Ellen DeGeneres' Be Kind Party

Invites

They're not really used anymore, but if you'd like you can print out the Ellen card. Write party details on the back. 

Ask guests to donate an entry fee for a good cause, be it an animal shelter or the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund.

Decorations

Hang blue and white balloons and streamers for a party feel.

Hang a "Be Kind to One Another" poster from the Ellen shop--hopefully they still have them. 

Play Pink's song "Today's The Day." Look up other live performances from Ellen's show as well.

Hide small scares in places--a clown puppet taped to the toilet, a shocking jumpscare in an Epic or Fail video, a scary face painted on a balloon with glow-in-the-dark-paint in a closet you'll be using, your brother hiding under the cake table, etc. At the end of the party give the guest with the best reaction a prize. 

Food

Finding Dory cups: Place several shades of blue M&Ms/other blue round candies in little cups. Hide a Swedish fish or gummy fish inside. 

Ellen Blue punch: Combine a gallon of blue Hawaiian Punch, 2 liters of lemon lime soda, and 46 oz of pineapple juice and serve. For a more accurate color, just use the Hawaiian Punch.

Birthday? Make a blue cake with vanilla frosting. 

Any blue and white snacks are fair game. If you wan to splurge, see if you can find a nearby bakery who will write positive phrases on sugar cookies. 

Games

Play versions of the games seen on the show. If you'd like, call guests up at random throughout the party to play. Here are just a few ideas:

Epic or Fail Have each guest send you the links to 3-4 internet clips beforehand. Show each clip at the party and pause it right before the person in the video either does something epic or fails miserably. See how many guests can guess correctly.

Pitch Please Pick an object and show it to the group so that the other game player can't see what it is. You, as the host, will ask them questions about the item and they will answer, not knowing what they are talking about. Think of it as a QVC special. For extra fun, record the "performance."

Taste Buds: Blindfold two guests at a time. You will hand them a plate of food which they must taste blindfolded and guess what the item is. See who can get the most correct, or divide the group into teams and have two players taste at a time. Whoever gets the most points wins.

Fast Fingers of Fate Have everyone type out a phrase on an iPhone. The person who can type it out the most accurate the quickest wins the round. They may not edit typos.

Emoji Exploji Use emojis to write out a sentence rebus-style. Have players guess what the sentence means. Whoever gets the most correct wins. 

Heads Up: Download the app and play as a group.

Game Board Relay Use games that have appeared in the show- Sorry Spin, Jenga, 5-second rule,  even Heads Up. Divide the group into two EVEN groups and line up the game boards in a row. Set a timer for ten minutes and have pairs play their game. When time is up, each team determines a winner. The top row of guests moves to the right and the bottom row moves to the left until each player has played each game. The winner gets a prize from the Ellen shop.

There's also these...

Talk Show Ball If guests don't know each other, or even if they do, write a rubber ball with questions they can answer on it. Toss the ball around and have guests answer the question under their right thumb. They talk about it as if they are on a talk show. Try for at least 2-3 minutes straight. Bonus points for funny stories!

The Compliment Game Get the party started on a kind note. Sit in a circle. Player one compliments the player on their left by saying something like, "Your green shirt is lovely." That player compliments the player on their own left. They might say, "I like your long hair," but then they also must add the compliment that Player 1 said. Keep going until someone forgets a compliment. 

Favors

Include:

-A cheap gift card like the ones Ellen gives out

-Blindfolds or sleep masks with wacky eyeballs as seen on the show

-Blue and/or white candies
-Beauty supplies: bath poufs, nail polish, lotion in blue or white
-Little books of inspirational quotes or notepads (check your local bookstore)

Mario Party: Live!

Many of these pinnable ideas can be found live on my Mario Party Pinterest board.

Invites

Fold a piece of paper in half and cut around edges to make it look like a Nintendo DS. Draw a screen and controls in the inside of the card. Write party details on the "screen." 

Find a Mario pipe template online. Trace two pipes onto green paper so that the edges touch. Cut out a picture of Mario and stick it on top of a popsicle stick. Cut out a small, thin rectangle and glue the two ends to the inside of one pipe so that there is a gap between the rectangle and the side of the pipe.  Slide the popsicle stick through the slot and so that it appears on the bottom of the pipe--this way Mario can pop in and out. Glue the two pipe pieces together on all sides except for the bottom. Write party details on the back or front of card. 

Decorating

The key here is color, cheer, and happy outdoor landscapes. Think about sidescrolling levels in Mario games.

Blow up white balloons and attach cotton. Attach two black buttons for eyes. Hang from the ceiling.

Hang up red and green streamers and balloons.

Create a backdrop. Hang up a teal blue sheet on the wall for a sky. Find images of Mario clouds, pipes, bricks, enemies, etc. and cut them out. Tape images to the sheet to create a scene.

Cut out Fire Flowers, tape them to sticks, and place into pots.

Use a block template to print, cut out, build, and stack bricks.

Hang up a banner in Mario font--see my board for banner. 

Games

Images are not currently working...sorry! Please visit my board at the link above for images and descriptions.

Mario Party Extreme- Set up a game board with cardboard paper for spaces. Invite each guest to write "action spaces" on 3 sheets of paper, such as "You fell into Bowser's lava pits! Lose a turn." Interperse these action spaces among blank sheets of paper on the ground to create a game board. 

Everyone should start at the Start block. Players/teams take turns rolling a six-sided cube cardboard box with numbers on the sides. They move that number of spaces and follow the directions on the paper if there are any. The first player or team to the finish wins.

Mario Kart Race- Divide the group into teams of two. They should both have an obstacle course to maneuver through of equal length. You may use cones,  and stuffed animals or Mario enemies. On "go," the first player hops on their tricycle and goes to the end of the course and back without "falling" (leaving the course limits) or running into an enemy. Running into an enemy incurs a five-second penalty while falling incurs ten seconds. 

Yoshi Egg Hunt- Buy plastic Easter eggs, preferably polka dotted. You may also paint polka dots later. Hide them and invite the guests to find as many as they can. The guest who finds the egg with a paper Yoshi inside can win a special prize of your choosing.

Perler Beads- If you have a smaller group, invest in some square bead templates and bead kits. Find some templates on the internet--they're everywhere--and print them out. Let guests use the templates to make their own Mario characters or power ups. 

You may also make these yourself before the party and give them to guests as favors or place cards. 

Menu

Menu may be printed and displayed or just used as inspiration.

Favors

Print brick block patterns onto cardstock. Put them together and fill with chocolate coins.

See the Fire Flower decoration idea above. Fill the pots with chocolates and/or chocolate coins.

Quizzes, Quizzes, Quizzes

Below are knowledge and personality quizzes. Take them on the computer, or print them out and take them with friends. Enjoy!

ENTERTAINMENT/POP CULTURE
The Big Comfy Quiz: Which Big Comfy Couch Character Are You?
Calvin or Hobbes? 
Which famous cat are you?
Who are you from Blues Clues?
Who are you in the Big Blue House?
Which Lizzie McGuire episode should you star in?
Which Human Character Are You in Garfield?




HOLIDAY/CELEBRATIONS
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown Trivia
What's Your Halloween Party Style?
Know Your Elf
The Great Pumpkin Quiz
  (please keep in mind for this one....the answer to question 7 is actually (highlight for spoilers): yellow coat and blue scarf
Have a Harry Halloween: Test Your Knowledge of Potter Halloween events

9 Ways to Have an Easter Egg Hunt

Easter egg hunts are fun. Even when you're an adult.

Do they have anything to do with the true meaning of Easter? No. Not really. But they're awesome and a spring staple for sure.

DYED EGGS
Use the eggs you dyed the previous day for an egg hunt. Hide them around the house and have everyone find the eggs they colored. Give a prize for whoever finds theirs the fastest.

BIBLICAL
Look up the resurrection egg tradition and put a symbol in each egg. Gather back together and share the story of Easter.

SNOOPY-STYLE
Toss your plastic eggs blindly and randomly all over the yard, then have your group search for them.

ROLE REVERSAL
First, the adults hide for the kids. Then, the kids hide for the adults! Try to put together two sets of eggs for both groups.

SCAVENGER HUNT
Each egg comes with a candy and a clue where the next egg is hiding. Good for indoors, and for only children. You could also offer baskets of prizes for everyone at the end and have a group work on the scavenger hunt together.

COLOR-CODED HUNT
Everyone must find eggs, but they can only collect eggs in their own color. Make sure everyone has an equal number of eggs to find. This is also a good way to alter the difficulty of the hunt for each child involved.

GLOW IN THE DARK
Put similarly colored glow sticks in each egg, then hide them in the dark.

EGG RELAY
Divide the group into teams. The first player goes to find an egg, then runs back to the group and places it in their basket. Then the next player runs for an egg, and so on until they have found a certain number of eggs. The group that finishes first wins a prize! This is a good variation to play with your dyed eggs.

ADULT HUNT
The same as a kids' hunt, but for adults only! Warning: more mature prizes might set you back a bit more money depending on what you use. Consider charging an entry fee if it's a larger group.

THE WORST EGG HUNTS I'VE EVER DONE 

Eggs only with your age on them. We went to a local funeral home for this one where yard space was quite limited. We were separated into groups by age. I was part of the 8-10 group (well, I was twelve, but you know). The eggs had a number on them from 8 to 10, but you could only collect eggs with the number of your age on it.There weren't a lot of kids in our group...but there were a lot of 10-year-olds. Long story short, I collected three eggs while the two eight year olds went home with baskets overflowing. And quite frankly, can you be honest with kids to pick the right numbers? Eh, maybe... They clearly assumed that equal numbers of kids of each age would be participating. Nope. This *might* have worked better if they had guests RSVP, and even then not everyone might show up. 

Paper bag hunting. The concept wasn't bad here, because the paper bags in questions could hold a lot of candy. But paper bags aren't a lot of fun to find, not to mention difficult on a cloudy early March or April day when things may still be looking brown.


Have a wonderful Easter and don't be afraid to get your hunt on, no matter your age!

Dunder Mifflin Party

I now have a few printables for this party, so I thought it would be time for its own blog post. Here are some ideas to inspire your Scranton celebration. You can see more resources on my Pinterest board.

Invites

Well, well, how the turntables! For some very strange reason, my the link to this saved invite got replaced with someone ELSE's Dunder Mifflin invite that I must have downloaded at some point. Maybe I'll make it up again in the future. Erm...here is some text you can use for inspiration?

Activities

*Host Office Olympics as shown here

*Have a Dundie ceremony. Buy plastic Dundie awards and give everyone a ridiculous title.

Drinking Game

I made this ages and ages ago. Do it responsibly. Visit the link to myPinterest board on the top of this post to see a clearer version. 

Food Labels

(12 pack)

You can print out these labels to serve with food at your party. Many are self explanatory but others you can work with- for example, Dwight's beets can be actual beets (as a decoration, because Dwight would absolutely bring in beets), or some other round treat like red M&Ms. 

I could only do one per page but this will allow you to stand them up---print on card stock, cut them out and fold the top part under the bottom. Or just print out the text half and tape it to a bowl. 

Food ideas can be seen when you download the image.

Playlist

I also wanted to bring your attention to a playlist. I have created a compilation of songs that have appeared in the TV show that you can use for the party. This playlist is ongoing and editable, so I can always make changes. Make your requests in the comments, but if I see any evidence of "Um, this is wrong" or "uh, why didn't you include *so and so?* Dumb!"  I will be less likely to honor your request. Pretend that you are making a request to Angela. 

Watch this space for any more possible ideas.

                         

A few other ideas since you're here...

*Play Office trivia or Office Clue (the board game).

*Buy plastic Dundie awards (I've seen them on Etsy but you can probably get them elsewhere) and have a ceremony.

*Invite people to come in costume, or assign each guest a character to come as so you have all the main characters present. 

*Play Michael's Diversity Day game with Office characters---major or minor. 

*Play tribute to Michael's biggest hobby---improv. Play charades or another theater game of your choice.

*Play the Office drinking game on my Pinterest board. (Do it responsibly please!) Non-drinker? Use Kevin's jar of M&Ms instead. 

*For a twist, throw an Office Christmas party and have a Yankee swap. For extra points, have a Moroccan Christmas or Classy Christmas. 

Yes, It's Okay to Play Santa! A Christian's Perspective

I once read a comment online about how much better Hanukkah was because it wasn't super commercial. I don't entirely agree with this; I think that if you look past the ads and the shopping malls Christmas is magical for many people. (I also think that holidays aren't a contest and that we should stop yelling about others' traditions.)

Jesus is amazing. He was sent to Earth to save us and without being born, it wouldn't have happened. Material items aren't nearly as important. Santa is a good guy, but he's not real, and doesn't do what Jesus did.

But, kids need imaginations these days and I am cool with playing Santa. Santa can also be a great teaching tool for the faith. Here are some ways you can keep this tradition alive without making him into an idol. There are too many blogs out there that yell at people for how they participate. These are just some ideas!

HOW TO PLAY SANTA

Do teach kids the real meaning of the holiday.

According to an old infographic on Pinterest, 25% of kids believed that Easter was about celebrating the Easter Bunny's birthday. I'm not trying to be a prickly holiday judge, but this is dangerously close to idolatry. Teach them early. Take them to church, or read them picture books about the meaning. There are many.

Don't go crazy with shopping.

Does anyone else get super-sad to see that some people find Christmas stressful? I do! It's supposed to be a wonderful, joyous time of year! Don't let the need to buy 50 material items take away from that joy. In fact, the less you buy, the happier you'll be. And the more focused on Jesus, I might add. The Bible speaks out about how materialism is bad. We need to store treasures in heaven, not on Earth. Those are the best treasures! Santa doesn't even need to give many gifts.

I'm not opposed to gifts. They're a holiday tradition to show your appreciation at year's end, and aren't just for Christmas. The four-gift rule is becoming popular on Pinterest also. It basically goes, "one thing I'll wear, one thing I need, one thing I want, one thing I'll read." Easy enough.

Again, teach them early. If you implement this rule from the get-go, kids will never know what they're missing.

Do give your kids Biblical gifts!

From kids' Bibles to VeggieTales videos, there is many a Christian gift out there to give to your kids. If you really don't like material items, you might focus on these types of things.

Do present Santa as a disciple of sorts.

Santa likes to reward kids who are like Jesus! And even though we make mistakes, God's grace allows us to keep receiving Jesus' love. Thus, even though we are bad sometimes, Santa gives us gifts anyway. But, he is not the reason we celebrate. Santa exists to help spread joy and messages of giving, just like Jesus would want us to do. Jesus is the meaning; Santa is the helper. Even Santa needs Jesus in his life. How else do you think those reindeer fly? Faith!

Santa is also a huge do-gooder. He likes to reward Godly behavior. He comes to visit us in order to serve. (That said, don't confuse Santa with real disciples! He is just a helper.) 

There are picture books out there that present Santa as a helper. I've heard of one, anyway. Have some story time and learn about why Santa does what he does.

But Santa is also a good teaching tool for faith.

Even as adults, it's hard to have faith and believe in something we don't know for sure exists. Can you imagine how hard this concept must be for kids to wrap their head around? Yet, the legend of Santa Claus is spread far and wide and quite frankly, it's made so believable by traditions and word-of-mouth that it's hard not to believe in Santa. What if we did the same for God? 

Think back to your favorite Christmas specials. Remember how many centered on the theme of "believing" and loving each other, and bringing tidings of great joy? Don't the same messages apply to Christ? Even the music...couldn't Santa Claus is Coming to Town be allegory for the coming of Christ? (well, think about it! You don't have to go THAT far...but could it?) Even if you don't explain to your kids why it should remind them of Jesus after every viewing, the messages still sink in.

Elf on the Shelf often encourages good, Jesus-like behavior.

When your Elf on the Shelf arrives, he can reference Jesus in his letters to you. The elf is there to make sure your kids are being good, like Jesus would want. Some elves even ask you to do good deeds instead of make mischief themselves. 

I have a plethora of items you can use. My introductory letters let kids know that the elf is here so they can practice being good like Jesus. (There are two versions.) He can even bring good deed challenges to get kids thinking of how to share God's love with others. If they want the elf to return, they need to complete the challenge! Check out the rest of my elf collection here as well.

Let kids grow out of it....

If you randomly tell them one day that Santa isn't real, they may be upset at this and wonder if Jesus is real too. But eventually, the magic fades and they will realize that Santa doesn't exist. By that time, it won't be upsetting to them. They won't be tempted to go back on their faith, or will be less likely to. However, I've never heard of that actually happening. If they ever go back on their faith, it probably won't be because Santa wasn't real! 

...however, retire the tradition if your kids get super greedy and don't get it.

If your kids are of the "super gimme" variety, playing Santa might not be for you. If your kids are praying to Santa, that's also a good reason to stop. That's totally cool. 

There's a reason I like Santa but not the Easter Bunny. Santa emphasizes giving and learning how to believe, and is based off a Christian figure (I actually don't love worshiping saints, but that isn't for this blog). The Easter Bunny is solely about material items. Also, he's kind of scary. Have you seen some of those vintage Easter Bunny portraits? 

So yeah. Let kids have a little fun this holiday, but don't forget what it's really about. And if you don't want to or don't feel comfortable with playing Santa, that's great too! I'm not here to tell you how to celebrate your Christmas; that's not my job and people have different styles and traditions. These are just some ideas! It is definitely possible to play Santa and still love Jesus more. 

New Elf on the Shelf Goodies for 2018

Whoops-a-daisies. There's nothing here. You must have broken the Internet. Good job!

Actually, the printouts have just moved (unless you came from an old Pinterest image that's no longer available). Click the link above to see them!