Messy Party!

We started off so clean...

My first messy party transpired last week. It was really fun and, as expected, messy. I admit it, I don't like my kids to do messy things in the house. Normally, requests for messy things are usually met with a "Not right now" response which is Mommy code "I do not want paint on my curtains, so not in your lifetime". Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but I really have to be in a good place to get out the messy. I have been known to send the finger paints to Nana and Mimi's house because everyone knows Grandmas love messy. So, a messy party seemed like the least I could do for my poor, clean children. I actually did very little of the planning. All I had to do was host. My awesome friends planned, helped with set up, and clean up. I mean, really, they kick butt.

We started off with messy Twister. I squirted paint on the circles and let the havoc begin. The ages of the participants varied widely, most of them not knowing their right from left. So, it quickly became "Put on foot on red. Put your other foot on blue. Now, put a hand on your neighbor." I was making it up as I went along. Most of the kids had a fun time getting very painty.

We went straight from that activity into finger painting canvases. The mommies used masking tape to "write" names, initials, etc on the canvas so that when they dry, you peel the tape off and what is under the tape is white. Cool effect and the kids had fun. What we may do differently if we do it again is only give one or two colors. Several of the pictures turned out kind of brown from all the mixed colors.

Post finger painting silly pose. I didn't (but should have) anticipate that fingers would go in mouths for silly poses. Ewww.

We next filled up squeezie bottles with diluted paint and let the kids go at it. I was so impressed that they were all really good sports about keeping it away from faces and such. They really enjoyed squirting the moms.

Next up- lunch. Spaghetti without utensils followed by cupcake decorating. One child quipped, "I wish mom would let us eat spaghetti with our hands at home!" Some kids totally got into it, going all primal on that pasta. Other kids (like Lila) opted for plain noodles. Boring.

We followed lunch with a shaving cream fight. The kids took this one to the top. They decided to "shave" (as they put it) their own bodies more than throw it on other people. But, it was all for fun. We also did some gooey glue which didn't turn out so great. (I'm reading now we should have used some boiling water. Ooops) But, the kids thought it was very cool to mix in the food coloring. You should have heard the "ooooooh!" and "Ahhhhhh!".

After a hose off, the kids slipped and slid to clean up for the drive home. If they went down once, they must have gone down 25 times. It was a big hit. They tried every position: face first, upside down, sideways, on their bum, and feet first. It was a good way to end the day.

And then, we were all ready to join Breaker for a nap.