Construction party

THE PARTY SCRIPT

Act 1, Scene 1

We like to think of your party as a production.  If your party is successful, your guests will be transported into your theme (and you may even get some applause at the end if parents stick around). So, if the party is a production, this is the script.

Scene 1: Your party will begin in the meet and greet room, with guests informed that they will become construction workers for the day (for now, keep them out of the ‘construction zone’). Each crew member will get a construction hat and a tool belt (we recommend putting their names on them in advance). To keep your little builders busy while others arrive put out markers and stickers for decorating the hat and tool belt. Alternatively, a construction-themed sticker project could be fun. At a second station set up a tattoo parlor, for temporary tattoos. If your meet and greet room has a TV, have an episode of Bob the Builder or Handy Manny running in the background to keep the early arrivers from straying to the construction zone.

Summary of activities:

Decorate hat and tool belt: hats can be decorated with stickers, and tool belts with markers

Sticker project: a construction-themed sticker project will help keep the crew tame will others are arriving

Tattoo parlor: give your crew the look of a rugged construction worker with temporary tattoos

Show: Bob the Builder or Handy Manny can keep their attention while others arrive

Scene 2: With everyone arrived, inform the crew that it is time to get to work. Each child will be given a checklist of construction activities to perform, with each corresponding to a game in the construction zone. If they complete all tasks then they will receive a prize. You now lead them to the construction area and let the fun begin. The games played should be largely dependent on the toys you already have, and the number of children invited. Again, we would suggest about one game station for every two guests. Here are some suggestions:

- Build a house with Lincoln Logs

- Build something with Legos

- Build something with K’NEX

- See how high you can stack a set of blocks before it topples

- Beanbag toss into some toy pickup trucks

- Trucks: Fill a contained area with packing foam peanuts, and have the crew move, dump and transport the material with toy trucks.

- Design a house: Let kids be the architect of their own design (see below)

Project - design a house: : Using a large box, tape it into the shape of a house. Put spots of Velcro on it. Print out pictures of all different shapes of windows, doors, bushes, and plants. From another box, cut out pieces of cardboard to paste the printed pictures on. Put Velcro on the cut outs and let the crew mix and match pieces as they decorate their create their own unique design. You can take this project a step further by painting or covering the house in self-adhesive wallpaper before applying the velcro.

Scene 3: Take a break for food and cake. Afterwards, the crew can go back down for some free play until pick up time, or perhaps a piñata (always a kid favorite). Before guests leave, they can trade in their checklists for a prize (the favor bag).

As an alternative, you can hand out prizes as tasks are done (and these prizes will make up the party favors). You may need a lot of help on hand though for this, depending on the size of the crew.

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