Party Time.... again....

Jules here-

It seems like all I do is party lately  It's true... that's my life... one, big party.  Well, I happen to follow this one website called Houseparty.com.  Companies use this venue to find ordinary people to host marketing-style parties to promote new products, services, or ideas.  You can apply to host parties from hummus to coffee makers depending on your interests.  Only a few people are selected for each party (thousands apply and a couple hundred get selected on average), and you get lots of free stuff for hosting! 

A couple of years ago I won a "Snapfish-photo" party and I received a premium photo-book for free-- it turned out incredible! My friends got coupons for 50% off their own as well. Lots of fun...for free. You know how I love free!

Even though I knew the girls' birthday party would be at the end of March, I love the VeggieTales and I couldn't resist applying.  When you are "in the running" for a party, you have to invite 10 people immediately for a party on a set date.  I scrambled to find some friends who were free that day-- but I got enough kids to make the party fun.  I also thought-- "Hey, I'm showing kids a movie... how hard could that be?"

Zoned to the movie....

So I ended up having 6 children who were 6 and under.... by myself.  The movie was fantastic---BUT it was only 45 minutes long and I had scheduled 2 hours.  I had to come up with some fun activities to supplement the party too.

Now the party pack I received came with fun props, stickers, activity sheets, and coupons for the grown ups, but those entertained for only a few minutes:

So I decided to take a point from one of my silly days, and I whipped out some face painting. It's amazing how still children will be when you are painting their faces.  I let them choose their favorite Veggie Tales
character for their cheek:

After we were thoroughly painted-- I herded the children outside for some much-needed running around.  Since the movie we watched was, "Veggies in Space: The Fennel Frontier" I decided to create a tag game where the "it" was an alien and we were all veggies.  Definitely a fun endeavor even though it was a bit breezy.

The Tag Crew... James missed the "wear pink" memo...

Honestly, the party was simple, cheap, and lots of fun for the kids.  I didn't go pinterest-crazy; I served cookies and popcorn and my friend was kind enough to bring juice.  I planned spur-of-the-moment activities and barely cleaned the house... and yet somehow it worked!

Easy Rule #8971- Sometimes simple is best. And free is even better.