Jester Jolly Tricks - Mind Reader

Invitation: Join me for a time most Jolly Tricks and Pranks and Folly So Please accept this Invitation Come with Expectation 

Decorations: Jesters, lots of crepe paper and balloons, signs "beware of paint" on walls, On bowls of candy or nuts "Poison, use with care," flowers in vases-sprinkle flowers with pepper.  Use lots of 'pitfalls' around the rooms that will be used.  i.e.:  tack something to the floor that everyone will think needs to be picked up, tack a mouse to your curtain, wallet on a string, etc.  Cake: Have two cakes:  1 real one, hidden away and the other for display.  Make the display one out of a box.  Cut a hole in the center.  Lay toys or joke novelties underneath each tied to a thin ribbon.  Pull the ribbon through the top.   Hold them up out of the way while you frost and decorate the cake...hide the hole.   Lay the ribbons around like decorations.  Let the birthday person cut the cake on their day.  Goodie Bags: Jester hats, jester sticks - stick candy, tied at the top with thin ribbon and bells glued to ends, small jokes and pranks. 

Games and Activities: Predictions:  Have a "performer" mind read.  This is done by having two people work together.  One is the performer, the other part of the audience and unknown to anyone else.  Give everyone a slip of paper and pencil to write something they plan to do this year.  When they are done, have them set these upside-down on a table...do not fold.  The 'unknown helper' will set his somewhat apart from the others, after the others have set theirs down.  He and the performer will have agreed to what is written on this slip before hand (i.e.: I will go to Disneyland).  Do not let the audience sit near the table! 

The performer picks up a slip of paper (not the known one) and puts it to her/his forehead.  Tightly closes their eyes and concentrates on the thoughts, then says "someone wrote: "I will go to Disneyland."  They then open their eyes to ask if anyone wrote this...of course his accomplice will raise his hand.  Now, the performer looks down and reads the real note, like she is verifying it but in truth is memorizing it for the next 'performance.'  Kick me:  Not really, but signs similar to this stuck to party goers.  i.e.:  tell me my name, poke me gently, make me laugh, hold my hand...not too many in the crowd or it will be obvious.  Beast in a Box:  Wrap a large box, put a mirror in the bottom and leave the top open.  Place a sign on it that reads "Unknown Beast" Set this box away from the crowd.  Now tell everyone that they can take one peek at the beast but they may not tell anyone what they see.  Take them up one at a time to peek inside. 

Guessing Game:  Fill a pot with dried peas with this sign Pleasant People Ponder, Please! Here's a Pot that's Piled with Peas. Patience Plenty, Place your guess; How many Peas does the Pot Possess? Leave slips of papers and pencils so everyone may take a guess.  The answer One (1) one "P" in POT  Pi Contest:  Type or write these up and see who can get the answers first. The pi that, adventurous, roams the high seas, And captures small vessels with never a please ~pirate The pi that , with compass and wheel at command, will carefully guide any craft to the land ~pilot The pi that with bravery blazed a trail so that those who followed never did fail ~pioneer The pi that's a mineral fairly well known both sulfur and iron, yet neither alone ~pyrites A display really splendid is may by this pi a child's delight on the Fourth of July ~pyrotechnics A pi that can crawl and that knows how to bite It lives far away in which we delight ~python

Other Pi words:  Pine, pike, pile, pipe  Jokes: How many hard-boiled eggs could a giant eat on an empty stomach? ~one, after one, his stomach is not empty If a waiter was to drop a platter of turkey, what would be the result to the world? ~The downfall of Turkey, the overthrow of Greece and the destruction of China What is the easiest breakfast to take in bed? ~A couple of rolls and a turnover Why is bread like money? ~because we knead it What pudding does a lawyer like best? ~SUET (sue it)  Video Tape Stand up Comedy Performances Let the kids do their own routines.  Maybe start them with a topic they draw from a bowl. 

Airplane:  This is fun did it this year ('99) at my 9 year old's b-day. Take a 6"x1" piece of lumber, about 5-6 feet long.  Set evenly over a block of wood, concrete, etc that is 6x6"  This is the airplane.  You need a blindfold and a hand mixer, either battery operated or manual.  Besides an adult you will also need three helpers and a participant.  Blindfold the participant and guide them to the center of the 'wings' and help them up.  Have one person in front of them holding the mixer- they are the propeller. 

The participant puts their hands on the shoulders of the propeller person who is somewhat squatting.  The other helpers are the wingmen.  They will gently guide the wings up and down and the propeller will operate the mixer while gently moving up and down.  The adult will give a run down of what the plane is doing.  i.e.:  The plane is starting the engine-mixer starts.  Rolling and gently bouncing down the runway (wings bounce gently).  It is now rising off the ground - propeller person begins to rise from a squat position.  Your fully in the air now, cruising at several thousand feet.  Oh, here comes some turbulence- wings bounce.  

Calming down now.  We're turning to the right, wings and propeller person, gently lean to the right, etc turn around and bring them back to the airport for a landing.