just like rest of
us, many books go into great detail about food. In the Nate the
Great detective mysteries by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Random
House), Nate is a pancake fiend. Serve them with syrup or a buffet
full of fixings (fresh fruit, chocolate chips, powdered sugar,
jam…), and everyone will be happy. A party based on Dr.
Seuss books would naturally suggest—what else?—green
eggs and ham. A young child's party based on a favorite Sesame
Street book would probably include the treats Cookie Monster
craves. Find out what the characters eat and there’s your
menu.
If the book takes place in a particular time period or place,
the setting can suggest refreshments. The Little House books,
for example, might bring to mind old-fashioned molasses candy,
or apple cider or homemade bread. For more futuristic books,
familiar food with a twist can be fun. One young family friend,
for example, served cheese burritos dyed blue and wrapped in
green tortillas, and a cake with lunar craters. Her party was
based on Bruce Coville's book My Teacher is an Alien (Aladdin
Paperbacks).
Decorations and Costumes
Decorations can be as simple as a sign transforming your house
into another destination. "Welcome Aliens" read the
sign welcoming us to one party. Chalk pictures of space ships
lined the walkway approaching the house. And the birthday girl
appeared at the door sporting antennae and a third eye in the
middle of her forehead. Each child was invited to make their
own antennae and extra eyes. By the end of the party, in the
spirit of the theme, many young guests also claimed to have picked
up the alien ability to read minds.
For historical books, old-fashioned costumes can set the tone.
Guests can make their own accessories as an activity (hats are
fun), or you can ask them to come in costume. Either way, they
are magically transformed by playing dress-up. Just keep in mind
that children transformed into vicious alien slugs have a tendency
to act like vicious alien slugs. For this reason, you may want
to choose a relatively gentle theme.
Multiple Book Parties
Some children—like my son—come up with some challenging
book party ideas. If time is short, and your patience is limited,
take the pressure off yourself by letting guests come up with
their own ideas. A multiple-book-themed party gives your child's
guests a chance to be creative too. You can throw a costume party
where children come as their favorite character in their favorite
book, or as storybook or fairytale characters. This format encourages
each child's love of literature and helps you get to know your
children's friends a little better. Who could have guessed that
meek-mannered Mary would manifest wild Ms. Frizzle? And how did
Jorge make those hairy Hobbit feet? Children love a chance to
shine, and costumes appeal to the show-off in all of us.
Another way to have a multiple-book-themed party—especially
for older children and teens—is to do a book exchange or
book donation party. Ask each child to bring a book or two to
trade, or books to donate to charity. There are plenty of non-profit
groups looking for books to give to needy children or paperbacks
to send to young soldiers abroad (for more details on this, check
out sites like OperationPaperback.org). Having children and teens
bring their favorite books can help them connect with a cause
in a very personal way, adding a sense of fulfillment to the
party fun.
Book themed parties can be antic fun. But they can also be transformative.
Children who get to step into the pages of a book will see reading
differently, as a joyful opportunity for sharing. And for children
who are already hooked on reading, book-themed parties allow
them to share their imaginations and their favorite worlds with
their friends, some of whom may not yet be full-fledged book
lovers. Either way, there's power in the written word, especially
when it is spelled F-U-N.
Cynthia Jenson-Elliott is a freelance writer and a mother of
two bookworms.
Go to www.birthdaypartyideas.com for more ideas on throwing book-themed
parties for children of all ages.
