Levittown Hurricane Grill Wings

Just in time for the latest winter blast Hurricane Grill and Wings is opening up in Levittown, Long Island.  Its like a slice of Key West in the middle of the North Pole, I mean New York.  I cant wait to stop by while visiting some of my grade school friends in Nassau County.  We will be there pretending to be on a warm tropical island while watching the Jets as they go all the way! Hopefully…  When it warms up though we have a picnic planned in Eisenhower Park with many many Hurricane wings.  We spent dozens of summers there as kids chasing the geese and fishing for the tiny fish in the man-made pond.

It has been so cold up here this winter that Hurricane Grill and Great Wolf Lodge are my top two picks for family outings.  The kids definitely agree! Those Category 5 wings warm me up in a flash!

Check out their facebook page to see the yummy photos & deals; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hurricane-Grill-Wings-Levittown-NY/142582229133210

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This weekend we had a Mix Pups birthday party for my daughter.  It was certainly a lot of fun and I know that the girls are still talking about it!  As I posted last week Mix Pups are the hot new toy and we got to try them out.  We invited 9 friends over to try them out as well.

We did a lot at Abbi’s Mix Pups Party.  Some of the games and activities are below.  Click on each link to see what we did for each activity.  Let me know if you are interested in a Mix Pup party.  I did not use half of the ideas I came up and as always I am willing to share!

• Lucy the Dalmatian has Lost her Spots
• Digging for Bones Scavenger Hunt
• Edible Dog Houses
• Mix Pups Coloring Contest

All in all this was another wonderful birthday party and the girls left quite excited about their Mix Pups!  Abbi was super excited that she had another cool birthday party.  Last year we were lucky enough to have a Zhu-Zhu birthday party where all of the kids went home with their own Zhu-Zhu!  The only issue we had was with the mix pups legs.  They fell off and did not go back on right.  We had been informed by Jazwares toys that they are aware of the concern and have fixed the problem.  With that problem being cleared up I would say get out there and buy your Mix Pups now before the holiday season begins.  We all know what it is like to have our kids want a toy that we cannot find on the shelves!

Becca

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1. We had a great scavenger hunt that led the kids all around the house in search of the treasure.  In the end the treasure was the Pirate Hat Cake. The kids were all so excited that it was cake time.
2. We played a great game of freeze dance where the kids had to end up on their own island on the floor.  This was great because they got to jump all around and get out some of their pent up energy!
3. We played pin the patch on the pirate.  This was a big pirate face that the kids were able to pin a patch onto.  The child who got the closest was aloud to pick a prize out of the treasure chest.
4. We had the best face painter in the world painting princess and pirate faces on the boys and girls.  They always love a face painter!

There are so many other great things that you can do at a pirate party.  My nephew had a great pirate party too!  Here are a few activities from his party that were tons of fun.

1. My sister in law filled balloons and some had winning tags in them.  The kids had to sit on the balloons and pop them.  Once you found a winner you could go and pick out of the treasure chest.  CAUTION do not do this if they are in bathing suits!
2. My sister in law had a pinata which the kids love.  My husband is against it though so we never get to have them!
3. At my nephews party they also had a treasure hunt because what good pirate party would not have you hunt for booty?
4. The kids had a talk like a pirate contest.  They all had to practice using their pirate voices to get what they wanted.  The child who did it the best for the entire party won a little extra treasure.

There are so many other ideas for a pirate party.  Why not leave your favorite one.  This will give us all a chance to have a great pirate adventure right in our very own homes.

Becca

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As a parent I know that there is so much to get done before the big birthday party. When should the invites go out, when can I start preparing. I have found that it is always easier to use a party checklist to get the job done right. Here is the checklist that I use. It should be helpful.

A MONTH BEFORE:

• Decide on a date
• Choose a location
• Develop a tentative menu
• Pick a party theme
• Research different party games
• Decide on favors and order if you are buying online. This will save you from having to pay for express shipping.
• Write out your guest list. Usually about 1/3 of the children invited are unable to attend.

2-4 Weeks Before the Party

• Send out your invitations.
• Purchase any paper goods needed. Always buy more forks. They go the quickest.
• Place balloon order if you are planning on balloons

1 Week Before the Party:

• Make the cake. If you are making the cake make it and freeze it. If you are buying it it should be ordered
• Shop for food and drinks that will not spoil

2-3 Days Before the Party:

• Prepare all food that can be made ahead of time.
• Call all of the people who did not RSVP
• Assemble goodie bags with Toys, novelties, and candy.
• Buy fresh meat and produce

Day of the Party:

• Set tables and arrange seating if you would like that done ahead of time.
• Prepare food.
• Icing homemade cake
• Set up all birthday party games and stations
• Pick up balloons
• Relax, smile and enjoy the party.

For my daughter Abigail’s 5^th birthday we had a perfect princess tea party. Although parties at home can sound like a lot of work they can cost significantly less and be remembered twice as long. Some come on in and learn how you too can throw a princess tea party on a small budget! Here is a play by play of what I did.

Decide on a date and how many children you will invite!

Buy tea cups, plates and saucers in a thrift store, a garage sale or on craigslist to decorate your table. I spent $5 on a white set of china at the Goodwill. It came with a tea pot that matched and it was cheaper than buying paper products and made the party seem real to Abigail.

Buy or make invitations. We bought invitations but it could also be fun to make them with your daughter.

Decide on a menu. I fed the girls fruit salad, veggie sticks and tea sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly were more popular than the cucumber sandwiches. We also had some confections and pettifores.

The teapot cake! Click to go to the recipe.

Activities: We did a ton of things to keep the girls busy.

· Picture frames. I found kits in A C Moore craft store with crowns and the word princess. They were simple to assemble and the girls had a great time making them. Throughout the party my husband took pictures of all of the girls. They were sent home with a new picture frame and a picture already in it.

· Princess Fans: This was an easy craft. All you need is construction paper and a doily. Glue the doily onto the paper and fold as a fan. The girls can then glue gems onto their fan across the top. This was simple, cheap and EASY!

· Dress-up relay race. Divide the girls into two groups. Have a bin with dress-up. We used a crown, a gown, dress up shoes and necklaces. I bought all of it in our local dollar store. Line the girls up in two lines with the dress up about 10 feet away. Have them run to the bin, put all of the items on, take all of the items off and run to tag the next person. The team who goes the quickest wins. I did not do prizes because this often causes tears and I hate to deal with tears.

· Princess Tea party freeze dance. I bought the Disney princess tea party CD and played it and shut it off. Anyone who did not freeze was out and had to cheer on who was left.

· Musical chairs: Also on the Disney Princess CD there was a musical chair song. I put the CD on repeat until we finished.

Gift bags: I found a great idea for tea bag gift bags that was inexpensive and really cute. Take white craft bags and place items inside. We did some costume jewelry, a notepad and pen, a small tea cup that they could paint at home and stick on earrings. Once the bag is filled you simply fold the upper corners of the bag to the center. You then fold the top down and staple a string to it. Staple a paper name tag at the end of the string. Abigail was even able to help me make them which always make life more fun!

princess tea party