Continental Breakfast Bar

A user-friendly morning meal for a sleepover party is to set-up a continental breakfast bar. This is easy to do by purchasing danishes, muffins, bagels and individual boxes of cereals in advance of the party. The night before line up the needed glasses, bowls, spoons, plates, etc. When your sleepy heads awake in the morning, simply put out some cut up fruit, juices, and milk on the table. You can round out the menu with some jam or jelly and peanut butter. In a matter of minutes the kids are ready to chow down.

Martial Arts Jacket Cake

For your Karate Kid/ Kung Fu Kid Movie Marathon Party the logical choice for a cake is a Martial Arts Jacket Cake. Parenting.com has published an easy road map for you to make one. In addition, the Wilton company had a T-shirt pan that could be adapted for the martial arts jacket. The website site still has some pictures of cakes made with this pan to give your an idea of its potential. Some readers have had luck securing this retired Wilton pan at yard sales and on-line auction sites. Happy hunting!

Another option for you is to modify the Family Fun.com's Groovy T-Shirt Cake and transform the shape into a Martial Arts Jacket. You can find the easy to follow directions for the shirt here. And last but not least, the bloggers at hubpage.com have devoted an entire entry to Karate Birthday Cakes and Cupcakes. If all else fails, there has to be something there to please your birthday child. Check out the options at hubpage.com here.

Please post pictures of your successes below in the comment section. We would love to see your creative birthday cakes.

Karate Kid Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

A great bedtime snack for your Karate Kids are these classic cookies that satisfy two tastes. Chocolate lovers will love the chips, and oatmeal fans will appreciate the sweet, chewy goodness of whole grains.

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspooon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Step One: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Step Two: Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2-inches apart.

Step Three: Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

3 1/2 dozen cookies

Kung Fu Snack Mix

Wasabi-coated peas, soy sauce, a special seasoning and chow mein noodles add an Asian flair to this snack mix. Your little Karate Kids and Kung Fu Masters will love this treat.

4 cups Corn Chex cereal
4 cups Fritos corn chips
2 cups chow mein noodles
1 cup pretzel nuggets
1 cup salted peanuts
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 package chow mein seasoning mix (1 ounce)
1 cup wasabi-coated peas
1 cup sesame sticks

Step One: Heat oven to 250 degrees F. In an ungreased large roasting pan, mix cereal, corn chips, chow mein noodles, pretzel nuggets and peanuts.

Step Two: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce and chow mein seasoning mix with wire whisk until well mixed. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.

Step Three: Bake uncovered 50 to 55 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until mixture looks dry and crisp. Spread on paper towels; cool 15 minutes. Place in serving bowl; stir in wasabi-coated peas and sesame sticks. Store in airtight container.

28 servings

Coming Soon - How to Throw a Karate Kid (Kung Fu Kid) Movie Marathon Sleepover Party

Check back here on Friday, June 4, 2010 for a new party plan - How to Throw a Karate Kid (Kung Fu Kid) Movie Marathon Sleepover Party. With the US opening of the Karate Kid (will be released in other countries as the Kung Fu Kid) on June 11, 2010, this party will be in high demand. Since most sleepovers are same sex events, this theme with the Karate Kid cast as a young man (Jaden Smith's character) will more likely appeal to a birthday boy. Interested in a slumber party that will appeal to the little starlets in your family? Then check out the party plan - How to Throw a Movie Marathon Slumber Party that was posted on this blog on Friday, May 28, 2010.

Make Your Own Pizza Bar

Party-goers will love to make their own pizzas. Make this easy by providing English muffin halves or small Naan breads (available at most grocery stores). Set out a variety of pizza ingredients and let the kids go at it. Consider including pepperoni, chopped onions, green pepper and mushrooms with shredded pizza cheese and a bowl of pizza sauce. Marinara spaghetti sauce makes a delicious pizza sauce.

Place completed pizzas on a cookie sheet - covered in parchment paper will ease clean-up later on. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until the cheese melts about 10 minutes. You may want to do a trial run in your oven ahead of time, as ovens vary. Also, pizzas with a lot of stuff on them may take longer to cook than pizzas constructed with a minimalist approach. So consider sorting pizzas and putting "heavy" ones on a sheet separate from "light" ones to ensure even cooking for both types. Another consideration is keeping track of the ownership of each pizza. Cooked pizzas do not always look like the uncooked version. To avoid controversy, make a quick note of each pizza's creator and its place on the cookie sheet on a notepad before putting the creations in the oven.

Make Your Own Taco Bar

Most kids love tacos and a taco bar is a great idea for a sleepover. Provide plenty of taco meat (cooked lean ground meat - beef, chicken or turkey - seasoned* with a taco blend of spices and tomato sauce), taco shells and/or small soft tortillas, and other fixings such as shredded Mexican cheese blend, salsa, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, taco sauce, sour cream, chopped olives, and anything else that is good on tacos.

* Several manufacturers make a prepared taco sauce for this purpose