Got a child with a summer birthday? This year tap into your creative side and make it a memorable one for your child.  Here are a few of my favorite ideas for an outdoor summer birthday celebration. The great thing about summer and good weather is you’re not stuck with an indoor space.  All the ideas below are outdoors so the guest list isn’t limited, allowing your child to reconnect with classmates and neighborhood friends, and it also keeps the cost low. 

Party at the Park.  Most parks have free picnic tables and shelters, you may just have to arrive early to reserve them. But once you are there, you’ll have the park for playtime and wide-open fields for games like relay races, obstacle courses, a water balloon toss and scavenger hunts. The only downside is you may have to share the park with others.

Water Fun Party.  What kid doesn’t love water? Hook up the sprinkler or a Slip-n-Slide in your backyard and let the kids go at it. Throw in some “wet” activities like water balloons and squirt guns and it becomes good, clean fun! Give it a Popsicle theme with popsicle decorations and popsicles as treats.

Baseball/Kickball Party. Skill and numbers aren’t a problem here! Make “team t-shirts” for your party favors and have a grand old time playing ball. Many parks have open fields you can meet on or create a smaller diamond in your own yard. Strike up the grill and serve an easy meal of hot dogs and chips.

Ice Cream Social: Set-up a table for “make-your-own” sundaes or ice cream cones.  Offer guests different ice cream flavors and plenty of toppings to choose from. Play games like croquette, hopscotch or Twister (with game painted on a sheet) and “pin the cherry on the ice cream cone.”

Drive-In Movie: Hang a sheet on your house or fence, get a projector and set up the movie! Spread out blankets for guests to sit on, serve popcorn (a rented popcorn machine would be a big hit!) and movie theater treats and fill coolers with drinks. For fun you can make the invitation look like movie tickets and encourage guests to bring their tickets to get into your theater.

Having an outdoor birthday party not only keeps the mess outside, rather than in your home, but it also allows kids to be kids.  Hosting your own party also keeps costs down (vs. going to an indoor inflatables place or other rental space) and makes for a one-of-a-kind experience. So let your imagination run wild as you plan the ultimate summer party!

Sincerely,

Daddy Nickell

Robert Nickell, aka Daddy Nickell, father of 7, offers his “5 cents” worth of advice to expectant and new parents.  Daddy Nickell is the founder of Daddyscrubs.com, delivery room duds and daddy gifts and apparel, and the DaddyScrubs blog where he covers topics about parenting all from a Dad’s perspective.

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 Tori Spelling planned her very first party (her own roller skate – themed birthday with a hot-pink-and-turquoise color scheme) at the age of eight, and she’s been hosting friends and family in her home ever since.  She knows as well as anyone that “style” and “elegant” don’t often play well with “budget.” With celebraTORI (Gallery Books; on-sale April 3^rd, 2012; Hardcover; $25.99), Tori rolls up her sleeves and turns that notion on its head – expertly showing how creativity, passion, and smart planning are the secret ingredients for throwing a truly unforgettable bas on any “real world” budget.

In this delightfully entertaining, must-have party  companion, Tori share all the tips and tricks she’s learned from her most successful soirees (and a few train wrecks.) It’s like having your own personal party planner for a fraction of the cost!

celebraTORI is not just instruction it’s also inspirational. Hosting an event is not about ticking to-dos off a list; it’s about turning an organic idea into a fun day you and your guests won’t forget – so much so that you just can’t wait to do it again…with a different theme, of course. Tori covers all the basics, from discovering new reason to celebrate and choosing a concept, to decorating, creating flower arrangements, making refreshments, and building the cornerstone of any great party: the dessert table! The best part is that all of her suggestion including her mouthwatering recipes, are 100 percent do-it-yourself.

Filled with lots and lots of great advice, handy blueprints, and hilarious anecdotes, celebraTORI is the perfect guide for making life’s special occasions uniquely memorable, promising to take them up a notch—or five.

CUPCAKE CONE

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Here’s how to make cute, yummy, stress-free cupcake cones. Best of all, no melting. Make sure you have some sort of plan for how to keep the finished cones standing. I used an upside-down wire basket to display them. You can also just put them in regular glasses.

1. Bake your favorite cake. I like to make a nine-inch red velvet cake. If you’re short on time, use a mix from a box. Why not? When the cake is done, let it cool completely.

2. In a bowl, mush the cake with cream cheese or icing. Keep adding the cream cheese until the consistency is moldable, but not gooey. You’re going to want to be able to form balls that stick together well.

3. Put the cake/icing mixture in the freezer until it firms up a bit-about an hour. You don’t want it too hard, just firm enough, again, that it will be easy to mold.

4. Now roll the mushy cake into balls, press them firmly onto old-fashioned ice cream cones.

5. Frost with regular icing.

About The Author:

TORI SPELLING is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sTORI telling, Mommywood, and uncharted terriTORI.  Tori is host and executive producer of the new TLC competition series Craft Wars, which premieres this summer. She is an accomplished designer with a distinct sense of style. Her latest jewelry designs from “The Tori Spelling Collection”  are available exclusively at HSN and she recently launched her own line of craft products also available at HSN. She combines her love for designing jewelry and crafting, in her new DIY fashion jewelry line, Styled by Tori Spelling, which debuts this summer.  Tori also offers ideas and inspiration for elevating everyday life at her ediTORIal online community, ToriSpelling.com. Tori is the star and executive producer of Oxygen’s hit reality series, Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood and Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings, with her husband, Dean McDermott. Together they have three children – Liam, Stella, and Hattie – and live in Los Angeles.

About the Imprint:

Gallery Books is an imprint dedicated to publishing a wide variety of must-read books on a wide array of topics.  The imprint was designed to showcase established voices and to introduce emerging new ones—in both fiction and nonfiction, and across a variety of genres.   Some of Gallery Books’ bestselling titles include Gunn’s Golden Rules by Tim Gunn, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler, Uncharted TerriTORI by Tori Spelling,  Fairy Tale Interrupted by Rosemarie Terenzio, Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max and Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.  Upcoming titles include Marilu Henner’s Total Memory Makeover and Gorilla Beach by Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi.  

Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for customers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com

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