Spring has sprung! The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and we're ready to
enjoy the beautiful weather! Here are some ways to celebrate the season with
friends and family:
Bring on the Birds
Make bird feeders to attract the birds to your backyard. Find a
pinecone and tie a piece of string or ribbon to the tip. Spread a thin layer of peanut
butter into the crevices of the pinecone, then roll the pinecone in birdseed. Tie the
feeder to a tree branch and watch for your flying feathered friends.
Balloon Bouquet
Celebrate spring with a colorful bouquet of balloons! Choose
your favorite colors, blow them up — it's easy when you use a Balloon Time Helium
Balloon Kit — then tie them together with colorful ribbons. Present the bouquet to a
loved one, special friend or someone who's having a spring birthday.
Blow Up a Balloon Butterfly
Inflate some colorful balloons and tie them off with
ribbon. Fold a large sheet of white construction paper in half, cut out butterfly wings
and decorate them with markers, glitter, sequins, stickers, and other craft items. Fold
the inside length of two wings a half inch and tape the folds to either side of the
balloon; then fly your Balloon Butterfly high in the sky.
Make May Baskets
Fill wafer ice-cream cones with candies, flowers, seeds for
planting, or small toys. Cover the top with netting or colorful plastic wrap and tie it off
with a ribbon. Tie another ribbon around the cone on the other side, then bring up
the four ends and tie them into a bow to form a handle. Hang the May Basket on the
doorknobs of friends and neighbors.
Balloon Bash
Host a spring soiree and feature helium-filled balloon bouquets as
table centerpieces to delight your guests. If you're hosting a yard party, tie balloon
bouquets to tree limbs, fence posts, picnic tables and chaise lounges, and watch
them blow in the gentle breeze. Or float them in the swimming pool for a festive look.
Giant Sunflowers
Blow up one white balloon and five or six yellow balloons with
helium. Tape the white one in the middle of a large window. Tape the yellow
balloons around the white one to make a Giant Sunflower!
Plant a Mini-World
Buy a plastic, rectangular container, like a small fish tank. Fill
the bottom with potting soil, and plant some flower seeds, such as colorful "Balloon
Flowers" (also known as Chinese Bellflowers). Decorate the rest of the container
with small fake flowers, pretty rocks, plastic dinosaurs or anything you prefer. Watch
your seeds grow up in your own Mini-World.
Long Distance Balloon Contest
Blow up balloons but don't tie off the ends. Have
the players line up in the yard, then let go of their balloons. Watch the balloons flip
around in the spring air! Have the kids try to imitate the movement of the balloons.
Then measure the distance each balloon has flown to determine which one traveled
the farthest.
Serve a Dirt Dessert
Surprise your friends with a yummy dessert that looks like a
flowerpot filled with dirt and worms! Scoop chocolate pudding into small plastic
flowerpots (if there's a hole at the bottom of the pot, cover it with foil first.) Crush
chocolate wafer or sandwich cookies and sprinkle the crumbs on top of the pudding.
Stick some gummy worms into the pudding and hang them over the sides of the pot.
Add a fake flower in the middle and serve!
Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride
Spring is the perfect time to hop into a big basket
and take a ride around the scenic countryside in a hot air balloon. Check the Internet
for balloon rides in your area, then climb aboard and sail into the wind.
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author
and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16
specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper
column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents
magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning
programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in
February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits
in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex
or foil balloons and ribbon, and are available at national retail
chains, party goods and grocery stores nationwide.