5 Essentials for Tailgating with Kids

I've become a veteran tailgater. It is only so because my husband loves to tailgate. We have season football tickets to our college alma mater, Wake Forest University, and we usually tailgate before each game. But he also likes to tailgate before concerts, and has been known to tailgate somehow at other people's houses.

After we had children, tailgating became a somewhat different sport. My girlies learned to say, "Go Deacs!" along with Ma-ma and Da-da. They wore the cheerleading uniform, waved the pompoms, and it was my job to keep everybody happy. Now a little older, it's easier, but I still come prepared to handle potential meltdowns so we can all enjoy a fun family afternoon.

So, if you are headed to a tailgate this fall with the kiddos, here's what you need.

Snacks and Drinks

Great ideas for the tailgate foods include carrot sticks, grapes, pretzels, hummus, and cheese & crackers. Kids and adults usually like these finger foods and you can pack up leftovers in ziploc bags to take into the game. Healthy snacks like this help keep your kids' energy and mood up. We like to make a spinach dip for tailgates that is easy and delicious for carrots, pretzels and crackers. It's actually on the back of the Knorr vegetable dip mix. You can find this recipe online here. 

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of snacks, (also known as 'nacks to certain small people I love). When you run out, you will have approximately 20 minutes before the meltdowns begin. You have been warned! 

Chairs and Blankets

Of course you need chairs to sit around the tailgate, and we always like to bring some kid-sized camp chairs to keep our kids out of the adult chairs. We like this one by Redmon, which comes in a variety of colors and is quite resonably priced.

At some of our games, we choose to sit "on the hill" with many other families. I've learned the hard way that you need more than a blanket for these games! Plan to take a tarp (usually found at a home improvement store) to put under the blanket. You do not want a soggy behind for the duration of a football game!

Don't forget the bugspray.  

Weather-Related Items

When packing up to head out, sometimes it's hard to predict what the weather is going to do that day. Be prepared with everything from sunscreen and hats to rain ponchos and umbrellas to jackets. I've used all of the above in one long game day.

My sister gave us a really nice custom tote bag that she designed from LL Bean. On their website, you can choose the color of the bag, handles and monogram to show off your team spirit. It is huge and can carry so much into the game. We love it.

 Tailgating Essentials

Once we started tailgating with kids, my sister put together an awesome checklist and had it laminated for us. On the list are trashbags, napkins, wipes, laminated tablecloth, aluminum foil, ziplock bags, serving spoons, plastic cutlery, cups, bottle opener, paper towels, hot pad, and tongs. We created a "tailgate box" and store all these essentials in a plastic bin. Having a box like this will make packing up and moving out for the game so, so much easier. You have enough to do with dressing your little ones in jerseys and cheerleader outfits for the game.

If you grill, my best recommendation is to invest in a good knife with a cover. My husband loves to grill and our favorite knife is a Santoku that my mother bought from us at Williams-Sonoma. Santoku knives are perfect for cutting anything from vegetables to steaks. Zyliss is a Swiss company that has been making knives for 50 years. You can find a great-priced Zyliss Santoku with a cover on Amazon here. 

Games

Usually if we get to the game early enough, we have an opportunity to see the band and our mascot in the parking lot. This is really fun for the kids. I always stuff a couple of pom-poms in our tailgate box. They like to cheer and be a part of the team spirit. 

Snacks and pom-poms keep these cheerleaders happy!

A small football to throw in the parking lot is great for boys, plus if you have access to a cornhole board, that is always fun for girls and boys. We make sure to bring markers and a doodle book for my little one when she gets hot and tired.

This year I made up a Game Day Wordsearch for my kids and their tailgating friends. Would you like one for your next tailgate? Free printable can be found here.  

Visit our Pinterest board for a fun roundup of great tailgating foods and decor.

Follow Sassafras Paper's board tailgates and football on Pinterest.

This post contains affiliate links.

Read More»

Happy Friday!

1. Tailgating this weekend? This recipe looks fun, delicious, and well, awesome. Buffalo Chicken Meatball Sliders via Southern Living here.
2. North Carolina is the place to be in the fall. Our State magazine has some sweet info on taking in the best of the mountain scenery.
3. Simple, kind idea for a fall gift of love to a friend via Lasso the Moon. Perfect.
4. We pinned this amazing pumpkin centerpiece from Gwen Moss blog and love that she includes a detailed DIY tutorial for it. This is the one to save for a special fall gathering (Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of you!) 
5. And, since we included those awesome sliders, you may want something to put them on that shows your school spirit. We've got you covered with our melamine platters that you can order here. Shoot us an email if you need help picking one with your colors.

October is finally here! Yay! I have already seen leaves turning here in the North Carolina Triad, and the weather this week has been fantastic. If you haven't guessed, this is my favorite time of year. Sweater, boots, brisk breezes, warm colors - they are all mixed into my love of this month. October has always been extra special to me because it is my birthday month. Now, I love this month even more because I can celebrate another anniversary, my survival of a blood cancer. I am going to try to make each day this month one of thankfulness, contentment, and being present in the moment. There are so many reasons to be joyful!

What about you? What are you most looking forward to about fall?

Read More»

Everything you Need to Excite Kids for the Winter Olympics

Original Image: Freestyle Skiing Men's Aerials Final (Duncan Rawlinson) / CC BY 2.0

With Sochi coming up in just a few short days, I wanted to share some creative ways you can get your kids excited about the Winter Olympics 2014.  I'll admit I am not the biggest sports fan, and am hardly athletic myself.  But, I love watching the Olympic Games! The Winter Olympics are especially nice to get into when it's cold outside and there's not much to do besides stay home.  As a mother, I have loved making a big deal out of watching the Olympics.  I feel like it encourages patriotism, and my kids are inspired by watching young people who have worked really hard achieve their dreams.

So, here it is!  Everything you need to get kids excited for the Winter Olympics:

Gather the family to watch the opening ceremonies, which air on Friday, February 7th.  If your family already has "movie" night on Fridays, this is a perfect opportunity to pop some popcorn and get comfy. Check out the uniforms from the different countries, and take a vote to see which one you like the best!  This year Ralph Lauren designed the USA uniforms and made sure they were 100% manufactured in the United States.

Eat and drink the Olympic Games.  Make food fun by getting creative.  We've seen ideas for everything from Olympic Ring cookies, to Oreo gold medals, to a fruit flag!  

We have lots of ideas on our Olympics Pinterest board.  We love these ideas from Ruth over at Living Well Spending Less. She got really creative with ice cream cone torches, and check out her Olympic pizza:

Photo Credit: Living Well Spending Less

Become experts on the events.  Print out a copy of the schedule, put it on your fridge and figure out what each event is about.  As soon as she saw the schedule, my daughter started asking me about some of the events.  Did you know they are divided into three categories?  Ice Sports, Alpine, Skiing and Snowboarding, and Nordic Events. What in the world is "curling" or a "biathlon"?  Look it up with your kids, and maybe play a trivia game with the facts you find! There are more explanations on the different sports at olympic.org/sports.  You can also find a great list of books to read on winter sports on The Educator's Spin on It.

Track the medals.  Pull one over on your kids by making math fun. Have your child create a table and chart a bar graph with the number of bronze, silver and gold medals that the US wins.  Make it more colorful by adding other countries to the chart and drawing their flags.  Over on the East Coast Creative blog, you can download a free printable to put behind glass in a picture frame.  Use a dry erase pen to update the medal list each day.

Learn about Russia.  I know there is a lot of focus on the security of these Olympic Games, but you can take a lighter approach with kids and just help them learn about a different area of the world. Julie from Nurturing Learning has a wonderful list of children's books set in Russia, and some easy art ideas.  At Teachers Pay Teachers, you can download clip art maps of Sochi and Russia for free.

Become involved in the athletes stories.  Who could forget the story of Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug? It's fun (and educational) to become familiar with athletes and their history, obstacles and achievements. The Team USA website has a great section devoted to 100 storylines you can follow in Sochi.  Find one that will interest your kids, and follow it throughout the games.  

Get Crafty  OK, I know some of you aren't crafters, but there are some EASY ideas out there that you and your kids can do that will produce some pretty impressive results!  I love this idea from Melissa at the Joys of Home Educating.  Isn't it cute?  All you do is tear paper and glue!

Photo Credit: The Joys of Home Educating

I've also seen many ideas for making your own Olympic torch.  This one is easy!  Cover a paper towel roll with aluminum foil and stuff in orange, red and yellow tissue paper.

Have your own games  We planned a fun night for our church's elementary-age youth group.  We talked about the importance of perserverance, endurance and relying on God.  We spent time thinking about how hard the athletes practice, and overcome disappointments and obstacles to achieve greatness.  These videos from P&G, which focus on thanking moms, have really cool stories.  We loved the one about Nick Goepper.  Go Nick!  Then, it was on to our games.  We hit soft balls with hockey sticks into taped off goals on the walls of our fellowship hall, had relay races with homemade torches, and pushed teammates on small carts to emulate the luge.  It was great fun!  

Do you plan to watch the games with your kids?  What activities do you have planned?

Read More»

Throw a Delightful . . . Art Party!

An art party can be a fun way for your child to share his or her creative side with friends.  It's great for a summer morning playdate or a birthday.  We've found lots of unique and fun ways to make an art party delightful for your child.

Of course, you will want to start with one of these darling invitations.  A colorful invitation is a great way to get a child excited about an upcoming event.  We love these art-themed invitations found on our sister Printswell site.

On Pinterest, we've found loads of great ideas for hosting your own art party.  Check out some great ideas below:

Jen at Beauty in Bloom, celebrated her daughter Annie's birthday with an art party.  We love the creative way she had the kids draw & paint on paper pre-printed with a frame.  They look great all hung together on the fence "gallery" outside.  The rainbow of colors keeps the style bright and fresh.

On her blog, cutest little things, Judy shared what she did for her son's fourth birthday.  Take a look at those art palette cookies!  It looks like a pretzel is the paintbrush.  Very sweet!  The kids all created handprint art on canvases that she had pre-painted a solid color.  A creative favor from a super cute party!

Find our art party board on Pinterest to see more great ideas!

Read More»

Throw a Delightful . . . Summer Porch Dinner

We are excited about the end of school and the beginning of warm Summer nights!  We love grilling and eating outside and having friends over to share makes it even better.  One of our favorite menus for entertaining is Cedar Planked Salmon, Sugar Snap Peas & Asparagus and Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  Everything goes together so well and just sings summer.

The sauce for the salmon is absolutely delicious and we use a recipe that was originally from a card I picked up at Williams-Sonoma years ago.  I can't find it on their website now, so I've recreated it here.  Be sure to pick up their cedar planks--they make the dish.

Grilled Cedar-Plank Salmon

Serves 8

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tbsp. soy sauce

6 tbsp. chardonnay (can also use bourbon or whiskey)

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tbsp. brown sugar

Freshly ground pepper to taste

4 lbs. salmon fillet

½ tsp. lemon juice

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, whisking to blend.  Set marinade aside.

Remove any pinbones from salmon. (Leave whole or cut into individual servings.)  Place salmon in a shallow bowl, add marinade and turn to coat.  Cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

While salmon is marinating, prepare cedar planks by soaking them in water.  Then preheat the planks on the grill.  Carefully lift the grill lid and place the salmon skin down on the plank.  Return the lid and let hot-smoke for 8-10 minutes or until done.

Glaze: Transfer marinade to small sauce pan.  Gently simmer on stovetop until reduced by half.  Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Brush or drizzle onto salmon before serving.

Serving dinner outside is a great excuse to use all of your fun dinnerware and serving pieces . . . you know you have some pieces that haven't seen the light of day since your wedding!  Get them out and enjoy them.  We love these stylish and bright ice buckets from Boatman Geller and their colorful melamine platters.  Perfect for gatherings on the patio or porch this summer.

How about making the gathering extra special by sending your guests a printed invitation?  Everyone loves getting mail, particularly those envelopes that come hand-addressed (aka, not a bill).  We love these simple but elegant invitations on our Printswell sister site which are 25% off through 5/15/12.

Read More»

Four Ideas for a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and what better reason to host a happy fiesta?  A Mexican-themed party is a great idea for any summer outdoor gathering.  With twinkling lights, bright colors, fresh food and cold drinks, your guests will appreciate a relaxing fun evening with friends.  Here are some delightful ideas for your party:

 

Aesthetic Nest has easy instructions on making these pretty paper bouquets out of cocktail napkins, twist ties and bamboo skewers.  You can also use crepe paper and place the paper flowers in inexpensive green glass vases. We picked up a dozen easily at Goodwill.

Oprah.com has a fantastic recipe for an unexpected Mexican dish: Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos. Not only are is it delicious, it's a perfect way to host vegetarians and it makes a great side dish. You must try it!

Oilcloth tablecloths are a great way to add color to your table and create a beautiful Mexican look.  This one is from MexicanSugarSkull.com and is bright and festive.  You can also find them on ebay by the very friendly Cali-Gal Stitches who sells by the foot or roll to custom fit your tables.

What's your favorite recipe for Cinco de Mayo?

Find other ideas by following our Cinco de Mayo board on Pinterest!

Follow Sassafras Paper's board cinco de mayo / mexican fiesta! on Pinterest.

Read More»

How to Plan a Carnival Birthday Party that Kids will Love

As an elephant lover, a Carnival / Circus Birthday party was the perfect choice for Campbell's fourth birthday. Especially because it revolved around her favorite character, Dumbo. Planning a party for January is always tricky, though. We knew it would need to be an "inside" party and found a great spot at our church to host lots of little guests with plenty of space for the carnival.

We decided to call her party "Campbell's Carnival" and used a sweet birthday invite from Boatman Geller which featured a colorful birthday bunting. Within the text, we used an elephant silhouette image to reinforce the theme.

We planned several game stations for the party, and created carnival signs for each one out of poster board. The carnival signs were easy to make. I started with red half-sheet posterboards and printed out the station/game names on 11 x 14 legal paper. This size paper centered easily on the posterboard half-sheets. I used a large circle punch to cut out yellow circles and then used a glue stick to paste them across the top. Cute signs made easy!

Our games were simple so the kids could do them on their own and then we also had craft and face painting stations manned by friends. The games included things like Knock the Cans Down, Ring Toss, Beanbag Toss (I covered a corn hole game with a lion's face I painted on on foam board and cut the mouth out), and a Mystery Box. The Mystery Box was manned by my oldest daughter, who dressed a little like a gypsy. She painted an old shipping box from Amazon and cut a big hole out of one side. We taped some fabric in the front and she had the kids put their hands in to "guess" the name of the item.

We gave the kids a stamp card, and at each station the kids received a stamp when they finished the game or craft. After going to all the games, the kids could turn their card in for a bag of cotton candy.

For a Carnival Birthday Party, a photobooth area is a must. This was easily accomplished with some polka dot fabric and cute photo props. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut mustaches and clown noses and glued them on red and white paper straws. We had some hats on hand for extra fun.

For party food, we borrowed a popcorn popper and a small cotton candy machine and my husband and brother-in-law helped serve up the goodies. We had animal crackers to snack on and the Dumbo cake, requested by my little one who insisted on dressing like Dumbo herself.

Planning a Carnival or Circus Birthday Party? Here are sources for the things I recommend/used:

• Bean Bags
• Face Painting
• Cotton Candy Machine
• Cotton Candy Floss (Sugar) and Cone Set
• Popcorn Bags
• Ring Toss
• Happy Birthday Circus Bunting
• Paper Carnival Photo Booth Stick Props
• Red Striped Party Favor Bags
• Red and White Striped Table Skirt

Overall, it was an easy party to plan once we focused on the bright colors and simple games that kids love.  The birthday girl was a happy girl!

Are hosting a carnival or circus birthday party for your child? What do you have planned?

If you'd like to use the Stamp Card featured above, click here for a free printable.

Follow Sassafras Paper's board carnival / circus birthday party on Pinterest.

Read More»

Throw a Delightful . . . Luau Birthday Party

For Ainsley's seventh birthday party she wanted to host a Luau for her friends and family. We had a wonderful Hawaiian fest!

We sent out invitations from Boatman Geller featuring a surf board and hot pink hibiscus border. Our surfer girl loved them! She greeted her guests with leis as they arrived. The girls received a grass skirt and bright flower clip for their hair. The kids loved getting dressed up. We had a video with instructions on the Hula dance, a water balloon fight, tiki pinata, and decorate your own tiki craft. We had loads of tropical fruit and various pizza flavors, including pineapple, for supper. It was a great birthday celebration!

Resources:


Amscan - Floral Paradise Multi-Colored Deck Fringe

Be a Hula Girl

Luau Hawaiian Lei Assortment (50 Pack)

Hula Girl Flower Lei Hair clip (12 pack)

Kid's Flowered Green Luau Hula Skirts (3 Pcs) w/Floral Waistbands

Totem Tiki Pinata

Read More»

Throw a Delightful . . . Super Hero Party

One of our customers planned a super spectacular party for her little super hero's 5th birthday.  This invitation from Picture Perfect is just the right start to a party like this.  You could include small masks with each invitation to get the guests excited about their own super hero costume for the party.

She kept it simple with decorations by using the colors red, blue and yellow in balloons and a flag banner. (By not focusing on one particular super hero, it made it easy to incorporate all of the children's ideas about a super hero.)  Galvanized buckets filled with red and blue colored tootsie pops centered each table and the birthday boy's cake incorporated four different super hero emblems in the corners.

With an afternoon party from 2 to 4, she was able to keep the refreshments light.  Crazy straws in cups filled with Sprite and colored ice cubes (made out of colored juice) gave the guests their super powers!  Cat-woman claws (Bugles), chips and dip, and fruit rounded out the rest of the fare. 

The birthday boy crossing the "Lava Pit"

When guests arrived to the party, they received a brown bag that had been painted with a simple crest and their initial.  Inside was a "Super Hero Training Academy" card, a can of silly string, a t-shirt for creating their own super hero symbol, a ring pop, and an energy (granola) bar.  The kids began with making their t-shirt.  They were able to sponge paint their initial on the t-shirt which had been pre-painted with a small crest-emblem.  Then, they began the Training Academy, which was filled with different stations in the back yard.  The children used silly string to "Vaporize a Villain" by spraying it on the faces of villains which had been taped to balloons.  Another station had the children "Capturing Kryptonite" by finding special green spray-painted rocks that had been hidden around the yard.  The big hit of the party was having the kids "Cross the Lava Pit".  The Lava Pit was an inflatable pool that had been lightly filled with water and a red bath tablet.  The pool was flanked with cinder blocks on which rested a wooden plank.  Inside the pool and under the wooden plank was a small bucket filled with dry ice and hot water.  The kids loved it!  The structure of the stations kept the children engaged and kept all that super energy in check.

At the end of the party, each child received a certificate stating they had graduated from Super Hero Academy with their own made-up Super Hero name on it.  The party was a huge success and everyone was happy, especially our customer.  She felt like the stations were easy to set-up and there wasn't much prep work.  In fact, the super hero birthday boy was able to help with most of the preparations.

See more Super Hero party ideas on our blog here!

Read More»

Celebrate your Kid's Birthday Like a Rock Star

For our daughter's 6th birthday, we decided to indulge her love for singing (and listening to her Taylor Swift CD) and planned a Rock Star birthday party.  We started with this adorable guitar invitation from San Lori.

On the invite, we asked the guests to come dressed as a rock star.  We were amazed at how creative they all were.  

For the party, we put together some of her favorite Disney Princess and Taylor Swift songs and created a mix CD, which we duplicated to use as favors at the party.  We also went ahead and gave her our big birthday gift for her, a small karaoke machine.  It was a huge hit and, of course, very useful for the party!  At a local party store, we found a fun "red carpet" cloth for our hallway and a starry sky background that we taped up in a corner of our den.

Instead of a cake, I made cupcakes and turned them into mini-microphones by putting them in small ice cream cones.  They turned out super cute!

What ideas do you love for a rock star party?

Follow Sassafras Paper's board rock star birthday on Pinterest.

Read More»

Throw a Delightful . . . Trunk or Treat

Our Sunday School class hosted a Trunk or Treat last year. We used this cute invitation from Picture Perfect to advertise the event.

We played Halloween games, had a costume parade, and then kids went from car to car "trunk or treating." Each family brought a potluck item for supper. It was a great success and we are looking forward to expanding it this year!

For more ideas on planning a Trunk or Treat, check out our Ultimate Guide to Planning an Easy & Successful Trunk or Treat

Read More»

Throw a Delightful . . . Construction Party

Since Will loves to play with trucks, we decided to have a Construction Party for his 3rd Birthday.  This turned out to be lots of fun to plan!  The first thing I did was settle on an invitation.  I love this one by Cross-My-Heart because of the cute measuring tape ribbon.  The wording was cute--things such as "We Break Ground May 16th" and "Need to call in sick? Contact Foreman . . .".  

Decorations:  We kept it simple with black, orange, yellow balloons and then roped off a play area with Caution tape from a hardware store.  We also used some of the tape on the mailbox and cake table.

Food: We served lemonade in an orange water cooler and gave out Brown Bag lunches filled with ham/cheese wrapped in wax paper to serve as plate, bag of chips, juice box, and an apple.  I tagged each child's lunch with a hard hat name tag that I found in the teacher section of the Dollar Store.

Activities:  Each child received a yellow plastic hard hat with his name on it (my husband also had a hard hat--"Foreman")  Also, we asked each child to bring his favorite truck so the kids really enjoyed just playing.
 
I found these fun Inflatable road signs from Oriental Traders and placed them in the yard so they could send their trucks in the right direction.  We also had a water table filled with sand and mini construction vehicles and some cardboard bricks for the kids to stack for buildings. 
 
Cake: We made a "dirt" cake out of pudding, coolwhip, oreos, and gummy worms and placed it in a  cleaned Tonka dumptruck bed lined with plastic wrap.

Favors:  Most of our favors came from Oriental Traders--Road Sign Lollipops and Construction stickers.  I also found some Tonka coloring books at the Dollar Store along with some truck-themed treat bags.

Read More»