Having a summer water party, such as a pool or swimming party, can be a lot of fun for kids. But many like to also pair it with having face painting at the party. Believe it or not, this can actually be done, if it’s planned right ahead of time. With a little bit of pre-party planning, your child can indeed have a pool and face painting birthday party (or even just fun summer party).

Here are a couple of options for having a summer pool or swimming party and offering the children face painting as well:

• Arrange for the face painter to arrive after the children have had 1-1.5 hours of swimming time. That way they have their swimming out of the way and the face painting can be one of the last things they do at the party, before heading home.
• Another popular option is to opt for “Glimmer Art,” which are glitter tattoos for both boys and girls. Kids always love these and they will stay on for 1-2 weeks, so there are no worries about it getting messed up. In fact, they can jump right back into the pool without worrying about it washing right off.

If your child wants a pool party as well as face painting, it can happen. Just be sure to plan ahead and work with the face painter in order to arrange the best option. Plus, sending the children home with a face painting makes for a great return gift! 

Have you ever thought about celebrating a milestone sleepover? Well, now is the time to give it some thought!

A friend of mine recently shared a photo taken from a milestone sleepover her children had with their grandma (pictured). What a fun idea! Grandma planned a fun-filled special Luau party to celebrate the 100^th sleepover with her grandchildren. They celebrated the occasion with an exciting night of dancing, crafts, and other fun activities, even topping it off with the grass skirts. The kids, and grandma, had a wonderful time and created memories that will last a lifetime.

You can do this same thing. It does not matter if it is a party to celebrate the 100^th sleepover or another special milestone. What does matter is that you plan it out and make it happen. Focus on making it a big deal for the kids so that really feel like it’s something special. Be sure to include some activities, photo and video taking, and special snacks.

Doing a small thing like this with children, whether they are your grandchildren or nieces and nephews, is a wonderful and sweet way to strengthen bonds, create memories, and make kids feel special.

And here you thought you could not think of another reason to have a party with the kids! So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your milestone party or celebration!

Are you planning a fall festival or harvest party? Whether you’re planning one for your church, school, or small group of close friends, these types of celebrations are an excellent way to gather with your friends and community to ring in the autumn season. A key element to a successful harvest party or fall festival is the party games available for kids to play, many of which are variations of carnival games. To help with your planning, I’ve compiled a list of a few fun and easy to organize games ideas for your upcoming harvest party or fall festival.

Party Games for Your Harvest Party or Fall Festival

Try to ring the pumpkin: Create a small pumpkin patch by lining a few rows of pumpkins. Tie pieces of rope into rings, and have older kids toss the rings and try to loop a pumpkin stem. You can modify this game for younger kids by allowing them to try “catching” an entire pumpkin with a hula hoop.

Collapse the can pyramid: Prepare for this game in advance by covering ten empty soda cans with construction paper. Remove the tabs from the tops so they will stack. Build the pyramid by lining up four cans on the bottom, then stack three on the next row, then two, and finally one can on top. Mark a line about 8 to 10 feet from the can pyramid. Have each child player take a turn by standing on the line and throwing a softball at the pyramid. He or she wins if the pyramid collapses.

Plan a pumpkin relay race: You need a large pumpkin for each team. Mark a start and finish line beforehand. Have the children line up with half of the team on the start line and the other half at the finish line. When the whistle blows, the first racer from each team must turn the pumpkin on its side and roll it the finish line. Once the finish line is crossed, the next child in line is tagged and has to roll it back to the other end. This continues until all the members from one team have had a turn. This game may be modified for indoors if you use small pumpkins.

Host a balloon stomp: This game requires some preparation because you have to blow up a large amount of balloons in advance, depending on the number of kids you expect to play. Create prize tickets and stuff them in about 1/4 of the deflated balloons. Blow up all the balloons, including the ones with the tickets inside, and spread them around a room or confined area before the children arrive. Allow each child to pop their choice of two balloons. They win a prize if one of the balloons they stomp has a prize ticket in it.

Feed the pumpkin (or turkey): Make a wooden cutout of a large pumpkin or turkey. Make sure to cut a large hole for the mouth. Give each child player three bean bags or plastic balls and have them try to “feed” the pumpkin (or turkey) by tossing them inside the mouth opening.

Find a lucky duck: Fill a baby pool or large aluminum tub with water. Place floating plastic ducks, the type used as bath toys, in the tub. Use a permanent marker to write “Winner” on the bottom of a few of the ducks and mix them in with the rest.  Allow each player draw a duck from the water. If the child picks a lucky duck that says “Winner”, he or she gets a prize.

Organize a toy swap meet: Notify parents and children in advance that there will be an optional toy swap at the fall festival or harvest party. Ask that each child who chooses to participate in the swap bring a toy. Set up a drop-off point at the entrance and give the child a swap ticket for each toy he or she brings. Collect the toys until a designated time, and then open the toy swap to all the kids who brought something to swap. The child may exchange a toy for every swap ticket. This is a great fall festival game to play with groups of people who may have things to give but not much money to spend.

You can find other games and activities for kids like these at Creative Kids Ideas.

A great way to celebrate the change of seasons with your children is to make a craft together. Since fall is on its way, today’s craft project is one that embraces the fall festival and harvest time theme. Read below to learn how to make this scarecrow craft with your young kids.

Craft supplies you will need to make this scarecrow:

• Paper plate
• Yellow construction paper
• Large googly eyes
• Brown foam board or construction paper
• Twine or string
• Markers or paint
• Craft glue
• Scissors

Here’s how to make the scarecrow craft:

1. Have the child color or paint the paper plate. This craft project is meant to spark the child’s imagination, so let him or her choose whatever color they want. There’s no rule scarecrows can only come in certain shades!
2. Set the plate aside to dry for a few minutes and work on the accessories.
3. In the meantime, help the child measure and cut out 1-inch thick strips of construction paper. You will need approximately 10 of them. Designing scarescrow hair is not exact science, so this may vary slightly depending on the hairstyle you choose.
4. Help the child draw a small hat on a piece of foam board or construction paper and cut it out.
5. Make the scarecrow’s nose by also cutting out a small triangle.
6. Cut a piece of twine or string for the mouth, about 6 inches long.
7. Once the plate is dry, show the child how to layer the strips of construction paper to form hair for the scarecrow. Glue them to the plate and trim the ends as necessary.
8. Place the hat on top of the hair and attach it with the craft glue.
9. Add the googly eyes, nose, and mouth to complete the scarecrow’s face.
10. Allow kids to add any other finishing touches, like drawing flowers, a crow, bow tie, or other details to their scarecrows crafts.

Do you struggle with trying to find family time? If so, you’re not alone. Busy schedules make time a rare commodity for most people. When kids go back to school and homework and other school activities are thrown into the mix, it becomes even harder to balance it all.  It may be a challenge, but finding time for family fun is not impossible. Here a few creative tips for squeezing in those quality moments with your kids and getting them excited about it, too.

• Switch things up and let older kids take the lead on planning family time. How does this help? Parents can get bogged down with all the boring adult stuff like work, household chores, and paying bills. By the time we’re finished with all those jobs, there often isn’t much energy left to plan yet another event. Family time shouldn’t be another chore on the do-to list. By allowing the kids to play an active role in planning what to do as a family, two important things are accomplished. The kids can work out a lot of the details ahead of time, which saves time that can than be used to enjoy your family time. The other benefit? If your children help come up with the ideas, they will be far more excited about spending time together as a family.

• Plan a date night with your child or children. When adults want to spend extra time with another adult, we plan a date. Why not do the same with your kids once in a while? Any relationship that is important to you requires some effort to build and nurture it. Read Date Night… with Your Kids on Creative Kids Ideas for some creative alternatives for celebrating family night with your children.

• Be selective about how many after-school programs your child participates in and how often he or she attends. Extra-curricular activities can be helpful for teaching kids social skills and developing friendships, when they are done in moderation. Truthfully, it’s far too easy for parents to find themselves spending a lot of time playing chauffeur and carting kids from one activity to another. When kids go back to school and join multiple groups, they get overloaded, parents get overbooked, and there’s little time left to spend together as a family. Instead, encourage your child to limit sports or activities to one or two.

• Remember that family time doesn’t always have to be a planned event. Usually when we think of family time, we think of a specific event or activity that the parents and kids do as a group. The truth is, family time is any time spent together doing anything. Take a cue from kids. They don’t rely on elaborate plans to have fun. They also don’t spend days deciding how to play. They just do it. So, how do you apply this same way of thinking to your time with your family? It’s simple, really. Seize the little moments when they appear. Have you ever walked into the room while your six-year-old was playing and just sat down. grabbed a Barbie doll and joined her? Have you ever caught your teenager shooting hoops in the front yard and challenged him to an impromptu game of horse? Those are both perfect examples of well-spent and unplanned family time.

Family time is an important way to bond and build strong relationships with your children. Don’t let kids going back to school take that away from you. Instead, get creative and make the most of the time you have together!

Here is the follow up story about how Cotton Candy's little girl Taylor got her service dog!!

Watch the amazing story below!

Cotton Candy is Throwing A Contest!

A Birthday photo contest!

(AGES 0-12)

How You Enter:

Email a photo of your child celebrating a birthday to: CottonCandy@CottonCandytheClown.com or HAPPYTLM@CFL.RR.COM and we will submit your photo to this folder.

Voting has started and will end September 15.

How To Get Votes:

Winner will be chosen by votes, so don't forget to send all your friends to our Facebook page!

1. They will have to first "like" our page

and then

2. Write "Vote" under the photo in a comment

RULES:
*You can only vote one time per picture
* Contest open to ALL US Residents

Good Luck Everyone!!!

We are so excited that our friend is in close range of winning this awesome contest! Please join us in supporting her!

Here is the deal: The winner gets $50,000 toward their favorite charity. And guess who the charity is?? Our lovely friends at 4Paws!! If you remember, 4Paws is the non-profit that is providing Cotton Candy's little girl Taylor with a service dog! They leave the first week of August for training to bring their furry friend home!

Training the dogs properly is a long and expensive process. 4Paws only charges the families a portion of the actual cost so that more are able to receive their custom service dog. Cotton Candy's friends and family raised their money in record time for little Taylor.

Now, our friend Erin is SO close to reaching her fundraising goal and she needs your help! The best part? All you have to do is sign up!! And all that costs you is your time.

The other best part about it?? She only needs a fraction of the $50,000 prize that would be awarded to 4Paws. So what does that mean? The remaining amount will be spread out to the remaining fundraising families! This will help SO many people.

Oh my goodness, there is ANOTHER best part!! Erin is SO excited about this that she is offering to give away $100 of her own money to one of the voters!! One person will be chosen at random to win $100! And all you have to do is take a minute or two of your time to vote!

Here is how you do it:

Go to the link below and follow the instructions! Yes, it is *that* easy!!

Help a Charity and enter to Win $100 Click Here!

Thank You so much for stopping by, I hope we helped you find what you were looking for!

Sincerely,

**Please feel free to share your thoughts or add your thoughts by commenting below!!**

Choosing Safety Equipment For Your Child

By Cotton Candy The Clown

The assortment of ride-on toys is wide and extraordinary, and they can be played with both indoors and outside. The thing most often overlooked is proper protective gear; coming in the form of either a helmet or a helmet and pads.

When buying protective gear for youngsters, several things should be considered; the age of the youngster, the style of ride-on toy the youngster will be playing with, where the toy will be used and the speed at which the child will be whizzing along are all elements that will influence the type of protective equipment necessary.

Childrens safety equipment for ride-on toys generally fall into helmet and protective pad families, and not all are produced the same. Helmets do come in different sizes and it is crucial that safety equipment must be correctly fitted.

Ride on toys designed to be enjoyed indoors, such as plush animal ride-ons, rocking horses, small foot-on-floor vehicles and trikes do not require safety equipment.

Generally most foot powered vehicles won't need helmets and protective pads, as those riding these toys are still too small, and the toys themselves can't go too fast. Two noted exceptions to this rule are balance bikes and scooters, and it is strongly advised that helmets are used when using either of these toys. Protective pads are also recommended for scooters.

Helmets are generally made in a similar manner to one another, with a tough plastic shell, protective inner, some sort of head circumference modification, either through removing foam inserts or a rotating dial adjustment, adjustable chin strap, plus ventilation vents on top. Some helmets may also have some kind of visor in front. Helmets do come in size ranges with the littlest helmets being adjustable from 48 to 52 cm.

Children often initially balk at the idea of having to wear a helmet. Helmets designed specifically for young children are bright and attractive with familiar characters so that children will be more likely to want to wear them. Among these is the Thomas safety helmet, the Apex crocodile junior helmet and the Apex pink butterfly junior helmet.

The trend for larger helmets is to be either be more sharply angled with bold splashes of colour or be rounded such as those helmets worm by BMX riders and snowboarders. Although larger helmets are also available with cartoon characters and bright colours. For parents wishing to purchase helmets and pads for their children, there are also a number of great matching sets.

It is always better to err on the side of caution and invest in a properly fitting helmet for children, especially if they will be playing outside on walkways. Even very small tots on their first ride on toys can start learning to wear a helmet and by the time they are racing down streets on their bikes or scooters, wearing a helmet will be second nature.

Thank You so much for stopping by, I hope we helped you find what you were looking for!

Sincerely,

**Please feel free to share your thoughts or add your safety tips by commenting below!!**