Monster Fun at a 6-year-old Boy's Birthday Party

Monster Mash --  a DIY mix-it-up, silly birthday game.

Guess who is turning six? My boy.

And guess who had the brilliant idea to invite a bunch of his friends over to the house to celebrate. Me.

I had this brilliant idea back in October. I was sitting on the porch, a cool wind was rustling yellow leaves in the trees. Just then everything seemed possible. Ideas popped into my mind : we'll have a treasure hunt, we'll play soccer, we'll make paper airplanes, we'll roast marshmallows in the backyard. Sounds awesome right? Oh wait, now it is December, it is 36F and rainy and I'm realizing that I need a plan to handle having all these boys in my house.

Yikes! 8 sweet little monsters (read: boys) in the house!
There is alot on the schedule. And we will keep them busy every minute.

Now my favorite activity for a boys birthday is a game I just invented. (Did I really?!)
It's a twisted version of pin the tail on the donkey.
A game that is funnier, wilder and in the end (let's just say it) better because everyone wins.

Let's call it "Monster Mash Up".
We've got the monster body on a poster.
One by one the kids will get to add all the crazy monster parts.
Together as a group they have create their own monsters.
We laugh at them, point at them, name them. No winners, no prizes-- just crazy fun.

 Take a look at the pictures and see what happened -- then make your own!

To create this awesome game for your kids party you will need:

2 pieces of poster board (white is best)

Black marker (permanent)
Markers or acrylic paint
Sticky Tack

1. Sketch your monster's body in pencil on the poster board. (Best to make it large and fairly blob like so that anywhere they "pieces" land they will hit a part of the monster.)
2. When you have a shape you like, trace over with permanent marker.
3. Add stripes, pocka-dots, or scales to give the body character.
4. Paint/color the body


5. On the second poster board, draw all the monster parts: eyes, horns, hands , claws, big feet, tiny feet, wings, toothy grins, kissy lips, wild hair, flaming hair, googly eyes, big nose, pointy nose, hairy ears. Do as many variations as you can think of. The more

the better! Color them wild and bright. I employed the kids (6 and 8 years old) to color. Then cut them out.
6. At party time have some tape prepped to stick on the backs of the pieces.
7. Kids can reach in to a box "blind" and pick parts or choose what they like.
8. Blindfold them and send them in the direction of the monster.
9. Watch and see what happens!