Page 15 - North State Parent April 2020

for community By Cheryl Maguire Secrets to
Throwing an
EPIC
BIRTHDAY
PARTY
on a Dime
with Cardboard, Creativity and a Little Planning Ahead
W hen I received the invite to my nephew’s pirate party, I was worried. The event was taking place at his house during the wintertime. The five-year-old kids would be cooped up indoors. How would more than 20 kids be entertained inside? Would I hear so many chaotic screams of “Arrr”
and “Ahoy” that I would want to walk the plank?
My fears subsided when I beheld the enormous cardboard pirate ship moored in the living room. If the boat hadn’t been so crowded with kids, I would have
jumped onboard myself. When I noticed organized ac- tivity stations set up throughout the house, I knew all the kids would have a blast. The party was a huge suc- cess! My kids still talk about it four years later.
The pirate party isn’t the only impressive at-home event my sister, Tara, and her husband Mike Stull have hosted. They have thrown other equally successful events for their children. Knights and princesses, cowboys and cowgirls, fairies and gnomes, Star Wars and pirates. For each party this couple has created a thematic cardboard
Photo by Francesca Murgia, Chico
play area. A castle, an Old West town, that pirate ship. There are also games centered around the theme and a favor to take home.
So, what is the secret to throwing an epic birthday party on a dime?
Planning in Advance
The Stull Family is already planning the next theme party for June—unicorns! They get ideas from Pinterest. com and other crafting websites. Sometimes 16
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PleasesayyousawitinNorthStateParentmagazine.Thishelpsusgrow!
www.northstateparent.com • April2020
15
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to nature. Learn and of nature survival.
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