Party Games Books

Do you get cold feet when your child's teacher asks you to help plan the next classroom party? Does the thought of creating a Valentine's Day game for a class of seven year olds leave you frozen in fear? Are you a party mom but lack the creativity to bring a craft idea to the classroom? Or are you just plain bored with doing the same old same old at every single class party?

Marci Mohan, Jeanne Palmer, and Peggy Simenson have you covered. With their new classroom party resource guide, PARTIES WITH PIZZAZZ, they introduce dozens of unique and creative games, crafts, and snacks designed to get your classroom partying down!

PARTIES WITH PIZZAZZ is split into parties revolving around traditional holiday themes - Halloween, Winter, and Valentines Day - and is split again into "Mixers" (large group activities designed to ramp up the party atmosphere), "Team Builders" (division of the large group into several smaller, more manageable ones), "Games," "Crafts," and "Treats."

Mohan, Palmer, and Simenson work together to create unique party activities that are fun and inexpensive, such as:

*Loop the Hoop (requiring two hula hoops and some crepe paper)

*Counting confetti (requiring only snowflake confetti and plastic snack bags)

*Graham cracker gifts (a fun and inexpensive treat the kids will love making)

What's more, the authors provide you with templates, patterns, and samples in the back of the book for easy and convenient implementation of their ideas. All that is needed is a willing spirit and a few eager children.

While the book seems to be geared specifically toward a classroom setting, it should be noted that most, if not all, of the activities within could be used for any gathering of children, from youth groups to slumber parties. In fact, one can only hope a "Birthday Parties with Pizzazz" book is already under construction.

A valuable resource tool for any parent with small children who might be called upon to help with a holiday party, and an absolute must-have for any teacher worth her salt, PARTIES WITH PIZZAZZ delivers true celebratory spirit.

The collaborative effort of Marci Mohan, Jeanne Palmer, and Peggy Simenson, Parties With Pizzazz: A Complete Resource For Holiday Classroom Parties is an activity book filled with ideas for games, crafts, costumes, candies, gifts, and more centered around Halloween themes, wintertime themes, or Valentine's Day. Black-and-white photographs embellish the step-by-step instructions for easy-to-plan projects especially suitable for classrooms but also great for family fun at home. A festive, wholesome resource.

Dozens of Halloween, Winter, and Valentine Day party themes. Crafts, games, and songs that kids will love. Yummy snacks to top off the fun. What more could a party planner want?

Parties with Pizzazz has everything you need to create great classroom parties. However, I think a good deal of the crafts, games, and snacks are just as suitable on their own either in the classroom or for use at home. Each entry clearly states what you need so that you aren't running around looking for craft items or ingredients. Moreover, the directions (with lots of illustrations) are simply, to the point, and are easy to actually complete.

Parties with Pizzazz was a finalist in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award.

Me and my pal Adrian just wanted to say

WAHOOO! This book is awesome! I followed its, uh, guidelines on how to do things, and it brought me fame from all over are school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That lady who wrote this is a genius!!!!!!!!!!!

Putting On A Party is a how-to book written especially for kids ages 6 and up, although readers of all ages can use it to plan an exciting adventure party for young people. Colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand text instruct one in the basic steps of organizing, planning, and hosting a celebration. From basic tips and advice (including how to respond to someone who asks why they weren't invited, and knowing how to end a party on a high note) to decoration and invitation ideas, the heart of the book, a wide catalogue of fun party games that all guests can play together, Putting On A Party is a superb resource and starting guide for kids' get-togethers of all kinds, including birthday, holiday, and end of school year celebrations.

This book addresses etiquette issues in a fun way. There are so many great activities, recipes and games in this book that you won't want to wait for a party to try them out. This book is a great resource for parents and children alike. The humor throughout guarantees that children will read and learn.

This is a great party for girls who like to dress up in fancy dresses. The invitations tell the invitees what to wear, but they don't get the scripts until they arrive at the party. The girls all came dressed up in old-fashioned party dresses with big bows in their hair, ready for a tea party. We had the girls help decorate cookies for the party when they first arrived, then handed out the scripts.

There are parts for 8 girls and a mom, or nine girls. One girl needs to be comfortable hiding under the table for part of the action. Another is supposed to be in a nearby room for part of the action, but we had her sit nearby to feel a part of things.

They were ready to do it again when it was over!

I used this game for my daughter's 8th Birthday Party. It was perfect for this age group. The kit comes with all of the Birthday invitations, and 9 bound scripts. (plus more!) Each child plays a character in this drama/play from the Samantha series from American Girl. The girls dressed in costumes with large bows in their hair, then we finished it off with a real victorian tea party. They loved it and said that this was the best Birthday Party ever. The play takes around an hour. The guests must be able to read, so if you have a younger sibling they can either be a shadow to one of the other characters, or just be one of the silent guests.

My initial reaction to the game was to wonder if I could jazz it up a bit, maybe add some clues, or make them harder to find. But, time got away from me and I just followed the instructions and the girls had a terrific time. It took us about an hour to set up (before the party) and 45 minutes to play.
Thanks to the November 2004 movie, Samantha's story was well known to all the guests. Even those who were not great at reading aloud enjoyed the game. While the outcome of the story was obvious to me, and eventually to the girls, they got a kick out of solving it and seeing their guesses proven right.
We used our game for a 9 year old's birthday party. The game was fun and it met my goal of planning a good party without getting into one of those $20+ a person, preplanned event parties. I really don't think children's birthday parties ought to be huge extravaganzas.
We had eight girls giggling all over the house. (A little goofy improvisation channeling Steve from Blues Clues didn't hurt!)
In addition we kept to the American girl theme by playing outdoor games, parlour games and making peppermint ice cream.
As they say, a splendid time was had by all.

This book is full of great ideas for a sleepover. My daughter and friends had a wonderful time with this book. I would recommend this to anyone thinking of having a sleepover!!

My daughter checked this book out at the library, and LOVED it!! She's read other sleepover books, but none were as good as this one. She really recommends it!! We plan on purchasing our own copy.

I bought this book for my daughter, about to celebrate her 10th birthday. I think we will need to have several birthday sleepover bashes, as there are way too many great ideas in this book for her to choose enough for only one night! Really creative invitations, inexpensive crafts, age appropriate food preparation, laugh giggle and squeal games, with clear instructions for the 8-12 age group. Great for this age, where she really wants to be involved in the planning. I don't know if the girls will get any sleep, but it looks like we're going to have a terrific party. Or two. Or more?

This is an amazing book that is filled with many great ideas. Even though it is geared towards sleepover parties, it has so many wonderful and creative ideas that can be used at any child's birthday party. The sleepover themes gave me many great ideas; I never realized that a sleepover party could be so much more, such as a glamour salon or a rock studio! This is definately a great book if you are planning a sleepover party and are looking for ideas to make your party a true success.

Fun, practical tips and ideas for girls' parties -- any kind, not just slumber parties. The book is divided into themes, which include suggestions for invitations, decorations, food, games, etc. My daughters *love* the book, and we use it frequently. But wait -- you're wasting your time reading this.

This book was the best book I have ever read on slumber parties. With 25 different ideas, you are bound to find at least a couple that suit your daughter's needs. Also, some of these parties can apply to boys, like the circus party and sorcerer's magic party. Each party idea has ideas for invitations, movies (with the ratings) to watch, what people should bring, decorations, games, activites, ideas for prizes and favors, refreshments, and recipes. They also give you a 3 page introduction in the beginning of the book, which is very helpful when you are planning a sleepover. Here are the ideas listed in the book. I hope you buy this book, because it's very useful, and I hope that your slumber parties are filled with fun!

1.Academy Awards
2.Arty Party
3.Cartoons and Comic Books
4.Castaway Island Luau
5.Cool Camp-In
6.Crack-Up Comedy
7.Creative Crafts
8.Custom Circus
9.Drama and Dreams
10.Fabulous Fashions
11.Fifties Sock Hop
12.Foreign Feast
13.Friends Forever
14.Karaoke Celebration
15.Midnight Mystery
16.Miracle Makeover
17.Music n' Mayhem
18.Now You're Cooking
19.Pillow Pals
20.Scavenger Hunt
21.Secret Seance
22.Silly Olympics
23.Sixties Hippy Party
24.Sorcerer's Magic Party
25.TV Talent Show

Compiled by Wilhelmina Ripple with the assistance of Kathryn Totten, and illustrated by Heather Anderson, Slumber Parties: What Do I Do? is a fun and activity-filled resource book for kids, offering a compendium of ways to enjoy and make the most of a slumber party experience, and is enhanced with tips for having successful co-ed slumber parties. From creating unique hats and invitations, to tasty and simple recipes, to simple short stories to share and games like the Pillow Jousting Tournament, Slumber Parties is a great planning resource for an unforgettable night of fun.

This book is packed full of party fun. You can use this book for slumber parties, overnights, babysitting, or even special family nights. From themed invitations to themed food, this book has it all covered. I am a parent as well as a day care provider, this book is fun to use any time day or night.

What a book, it helped me so much prepare for slumber parties. With a girl and boy they can be different parties and theme. This book has it all and who would have thought of a co-ed party. It prepared me for the future with my daughter entering highschool and what to expect for parties at that age. Wonderful book recommend it to all. We will be using this book for a church lock-in which is co-ed and will we have activities with this book. Suggestion: Purchase the complete set.

My 10 year old girl loves the ideas in this book.

I love this book. They have eight themes that have detailed sleepover plans and ideas for more parties. I liked this book because they had ideas for invitations, games, crafts, and food. At the back of the book there was a tear-out doorknob hanger and there were shopping lists for each theme. The lists are just the right size to put in your purse. So if you love sleepovers, get this book!

This book is VERY helpful if you are trying to plan a birthday party, or slumber party! It's very organized and easy to read! This book has eight different slumber party planners with tons of different games that you can play and different ideas of theme-parties that you can have! They even have a shopping list for each theme-party at the back of the book! If you are having trouble with a birthday-party-planning, then this book is FOR YOU!!!

I love to use them as give-a-ways at my "how-to" party presentations. They also make great gifts. Patty Sachs is so creative. You're going to love this "little" book with the "BIG" punch! I loved and used her "Beatlemania" theme for a special party for a friend who loves the Beatles. We staged the party in the "Beatle Suite" (the Beatles actually stayed her in the early sixties) of The Brown Palace Hotel. We added fab four look-a-like meet and greet entertainers and the party is still the "talk of the town."

I ran across this terrific little book and it saved my party life. It's hard to continue to come up with great party ideas when you have as big a family as I have. Don't want to be out done. When I received Patty Sachs' party book -- I became the 'Queen of Parties'. Everyone wonders why my parties went from dull to DELIGHTFUL! Read it! She's a wonderful writer, too. Fun to read.

I did like this work. Wonderful, bright, clear and concise photography make this a delight for children and make it a fun read for the adult reading with the child. Of course I like dogs and anything about them. The photos in this work quite capture the animals personality. Recommend this one for your preschooler.

I purchased this book for a preschooler's birthday present anddecided to keep it for my own 16 month old son and myself! Althoughthe content is too advanced for him, he is fascinated by the collages of tinted photos. The colors used for the photos are bright, but not obnoxiously so...nice change from typical kids' books AND appealing to those who are into "retro". Both of us like the silly photos of the dogs at the party, too. I think that my son will really enjoy this book in a few years when he can pick out the items in the photo puzzles, but in the meantime, we are content to read about silly dogs (and one cat) at a birthday party. Happy Birthday, Alfred!

The American Girls Party book offers 18 different theme party plans that accompany the dolls and books made by the same company. "Since the earliest days of America, American girls have found lots of ways to celebrate--picnics, dances, barn raisings, fairs, teas, and victory shows." The authors teach children how to plan ahead for their special theme party.

This book offers wholesome ideas for celebrations; from home-made party invitations (with patterns) to recipes for special easy to prepare dishes, to timeless party games, musical suggestions, and decorating ideas. The book is replete with elegantly laid out color photos of real American girls and the party fixings, celebrating all the joy life offers. I'm sure your little girls will enjoy this book as much as mine do. It teaches children that they have the ability to create something wonderful and share their creation with others. A feel good book!

This book shows wonderful games amd treats for American Girl Parties that you can have at home. It even gives information about why and what kind of parties Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha and Molly had. My sisters said that they both want to have parties about their American Girl.