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Hot Wheels
Party
Hot Wheels
Tips and ideas
for the perfect Hot Wheels Party
Party Tips
1. Mail invitations two weeks before
the party date.
2. Plan a
safe, comfortable place for the party where the
children can have fun, but will not hurt themselves
or your home. If planning an outdoor party be sure
to have a backup plan in case of bad weather.
3. Limit the
party time to two hours or less for children under
six years of age. Up to three hours is fine for
older children.
4. Prepare
more activities than you plan to use in advance.
Activities often take less time than planned and you
may want to keep the children busy.
5. Include
the birthday child in preparations as often as
possible. Let him or her stuff the party favor bags,
make suggestions for games, help with the
decorations, set the table, and mail the invitations
- even if that only means putting them in the
mailbox.
Fun Activities
Obstacle Race Course
Create an
obstacle course either in your house or in your
driveway. To create an indoor course, drape a
blanket over a table to make a tunnel, set out pop
bottles as cones which drivers must maneuver around.
For an outdoor course, use sidewalk chalk to draw
streets on your driveway. Have your racers drive a
tricycle or small car through the course. You can
time them with a stopwatch, or use the second hand
on your wristwatch. The fastest driver to complete
the course is the winner!
Best
Looking Car
For this
activity you can use the exclusive Birthday Express
Race Car Activity, or simply provide each guest with
a sheet of paper with an outline of a car drawn, and
some crayons or colored markers. Let each guest
build or color their own special race car. When
everyone is finished, have the kids vote for their
favorite. The one that receives the most applause is
the winning car!
Red
Light, Green Light
Before the
game, lay two lengths of rope, or crepe paper, about
20 feet apart in your play area. The birthday child
stands in front of one line (they’re the Police
Officer), and the others stand behind the opposite
line. The game starts when the Police Officer turns
his back on the other players and shouts, "Green
Light!" He then counts to five as loud as he can.
While he is counting, the other players must run or
walk quickly toward the Police Officer. When the
Police Officer has finished counting to five he
shouts, "Red Light!" and turns around quickly. The
other players must freeze instantly. If the Police
Officer catches anyone moving, they must return to
the starting line. Play continues until one of the
players crosses the line while the Police Officer’s
back is turned. That player then becomes the Police
Officer.
Hot
Wheels Racing
If you have
enough Hot Wheels cars for each guest to borrow one,
set up a race track and have each guest pick their
favorite car. Hold races, racing two cars at a time,
until by process of elimination, you have determined
the fastest car.
Building Muscles
Race car
drivers have to be strong to handle their Hot
Wheels. So here’s a quick workout for your little
speedsters. This game will take some preparation but
it’s worth it. You’ll need 50 to 100 small balloons.
Recruit some help (Dads work well because they’re
full of hot air). Divide the kids into two teams.
Select one guest on each team to be the "weakling,"
the remaining guests will be "personal trainers."
Have the teams gather on opposite sides of the room
and divide the balloons between them. Next, have
each weakling put a union suit (one-piece long
underwear) over their clothes. When you say "GO,"
the teams of personal trainers must make the
weaklings grow instant muscles by stuffing as many
balloons as possible into the union suits. Give the
teams one minute to do this. When time is up, let
everyone admire the weaklings’ new muscles (be sure
to have a camera handy). Then remove and count the
balloons, the team that used the most balloons,
wins! Try again with new weaklings this time.
Delectable Treats
Speedway Sodas
You will need: 1 bag of chocolate
chips (frozen) and a bottle of cream soda. Place a
small amount of frozen chocolate chips in the bottom
of each guest’s cup. Then, fill cups with cream
soda. To give the drink an extra fun look, add a few
drops of red food coloring to the bottle of cream
soda before pouring it into the cups.
Racy Sugar Cookies
Bake your favorite sugar cookie
recipe, or purchase ready-made sugar cookie dough at
the grocery store. If you have a race car cookie
cutter, cut two car shapes for each guest. If not,
make round cookies, but make them extra big. Have
bowls of colored icing and different candy
decorations prepared in advance. When it’s time for
the activity, allow each child to decorate their
cookie(s). The decorating will be great fun, but the
eating will be even better!
Speedy Sandwiches
You will need: Bread, pretzel
sticks, your child’s favorite sandwich fillers, and
olives or gum drops for the wheels. Build cars by
making triple decker sandwiches. Remove crusts and
cut sandwiches in half. Put two halves together,
holding them in place using two pretzel sticks for
axles. If your sandwiches are made of meats and
cheeses, place half an olive at the end of each
pretzel stick, for wheels. If you’re using peanut
butter and jelly, use gum drops for wheels. Make a
raceway out of your platter, and place the cars so
they appear to be racing around the platter.
Racetrack Cake
Purchase and
prepare two packages of your child's favorite flavor
boxed cake mix according to instructions. Pour 1/3
of the batter in a round cake pan, and pour the rest
in a 13 x 9 cake pan. Increase baking time, since
the cake will be somewhat thicker than normal.
Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to
check if it is done; if the pick come out clean,
remove cake from oven. Cool both cakes completely on
a wire rack.
When the cakes reach room temperature, cut the round
cake in half and position the halves on opposite
ends of the rectangle cake to form a race track.
Trim the edges and frost the whole cake with
chocolate frosting. Outline an oval in the center to
make the inside of the track. Cover the inner oval
with green sprinkles, or frost it with a different
color of icing, such as green or white. Cut graham
crackers to the height of the cake and stick them to
the sides to make walls. Decorate the cake with toy
cars, miniature flags, a racing tower, and candies
of your choice.
Decorating Tips
Spread your tablecover on your
party table. If your child has any theme-related
toys, you can add them to the table for a more
festive display.
Cut several one-to-two-foot-long
pieces of curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon by pulling
it between your thumb and the blade of your
scissors. Lay the resulting curls on your table for
added color. Hang balloons in bunches for the best
effect. If you choose to fill balloons with helium,
wait until the party day to ensure they float well!
Use balloons to mark the party spot; hang them on
the mailbox, near the front door, or tie them to the
birthday child's chair to mark the seat of honor.
Place balloons anywhere that strikes your fancy.
The more the better!
Gather six or eight streamers and attach them to
the ceiling in the center of the party room (or over
the table). Use a light fixture over the table, if
you have one, as the center point for the streamers.
To create colorful two-tone streamers, put two
differently colored streamers back-to-back, twist as
you walk them to the wall, and attach at shoulder
height.
Smile for the Camera!
Be sure to take lots of pictures.
You and your child will want to remember this
special party. A helpful hint: Order extra prints
and send them to the parents afterward. Remember,
it's not necessary to have everyone in each picture.
Focus on small groups and avoid posing all the
photos. Candids capture the laughter best!
© 2002 Birthday Express
© Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc
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