Our kids got chicken pox. It is hard and uncomfortable at times. In between applying calamine lotion to lesions and trying to cheer up the kids, I came upon the idea of making a party. It is hard to celebrate alone, but we made the effort to make their stay at home out of the ordinary and not so humdrum. Food is a necessity, so we used it to create the party.

I have a recipe for a yeast bread called “Fun Buns.” They are baked in a 9″ cake pan. When cooled, I slice the bun horizontally. That 9″ piece of bread was covered with a salad mixture such as  tuna or chicken. As you can see from the photo, boiled eggs made the eyes and nose. Pimento pieces made the red pox on the sandwich face.  A slice of dill pickle formed the smile. And curly pretzels gave a salty hairstyle to the sculpted sandwich.

For dessert, we had cake with candles. I put a slice of crustless, white bread on the top of the cake. It, too, became a face. Red sugar sprinkled on the bread illustrated another chicken  pox face. Raisin eyes and nose along with a red frosting smile gave the face some personality. The candles just made things fun.

This party required that no guests be invited. Thankfully, it is a party that we did not have to have annually. Because it was an out-of-the-ordinary event, it did lighten up a hard circumstance. If  you get in a fix like this, try having a chicken pox party.

photo credits:Wenda Grabau

I got the idea for creating a home-made circus.  The acts came from the children and I helped them fulfill their dreams.  My son was the lion tamer and he also rode an elephant.  One of my daughters played a high wire artist. One did a dancing act and a trapeze act.  I played the part of the ring-master and a juggler. We planned and practiced.

Costuming was made simple by the girls wearing leotards and bathing suits for their performances.  A few embellishments, like caps and flowers, added to the festive experience of our little circus.

Wild animals had to be made.  For instance, my son rode an elephant.  We used a dust mop for the elephant’s body.  We covered the mop end, or the head of the animal, with a paper bag on which we had drawn the animal’s mouth and eyes.  We fixed floppy ears to the side of his head.  The elephant snout consisted of a long piece of brown paper.

The lion required a cage, of course.  To make it we strung streamers from the ceiling.  A step stool served as the lion’s perch.  The tamer wore a safari hat and worked with a bamboo fishing pole for his whip. My daughter played the part of the lion.

The high wire consisted of a plank lying across 2 chairs.  My daughter navigated it well.  For the trapeze act, our littlest daughter had a baby swing that we had bought.  We wound up the spring and the swing moved her back and forth. She had a swinging performance. 

Also, we played one of our littlest daughter’s favorite children’s song. We played it for her dance.  She held balloons and danced to her song.  It was such a hoot.  I laughed till tears came.  What fun we had!

With all of us in the program, the only one in the audience was the kids’ dad, my husband.  That would not do to have a sparse audience after all of our work and practice so we invited Grandma and Grandpa over for the show.  One time we invited another family with children to join us.  Their children brought acts along with them.  It was quite a show.  Popcorn fit in well with all the good the entertainment.

There you have a few of our ideas.  I hope that this gives you a little nudge in the same direction so that you can enjoy some creative pretending-times with your children. It will bring you some special memories.

photo credits:Randall Grabau

One of our children delighted in serving.  She got a dress that she used as a uniform.  She donned a pretty scarf on her head for a waitress’ headdress.  I had made her an apron that was just her size which she wore for her serving.  She practiced serving many times and really enjoyed it.

So one night, for fun, we made a little restaurant.  We set up the card table in our living room. The change of place made the occasion more memorable than eating in our kitchen.  We spread it with a tablecloth, silverware and napkins.  She set water glasses up for us.  I made a sign to hang up in the room.  I named it after myself, it read, “Wendy’s.”

She could not write yet, but she came to our table with pad and pencil in hand to take our orders.  She and I agreed on a menu, so that there would be a choice for the guests at the table. She had the menu memorized.

I wore 2 hats that night.  I played the head cook and a guest.  I had to be a quick change artist.  If she needed help in the kitchen, I would excuse myself to go to powder my nose.  I gave her the help she needed and went to enjoy the restaurant scene.  I don’t recall what we had for supper, but it could have been something easy like french toast or pizza.

We all had fun acting like we were out for supper.

You might enjoy trying this little escapade.  You might even try tipping the waiter or waitress.  I recommend paper plates so no one has to wear the hat of the dishwasher.  Have fun!

photo credit:Wenda Grabau