How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party

Create an avalanche of fun for your child's winter birthday!  Build your party around a favorite cold weather pursuit - building snow people.
Scroll down to see specific ideas for invitations, decorations, games, crafts, eats, treats, drinks and favors.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Invitations

Creative invitations build excitement and set the mood for a party before it even starts.  Here are a few ideas for you to try:

Make mitten invitations using card stock.  Trace around a child's mitten.  Cut out the shape and add the party details on one side.  Decorate the other side for the occasion.

Cut out the shape of a snowman from white construction paper.  Run a glue stick along the outside edges and add white glitter or use a glitter glue pen to achieve the same impact.  Form the snowman's face and buttons with bits of fabric or paper.  Write party details on the back.

Use heavy white card stock to print a picture of a snowman on the front (there are many free templates available on the Internet).  Print the party details inside.

Create a cut-out snowflake from white construction paper, leaving plenty of white spaces for your party detail wording.  Write your party information on the snowflake, fold it back up and mail it in an envelope.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Decorations

For this party transform your home into a winter wonderland by stringing sparkling clear lights and displaying lots of paper snowflakes.  Greet guests inside with a large snowman poster or cut-out - you can use this later on as a backdrop for souvenir pictures.  Dangle paper snowflakes from your chandeliers, light fixtures and windows to capture a blizzardy feeling.  Hang silver and light blue balloons and streamers to intensify the wintry theme.

Plan to set your table with a palette of shimmery white, silver and light blue.  Use a white tablecloth sprinkled with a mixture of silver and blue glitter and confetti.  Make a 3-D snowman your centerpiece.  At each place setting, make snowflake-shaped placements using felt.  Buy large pieces of silver and light blue felt from your local craft store and cut them in a snowflake shape.  Set white or glass plates on top for a frosty look.  Place cards can be created out of cardstock cut in the shape of snowflakes.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Games

Snowman-Building Contest

What would a snowman party be without a snowman-building contest.  This is a team competition to build the first 4-foot-tall snowman.  To play you will need at least two teams, a 4-foot measuring stick, plenty of snow and some traditional items to decorate the snowmen, such as hats, mufflers, carrot noses, charcoal bits for mouth and eyes, buttons etc.

The entire team can roll the snowballs.  The winning team will be the first team to create and decorate a snowman of at least 4 feet.

If the weather does not cooperate for your party, try the Snowman Wrap Race.  To play this game all guests will need to be paired up in teams of two - each with a builder and a model.  For each team you will need a roll of toilet tissue, a length of red crepe paper, black card stock circles for buttons backed with tape.

Give each builder a roll of toilet tissue, a length of red crepe paper and three circles cut out of black card stock and backed with a large loop of tape.

At the Go the builders race to wrap their partner with the entire roll of toilet tissue, finish with a length of red crepe paper for a scarf and the three card stock buttons.  The first builder to complete the snowman wins the race for his or her team.

Magazine Scavenger Hunt

For this game you will need at least one magazine for each guest and at least two pairs of scissors. Before the party create two lists of winter items.  Include things like snow, ice skates, penguins, winter coats, mittens, hats, ice, snowmen, igloos, earmuffs, scarf, and polar bears.

At the party divide your guests into two teams.  Give each team a stack of magazines, a pair of scissors and a list of winter items.  Set a timer and let the teams search for the magazines for the items on the list to cut out.  Whichever team has found the most items at the end of the time wins.

Freeze Dancing and "Hot" Snowballs

If more games are desired, consider freeze dancing or pass the snowball with Styrofoam balls (a winter version of Hot Potato.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Craft

How about an edible craft for this party - Marshmallow Snowmen!  For this craft you will need large marshmallows (at least for 3 per guest), pretzel sticks (at least two per guest), frosting, and an assortment of mini candy-coated chocolate pieces.  When planning supplies for this craft, plan that some of the "craft" items will be eaten!

To begin this craft set out bowls of large marshmallows, pretzel sticks, frosting and mini candy-coated chocolate pieces.  Each guest will also need a small plastic knife for spreading the frosting glue.

Then let each guest make a marshmallow snowman using the pretzel sticks for arms and the mini candy-coated chocolate pieces for the eyes and buttons.  Guests will need a small dab of frosting to hold the snowmen together and to "paste" the candy pieces on as decorations.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Eats

If your guests have been building snow people out doors, they are probably going to be HUNGRY!  Start with an all-white veggie and cheese tray with a white dip like ranch dressing (with maybe some snowman approved carrots on the side).  Select from jicama, cauliflower or mushrooms for the white veggies, and mozzarella, swiss, or provolone for the white cheeses.  Then consider serving a melted snowman soup - a creamy potato soup with raisin eyes, oyster cracker buttons and a carrot sliver for a nose floating on top.

For your main course serve something that will reflect the snowman theme - consider meatballs with meat sauce over rice or spaghetti, a meat ball sub or English muffin pizzas.  For dessert serve a snowman cake (directions below) alongside edible snowballs (directions below).

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Treats

Invite this snowman to your party.  Cake mix and ready-to-spread frosting make quick work of this delectable creation.  To assemble this cake you will need a large tray or cardboard covered with wrapping paper and plastic wrap or foil.  To create the cake, bake two 8" cake rounds. Arrange cake rounds on tray as pictured.  Frost with prepared frosting.  Carefully cut black gumdrops for nose and eyebrows, cut green gumdrops for eyes, use red licorice ropes for mouth and muffler and chocolate chips for buttons.  Place one chocolate cookie on each side of head for earmuffs; attach earmuffs across top of head with licorice.  Store loosely covered.

Serve your snowman cake with edible snowballs.  Freeze scoops of vanilla ice cream in paper baking cups for at least two hours before serving.  At serving time, remove the perfect snowballs from the paper baking cups and plate alongside a slice of snowman cake.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Drinks

Your guests will warm right up with minty white chocolate.  To make 10 servings you will need - for the whipped cream: 1 cup whipping cream, 2 T powdered sugar, 1 T unsweetened baking cocoa, and 1 t peppermint extract and for the chocolate drink: 6 cups milk, 3 cups white vanilla baking chips and1/2 t peppermint extract.  Garnish with peppermint candy canes or crushed hard peppermint candies.  (T = tablespoon and t = teaspoon).


The first step is to make the whipped cream. In a clean, chilled small bowl, mix whipping cream, powdered sugar, cocoa and 1/4 t peppermint extract with the electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

The second step is to make the chocolate drink.  In a 2-quart saucepan heat milk just to simmering over medium-low heat - do not boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Add baby chips, stir constantly with wire whisk until melted and smooth.  Stir in 1/2 t peppermint extract.

How to Throw a Winter Fun Snowman Party - Favors

The ultimate favor for your Winter Fun Snowman Party is a Snowman to Go Kit.  Send your guests home in style with the items listed below and a note to this effect:

Here are the ingredients for a very cool snowman:

Pair of funky sunglasses for eyes; five small black rocks for mouth; three large buttons for buttons, of course; one fleece scarf to keep the snowman warm; and, one top hat for style.  Add plenty of snow and a fresh carrot nose.

Most of these items can be purchased at a local party store or on-line.  Funky sunglasses can be ordered from Oriental Trading Company for $10/dozen (Black Nomad Glasses IN-50/333). While there you can also order top hats, child's $6.25/dozen (IN-70/1284) or adult's $15/dozen (IN-25/1648).

Scarves can be made easily from a length of fleece fabric fringed with a scissor at both ends - no sewing required..  Joann Fabrics is currently having a sale on fleece for $4.00 a yard.  The fabric comes 58" wide.  If you cut widths slightly less than six inches you can get ten scarves from one width of fabric.  You can also order buttons from Joann Fabrics - 24 monochromatic buttons are currently priced at $2.79.  BTW - you might want to paint your rocks for the snowman's mouth black for a touch of added refinement for these snow creatures.

Chinese New Year Party for Kids - Chinese Checkers Party Cake

Another option for dessert at your Chinese New Year Party for Kids is a Chinese Checkers Cake.  

Ingredients

• 1 baked 12-inch round cake
• 4 cups chocolate frosting (remember white is an unlucky color for the new year)
• 1/2 cup each purple, blue, orange, yellow, green and pink frosting
• 1 cup red frosting
• 60 candy-coated chocolate pieces, 10 of each frosting color (excluding the red)

Instructions

1. Frost the cake with chocolate frosting. Using a ruler and a knife, lightly mark a six-pointed star. Frost each section a different color and frost the center red.
2. Let the cake sit for a few hours so the frosting forms a crust. Use a marble to make indentations, then set in the candy-coated chocolate pieces.

How to Throw a Chinese New Year Party for Kids

With the holidays over and the promise of spring several months away, people young and old are eager to party.  Attract prosperity, abundance, success and good fortune by hosting a party during the Chinese New Year.  The celebration of the 2012 Chinese New Year begins on January 23rd - the Year of the Dragon.  The New Year is the most significant festivity of the traditional Chinese holidays.  The celebration lasts for 15 days and ends on February 9, 2013.  Traditions, rituals, and themes of happiness, wealth and longevity embody this holiday.

For instance, the new year is typically thought of as a fresh start.  People often get hair cuts or purchase new clothing.  Red envelopes are passed out during the days of the Chinese New Year.  These envelopes contain money - even two shiny pennies will do!  The red of the envelop symbolizes good luck.

People born in the Year of the Dragon are passionate, outgoing, brave and self-assured. On the flip side, they are also a bit foolish and impulsive and often act without thinking.

One important tradition for welcoming the New Year and creating good fortunes is to ban white at all celebrations.  In Chinese culture white represents death and mourning.  For instance, don't serve vanilla ice cream, lemon meringue pie, cake with white icing or anything with cream as a primary ingredient.

For more details on invitations, decorations, games, crafts, foods, beverages, treats and favors, please see the posts entered below.  Be creative and have fun!

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Invitations

Create unique, bright, colorful invitations by importing Chinese New Year's clip art images from HP Creative Studio.  Or write your invitations on home-made red paper lanterns or on the shape of a Chinese dragon and write "Kung Hei Fat Choi!"  (Happy New Year).

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Decorations

For your New Years party decorate your home in red, the Chinese color for good luck.  The bright color of red is believed to scare off bad fortune, so make sure you put up a lot or red decorations when you celebrate Chinese New Years to ward off the bad, and add some gold to bring good fortune.

And since 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, include Dragon decorations and use them to start off the New Year right.  In China the Dragon is a symbol of power.

For added flare incorporate some of these suggestions. Dust gold confetti over a black or red table cloth.  Burn some red and gold candles.  Peonies symbolize love, affections and beauty and are known in China as "Flowers of Riches and Honor."  Float them in glass bowls or sprinkle them across the table.  String flower garlands to ornament your mantels or doorways.  Adorn your ceiling with red and black balloons tied with long gold ribbons.  Line your walkway with traditional Chinese lanterns to draw light and luck - along with your guests - straight into your home.

There are several on-line vendors for your Chinese New Year needs.  You can enjoy one-stop shopping at Oriental Trading for a wide selection of themed products like chopsticks, plates, cups, table cloths, dragon decorations, noise makers, lanterns, folding fans - even fortune cookies - 137 products in all.

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Games

The Chopstick Game

The Chopstick Game is played as a team.  Each team will need a pair of chopsticks, two bowls and enough small objects so each team member will have one item to carry.  Consider items like large marshmallows, marbles, malted milk balls and/or peanuts in the shell.  There should be the same items in the bowls for each team.  To make the game more interesting, vary the objects - marbles are the hardest to carry, marshmallows are the easiest.

Place the bowls containing the objects on tables or chairs and put the second empty bowls right along side the one containing all the objects.  Mark a line with masking tape about 10 feet from each bowl.  When you call "start" one child from each team will pick up one of the team's objects, using only the chopsticks, and carry it to the line and back to the second empty bowl.  The first team to transfer all of its objects from one bowl the other wins.

Remember, hands must not be used at any time.  If an object is dropped, it must be picked up and put back in the first bowl.  An individual contestant is allowed to move only one object at a time.

New Years Flashlight Limbo

In this lights-out version of a classic party game, the object is to avoid the beam of the flashlight.  To play this game you will need two flashlights.

Clean a floor space and turn off the lights .  Two kids, each holding a flashlight, will stand a few feet apart, turn on the flashlights, and point them at each other to create a level beam of light for the others to limbo under.

Bubble Wrap Stomp

Celebrate the Chinese New Year on your feet!  Traditionally noise scares away evil spirits.  For a few dollars you can pick up several yards of large bubble wrap or you can recycle bubble wrap that comes with your holiday gifts.

Just before serving your food, unroll the bubble wrap on a hard surface, such as a wooden floor, concrete basement floor or driveway.  Then count down from ten.  When the count concludes have everyone join in the Bubble Wrap Stomp.

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Craft

2012 is the Year of the Dragon.  Your guests will love to decorate a dragon mask of their own.  Family Fun Magazine has the perfect printable for this party.  Click here to download the mask.

Before the party print the mask on card stock.  Have each guest color in the mask - make sure to have plenty of crayons and markers on hand.  Cut out the eye holes.  Using a hole punch, punch holes where indented on each side of the mask.  To secure the mask to each child's head, cut a piece of elastic string or elastic cord to the size of the child's head and tie it to the holes that your punched out.  Adjust the length of the string so that the mask stays securely on your child's head.

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Foods

To bring good fortune and happiness to your home in the new year, serve and eat as many of the traditional Chinese lucky foods as you can.  Consider adding noodles, dumplings and mandarin oranges to your New Years party.

Noodles are a traditional food for the Chinese New Year as their length symbolize longevity.  That's longevity for the people at the party, not for the sweet, salty dish, which definitely won't last around pasta-loving kids.


Recipe for Sesame-Soy Noodles

8 ounces of Chinese egg noodles or pasta noodles, such as linguine
3 T dark sesame oil
3 T low-sodium soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
2 T honey
1/8 t ground ginger
Dash of salt and pepper
1 medium red bell pepper, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely shredded carrots
2 medium scallions, very thinly sliced

Sesame-Soy Noodles Cooking Instructions

Bring a medium pot of water to boil over high heat.  Add the noodles whole and cook through until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to separate.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, salt and pepper.  When the noodles are done, drain and transfer them to a serving bowl.  Add the sliced bell pepper, shredded carrots, scallions, then pour in the sauce and toss everything to coat.  Serve noodle mixture warm or chilled.  Serves 6.

Dumplings

In China families also will feast on meat-filled dumplings.  You can prepare a batch at home or order some from your favorite China restaurant.  In some locales dumplings will also be found in the frozen food case of your neighborhood grocery.

Beverages

A traditional choice for a beverage would be to serve tea - hot or iced.  If your guests might not enjoy Chinese tea, substitute orange juice (oranges represent good luck and abundant happiness) or red cream soda (red is the color of happiness).  Or consider punch - a refreshing red punch would be perfect for the occasion.

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Treats

2012 is the Year of the Dragon and what better treat to serve at your Chinese New Years Party but Dragon Cookie Pops.  Use a heart cookie cutter to create cookie dragon heads.  Add dragon details with icing.  To coordinate with the traditional Chinese colors of good fortune and happiness, you may want to utilize red, black and gold to decorate your Dragon Cookie Pops.  For more instructions click here.

Or if you prefer a cake, use the patterns from Wilton to cut cookie appendages that will transform a football pan cake into a dimensional dragon.  Detailed instructions can be found here.

Chinese New Year Party for Kids Favors

Give a red or red and gold gift bag filled with chocolate coins covered in gold foil and tied with a red ribbon.  Or fill the gift bags with fortune cookies.  You could also give each guest a small stuffed dragon or dragon key chain to commemorate 2012 - the Year of the Dragon.