Messy Party?

[baby-makes-3]

I'm not sure where to post this, but several years ago, I read an article in my Mothering mag about a Messy Party....basically a party where all the kids just play play play in homemade dough or whatever, outside with no regard to "keeping clean".

Does anyone know how I can access this article? I can't find my hard copy...

[AAK]

Here you go:

http://www.mothering.com/parenting/sams-messy-afternoon

(I loved this article too!)

Amy

[baby-makes-3]

Yeah! Thanks

[MsBirdie]

We did this for my daughters fifth bday party and we are still hearing about how much fun it was. I bought 5 gallons of paint, rollers, old brushes, old feather dusters, sponges. Whatever I could fine. Then we put a plastic painters tarp on our wall and below it. We then hung up butcher paper and let the kids at it. They were painting the wall and eachother. We also did a flour ball fight and drawing in shavng cream.

They were covered in paint and flour and shaving cream by the end. Then, we just hosed them all off and sent them home.

[anechka]

Originally Posted by MsBirdie

We did this for my daughters fifth bday party and we are still hearing about how much fun it was. I bought 5 gallons of paint, rollers, old brushes, old feather dusters, sponges. Whatever I could fine. Then we put a plastic painters tarp on our wall and below it. We then hung up butcher paper and let the kids at it. They were painting the wall and eachother. We also did a flour ball fight and drawing in shavng cream.

They were covered in paint and flour and shaving cream by the end. Then, we just hosed them all off and sent them home.

Had anyone here used clay or sand in lie of food items? I like the idea of messy party but I could never bring myself to use food as an entertainment device.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by anechka

Had anyone here used clay or sand in lie of food items? I like the idea of messy party but I could never bring myself to use food as an entertainment device.

Why not? I think that they used food in the article simply because they knew it wouldn't harm any of the kids if they ate it.

Amy

[Eli&SkyesMom]

You should make Outrageous Ooze as well! It is tons of fun. http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/ooze.html

[luv-my-boys]

omgosh I love that article as well. Even DH thought it was an awesome idea when I made him read it. I still have that issue...well somewhere here

On the whole food idea Im ususually not a waste food type person either but I have found that some food items like a 10 lb sack of flour are not only easier to clean up but a little safer to use than say flying sand in eyes.

I wait until it really warms up outside and tell guest to come in their bathing suits that way we can have a sprinkler going that they can "clean off" in before they go home or inside my house

some of the "hits" have been:

making gak/slime
painting. we have huge buther paper we clip to the fence and the kids go nuts with paints/stamps/rollers
we have a small sand box
kiddie pool with 10lbs of flour in it and lots of dump trucks and various plastic kitchen utensils
some type of food decorating like frosting cupcakes or cookies with tubes of icing which double as a snack