My Party File - blog

Posts Tagged ‘rubber ducky’

You don’t won’t to be sent “quackers” when preparing food for your party - so consider this simple idea for a Rubber Ducky themed party.   Fill a punch bowl or large salad bowl with bright blue Jelly (make according to packet directions), then pop some small rubber duckies on top.  You can also place clean plastic leaves and flowers on top to resemble lily pads.

This could also be a substitute for a cake - you can even buy rubber ducky candles to place on top.

My lovely rellie, Gill, just held a Rubber Ducky party for her son Oliver - and I wish I could have been there to see the “Pluck a Duck”  game she organised.  She filled a large container with water that she had tinted with blue food colouring.  She bought a rubber duck for each guest and then wrote numbers on the bottom of each duck with a permanent marker, and then sat them in the water.  She also bought a variety of prizes and popped each one into a paper bag, and wrote a number on each bag that corresponded to each duck.  Each guest had to pluck a duck from the water, and were then awarded a paper bag with the number that matched (and got to keep their duck).  Whilst the little kids could use their hands to grab a duck, the bigger kids had to use their teeth!!!  You could also add another level of difficulty by blindfolding the kids.

This game would be a good lead into the “Rub-a-Ducky” game.  Get the kids to place their duckies somewhere, and whilst they are distracted (with a different game, or food), smother the duckies in honey, vegemite, icing or whatever you have in the pantry, and then exclaim “Oh No!  What have these little duckies been up to?  We need to clean them before you take them home!”  Give the kids some soapy, bubbly water and a face washer - you’ll be surprised how much fun the kids have cleaning their ducks!

I thought I’d try out a Martha Stewart project - and I’m pretty sure I picked out the easiest!  These sponge balls are good clean fun and are a great alternative to water balloons - easy to fill, no broken pieces to pick up, they are reusable, and softer and splashier than balloons!

Fill a few large buckets of water and let the kids splat each other, and afterwards they can take home a fun party favour!   These are also good for a pool party, and make a good bath toy (a great party favour for a rubber ducky theme - keep them in the theme colours of blue and yellow).

To make sponge balls you will need:

• Sponges (4 sponges will make 3 sponge balls)
• Scissors
• Dental Floss

Step 1: Cut each sponge into six equal strips.

Step 2: Grab eight strips and stack them into two layers of four sponge strips (as shown), into any pattern you like. Place a length of dental floss under the pile.

Step 3:  Tie dental floss around the middle of the sponges and pull tightly,  drawing strips together into a pom-pom shape. Knot the dental floss and trim.  Fluff and twist the sponges to get the desired shape.

Tips:

• You can use zip/cable ties instead of the dental floss.
• These are machine washable - just let them air dry.

It has been lovely getting your feedback about our blog, and hearing from those of you that have tried out our ideas or used our templates.  Here are some of the ideas that have proven to be popular.

1. Tiny Teddy Cars
2. Handmade Mickey Mouse Invitations
3. Easy Teddy Bear Cake
4. Ladybug Plates
5. Secret Agent Bomb Invitation
6. Cucumber Crocodile
7. Rubber Ducky Goody Bags
8. Frog Eye Drink
9. Rainbow Cupcakes

You may also like:

• lego party invitation
• alien slime
• jelly pumpkin heads
• marshmallow teacup biscuits

If you have babies and toddlers coming to your rubber ducky party, they may not be able, or willing, to play all the games you have on offer.  It is a good idea to set up an area with rubber ducky themed toys, so that younger children can still be occupied whilst more structured games are taking place.

This home made pinata is one of my favourites!!   If you enjoy making pinatas, you can copy our design, otherwise you can purchase rubber ducky pinatas from party stores.  To tie in with the Rubber Ducky/bathtub theme, we had guests put shower caps on when they played, and they then used the caps to collect the lollies in!!  I wished I’d gotten my husband to put on a bathrobe as he manoeuvred the pinata - but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have cooperated!

This is a fun Rubber Ducky party game to watch!  Dress participants in yellow disposable ponchos and a set of flippers, and have them race to put a rubber duck (or any object) into a container.  You can time each contestant, or have them race in pairs, or make a small obstacle course and reward each participant when they reach the end.  Toddlers will have difficulty playing this with the flippers and poncho on, so simply put a rubber ducky hat on them.

Set the scene for a Rubber Ducky party by creating a set of taps and a spout to stick on the wall, or place above a plastic kids bathtub that you have filled with ice and drinks.  I simply cut two crosses out of cardboard for the taps and covered them in aluminium foil, then placed a ‘C’ on one and ‘H’ on the other.  The spout was made from a cardboard tube that I squashed then bent slightly, before covering in aluminium foil.  Finally, I attached some blue crepe paper streamers to the spout for water.

These are sweet invitations for your Rubber Ducky Party, or use them to say thank-you to your guests for a quacking good time!  Print our  Handmade Rubber Ducky Invitation template directly onto yellow card, or print one, cut it out and trace the body and wing onto a large sheet of yellow card.  Glue the wing onto the body, but don’t stick it all down - it is much better fun if it flaps!  Cut the beak out of orange contact or paper, and stick onto the beak area.  Add a googlie eye.  Write the party details on the back (or print the details onto yellow paper and glue onto the back).

Some suggested wording:  What a lucky ducky Charlize would be, if you would join her to celebrate her very first birthday! Please waddle on over for a Rubber Ducky party.  Sunday August 19th 11:30 - 1:30. At the bathtub at 2 Splish Splash Street, Bubbletown.  Give Mother Duck, Tammy, a “quack” on 8123 4567

This is an easy and effective idea for a goodie bag or party favour for your rubber ducky party.   Buy some soap containers (we found a pack of 5 for $2).  Fill them with yellow, blue, orange and/or white lollies (or for a healthier alternative you can use dried fruit such as diced apricots, apple rings, banana chips and fruit bars).  A small soap, flannel, bubble mix, nailbrush or bath crayons could also make good fillers.  Tie a nice ribbon around the container and use our rubber ducky tag template to create some little tags that can be attached or simply stuck onto the container.