So, the conversation started a little like this: "Hey, Jenny, it's Margie, your favorite niece... " Where can this conversation go? "Morgan's birthday party is this weekend and I was wondering..."
I am the Art Lady. I do children's birthday parties as well as crafts at senior centers and nursing homes. (For folks I refer to as "My Little Old Ladies.) So my niece was not asking the most outlandish question in the world... but a little notice would have been... more kind. "Are you booked Saturday?" As it happened I was not.
I love parties, though not as a guest -- I am always that guest who is helping with hors d'eovres and gathering trash, what I call "Jenny Jobs." So for me to be the entertainment -- Perfect. "Margie, what kind of party is it? Is there a theme?" The poor kid is a St. Patty's Day Baby -- not as bad as a Christmas Baby, to be sure, but every year for seven years the theme has been the same and this year she wanted something... something... something NOT St. Patrick's. The child in question, the Birthday Girl, selected Happy Feet napkins, Happy Feet plates... penguins... who live in antarctic barren tundra nothing... Ok, Penguins!!!! Why not? I had four days to come up with... Penguiny Games. Penguiny Art. Actually, depending on the age, my Art Parties are more craft than art. I've done ribbon rose parties and collage parties, which border on the art aspect... but mostly I encounter people who want to make treasure boxes and purses and peg boards with six to ten of their friends. Or in the case of my Sr. Art Parties, they are six to ten residents. When I was thinking Penguin games I got an image of a hungry penguin. Remember the old drop the clothespin in the milk bottle game. Are you that old? As old as me? Well, I AM that old and I DO remember it. It occured to me that the milk bottle could be easily made into a hungry penguin -- add an open beak -- make the clothes pins (wooden spoons) into fishes.
And there we are, Feed the Hungry Penguin. Isn't he cute, with his wide open hungry mouth -- it's a wide-mouth Ball canning jar.The big beakless penguin, in the previous post, was Pin the Beak on the Penguin -- very cute and very fun.
And our crafty craft -- a Penguin planter, which is feeling photo shy at the moment.... later today I'll coax it into a quick photo op....
Anyway, it was a fun party and a great way to further get my name and business cards out there to the moms who need me most. Yea Birthdays!
3 comments:
Yup, whenever it starts "it's your favorite..." you know somethings up.
How VERY clever you are to come up with the penguin ideas you did and I love the way you made them.
That was one lucky St.Paddy's baby to have such a great auntie.
These are the luckiest bunch of kids to come down the pike. Everything you did was original, kid-friendly and fun! You focused on things actual kids like to do. And then they got to bring home their handiwork.
Offhand, I'd say this is one of those parties they're going to remember for a long time.
When they're little old ladies, I wouldn't be surprised if you heard a conversation that went something like, "I remember this party...when I was a kid. Everything was about penguins. Pin the beak on the penguin, drop the fishy in the penguin. It was the best party. It was so imaginative and fun."
My, oh my -- Linda, you make me all misty here! Thanks.
Jenny
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