Thursday Theme: Puppet Party

A fun and unique party is a Puppet Party. You can either make puppets at the party like sock puppets, brown bag puppets, fun foam puppets, finger puppets and puppets on sticks or you can purchase puppets. Cheap puppets can be found at dollar stores or at certain times of the year Costco sells adorable sets of 8 puppets for $20.

If you purchase puppets, you can give the puppet with the invitation or better yet, play a game like Pass the Parcel at the party to give the guest their puppet. Wrap a puppet in each layer of wrapping paper, have the guests sit in a circle, turn on music and have the guests pass the parcel while the music plays. When the music stops the person who is holding the parcel gets to unwrap a layer and keep the puppet that is under the layer. Keep playing until all the guests have puppets.

You can make a stage out of a refrigerator box, a table with a tablecloth, chairs with a blanket or tablecloth or even behind a couch. Organize the guests into groups of 2, 3 or 4. Write the names of familiar stories on small pieces of paper (Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Bean stock, Cinderella and so on. Click here for a pdf of the complete stories and fairy tales that you can use) and put them in a hat and have each group draw out a story. Have props ready for the stories (hats, wigs, toys, tools and so on) and give the groups a limited amount of time to prepare then take turns performing for each other. You can also have spontaneous performances of made up stories but sometimes the lack of structure and direction can bore the audience. You may want to have popcorn or other treats for the audience to enjoy while watching the show. Making a movie of the production is a great thank you gift keepsake for the guests that they will enjoy showing their families.