Ever since we moved to our new neighborhood and my daughter started a new school a few months ago, it seems as though we are constantly being invited to birthday parties, and most of them are hosted in various indoor play spaces and kid-friendly venues across the city. We’ve gone indoor trampolining, noshed on pizza and cake in a movie theater while simultaneously trying to help Dory from Finding Dory find her parents, made pizzas and decorated cupcakes in a child-friendly cooking class, and enjoyed an afternoon rock climbing, and while each party has been fun and exciting and unique in its own way, one of the most memorable parties we’ve been to was hosted in someone’s home.
I was completed reminded of the birthday celebrations my mum threw for my sister and me while I was enjoying cake and wine on that sunny afternoon. We would invite all of the girls in our classrooms to celebrate with us, and they would come over after school to play games like Pin The Tail On The Donkey and Musical Chairs before scarfing down finger sandwiches and cake while they watched me open all of my gifts.
At the time, I thought it was just what birthdays were all about, but now that I’m a mother myself, I appreciate all of the planning and preparation and patience that must’ve gone into each of those birthday parties. It just seems so much easier to pay a venue to take care of the setup and cleanup in this day and age, but there’s something to be said for being traditional.
Don’t you agree?
And now that we’ve graduated from condo living to life in the suburbs, I’m feeling inspired. It might be fun to have my daughter and her little friends run around our home when she celebrates her 6th birthday in March, so while I was downing wine and shoving my face full of potato chips and cupcakes at that adorable party a few weeks ago, I started taking note of the different games and activities that were planned, and which ones the kids enjoyed the most.
And do you know what the winner was?
Glow in the dark sticks.
I’m serious.
When the kids started getting rangy and didn’t know what to do with themselves, the mom simply threw the kids in the basement, pulled out a box of dollar store glow sticks, pumped some tunes, turned the lights off, and sat back with a smug smile on her face while the kids went CRAZY.
It was such a hit that I spent the greater part of the evening looking up glow in the dark crafts and activities for kids, and I was amazed at how many cool ideas I found. From an awesome glow in the dark ice and salt experiment to glow in the dark water balloons, these DIY projects will keep you and your little ones entertained for hours.
Who says the dark needs to be scary, anyway?!
1. Glow in the Dark Jellyfish (Think Crafts)
2. Glowing Pasta Necklaces (Growing a Jewelled Rose)
3. Glowing Bounce Balls (I Heart Naptime)
4. Glow in the Dark Water Balloons (Space Ships and Laser Beams)
5. Glow in the Dark Slime (A Pumpkin and a Princess)
6. Glow in the Dark Sight Words (In My World)
7. Glow in the Dark Bubbles (DIY Joy)
8. Glow in the Dark Wiffle Balls (Smart Schoolhouse)
9. Glow in the Dark Doodle Paints (Growing a Jewelled Rose)
10. Glow in the Dark Bowling (Craft River)
11. Glow in the Dark Swimming (Hub Pages)
12. Glow in the Dark Lava Lamp (DIY Craft Projects)
13. Glow in the Dark Ice and Salt Experiment (Growing a Jewelled Rose)
14. Glow in the Dark Twister (Hub Pages)
15. Glow Rice (Growing a Jewelled Rose)
If you liked this collection of glow in the dark crafts and activities for kids, please share it on Pinterest!
And if you’re looking for more ways to have fun with your kids, please follow our Fun with Kids board!
