Cozi Blog

A Summer Pool Party

It’s summer! Given the rising temperatures, an outdoor water party for your child and his friends would be a perfect way to keep everyone cool.

On your invitation, ask your party guests to bring their swimsuits, a change of clothes, flip flops, and a towel.

The entire party time will be taken with the kids swimming and playing together in the pool. Jump right in and lead some of the following games, or ask a few parents who don’t mind getting wet to volunteer.

Games

• Play Marco Polo.

• Hold a rubber duck race. Give each child a rubber duck and have them use their noses to move it to the other side of the pool. First one there wins!

• Play Shark! Have the birthday kid start off as the shark and tag the fish (the rest of the kids in the pool). As the fish are tagged, they also become sharks. The game is over when the pool is full of sharks!

• Have a splash contest to see who can make the biggest splash! Make sure to follow pool rules, however!

• Place floating toys throughout the pool and divide the kids into two teams. Blow a whistle and see which team can gather the most floats in two minutes.

• Have the kids swim through rings (i.e., hula hoops).

Activities

• Play Water Balloon Volleyball: You'll need a net, lots of water balloons stored in a bucket full of water,and towels for each pair of children. Divide children into two groups, pair them off, and give each pair a beach towel. One side begins by placing a water balloon in the center of their towel. Each child holds onto two corners of their towel. The object is to toss the water balloon over the net with the opposing side catching the balloon in their towel. The volley continues until one side misses and the balloon breaks, giving the other team a point. First team to 15 wins.

• Variation: If you don’t own a volleyball net, put two pairs of kids a distance apart and have them volley back and forth.

• Variation for young children: Instead of beach towels, use two large blankets. Divide the kids into two teams with each team member holding a part of the blanket. Toss the balloon back and forth between teams—not too tough with a bit of teamwork.

• Game tips: Make sure to carefully clean up the balloon remains, as they are a choking hazard for young children. Also, make sure to have an adult supervise the pool!

• If you don't have a pool, fill a small plastic pool with bubble solution and water so that small children can wade in the bubbly water and blow massive bubbles!

• Give out plastic squirt toys and fill them up so the kids can run around squirting water at one another. They can also keep the toy as a party favor.

• Set up a sprinkler or Slip 'n Slide.

Food and Beverages

Make sure to have fun pool party food and drinks on hand:

• Juice boxes and small water bottles

• Fish chow: popcorn, raisins, gummy fish, Goldfish crackers, and chocolate chips—what a yummy snack!

• A variety of small sandwiches cut into fish shapes with a cookie cutter

• Skewered fruit served with yogurt for dipping

• Pizza

Party Favors

Send the kids home with a taste of summer:

• Small glass fish bowls filled with blue gelatin and gummy fish

• Bubbles and Lifesaver candies

• Pool floatables, such as rubber duckies and noodles

• Sun glasses, sun visors, and whistles

Enjoy this fun-in-the-sun party this summer!

More Great Summer Parties and Activities

Banana Split Fun
Plan a Summer Ice Cream Social
A Family Luau Party
Tips for Great Summer Parties

Lisa Kothari has based her ambition on helping parents throw the best children's parties without the added stress that planning often creates. She is the founder of Peppers and Pollywogs, a kids' party planning company providing families with party ideas and inspiration.

Eating Seasonally

A guide to summer’s tastiest nutritional powerhouses.

Let’s be honest: Most of the year it’s a struggle to get enough of the fruits and vegetables we know we ought to eat to stay healthy, trim and energized. But from Memorial Day to Labor Day, fitting in those five to nine servings of produce a day gets much easier. “Zucchini squash, eggplant, tomatoes, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, watermelon — a lot of these delicious fruits and vegetables are more plentiful from May to October,” says Douglas Husbands, D.C., C.C.N., a functional medicine doctor, and a certified clinical nutritionalist with Athens Chiropractic Clinic in San Carlos, Cali. With food prices climbing, you want to choose wisely, so you’re sure to get both good nutrients and good flavor. Below, a quick guide to summer fruits and veggies that taste delicious and pack a real nutritional punch.

Fruits
Berries. Little they may be, but berries are a great source of anthocyanidins, a type of antioxidant. “They have exceptional antioxidant activity,” Husbands explains. “During World War II, British pilots doing night flights would eat more bilberries [which are related to blueberries] because they found their night vision improved.” Blueberries, like cranberries, also have a substance that may stave off urinary tract infections. Add blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or blackberries to cold and hot cereal, yogurt, smoothies and rice pilaf, or top off your favorite home-churned ice cream with a handful.

Cherries. “Cherries are in season from the end of May to August, but peak in June and July,” Husbands notes, adding that it’s best to choose darker cherries. These have a higher amount of flavonoids, which act as an anti-inflammatory in the body. “Some research has shown that the flavonoids in cherries are comparable to ibuprofen for anti-inflammatory effects. And their antioxidant activity is better than vitamin E.” Choose a tart cherry — like Montmorency — and you’ll also get melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep.

Peaches and nectarines. A plump peach is one of summer’s signature fruits. Peaches and nectarines have more than flavor, though: The vitamin C content in these juicy orbs is high, and you’ll get some fiber as well.

Melon. Sweet, ripe watermelon helps you stay hydrated on dog days, and like the tomato, it also provides ample amounts of lycopene. Molly Kimball, R.D., sports and lifestyle nutritionist at the Elmwood Fitness Center, a division of Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, likes to brush a raspberry vinaigrette onto cut-up pieces of cantaloupe, pineapple and strawberries, then skewer the fruit like shish kebab and throw it on the grill.

Grapefruit. If you’re on a cholesterol-lowering or blood pressure medication, don’t add grapefruit to your grocery cart (it interferes with both types of drugs), but for the rest of us the golden spheres can add fiber, vitamin C and more. “Grapefruit contains a substance called naringin, which is an enzyme,” Husbands explains. Some research shows that “it can act as a blood thinner so it helps blood to flow better.”

Vegetables
Dark green leafy vegetables. “Kale, collard greens, spinach, Swiss chard, brussels sprouts — those are the ones people don’t eat enough of,” Husbands says. Not only are these leafy greens full of fiber, but they also contain the B vitamin folic acid, which may be important for helping to keep cholesterol in check and preventing heart disease. “Steam or lightly stir-fry these vegetables to maintain good levels of folic acid and other phytonutrients,” Husbands suggests.

Tomatoes. Perhaps late summer’s best gift from the garden, tomatoes shine mostly for their high amounts of lycopene; they also contain beta-carotene and good amounts of vitamin C. “I like to prepare tomatoes by slicing them in half and adding a little Parmesan cheese and olive oil and broiling them,” says Kimball. “Lycopene is absorbed better from cooked tomatoes than from raw ones.”

Beets. “They’re superhigh in the same type of antioxidants that blueberries are,” Kimball says, stressing that folks who say they hate beets after tasting only the canned variety should give them another try. “Try wrapping the beet in foil and baking it for an hour at 350°F, then add a little goat cheese,” she says. “That’s really delicious.”

Red and yellow peppers. These veggies not only add vibrant color to any meal, but they’ve also got vitamin C and beta-carotene. Kimball prefers oven roasting or grilling as the simplest way to prepare peppers. “Just add a little sea salt,” she says. “Since it’s coarser, you don’t need to use as much.”

provides tips and smart strategies to help you feel good, look good, and get more out of life.

Creative Summer Childcare

Are you scrambling to get all your work done with kids at home this summer? Maybe you work part-time or work from home and never got around to arranging formal childcare. Or maybe you need time for kid-free errands and housework. There are still options to get your kids busy for hours each week, without breaking the bank. All you need is a community of friends and neighbors and the guts to ask for help!

Kid-Swap
No, we're not referring to the next reality TV show.

How it works: It's simple. You team up with a friend whose children are good playmates with your own. On one day each week, your children are with your friend and on another day, you have all the children.
Benefits: Not only does kid-swapping give you a free day each week, or more if you choose to swap two days a week, it is a great way to take the multi-tasking out of your week. On your "off-day" you need to get busy with your work or to-do list. On your "kids-day" it's all about kids and you can devote your energy to summer fun without worrying about checking email.
Remember: It's best to be fairly formal about drop-off and pick-up times and stick to them. If your friend goes to a job on her off-day and you use your time for errands, she may feel you are more flexible and begin to impose. Also, remember to fill each other in early about out-of-town vacations.

Playground Patrol
Many of us feel that we grew up in simpler times, when the kids could leave the house in the morning and return for dinner. These days, the playground is still a great place for young kids to congregate, but adults required!

How it works: This is best done as half-days. A small group of families agree to share playground patrol. The children meet at the playground but with a watchful adult keeping things safe. In return, each family gets several summer mornings for kid-free work. You can do this weekly, with each family taking a specific week day, or rotate the same day each week all summer.
Benefits: Your kids get to experience good-old-fashioned summer fun - outdoors and socializing with other children.
Remember: Start off with a couple hours of playtime so any issues can be ironed out before moving to half-days or longer. Choose the group carefully - age range, boy to girl ratio and interests can make or break a group dynamic.

Babysitting Co-op
This one is more formal, but the rewards pay off.

How it works: A group of families (10-20 is optimal) join the co-op and share in babysitting - "earning" points for sitting and "spending" points for using a sitter. Monthly meetings, a rotating leader/president, and a secretary who sends out sit requests and keeps track of sit points make this operation run smoothly.
Benefits: You no longer need to ponder over which of your friends to call for last-minute sits or whether you owe your friends or they owe you. You tell the secretary, and she handles it all.
Remember: The babysitting co-op only works if the families actively seek sits each month. Also, think about choosing families with a mix of daytime and evening sit needs.

--Live Simply

Summer Reading List

SchoolFamily.com helps parents help their kids succeed in school. SchoolFamily.com provides expert insight, information, and resources for parents of school-age children in grades K-12.

These books will capture your kids’ imagination, and they’re perfect for reading aloud.

Ages 4-8

Across the Alley
by Richard Michelson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Two young boys—one African-American, the other Jewish—forge a friendship and share their love of baseball and playing the violin in an era when racial differences keep people apart.

Adèle & Simon
by Barbara McClintock

Adele tells her little brother, Simon, not to lose anything on the way home from school. This books is set in Paris in the early 20th century, and the siblings stop at various sites and landmarks along the way. Of course, Simon leaves something behind at each one.

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County
by Janice N. Harrington, illustrated by Shelley Jackson

A little girl just can’t stop herself from chasing chickens on her family’s farm.

For You Are a Kenyan Child
by Kelly Cunnane, illustrated by Ana Juan

A young boy’s day in a Kenyan village.

The Giant and the Beanstalk
by Diane Stanley

Otto, a gentle and polite giant, follows Jack down the beanstalk to rescue his beloved pet chicken. Otto keeps running into Jacks from other fairy tales until he finds the one he’s looking for.

Max’s Words
by Kate Banks, illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Max’s big brothers collect stamps and coins. Max wants to collect something, too. He collects words, cutting them out of newspapers and magazines and writing them down. He and his brothers arrange the words to create a story.

Mr. George Baker
by Amy Hest, illustrated by Jon J. Muth

A 1st grade boy and a 100-year-old man learn to read at the same time.

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything
by Lenore Look, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

In this sequel to Ruby Lu, Brave and True, 2nd grader Ruby Lu is assigned to help her deaf cousin from China acclimate to school. She takes her role so seriously that she neglects her own work and has to go to summer school.

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories To Read Together
by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Michel Emberley

This collection of 13 two-page rhyming stories is written for children and adults to enjoy loud together.

Ages 9-12

The following selections are terrific to read aloud a chapter at a time to younger children. Older children (and their parents!) will enjoy reading these books on their own.

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle

The story of Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin’s search through the universe for Meg’s father. The 1963 Newbery Medal winner.

Charlotte’s Web
by E.B. White

The classic story about Wilbur the pig and his spider friend, Charlotte, who saves his life. A 1953 Newbery Honor book.

Feathers
by Jacqueline Woodson

Sixth-grader Frannie learns about the barriers that separate people when a new boy arrives in her class. A 2008 Newbery Honor book.

James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl

Young James escapes his two horrible aunts and finds friendship and adventure inside a giant peach.

Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes

The story of a young apprentice silversmith in Boston in the period leading up to the Revolutionary War. The 1944 Newbery Medal winner.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo

A vain and selfish china rabbit learns the value of love.

My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George

The story of a boy who leaves home to spend a year living alone in the forest. A 1960 Newbery Honor book.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor

The story centers on the 9-year-old daughter of an African-American family living amid poverty and racism in the Deep South during the 1930s. The 1977 Newbery Medal winner.

Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan

A warm and moving story set in the 19th century about a Midwestern widower who advertises for a mother for his two young children. Sarah arrives from Maine to live with the family. The 1986 Newbery Medal winner.

The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame

The adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad, and their woodland friends

Summer Travel Tips

Create a travel file for your upcoming summer vacation. Things to include in the file might be:

1. Your itinerary
2. Plane tickets, e-tickets and board passes
3. Directions
4. Important phone numbers and addresses
5. Hotel, Cruise, Car Rental or Camping Information
6. Activity and sightseeing information
7. Copies of passports driver’s licenses or other identification
8. Check lists of what to bring and what to do before leaving

If you’re not used to traveling by air, one of the best things you can to do make your trip start and end smoothly is to be organized and prepared. Even the TSA recommends it on their posted signs. Stash some extra quart size Ziploc bags with your carry-on luggage – just in case you forget to pack your liquids in them before you leave; otherwise you could be sorry when you get to the security check and have to toss it in the garbage.

 

Laura Leist, CPO, is a speaker, productivity consultant and the best-selling author of Eliminate Chaos: The 10-Step Process to Organize Your Home & Life. She founded the Seattle-based organizing services firm Eliminate Chaos in 2000 and is the President of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers). Laura is a frequent guest on TV, radio and has been published in several national newspapers and magazines.

 

Copyright Eliminate Chaos. Reprinted with permission.

Family Summer Movies 2009

What's more fun than going out to the movies with your family? Being the very first in the theater to catch a new release! Here are the big family movies for Summer 2009. No need to write down the release dates – add these dates instantly to your Cozi Calendar by adding the Family Summer Movies iCalendar.

Family Movie Release Dates - Summer 2009

Now Showing
Up (PG)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (PG)

June 2009
Imagine That (June 12 - PG)

July 2009
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1 - PG)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 15 - PG)
G-Force 3D (July 24 - PG)
Aliens in the Attic (July 31 – not yet rated)

August 2009
Shorts (August 7 - PG)
Bandslam (August 14 - PG)
Ponyo (August 14 – not yet rated)

September 2009
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (September 18 – not yet rated)

 

Add Summer Movie Release Dates to Your Cozi Calendar:

1. Click on this link to open your Cozi Calendar options where you can add an Internet calendar of your own. (You may need to sign into your Cozi account first.)
2. Right click on the link below and select 'Copy link' or 'Copy shortcut.' Then paste into the Calendar URL text box on that page:
   
   Family Summer Movies 2009 iCalendar
   
   
3. Click Add.
4. That's it! You can now look ahead to family movie releases all summer!

 To add an iCalendar in the future, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Cozi
2. Click Settings, and then click Calendar options.
3. On the "Customize your calendar" settings page, click Add a holiday calendar or other Internet calendar.
4. Paste the URL into the text box in the Add an Internet calendar of your own section.
5. Click Add.

Plan a Summer Ice Cream Social

‘Tis the season for trips to your favorite ice cream spot, and for ice cream socials! Read on for some cool ice cream social party ideas for the upcoming summer season.

• For decorations, bunch balloons together to look like an ice cream cone. Use brown balloons for the cone and different colors for the different flavors of ice cream! Another way to make balloons look like ice cream cones is to attach helium-filled balloons to party hats— this can be a great centerpiece for your party table.

• Make a sign welcoming your guests to your child’s “Ice Cream Parlor.”

• Play some old-fashioned ice cream parlor music to get your guests in the mood of the party theme as they arrive.

• On the party table, place old fashioned stick candy in brightly colored pails as an additional decoration and treat. It will look festive!

• Match your tableware to the ice cream colors you choose. If you choose a plain white tablecloth, decorate it by sticking ice cream cone cutouts all over it, or by drawing an ice cream parlor on it.

• Enjoy a sundae bar with toppings such as sprinkles, nuts, chocolate sauce, cherries, caramel, etc. Make “Creamy Cones” by using standard ice cream cones and providing whipped cream for the kids to fill them up with. The kids can top their cones with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, gummies, etc.

• Play a version of the Pin the Tail on the Donkey, in which you pin a cherry on a sundae or an ice cream cone!

• Organize a game for the adults: match the Ben and Jerry’s flavors to their names. This could be challenging!

•  Make paper soda hats.

• Have an ice cream eating contest!

• As a favor, buy some vintage sundae cups at a thrift store and fill them with Baskin Robbins hard candies. Add a Pixie Stix candy as a straw.

Ice cream socials and birthday parties are sure to be a huge hit and cool everyone off!

Lisa Kothari has based her ambition on helping parents throw the best children's parties without the added stress that planning often creates. She is the founder of Peppers and Pollywogs, a kids' party planning company providing families with party ideas and inspiration.

Summer Fruit Fun

Summertime means plenty of opportunities for fun. But little hands and minds need something to occupy all that free time. Why not experience the sweet, fresh fruit of summer with everyday food activities you can do with your children? It’s an easy way to pass the time and doesn’t cost extra.

1. Go berry picking. If you don’t have a backyard garden, look up a local U-Pick farm for a berry-picking adventure. Start now. Strawberries are in season first, then blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
2. Do a daily taste test. A taste test is one of the best ways to help children try new foods. Simply announce that you are conducting a taste test, set out the samples and watch them be gobbled up. Test different varieties of fruit and pick a winner, or try an exotic fruit with a crazy name.
3. Freeze leftovers for future goodies. Sometimes the harvest is a little too abundant. Decide to save some before it’s too late by washing and placing berries or cut-up pieces of fruit in freezer bags. Next time your kids are in the mood for a smoothie, it’s as easy as popping some fruit pieces in the blender. And since the fruit is frozen, it takes the place of ice cubes.<
4. Make fruit kabobs. There’s something about food on a stick that makes eating fun for kids. Serve a wooden skewer of a single fruit or get creative. Create an image with a plateful of fruit kabobs. How? Make an American flag by arranging skewers of alternating strawberries and bananas for the stripes and top a few of the skewers with blueberries for the stars section.
5. Make homemade fruit soda. A no-soda household is a great start to a healthy food environment. But there is nothing wrong with mixing up some homemade soda for a summer treat. You can make a simple soda by mixing equal parts of fruit juice with soda water, club soda or sparkling water. Turn sour lemons and limes into soda by mixing ¼ cup lemon or lime juice with 3 tablespoons sugar first, then adding a cup of soda water.
6. Visit a fruit tree. If you don’t have a fruit tree in your yard, maybe you can visit a neighbor who does or a local orchard. Seeing fruit grow on trees helps little ones understand how real food grows.
7. Make a summer fruit mural. As you enjoy the latest fruit in season, have your little one draw or paint a picture of it. Display the growing line of color as the summer progresses. You might even make it from red berries to peachy peaches and on to orange pumpkins!
8. Use fruit as a natural flavor and color. Many foods in the grocery store come pre-made, meaning they are pre-flavored, pre-colored and pre-sweetened. You can do the same thing at home while having fun and limiting the not-so-good ingredients you have to settle for when buying processed foods. Use the juice of berries or cherries to color yogurt, ice cream or milk. Add cut up whole fruit to add the flavor and you’ve got an easy, healthy snack.
9. Create fruit art. For a classic still life, set out bowls of peaches, berries or just a slice of watermelon for water color inspiration. If you find yourself with peaches or small melons that are past their fresh date, dip in paint and use for stamping before they go in the garbage.
10. Inspect the seeds. It might be tough to get them to grow (trying can be fun, though!) but don’t just throw away the fruit seeds. Take the chance to inspect the type and size of seeds in summer fruits you eat. Strawberries have tiny seed specks that end up in your tummy, mid-summer fruits like peaches and plums have bigger stone-like seeds, and then you’ve got the spit-able seeds of watermelons.

Enjoy a summer full of fruit!

--Live Simply

Fun Outdoor Family Games

Be a kid again (with your kids) and have a blast.

Remember when you were in grade school? Dirt didn’t matter, and sweat meant you were having a great time. Why not recapture that feeling and energy? “As a parent, you’re a role model,” says Chris Carmichael, author of 5 Essentials for a Winning Life. “Rather than choose something passive, like going to a movie or the mall, opt for intense outdoor games, which can lead to much richer experiences.”

Batonathon
“Relays are awesome,” says Gayle Hutchinson, Ed.D., “especially if you time them. Kids love the challenge.” Use a banana as your baton and come up with a new way to hold it as you run each lap: between your knees, under your arm, on your head.

Stomp
You’ll need balloons and string for this one: Let the kids blow up their own balloons and tie one to their ankle with string. When you announce “go,” they try to stomp on one another’s balloons until they’re all popped.

Let the Mud Fly
Even if it’s a little soggy outside, there’s still ripe opportunity for rousing sport. Play a game of muddy soccer or tag football, and join your crew as they slip and slide their way to a great time. A little mess means a lot of fun.

Jolly Volley
Picnic blankets are for more than just sitting. You’ll need two teams and two blankets. Each team holds a blanket and volleys a ball or balloon to the other blanket. The goal? Catching — and having — a ball.

No Balls, Balloons or Bananas?
No problem. Start with two people arm in arm. They chase the other players; each person they tag gets added to the chain. Remember: Only players at either end of the chain can tag someone.

provides tips and smart strategies to help you feel good, look good, and get more out of life.

A Family Luau Party

A luau is a very popular theme for any age and can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. This is especially fun during the warm summer months. A luau can be very inexpensive or more costly, depending on the invitations, decorations, crafts, food, and goody bags. The following ideas are designed for any budget.

To save money, you might consider sending e-invitations. There is no cost, and you can find a wide variety of themes on the Internet to match your party. Also, ask your local party store or grocery store if they have any old decorations, such as grass skirts, tiki poles, or lanterns, that they would be willing to give to you for free. Often major stores have old decorations that they are happy to donate to your party.

Decorations and atmosphere

• Make tissue paper flowers to scatter across your party tables, as well as tissue paper tropical birds.
• Make a flower napkin/cutlery holder out of felt. Wrap the holder around the napkin and cutlery—another way to add a festive touch on a budget.
• Make paper lanterns and hang them on trees throughout your yard.
• Have your guests wear tropical attire, such as their wildest Hawaiian shirt. This will also make for a festive atmosphere.
• Provide your guests with leis as they enter the party. Depending on your budget, you could make these out of string with tissue paper flowers, buy paper or plastic leis, or use real tropical flowers.
• Paint a Hawaiian tropical scene on an old sheet and hang it between two trees. Your guests can use this as a backdrop for pictures.
• Add grass skirting to your tables, light tiki torches (which can be filled with oil that keeps the bugs away), paint or buy a big “Aloha” sign to welcome your guests, and blow up palm tree balloons.
• Use fun cocktail umbrellas in all of your drinks.
• Have Hawaiian music playing in the background.
• If you have a pool, fill it with beach balls. This would also be fun for a small kiddie pool.

Games

• Have a limbo contest!
• Have a hula hoop contest!
• Teach people the hula. Provide grass skirts to your guests to make it authentic.
• Play Pass the Pineapple: Have your guests pass a pineapple around to music. When the music stops, the person holding the pineapple wins a prize.
• Have a relay contest, but with a twist: Fill a suitcase or a big tote bag with clothes that both a man and woman would wear on a vacation. The relay consists of running to the bag, getting dressed in the outfit, running back with the bag, and taking the costume off; then the next person must put on the costume and run with the suitcase to the other side.
• Play Coconut Bowling: Use a coconut as a bowling ball to knock over three pineapple pins.
• Play Pin the Monkey on the Palm Tree.
• Have a tropical piñata. Kids can take home the candy as party favors.
• Send the children home with a hula hoop or an inflatable beach ball.

Food and beverages

• Set up a Snack Shack, a cute storefront where guests can get snacks and goodies.
• Serve fruit salad, (try to include some tropical fruits like pineapple), veggies with ranch dip, crackers and cheese, and chips and dips.
• Barbecue chicken, steaks, and kebabs on the grill. Serve Hawaiian pizza.
• Make fresh pineapple boats.
• Have the kids create their own fruit skewers for dipping in chocolate and other sauces.
• Serve a kids’ punch, including cherries with the umbrellas for extra fun!
  

Lisa Kothari has based her ambition on helping parents throw the best children's parties without the added stress that planning often creates. She is the founder of Peppers and Pollywogs, a kids' party planning company providing families with party ideas and inspiration.