HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
Little boys revere firemen and obsess over the power and brilliance of a shiny fire truck. Make his firefighter dream come true by creating a fire truck themed birthday party he will never forget. Your little firefighter will love our tips on food, cake, decorations and fun activities to entertain guests.
Other Fun Kids Birthday Ideas:
Cook up an authentic firehouse chili paired with fries for an easy yet delicious meal that kids will enjoy.
- 2 Lbs ground beef chuck
- 1 Lbs bulk Italian sausage
- 3 (15) Oz cans chili beans, drained
- 1 (15) Oz can chili beans in spicy sauce
- 2 (28) Oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 (6) Oz can tomato paste
- 1 Large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 Whole green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 Whole red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 Whole green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon bacon bits
- 4 Whole cubes beef bouillon
- 1/2 Cup beef stock
- 1/4 Cup chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 Teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 Teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 Teaspoon dried basil
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 Teaspoon paprika
- 1 Teaspoon white sugar
- 1 (10.5) Oz bag corn chips such as Fritos®
- 1 (8) Oz package shredded Cheddar cheese
- Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.2. Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
- To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.
- 2 1/2 Lbs russet potatoes, peeled
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 Teaspoon onion salt
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 Cup water, or as needed
- 1 Cup vegetable oil for frying
- Slice potatoes into French fries, and place into cold water so they won't turn brown while you prepare the oil.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating, sift the flour, garlic salt, onion salt, (regular) salt, and paprika into a large bowl. Gradually stir in enough water so that the mixture can be drizzled from a spoon.
- Dip potato slices into the batter one at a time, and place in the hot oil so they are not touching at first. The fries must be placed into the skillet one at a time, or they will clump together. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Here's how:
- 1 Wilton's Fire Engine Mold
- 1 Package Cake Mix or your favorite Recipe
- Red, Yellow, White and Black Frosting in pastry bags
- Wait until the cake has cooled completely after coming out of the oven before you begin frosting the cake. Meanwhile, put each different color of frosting into its own plastic bag(if you don't already have pastry bags for decoration). Cut a small hole at the tip of the bag so the frosting can be piped out thinly. For the red and white bags, cut a bigger hole so more frosting comes out at once to save time.
- Cover the entire fire engine cake smoothly with white frosting.
- Use the red frosting to cover the fire engine part of the cake.
- Use yellow frosting to cover the fire truck's fenders, color the hubcab of the wheels, outline the doors, and color all the buttons on the cake (see picture).
- Use black frosting to outline the ladder and color in the wheels of the truck.
- Write Happy Birthday _____! (insert kid's name) in the color of your choice to finish off decorating the fire engine cake.
- 10 Tips for a Blockbuster Slumber Party
- Journey to the Center of the Earth Kid's Birthday Party
- A Mad Hatter Tea Party
For A Young Crowd:
Try Elmo Visits the Firehouse. Kids who love Elmo will enjoy seeing him in firefighter turnout at a real firehouse.
For A Little Older Group:
Try Firefighter George and Fire Engines, which lets kids experience the thrill of fire engines up close while learning important aspects of fire safety.
Decorate your home in a red, orange and yellow color scheme to mimic fiery flames, and use firefighter themed items to up the ante:
- Use red, yellow and orange balloons and streamers around chairs, tables and along the walls of the party area.
- For a table centerpiece, use a big fire truck toy, or a big red plastic fire hat.
- Instead of using the fire hat as a centerpiece, you can order enough for each kid to have their own. Then, set one at each kid's place setting with his or her name written on the front. They can later take the hats home as a party favor.
- Set the table with cool firefighter themed paper plates and cups. Get the ultimate firefighter decorations package from Birthday-in-a-Box.
- All the essentials for a firefighter theme party!
Put Out the Fire
Create targets that look like fire and have kids throw water balloons at it to 'put out the fire.'
Supplies:
- 1 large cardboard box and strong scissors
- Red and orange paint to create the look of the flame
- 2 oversized waterproof buckets
- Duct Tape
- Enough water balloons so each kid will have three to toss
1. Create a homemade target with a large water bucket and faux cardboard flames:
- Use scissors to cut out enough "flames" to duct-tape onto two large buckets. You want two sets of flames for each bucket: tall flames that will be duct-taped to the back of the bucket (make the ‘flames' twice as high as the bucket) and one set of flames to be duct-taped on the front of the bucket (make this set of 'flames' only as high as the lip of the bucket so the water balloons will fall in).
- Paint the cardboard cutout flames with red and orange paint to make them look like fire, then allow the paint to dry completely.
- Use duct tape to attach the taller set of flames to the back of the bucket, and the short set of flames to the front. Repeat for the second bucket, and now you have two sets of targets.
2. Line kids up into two teams ten - twenty feet away from the buckets (each team should have its respective bucket).
3. Give each kids 3 water balloons to throw at the fire targets.
4. Keep tally of how many times the team hits the fire bullseye, and whichever team hit's the fire the most with water balloons wins.
Bucket Brigade
This relay game involves two teams racing against the clock to transfer the most water from one large container into another.
Supplies:
- 2 large buckets
- 2 small buckets (large plastic cups will work, too)
- A Ruler
1. Set up two large buckets outside about 30-40 feet apart. Set up another set for the second team of firefighters.
2. Fill the two buckets on one end with water and leave the buckets on the other end empty.
3. Split the kids up into two teams of firefighters, each team supplied with one mini bucket. Line each team up behind one of the empty water buckets.
4. Yell "Go!" and have the first child in line for each team race to the bucket full of water, fill their mini bucket, and race back to dump the water into the empty bucket where the rest of their team is waiting. Then, have the child trade off the mini bucket relay-style to the next kid in line.
5. Once everyone has gone once, use a ruler to measure the amount of water in the buckets in front of the teams to see who brought over the most water. The team with the most water in their big bucket wins.
Blockbuster Slumber
Party
Desserts for Kids:
Part 2
Sleepover Party
