Well, we’ve finally come to the end of this series featuring my 6-year old son’s “army” or “war” party, and I have to thank you all for sticking with me as I have revisited and celebrated this super-fun and special day in my family’s life…
you are literally the best. (said in my best Chris Traeger voice).
So as I told you before, I had the party part of this party down – the menu, the decorations, the vibe – they all came together quite nicely (and thankfully, with little expense). And I knew we were going to have a “war”…
in fact, if you’ll remember, that was how I sold this party to my son in the first place. And I had made a big, big deal about it. We talked about it nearly every day.
But secretly…I was stumped.
How in the world were we going to actually have this so-called war? With a group of Preschoolers, Kindergarteners and an 8-year old, no less…
So I did what any self-respecting female would do.
I dumped this part of the party on my unsuspecting husband, nonchalantly mentioning that I needed help with this one teensy little bit of the planning.
He accepted the challenge…
but then stalled for weeks.
Secretly, he was stumped, too.
And then, in a stroke of last-minute genius, he called me up with a full list of party game ideas for me to choose from (including the paper airplane activity we also did), and the minute he mentioned the following idea, I knew he had struck gold:
Operation: Rescue Abigail
(Abigail is Gideon’s eldest cousin and beloved friend)
Two teams: bad guys and good guys.
Adults on each team to help the kids.
One prisoner in distress.
Bad guy weapons: big marshmallows dipped in all-purpose flour.
Mission: rescue Abigail (or other prisoner) from the bad guys. If you get hit with a marshmallow (which leaves a huge flour mark on your clothes), you have to run to the field hospital and get bandaged. Then you can return to the battle.
…
Could we all just give a round of applause to Mr. Gore for coming up with this awesome game? We played 2 or 3 rounds of it, and it was too. much. fun. Kids this age (at least in my house) love nothing more than tying people up and saving them, playing “doctor”, pretending to be good guys defeating bad guys…my husband somehow incorporated all of Gideon’s favorite pastimes into one awesome party game that made his little 6-year old heart soar. I couldn’t have been more pleased.
For older kids, a capture-the-flag type game would have been ideal, but this game perfectly suited our younger crowd. If you are planning a “war” or “army” party of your own, and have any more questions about the details of this game, please do so in the comments section. I will make sure to get back with you as soon as I get the chance.
Now how about some pictures?…
Gid was in character long before the party began…
Ready for battle, Katerbelle? Yes, SIR!
Mr. Gore led the kids in a few pre-battle drills to start off, lining them up…
and leading them in a rousing rendition of “I’m in the Lord’s Army”. This was a CHRISTIAN war party, mind you…
Attention!
jumping jacks…
Let’s do this thing.
Our pretty nurses had the hospital ready to go, eager to come to the aid of the wounded once the game commenced…
First prisoner: Abigail. And the fact that we played several variations of this game with different prisoners was because this fun-loving girl wasn’t content to just be a prisoner. She wanted in on the battle action, too! Her Daddy – the baddest of the bad guys – led her to a tree in the nearby woods to tie her up.
I now present to you…
Operation: Rescue Abigail, starring Mr. Gore – the goodest of the good guys – and his army of tiny soldiers!!!
they’ve been spotted and attacked! Run to the hospital! Quick!
our nurses sprang into action, doing their best to get the soldiers back to the front as soon as possible, giving each soldier a bandage and a candy pill…
but, with a little teamwork and perseverance, they did it! Good prevailed, and Abigail was rescued.
and the “good guys” felt like macho superstars.
Next battle…
Operation: Rescue the Birthday Boy. Mr. Gore was probably very glad to add a quick-as-lighting 8-year old to his team. He rallied his troops, gave them a few tips, and the 2nd battle began…
(sidenote: can anyone spot my Daddy in the next picture? This is why people use camouflage. It actually works!)
and lickety-split, Gideon was saved.
Then, in the scariest and most melodramatic battle of the night (our soldiers and nurses were taking dramatic liberties with the game by this time), our two hospital nurses were taken prisoner by the scariest bad guy in the woods…
Things got ugly for our soldiers during this battle…
but our field nurses were so brave and helpful in the face of duty…
reviving our soldiers on the spot so they could return to battle and save the hospital nurses!
which they did, right as dusk set in. The hospital nurses were a bit shaken up, but a quick stay at the hospital fixed them right up…
and I am happy to report that, by the end of all of our battles, every soldier was still accounted for, though they all looked a little more ragged than they had before…
Our rescue operations…and thus, the biggest part of my son’s party…had been a huge success.
~
A few more notes on our war party:
1. It dawned upon me and Amy both (sometimes we share a brain!) that an activity like this doesn’t have to be saved for a birthday party. This was just a super fun night for all the kids and families involved, and it would have been even easier to throw together if we hadn’t been trying to do birthday cake and presents and spend as much time as possible with the birthday boy. You could do this with so many different themes: spy games, princes and princesses, cowboys and outlaws…the possibilities are extensive. Then, on birthday party days, you could just kick back with your family, have a cake and a few gifts and call it a night. I’ll be mulling this over…
2. I also wanted to tell you that, by the end of the battles, all the kids were congregated at the hospital, playing their little hearts out. It looked like an ant hill. Which means that I will probably be setting up the hospital sometime soon for a fun play day. I’ll share more on that in the future!
3. Thank you again for indulging me for this week-long series and for all the sweet words you’ve shared. I love your comments and encouragement so much and thank God for you, always.
And good news – I have some VERY unbirthday blog posts coming up next week – stay tuned!
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To read about all the ideas and products that went into this party, click here.
