It took us *forever* to decide on a theme for Luke’s birthday. And, with sports schedules, life schedules and general craziness, we weren’t able to formally celebrate the big day until well after his official 8th birthday.
Life, am I right?!
After watching him solve puzzles like a pro, it was at my mom’s suggestion we give a puzzle birthday party a go. I will say, Pinterest was ZERO help in planning a puzzle party. It seems as if nobody even knows what those are anymore!
Luke and I and the rest of the kids had a great time brainstorming ideas for activities, favors and decorations. Let’s chat details!
Luke invited a few of his best buddies to the house for lots of puzzle solving.
There were NFL crosswords…
And a raucous game of Twister…
Create your own puzzles, made from popsicle sticks and Sharpies…
And edible Twister, because why not?!
The real winner, though, was outdoor Jenga. You should’ve been witness to that concentration!
It was the total hit of the party and I’m so glad we borrowed that game from a friend. Genius! Of course, there was lots of lots of sugar. You know me and parties. The girls and Luke really pitched in to help. Luke and Clare made the “happy birthday” sign, Anna-Laura assembled the favor bags and styled the Jenga out of sugar wafers, while I did the rest. Team effort.
These cookies! I. Know.
Can we have moment of silence while we crank George Michael and swoon over these cupcakes?
The rest of the table was filled with sweet drinks and good eats. But the awesomeness of the Jenga tower can’t be ovestated. The girls did an amazing job.
The party favor bags had miniature Rubix cubes (please, don’t ask me to solve them) and word search books. Yes, I totally forgot to take pictures.
For us, the sweet spot of time for a party is a little less than two hours. I always have 4-5 activities planned, especially one that can be stopped or started easily as guests arrive. For food, I try to have some nutritious things to balance the sugar overload. But there is always sugar. We rarely have treats at our house, so my kids *really* know it’s a special occasion when I bust all that stuff out. Plus, I’ve found gems in my cookie and cupcake bakers. The favors are always practical and useful. The thing I love most, though, is how special my kids feel after a party. The details truly are my love language.
Hey, Luke, happy birthday man. Eight sure is great.
Vendor Credits:
Cupcakes: Polkadots
Cookies: Sweet Spot Cookie Shoppe
Party Favors: Miniature Rubix Cubes and crossword books
Super-sized Jenga: Amazon
**This post contains affiliate links**
For more puzzle party ideas, check out my Pinterest board!
So, you are never going to believe it… I have a Luke. He just turned 8 one week ago. And he LOVES puzzles!!! Guess we know what his party theme will now be. Thanks for all these great ideas!!!
Oh yeah, is that cookie shop local to where you live? We’d love to get those or something similar.
It is local in Austin. If you’re here give Kendra a call. The cupcake place is closed until Jan. 7. It was the most fun theme!!
For future puzzle fun, look into “breakouts” – it’s a smaller version of escape rooms where you have to solve puzzles to open locks to get into a box where the “important thing” has been stashed. So much fun!
All I can say is WOW!!!
You are amazibg!
(Patiently waiting for the bathroom reveal!)
Ha! I get it. It’s coming right after the kids are back in school. It’s done but I’ve asked Scott to build me two shelves in the water closet. When those are installed I’ll post the full 411. Can’t wait!!
I love this! Check out the Puzzle Your Kids website. He emails out a new puzzle every Friday for free. We love doing them as a family.
This is genius! What a fun theme! And that jenga sugar wafer tower – pretty much the best thing ever.