Oop! Xander's birthday was in November, and I totally forgot to publish the blog post I wrote about it. Blame it on a baby who hated(s) sleep?? Regardless, here it is.
Last summer Xander made his way through pretty much everything written by Rick Riordan. He completely fell in love with mythology and devoured every mythology book I could find for him. In sticking with this obsession, he decided he wanted a Greek Mythology Birthday Party.
Costumes:
Xander was Poseidon for Halloween, so that ended up working out perfectly. I bought this costume, this headband and then a cheap devil's pitchfork that I wrapped in blue and gold duct tape. Our family members also went all out! His grandparents dressed up and many cousins came in togas!
I made these "Camp Halfblood" shirts using transfer paper and $2 shirts from Michaels. My dad and husband were great sports and wore them proudly! (Amazon has some you can buy if you aren't feeling crafty)
Food:
I was originally thinking pitas, but since Xander doesn't really like them and a lot of our guests were little kids, we ended up just doing BBQ chicken sandwiches. I did have some hummus and pita chips, to add a little bit of Greek influence. We also had "Poseidon's Punch" that had Sweedish Fish in the bottom. I also set out of a bowl of chocolate "drachmas."
For the cake, I got a Poseidon figurine and a hydra. Luckily, I was able to get the hydra with a coupon from Michaels. I put Poseidon in some blue frosting for the "sea" and used chocolate buttercream with graham cracker crumbs for a beach under the hydra. Both toys have gotten a lot of use since the party!
Games and Activities:
We played "Pin the Eye on the Cyclops." Full disclosure, I did NOT freehand this. My husband had an old projector from work and I traced the outline onto a poster board. Coloring it in ended up being very therapeutic for me!
We also had a Toga Contest. Everyone got in groups of 2s or 3s and I gave them each a couple rolls of toilet paper. They got two minutes to make the best "toga" on a team member and then we had a mini fashion show.
I found some diamond shaped slime and little glowstick swords as Poseidon's Prizes.
I made a game for shooting various Greek Monster. I wrapped some empty soda cans in gold duct tape and taped on a picture of a monster.
I set up a table for shield decorating. I found some large gold paper plates and used a hole punch to make a place for string. I put out lots of stickers and crayons for the kids to use.
After tying the string through the holds, I put a little duct tape on the back to keep it from tearing out.
Decorations:
I set up a gold foil backdrop and had a jar with a bunch of printable props (some I made and some I bought on etsy).
Party Favors
I ordered some inflatable swords for the kids. They were soft enough that I didn't have to worry about injuries with sword fights.
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I love this!! Where did you find the chocolate drachmas?
ReplyDeleteI just used chocolate coins from Party City.
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