Pajama Press

In Stephanie McLellan’s Tweezle into Everything, little Tweezle gets himself into all kinds of trouble by helping with the dishes, rifling through the toolshed, and even gathering a muddy bucket of worms (for good reason).

Here’s his recipe for the perfect Mud Bucket Parfait.

You will need:

A batch of your favourite cupcakes

2 C icing sugar

1 Tbs margarine or softened butter

A small amount of milk

Food colouring to make yellow, blue, green, and orange

Chocolate chips

A mixing bowl

Four small containers

Five spoons

Two piping bags

(Alternate: use plastic bags with the corners cut off to pipe icing)

To make the icing:

1. Mix the margarine or butter with 1.5 C of the icing sugar.
2. Gradually add very small amounts of milk until the icing is smooth and spreadable.
3. If the icing becomes too runny, add more icing sugar.
4. Separate the icing into the four small containers, leaving a little behind in the bowl. Note that you will need more in the yellow and green bowls and less in the orange and blue bowls.
5. Stir food colouring into each container one drop at a time until the icing reaches the desired vibrancy.
6. You may choose to make the blue and white icing slightly runnier than the other colours, since it will be piped rather than spread.
7. Spoon the white and blue icing into piping bags.

To decorate the cupcakes:

What would a party be without snacks? We’ve already shared our recipe for Muddy Puddle Slushies; now it’s time to make something fun and healthy that kids can really chew on.

Materials:

One carrot per three giraffe snacks

One plum tomato per Giraffe Snack

Two dried rosemary leaves per Giraffe Snack

Five toothpicks per Giraffe Snack

Directions:

1. Peel your carrot and slice it in two-inch segments

2. Press toothpicks into segment for legs

3. Gently press another toothpick into the top of the body and the bottom of the head

4. Press two rosemary leaves very carefully into the top of the head for horns

5. Play with your food!

All summer we’ve been sharing ideas for a Don’t Laugh at Giraffe-themed party. We’ve talked about games, kid-made loot bags, and the oh-so-popular Muddy Puddle Slushie drink. Today we have instructions for a great kid-friendly craft that will inspire hours of fun long after the party is over:

One white sock

One red felt tongue

Two tan felt horns

Two tan felt ears

Brown tempera paint

A paint brush

Tacky craft glue

A picture of a giraffe or an example for kids to follow

A black fabric marker

To make this more of an independent activity at the party (freeing you up to light candles, clean up messes, or deal with crises), cut out the tongue, ears, and horns ahead of time. You will need a long, snaking red tongue, two small tan rectangles for horns, and two small, tan leaf shapes for ears.

1. Using the black fabric marker, draw eyes and nostrils on the foot of the sock.

2. Using the brown tempera, paint large spots on the neck of the giraffe and small spots on its face.

3. Glue down 1.5 cm (0.5 in) of the tongue just below the seam at the toe of the sock.

4. With the sock flat on the table, glue one horn so that it sticks straight up from the crest of the heel. Flip the sock over and do the same on the other side.

5. Glue each ear right over the base of a horn. Make sure the tips of the ears point backward.

One 2″ Styrofoam ball

One paperclip, cut in half with wire cutters

Three feathers

A black permanent marker

Tempera paint

A paint brush

Tacky craft glue

An arm’s length of yarn

1. Poke the half paperclip halfway into the Styrofoam ball so that it makes two holes. Remove it, dip it in glue, and replace it in the same holes. This will form a loop from which your bird will hang.

2. Using the permanent marker, draw features on your bird.

3. Paint the ball all over. You can use your paperclip loop to keep your fingers out of the drying paint.

4. Poke a feather into each side of the bird for wings, and a third at the back for a tail. As with the paperclip, you can dip them in glue for added stability.

5. Tie one end of your yarn to the loop. Your bird is ready to fly!

This summer we’re having a virtual party with our favourite funny friends from Don’t Laugh at Giraffe! We’ve already given you some game ideas and a finger paint loot bag activity; today we’re sharing a cool drink inspired by poor Giraffe’s attempts to slurp up a mud puddle.

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This summer we’re having a virtual party with our favourite funny friends from Don’t Laugh at Giraffe! We’ve already given you some game ideas; today we’ll be sharing an activity that lets kids get in on the fun of making their own loot bags!