Detective birthday party

This year Caleb wanted to have a detective birthday party.  I looked for ideas on Pinterest, and he helped me come up with things and make things how he wanted them to be.  We had his family party the weekend before his birthday, and everyone seemed to have a fun time. 

First we made the invitations on the computer using some clip art I found on Microsoft Word. I printed them on tag and cut them to fit in a legal size envelope.  The back side had the RSVP information. For the case # I used Caleb's birth date.

We printed the envelopes on our computer as well with CONFIDENTIAL in red in the lower corner, and for the return address we put HEADQUARTERS and our address. 

We decided first we would have a code for the guests to read when they arrived.  I used a font on Microsoft Word called webdings to make the message, and then printed it, glued both pieces to construction paper, and laminated.  The code said "Come inside to be fingerprinted."

We put this on our front porch.

Then we decided the mystery was going to be that lunch tickets were stolen.  The guests had to find their lunch tickets using a clue after they were fingerprinted.  We called it "The Case of the Missing Lunch Tickets."

We made cards for all the guests to be fingerprinted.  We put their name and used their birth date for their ID number.  The ID number matched the number on the lunch ticket.  Here is a picture of the fingerprint cards and lunch tickets. 

 

We had scavenger hunt type clues for everyone to find their tickets.  We had four different hiding places....the washing machine, phone, freezer, and under a chair.  We also had an easier clue for a little cousin to find her lunch ticket hidden on Caleb's pillow.

Caleb also wanted a laser beam for the detectives to go through so he made this between trees in the backyard with red yarn. 

For the decorations I printed a finger print that I attached to construction paper.  Also I made question marks with black poster board.  Caleb drew me a magnifying glass which I traced onto black poster board and laminated.

We gathered a bunch of disguises too for everyone to take funny pictures. 

This is the sign we made for the front door. 

My Mom made the cake.  Caleb told her what he wanted several months ago and she came up with this.  He thought it was perfect.  (The blotted out parts were our last name). I loved the real magnifying glass that was looking towards the fingerprints.

(Know it is not the best photo but I took a picture of a printed picture so I could cover our name.)

One of the fun things that happened were some "mystery guests" that arrived.  It was so funny to go to the door and see some family  members dressed with disguises.  I did not know they were doing it, and it was so fun and a great idea for the party! 

We had a fun day and the party was a lot of fun!  I'm glad I got to plan it with  my boy. 

Have a day of blessings!

Valentine mailboxes

This is our second year to do our Valentine mailboxes.  I started typing this post last week and didn't get it finished but wanted to share about our Valentine fun.  I wrote about the mailboxes last year.  We have had fun doing this again, and Caleb looked forward to beginning on February 1.

We kept the same boxes we made last year.  Caleb wanted to add some stuff to the outside of his.

When the flag is up you know you have mail.  Sometimes Caleb would sneak something in and announce "You've got mail."  We told him that was a phrase in the early days of email and he liked to say it.

We all three left surprises for each other in the mailboxes.  Caleb would write us coupons for things he would do for us.  One of mine was for me to borrow his new "lightwedge" that he uses to read in the dark.  I thought it was so sweet because he had just gotten it and he offered to let me borrow it.  He did make me laugh when he added a stipulation when I read it that it was at home, not in the car!  haha  Another one he gave me was doing a laundry load of whites.

My husband had some creative ones too.  He got us some candy and other days gave us coupons.  One of mine was for dessert of my choosing.  I used that one Saturday night for some chocolate cake at Cracker Barrel.  Yummy!  Another was for a foot massage. 

I used several ideas from Pinterest that I found for my ideas.  (Some were kind of corny but fun!!) Like I gave my husband a banana with a note that said "I'm bananas for you" and a bar of soap with a note that said "I was 'soapin' you'd be my valentine."  I found these crayons at Walmart and gave them to Caleb one day.  Also the 12th was his "half" birthday so I made him angel food cake for that day with a "happy 1/2 birthday" note in his mailbox. 

My husband surprised me with this Precious Moments figurine.  It is called "Our Love Is One of a Kind."  I collect Precious Moments, and it has been a long time since he gave me one so it was a fun, sweet surprise! 

(Image from Precious Moments website)
 

Have a day of blessings!

Police birthday party!

Every year my boy has a plan for the theme for his birthday party.  He usually knows the theme months (or sometimes even a year) in advance. 

This year he chose to have a police birthday party.  I looked for ideas, decorations, etc. online and thought I'd share what we did.

We had two parties.  The first was with some friends from church.  We met at Schlotzsky's in an extra room they have.  The boys ate and played with the pretend jail we'd made, had cupcakes, and played another game to get the "robber" in the jail.

Here is our pretend jail.  I've included two pictures so you can see both sides.  It was a group effort!  My husband found the box at work in the trash pile.  It worked out perfectly.  He cut the bars and they wrapped them with foil.  The other part he covered with duct tape.  I made the poster on the front.  Caleb wanted two guards and one dog.  My husband drew the dog and the Barney Fife guard and my Mom drew the blue guard.  Caleb was pleased with how it turned out.  It made for fun photos at his party as he put family members in the jail and someone could put their face in the holes to be the guards.

 

 

Here is the game we made.  I'd seen an idea on Pinterest using a similar idea (they did theirs outside with a whole village and didn't use straws).  Caleb and I made a box to look like a jail.  We cut a small hole in the front for a door.  I put it on the floor in a corner.  The boys got on their hands and knees with a straw (new straw for each boy by the way) and had to blow the "robber" (a small plastic ball) into the jail.  They all had fun with this and it was more difficult that you'd think! 

For this party we made cupcakes.  Caleb and I made them and decorated them together.  I made cupcake toppers with a badge and an "8" in them and the other side had "Caleb."  I decided to put them in the shape of an "8" too. 

For the goodie bags, we had a little notepad, pencil, plastic police badge, and crocheted handcuffs for the boys.  My Mom made these from another Pinterest idea I found.  They turned out so cute I thought! She made most of them gray but did a camo pair for Caleb too.

We had a family party at our house.  For decorations my husband and I hung blue and black balloons in a line down our front hallway (another Pinterest idea).  It was super easy to do this and did not take too long either once the balloons were blown up. 

(not sure what happened with this picture, it messed up in the upload)

I also printed these (that I found on Pinterest) and lined them down the two sides of our cabinets along with badges from the Dollar Tree.  My husband drew the police car.  Didn't he do a great job on both the car and the police dog? 

Here is the birthday cake. (I blacked out his name which was above the pocket.)   My Mom made it too.  It turned out great!  Caleb was excited to keep the plastic walkie talkie, handcuffs, and baton too.

It was a very fun birthday, and I'm appreciative of the help from my husband and Mom to have things like Caleb wanted.

Have a day of blessings!

My Valentine Wreath

I found an idea on Pinterest to make a Valentine wreath using the directions at this blog.  I got the stuff and made my own.  It was very fun and easy to make.  And I like how it turned out!
I started with one yard of material and a 13 in. round wreath (which I got at the Dollar Tree). 

I cut it into strips that were about 1/2 in. wide x 6 1/4 in. long.  This was not exact, I just guessed as I was cutting.

Then I tied the strips onto the vines of the wreath.  Tie each strip in a knot and fill up the wreath until you can't see any more of the vines.  It took me nearly the whole yard of material to cover my wreath. 

Here is the finished wreath.  I might add a foam heart to hang in the middle with fishing line, but I haven't done that yet!  It looks small in this picture but hanging on the wall it seems to be the right size! 

This was a fun, easy project.  I want to do another one with other material for another holiday or season. 

Have a day of blessings!