Page-Turning Book Parties for Kids

A couple of months ago, my husband and I attended the Bat Mitzvah of my friend's daughter. The Bat Mitzvah girl is a voracious reader, and her theme was books. I applauded her choice of theme because the issue of literacy is very important to me. Without literacy skills, the ability to write, to solve math problems, and accessing technology becomes impossible. Growing up, I spent more time with my nose in a book than playing outside with the other kids. Although this didn't make me the most popular person on the block, I learned so much about different cultures and moments of history.

Why not host a party based on your child's favorite book? Or you can turn your home into a "library." Today's blog post will explore some ideas for this theme, from invitations to decor to food.

Let's start with invitations. Although card catalogs are just about extinct at your local library, vintage library cards make great invitations. Here's a great example from the blog Johnson & Johnson.

You can also create invitations based on your child's favorite book character.  

My son was a huge fan of the Magic Treehouse series when he was in elementary school. He enjoyed Jack and Annie's travels through time and learning about historical events. Party planner Heidi Rew of Parties for Pennies created a Magic Treehouse-themed party for a 6-year-old boy. The party was held outdoors, so the decor was very rustic. 

One of my favorite book series growing up was Little House on the Prairie. For her daughter's birthday, the owner of Oh Amanda set up part of her home to look like Oleson's Mercantile and featured penny candy of the era.

Margarita Ellis of Party Inspirations created a party based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, her then-9-year-old son's favorite book series. I thought the decor and cupcakes were so adorable. 

Jeanette from J at Your Service styled a "Glitzy Bookworm" party for her 8-year-old daughter. For the centerpiece, she used a bookcase and filled it with her daughter's books. Among the foods she had were "Nerds on a Stick," gummy worms, Smarties, cookie tubes, and crispy rice worms. She had the party guests decorate their own book bags.

 

The owner of the blog Merriment Photography threw a book-themed party for her young daughter when she turned one. All of the food at that party was based on their favorite children's picture books. 

Other ideas can include Swedish Fish for the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, green eggs for Green Eggs and Ham, or gummy worms for Diary of a Worm.

For a bar/bat mitzvah, how about a book-themed party using school supplies? After the party, the supplies can be donated to charity. Mitzvah Market shows you how.

We have some book-themed games at the shop. Although I created these for Halloween, they can be tailored to feature any book or author. The first is a word search based on the Harry Potter series. I created the sample below as a party invitation using the Gryffindor colors of red and yellow. 

Our second offering is mainly for those ages 12 and up. This is is a freeform crossword puzzle featuring one's favorite author. In the sample below, I created a crossword based on the works of Stephen King. Once again, we can customize the crossword to feature your favorite book or writer. 

The book-themed party is also popular for baby showers as it gives a chance for expectant parents to build their libraries. We will explore that idea in a future post. 

It's now time for today's lists: 

Black History Fun Fact of the Day: Before Wally Amos created his "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie, he was a talent scout at the William Morris Agency. His clients included The Supremes and Simon & Garfunkel. He would send his cookies to potential clients to get business.

Today's Birthdays: James and Oliver Phelps (29), Justin Berfield (29), Rashida Jones (39), Chelsea Hanler (40), Daniel Powter (44), Sean Astin (44), Lesley Boone (47), Carrot Top (48), Téa Leone (49), Alexis Denisof (49), Veronica Webb (50), Mike Peters (56), Karen Grassle (73), Diane Baker (77), Bob Schieffer (78), and Ralph Stanley (88).

Holidaze: We have two foodies days today! The first is National Chocolate Covered Nut Day! Chocolate and nuts have been staples of our diets since ancient times. They each contain sources of vitamins and antitoxins that are necessary for a healthy lifestyle. The original chocolate-covered peanut candy is Goobers, which were first sold in 1925. There are so many chocolate-covered nuts on the market--my favorites are cashews and almonds. 

The second foodie day is National Clam Chowder Day. Clam chowder is a soup that contains clams and broth. You can add diced potatoes, onions, and celery. There are many different varieties of clam chowder, such as Manhattan, New England, Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Long Island. 

That's all until tomorrow.

Have a PRINTASTIC day!

Kathy