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Leapin’ Lizard Birthday Party

It’s official, we don’t have any babies or toddlers or young ones in our house anymore. Pardon me while I wipe the tears from my eyes. Nope we have boys. Long lean and fat free boys who like to run and do all sorts of death defying take years off of Mom’s life feats.

Talk of farts and laughing at poop jokes is common conversation in our home. Have you heard the one about the boy who went to the doctor? He told the doctor, “Doctor doctor, my bottom is broken. It has a crack in it.” Want to hear another one? I didn’t think so.

I’ve also noticed that my sweet little boys’ feet are slightly pungent 99% of the time (except for up to 30 minutes after bath time.)

These are the ages when they remember and know exactly what they want for their parties. When Pretty Handy Boy #2 asked to have a lizard themed birthday, you know I had to oblige. (Did you notice that subtle name change? He used to be Handsome Boy. Well, he’s still handsome, but he and his brother are getting to be very handy with the tools. Therefore, I’m renaming both my boys, going forward they will be known as Pretty Handy Boy #1 and #2.)

As I’m sure you know, lizard themed birthday parties are not exactly a common party choice. Running to the party store to pick up everything was a lost cause. (I didn’t think he’d accept Miss Spider plates and decorations.) With not a lot of time (and on a tight budget), this is what I came up with:

The Popular Pin the Tongue on the Lizard Game (Cut ribbons with an Elmer’s Craft Bond Glue Spot on the back.)

Salamander Slalom (the next olympic sport)

My neighbor was kind enough to loan me her dog agility jumps and weave poles. This was definitely the hit of the party. We had the course set up when the guests arrived. I am not exaggerating when I say the kids ran the course over and over again for about 20 – 25 minutes before we even gave them the instructions. After giving a little direction, we timed each competitor and let them have two “qualifying runs.”

Not pictured was the Newt Nibble. We strung hard pretzels and hung them from a long horizontal rope tied on one side to a tree (imagine the old donut biting contest and you’ll picture it.) The kids had to try to bite them off with their hands behind their backs as we gently shook the rope.

Then we fed our hungry guests lizard food:

Pureed Lizard and Chips (Guacamole and Tortilla Chips)

Lizard Eyeballs (slit a grape and pop a small round white candy inside)  

I created the eyeballs right before the party because the candies start to run and look even more creepy than they already are if prepared to early.

The eyeballs didn’t last long, the kids really ate them up.

Lizard Tongues and Lizard Toes (Fruit Strips cut into thirds and notched on the end. Snapea Crisps for toes.)

This was also a kid favorite and resulted in lots of lizard mouths in the room.

Lizard Juice (Robinson’s Fruit Shoot No Added Sugar Apple Juice) 

The favors were salad bar clamshell containers with tissue paper, lizard stickers, toys, bugs (because lizards eat bugs) and sidewalk chalk. After the clamshells have served their purpose as a party favor holder they can use them as bug boxes!

I cut red ribbon bookmarks, notched the ends and let them hang out of the clamshell like tongues.

These were the easiest cake pops EVER! I didn’t have to lift a finger to make them!  The Cake Pop Shop (a local Raleigh business) made them in green, blue and yellow for our lizard themed party and they were delicious!

I have to tell you, this was one of the best parties we’ve had (besides my 40th birthday of course.) The kids had a blast and I didn’t have to do a lot of prep work. The obstacle course kept the kids engaged and really burned some energy. Win-win!

Tell me, what’s the best birthday party you’ve ever thrown or been to?

 

8 replies
  1. Nola
    Nola says:

    Heya! I know this is somewhat off-topic but I needed to
    ask. Does running a well-established website such as yours take a massive amount work?
    I am brand new to writing a blog however I do write in my diary
    every day. I’d like to start a blog so I will be able to share my experience and feelings online. Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Thankyou!

    Reply
  2. Karen
    Karen says:

    Wow. Looks like an awesome party. What a great idea with the obstacle course. Those little ones would have burned off enough energy to heat a winter-time home in Canada! Love all your great ideas for the food. Good job Brittany!

    Reply
  3. Christine
    Christine says:

    Okay, Miss over-acheiver! Just kidding. Your party turned out wonderfully! Congratulations to you. You definitely are Pinterest worthy. Great ideas and so simple. Can’t wait for the next shin dig!

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] You may also like the Leaping Lizard themed birthday party: […]

  2. […] Pretty Handy Mama also has an idea for creepy eyeballs using grapes. She keeps it simple. Cut slits into the grapes to turn them into lizard eyeballs. […]

  3. […] and Brittany’s Leapin’ Lizard Themed Party […]

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