Thursday, January 11, 2018

Viking Party!


For six years I have begged my boys to have a Viking theme birthday party, and my youngest finally agreed this year. I was so very excited! I wanted this party to be big and fun! I wanted the kids to feel like they were in another place when they came to the party, so I started with my decorations. I got viking clipart, and blew it up. I stood it up using dowels and 4x4's, and straws taped to the back. I cut a longship out of cardboard, and drew in the details with a pencil, before finishing them off with a sharpie.

Here is pic of all the decor all together. I shared the Viking Party on Studio 5, a few days before the party.


Before the Viking party, and Studio 5, I set it up in my home, so I could send photos to the show. The actual Viking party set up was a little different, and day of the party was crazy. I'm glad I got pics in advance, so I can share some of the more pretty pics. That's why a few of the things I am sharing will look like they are in different places.  Also, we had a friend party on Saturday, and a cousin party on Sunday, because we have so many cousins around his age that live close, and we would have had over 20 kids at one party if we did it all at the same time. So, like I say, the pics and lighting might all be a little different, but the party activities were the same.


My husband lead the party, dressed as a Viking, and he did such a great job!  The kids had to do a series of activities to earn their Viking gear, and become Dragon trainers. 


The first thing they did was warm ups. They earned their Viking helmets after doing the warm-ups, which included choosing a Viking name, jumping jacks, grunts, etc.


Hunky then presented them with their helmets.


The next thing they had to do was to earn their sword. The swords were made using 5 gallon paint stirrers from Home Depot, and tongue depressor size sticks (1 package was $.99). I sanded and painted the paint stirrers, and then glued the tongue depressors to each side, making it into a sword! Easy peasy, and so fun! They held up great!


They earned their swords by jumping through a ring of fire! I made this using a giant hoop, and by gluing tissue paper, cellophane, and glittery packaging strands to the hoop. It's a pvc hoop I got at the DI. You could use a regular hula hoop.


To say they loved this, was an understatement. We learned quickly that we needed to remind them to take their socks off before jumping. We had the soundtrack to, "How to Train Your Dragon," playing in the background.


Then they earned their shields. I made these shields using 18' pizza rounds I got from Gygi, for $.59 each. I painted them, and put a duct tape handle on the back. They held up very well, and the kids LOVED them!


I hooked a few to the Vining longship for display during the party.


The kids had to throw a shield into the ring of fire before they got to pick out their own shields. They loved it!


After earning their gear, they had a little war chant.



And battled for a few minutes.


After the battle, they became master longship builders! They each got a boat kit. 


I got these from 
These darling boats are only $.69 each!!! They are a fantastic deal!



They are the most darling little foam boats that really float! The kids sat on the floor and put their kits together.



These boats come as boats, not as Viking longships. I got a craft store foam sheet for around $1.50, and cut out mini heads and tails for each ship. After the kids finished building their boat, they came to me, and I hot glued the head and tail on each one.


I mean look at that detail, and the cute swirls on the back of the longship!


They then got to race their longships, rain gutter regatta style, in flower box liners, from Home Depot. They were around $3 each, and I covered the drains with duct tape, because one of them leaked a bit. They worked so well, and the kids LOVED this too! We put the liner boxes on our coffee table. It was the perfect height. I was sure to put a towel under the table.



The next thing they got to do was play dragon egg golf! I had my print shop print these clipart caves big, on 12x18 sheets of paper. I cut them out, and backed them with clear cups, and they got to hit the, "dragon eggs," with dollar store golf club, into the caves, before earning their dragon. Okay, that was the idea, but we ran out of time, and the birthday boy passed out the dragons instead of golfing for them, but here is the idea, from the previous set up.


Can we just talk about these cute baby dragons for a minute? They are from 
and are only  $24.84/dozen, which was $2 and a couple pennies each! They are a great deal, and the perfect size baby dragon, for any young dragon trainer.


Like I say, the birthday boy passed them out to each of his friends, and he liked being involved in this way. The young Vikings were so excited to have their baby dragons, and each got the color they chose.


After they received their baby dragon, they each received a Dragon Owners Guide, because of course, you must know how to care for your dragon! I tell you, this was so fun to read with the kids. It was created by Anj Snow, whom I have never met in person, but we are Instagram friends, and I absolutely adore her!


You can find the link for her darling booklet in her 
It's a 6 page booklet that is funny and darling. She is so talented. 


After we finished reading all about how to take care of the dragons, we opened gifts. This little Viking LOVED it! We were still opening gifts when a few moms arrived. We were cutting it close. They just loved everything so much that they spent more time on each activity than I had expected.


I don't serve food at kids parties, for various reasons, including food allergies, picky kids and messes. We did have cake and ice cream at the family party. The ice-cream was, "dragon eggs." 


I scooped balls of ice-cream, and rolled them in sprinkles, then put them in the freezer until the day of the party. The cousins and adults LOVED them! I think I will for sure do that again some time!


There parties were super successful, and my husband was the best Viking Master I have ever met!


I can't wait to start thinking about next year's party!

If you didn't get to see me on Studio 5, sharing this party, here's the link!



This post contains links to vendors who generously contributed items for the party, as well as Studio 5, who promoted the party. This post does not  contain affiliate links.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Thanks for stopping by.

Risa


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