Halloween is right around the corner. I love getting costumes that can be used as dress up stuff later and this one fits the bill. I actually used this idea as a birthday party theme for my son this year as well. So fun!
To start, I found plain black kids t-shirts at Hobby Lobby. We discovered that the Youth XS worked well for kids in the 5-6 age range.
Next, I cut off the sleeves at the seam of the shoulder (right on the outside of the seam, maintaining the seam itself). Then sewed this under with the sewing machine. You could also use fusible tape/Wonder Under to seal the edge and not have to sew anything.
Then I used Wonder Under to apply to the back of a plain blue cotton fabric and plain green one. These are for the accents on the vests. Blue for Martin, and green for Chris!
Once the Wonder Under was ironed on to the fabric, I traced circles, and other shapes to make the vest accents onto the side that had the Wonder Under. The shapes included: 1 large circle for the center of each vest (4.5 inches in diameter), 3 small circles to go above the large circle (each 1.25 inches in diameter), 2 squares (1 5/8 inches on each side) and 2 small rectangles (1/2 inch by 1 5/8 inch) to go on the shoulders of each vest.
After cutting them all out, it’s time to iron on!
Finally, I used small squares of velcro and sewed them onto the center of each large circle. Then I placed adhesive velcro dots on the back of paper Creature Power discs that I had printed off and laminated so that they could attach to the vest and be changed out whenever a new Creature Power was needed!
I wanted to have fun active games for all these Wild crazy kiddos, and wanted them to be able to wear the vests as part of the party. So when the kids arrived, they found their bag with their name on it and donned a vest. Then we had 5 activities that they could participate in (including just eating the food!) that would ‘earn’ them a creature power disc. (Discs 1, Discs 2, Discs 3, Discs 4, Discs 5)
At the beginning of each activity I would read a couple creature facts (Download my creature facts!) about the animal, and then have them touch a large creature power disc for that animal to ‘activate creature power’ before beginning the activity.
The first was the Platypus creature power. We talked about how the Platypus is a very interesting creature with some crazy features, like the fact that it is a mammal that lays eggs! In honor of the crazy creature, we did a crazy relay race with eggs! Each child had to walk from one point to another with a plastic spoon in their mouth and a large plastic egg on the end of it. They had to balance the egg the whole way without having it fall. Most kids did great with this and it was a fun easy start to the games. If you want the game to last longer, have only a couple kids go at a time, or for a quick version (and a little crazy!) have them all go at once!
Next was Large Mouth Bass. We talked about how the bass opens its mouth wide and swims up to catch its food in teh water. The kids lined up in two lines that faced each other so they had partners. One partner had a large plastic cup filled with large marshmallows that was the ‘fish food’, the other had an empty plastic cup that represented the mouth of the bass that would catch the food. The partner with the marshmallows would toss them to their partner who would try and catch them in the cup. Then we switched and had them change who threw and who caught. The only trick to this game was keeping the kids from actually eating the ‘fish food’ that had fallen on the ground!
Then we did cupcakes and snacks, which we designated as the Shark creature power. We had gummy fish, Goldfish, watermelon cut in slices (shark fins), animal crackers and chips and salsa and lemonade. The kids loved getting a creature power disc just for eating food!
The next activity was the Kangaroo Creature power. We set up a ‘Hopstacle Course’ where they had to hop on two feet through an obstacle course we set up around the park. It wore them out for sure and they loved hopping around, under and on top of things!
The final activity was the Bat creature power. For this one we talked about how the bats use their super hearing to detect things around them since they can’t see well in the dark. This was the pinata activity! We blind-folded them and did a normal pinata and the kids loved it!
Then it was just free play at the park in their vests, trying out their discs they had earned and having a blast!
Thanks for the inspiration from these creative mommas on Pinterest for the food & Decor!
A Hyer Love: Get Your Creature Power Suit On!
Wild Kratts Party . Birthday Party for Kids | PBS Parents
