Monday, July 9, 2012

Birthday Balloon Countdown!!!!!!!



Sweet O(5) is SUPER excited about her balloon countdown to her birthday!

The idea for this birthday balloon countdown has been bouncing around in my mind since the girls and I made the balloon surprise gift for my niece's birthday in April.  (Although, I admit that even though I've had the idea for months, I didn't actually put it together until the day that she began the countdown!).



To make O's balloon countdown to her 6th birthday, I filled 10 balloons with either money, candy, or notes with activities.  I printed numbers and taped a number to each balloon.  I threaded the balloons together, starting with #10 and counting down to 1, using embroidery thread.  (The idea to make a threaded balloon garland came via Pinterest...I'm not sure if this is exact link that I saw, but it's similar.)






Each morning O wakes up very excitedly and is ready to pop her balloon!  The first day she received a pack of Smarties (candy)...1 for her and 1 to share and 5 dollars to go shopping for herself and her Grandmama (with whom she shares a birthday).  On the 2nd day, she received a note that we would play hot/cold for her to find a prize.  The hot/cold game led her to the refrigerator where she found a can of spray whipped cream (something we almost never buy), and I sprayed it directly into her mouth!  She was SOOOO excited as this was certainly a novelty for this health conscious mama :)  (one reason it's fun to almost always eat healthy is because it's makes these special occasions even more exciting!)




Other items in the balloons include...a treasure hunt for a gift (Magic School Bus Science Club subscription...yes, I give my children their homeschool curriculum for their birthdays!), a dinner date with her daddy, a trip the the YMCA waterpark near my hometown (but not so near to us), another treasure hunt for a gift (a mama made subscription to a monthly American Girl fun pack, which will also be a part of her homeschool curriculum and the core of our US History program), a couple of dollars to take on vacation, a trip to pick blueberries, and a visit to the Dairy Queen for a blizzard.