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One of the things that I have discovered about my children is that at every stage of their life, a favorite book makes an appearance. Being able to utilize this favorite book into a theme for a birthday party has become a fun and easy way to plan. From invitations to the food that is served, any party can have as its core theme a book.

This year's favorite book is Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann. Therefore we are having a "Pinkalicious" birthday party. Not only do we have pink invitations and the standard pink cupcakes from the book; the girls are wearing pink bathing suits and drinking pink lemonade. For party favors I found ten copies of the book (Pinkalicious) in paperback that I have tied with a bow (pink no less). I like the idea of sending home a book and avoiding bags of candy and cheap trinkets.

For another idea; last year's book was Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss-Glasser. Because Fancy Nancy likes to play dress-up in the book, the party was centered around a tea party. I bought boas for each of the girls and brought out hats, dresses and shoes for everyone to try on. We had tea, finger sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly) and cake and then each girl received a Fancy Nancy book as their take home prize.

Another wonderful party was the year that we used Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow. For the party we rented out MyGym and used the gymnastics equipment for all the little "monkeys". I found a way to make a monkey cake, mixed up some monkey food (using dried banana) and gave each child a copy of the book (and since there are many books about Five Little Monkeys not everyone received the same book). The party was huge success and three or four "monkey" parties happened shortly thereafter.

Using books as inspiration for birthday parties has become the norm in our house. This way the children get to pick the books we use and help in the planning process. I have friends who have used and number of Dr. Seuss books (One Fish, Two Fish, If I Ran the Zoo) , We're Going on a Bear Hunt (set up an actual tent and pretend you are hunting) or Harriet the Spy and create an entire scavenger hunt. The list is endless and it is fun to try many different types of books to discover the party your child likes best. Use your imagination and read with your family. Every book can become a party.

Learn more about this author, MC Allen.
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