April Fools -9yr- Joke Shop Favors

Hayley was born on April Fools Day, so this year we decided to plan her party for the exact same day and celebrate the jokes and pranks with her friends! 

INVITATIONS: The invitations were clip art of thousand dollar bills stacked together to look like a pile of money. A message was printed on the first one with the invitee's name and said A THOUSAND DOLLARS IS YOURS! Just come to Hayley's birthday party (date and time)" Then inside the stack of bills we slipped in a picture of jellybeans. On that it said "Here's the catch: all you have to do is eat jellybeans!" 

GOODY BAGS/PARTY ACCESSORIES: In preparation we visited a joke shop and bought these supplies:  Fake money (hundred dollar bills--true to our promise as the invitation said!). This stuff was for the goody bags: Snap gum (pull out a stick and get snapped on the finger) Chinese Finger Traps and ice cubes with bugs inside. We also bought "dirty soap" that was put in the bathroom for kids to wash up with. That was messy. 

DECORATIONS: To get ready for the party we super-glued a quarter to the sidewalk in front of our house. (EVERY kid tried to pick it up and found it impossible! It stayed there for a few weeks!)  We put yellow caution tape across the front door and taped on a sign that said we were all sick and the party had been cancelled. It was folded to hide the message which said "APRIL FOOLS!" Several kids were stunned and stood there wondering what to do before they figured out the joke!  

FOOD/CAKE: Once all the guests had arrived I told kids we would have a backwards meal in honor of April Fools Day (dessert first real food last). Everybody sang Happy birthday as I brought out the cake. It was pink on top but when she cut into it it was actually a meatloaf frosted with pink mashed potatoes! I made it quite small because I thought every kid would say eeeeewwwwww (it was a gag cake) but it turned out everyone had a taste and loved it. I found that recipe on the internet. I also brought out a tray of sushi with wasabi on the side.  However it wasn't ordinary sushi. It was made of candy. Fruit leather for the seaweed wrapping rice krispie treat filling for the rice and bits of gumdrops and Swedish Fish for the fish. The wasabi was microwaved Starburst candy. It was all so cute and yummy. We then served the real meal turkey burgers and sweet potato fries my daughter's favorite. Then I brought out another birthday cake. It was taller and smaller than the typical cake but it was frosted in white and covered in rainbow sprinkles. The candles were "re-lighting" from the joke shop so every time she tried to blow them out they re-lit. When it was time to cut the cake the birthday girl couldn't get the knife in. The more she tried the more she saw the bright green middle of the cake which turned out to be a sponge! I had cut out four circles from large kitchen sponges and covered the layers with frosting and sprinkles. It was another great April Fools moment. 

GAMES: For the first activity we used "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans" (jellybeans from the Harry Potter movie) which included yummy and gross flavors like vomit pencil shavings ear wax earthworm etc. (supplemented with Jelly Belly jellybeans which are less expensive and have all the fun flavors).  We used a spinner (with colors) from the Game of Life and I made a poster to show kids which flavor jellybeans were each color. (Since the label on the jellybean package explains that the green jellybeans are either green apple kiwi or margarita we listed those flavors on the green part of the poster. But also we listed grass and snot as possible flavors too!) Each kid took a turn to spin and whatever color they landed on was the color of jellybean they had to pick out of the bowl. They had to eat it and name the flavor. If they did it they got A HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL (fake of course). This was hilarious. We had napkins and water available to rescue the bad tastes! (Some kids ran to the bathroom in fits of giggles upon eating the terrible ones!) We went around about 10 times and it was a huge hit. 

ACTIVITIES/FAVORS: With their hundred dollar bills they could then buy a certificate to adopt and own a dolphin (this idea came from Family Fun Magazine). We assured kids their parents said it would be OK if they got one from us. They filled out the certificates with all their personal information and named their dolphins. Turned out the dolphins they got were tiny rubber toys we got at the joke shop. Other Family Fun Magazine ideas we used: We printed out a seed package that said "Grow Your Own Doughnut Tree" and we put "seeds" inside the little seed package: Frosted Cheerios! Ha! Finally we had printed out a brochure to go to a FANTASTIC CAMP. We told the kids we had already asked their parents to allow them to go with Hayley. The brochures were given out and it was called CHORE CAMP. The activities were things like cleaning vacuuming etc. Some kids didn't realize the joke and thought it was really true. Funny.

The funniest joke of all was the surprise gift I had planned to give my daughter. She had been dying for a pet. I made a big deal of gently handing her a box and telling her that I knew she always wanted a small little something that ran in a wheel. She excitedly opened it and found an Easter toy of a little windup chick in a plastic wheel. Everyone laughed. Then I gave her another box this one a little heavier (I had [put rocks into the bottom) and told her we seriously wanted to give her a cute little furry animal she could love and hold: inside was a small stuffed bunny rabbit in an Easter basket. Laughs again!  Finally her dad carried in a similar sized box wrapped in tissue paper and she opened this one to find a real live hamster inside! She screamed with excitement!   It was a great was to celebrate April Fools and play pranks on all the guests and the birthday girl!!  "