Spiderman Adventure 2yr - Spiderman Limbo

For my son's two-year birthday party, we hosted a Spider-Man adventure.

We sent out invitations. We simply uploaded a Spider-Man photo that we scanned, inserted the event details and changed the background to Spider-Man colors. The subject line read Spider-Man and Myles Want You!" The invited guests loved it.

The guests arrived to a cobweb-covered entrance. Inside blue and silver streamers that were woven into colorful cobwebs that strategically guided the guests to the party room (aka our family room). There we had replaced family photos with pictures of Spider-Man battling his enemies as well as other Spider-Man posters. There was also a 5 feet high 5 feet wide scene setter (purchased from Party City) on one of the walls.  The giant photo featured the Marvel Heroes with Spider-Man placed front and center over a big Happy Birthday.

We took a Polaroid picture of each guest in front of the scene upon arrival and set the photo aside. Next we gave each child a Spider-Man black and white picture and crayons so they could color as the other guests arrived. We then served Spider-Man Cheese Nips (purchased at Harris Teeter) Green Goblin Punch (made with green Sherbet 7-Up Pineapple juice all-spice cinnamon and a little milk) Popcorn spider cake (a molded circular cake made with popcorn m&m's candy corn peanuts adorned with black plastic spiders) green vegetables Lasagna (Cheese and Meat versions) and a fruit salad.

Each child had a personalized placemat to eat on which I made in PowerPoint on the computer. First I printed on white sheets: Myles 2nd Birthday the date the same Spider-Man image from the evite and each child's name. Then I centered these sheets on the red placemats that came in the Spider-Man decorations kit (purchased from Birthday Express). I had each placemat laminated at Staples.

After everyone ate the children and their parents had to find the Spider-Man imposter on a large poster that hung from the fireplace (enlargement cost $2 at Staples). It was hard to determine which Spider-Man was different from the other three images especially since the only difference was that one spider emblem on the costume was missing a leg. Nobody guessed it but everyone got a kick out of that joke.

Next we played a few rounds of Spider-Man limbo. I tied a Spider-Man figure on a string and then on a broomstick. The kids tried to limbo without touching Spider-Man under the lowering broomstick to the sounds of DJ's Choice: Boy's Birthday Party Music (which contains Limbo Rock as well as the Spider-Man theme song) and Spider-Man & Friends (CD purchased from Best-Buy).  We had two limbo champs who won Spider-Man coloring activity books.

After the Limbo the doorbell rang and the kids were amazed when a life-sized Spider-Man appeared. (It was my sons' uncle in a Spider-Man costume but the kids seemed convinced.)  He took photos with the guests and lead the children over to the birthday cake - which was a realistic-looking Spider-Man that my friend made. It was from the Torso up. We got the idea of the cake from the Internet but she improved upon the version and instead of using a Styrofoam head as the instructions suggested she made the Spider-Man head out of Rice Krispie treats (Rice Krispie butter and marshmallows) and frosted over it. It looked so real and tasted so good.

After the kids sang Happy Birthday we settled the children down by putting them in front of the television for an original Spider-Man movie. To their surprise the twenty-minute movie featured my son Myles as Spider-Man and showed him dressing up as Spider-Man throughout the adventure (ordered at www.kideo.com). That was a big hit for the children and adults.

We thanked our guests with a Spider-Man gift bag that included the personalized placemat the Polaroid taken a Spider-Man bubble bath Spider-Man Fruit Flavored Snacks (from the supermarket or Target) and a Spider-Man Marvel Die Cast Car (Toys R Us or Target). The Spider-Man thank-you cards that were mailed contained a photo of each child with Spider-Man.

My sons are still raving about their Spider-Man adventure and I'm pretty proud of myself for pulling it off. "