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Minecraft 10th Birthday party – 2024

Birthday Party setup — Let the fun begin!

Jackson turned 10 this year – double digits!! After much deliberation, he decided that he wanted a Minecraft party and so I got started with the planning.

Creating games and activities that stayed on theme, but also had elements of math, science, and art was quite a challenge – but in the end, I was quite happy – and so were the kids.

The party was scheduled after school on a Friday – so we had a pizza party. When the kids arrived, they were each given a personalized VIP all access pass and then selected the toppings that they wanted on their individual pizzas. The kids ran around for a bit as their pizzas cooked and then after our bellies were full, we started with the activities.

Kids decoding an encrypted clue — Deciphering the encrypted clue

Activity 1: Mining: Geocaching/Scavenger Hunt

This one was a challenge! I wanted a geocaching hunt, but I was unable to set the coordinates for each cache, with enough accuracy for the kids to find them. I tried lots of apps and re-set coordinates a few times before deciding to focus on the ‘hints’, and to scrap the coordinates part of the activity. I encrypted each hint using the classic substitution cipher to make it bit more challenging.

It was dark and pouring down rain. We were all running around outside in the rain, trying to find the clue to the next cache, which held the clue to the next one. In the midst of all this madness, we discovered that one of the clues was missing! I’m not sure whether the wind/rain blew it away or whether it was the ‘suspicious looking’ older kids that watched me hide them! I ended up telling the kids where to go next. Most of the kids were really engaged and enjoyed this activity. (especially finding a clue in the locked ice cream cooler and frantically asking the venue staff to unlock the cooler so that they could reach their next clue!) I had two that were totally not into it.

The last clue led us to a ‘diamond’. It was actually an egg-shaped ball of tissue paper filled with candy and treats. We played a quick game of ‘pass the parcel’ before sitting down for an art project.

Activity 2: Dyeing: Painting creeper and pigs pixelated/graphs

Earlier in the week, Jackson and I painted 12×12 square canvases with a background of green for creepers and pink for pigs, and created grid marks with chalk. I got the idea from Pinterest.

At the party, the kids used a pattern to color in the grids using different hues and shades. This was a bit messy, and the kids could really be creative. Everyone seemed to enjoy this activity, and they all took their canvases home.

We sang Happy Birthday and had cake and ice cream before moving on to the final activity.

Activity 3: Hunting: Nighttime swimming with a bouncy slide!

It was dark and the rain had stopped. I threw inflated cows and pigs into the pool, and the kids had to ‘hunt’ for them. They were supposed to pose for a picture with the Instax camera when they caught their ‘meat’, but it was too dark. And the kids were having too much fun! They got to swim for about an hour before the pool closed.

I’m glad that I decided to use an outside venue to host, so that I could enjoy more of the party. It worked out great. I was so happy to have a few extra hands to help. I did have to pack up all of my party decorations and supplies and drag them home, but otherwise, they did all of the cleanup.

The kids took home party bags with 3x3x1 Rubic’s cubes, pickaxe pencils, Minecraft vinyl stickers, ring pops, licorice TNT, their canvases, and their VIP name tags/lanyards. I had also planned for them to take a few instant photos of themselves enjoying the party, but they just did not turn out.

The party was a success! And a week or two later, a mom randomly approached me and said they were at the venue the night of the party. She said our party looked like so much fun, that now her son also wants a Minecraft party!!

CELEBRATE, FOOD

Homemade Vanilla Extract for Christmas

I like to gift friends and colleagues homemade cookies and candies at Christmas. As I was doing all of my baking this past Christmas – and going through the small bottles of store-bought vanilla, I decided to gift homemade vanilla next year. Vanilla is not easy to get in Indonesia, so it will be a welcome treat. And starting now, ensures a good strong vanilla for next holiday season!

I ordered a pack of 25 Madagascar vanilla beans from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PMUNERY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also ordered these swing top glass bottles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VPT4XXB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought a 1-liter bottle of Absolut vodka.

Once the supplies arrived in the mail, it was time to get to work making homemade Vanilla Extract for Christmas!

I washed the bottles and let them dry.

The beans were too long to fit in the bottles, so I cut them to shorten them first, then I slit them open and put about 5 beans (total) in each bottle. I don’t have a funnel, so I poured 8 ounces of vodka into a measuring cup with a spout and poured the vodka into the bottles, ensuring that the beans were covered. Combined, the beans and vodka filled 4 and ½ bottles.

I closed up the bottles and now they are stored in a cool dry place (as cool and dry as I can get in Indonesia!) and are ‘brewing’ away!

vanilla beans and vodka in glass bottles

They will be ready to use as early as June, so I plan to use the ‘funky’ one with the tall bean and extra vodka for my own use. The others will be kept until December, to be used as gifts. Who will not LOVE homemade vanilla extract for Christmas?? I’ll have to design a cute tag for the bottles when I’m ready to give them away and I’ll be sure to update the blog with more photos!

CELEBRATE, Cub Scouts, LIFE, PARTY

Thanksgiving in Indonesia 2023

While living overseas, I like to share our American culture with others. (Last year we had just arrived, so it was just the two of us…and the cable company) This year, I invited the Cub Scouts to celebrate Thanksgiving in Indonesia with us. Although this group is multinational, none previously had the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast.We met up at the Kite Museum for a tour and making kites to knock out the last requirement for the Art Explosion elective, and then we all caravanned to my place for lunch.

Webelos Scouts celebrating Thanksgiving in Indonesia

We met up at the Kite Museum for a tour and making kites to knock out the last requirement for the Art Explosion elective, and then we all caravanned to my place for lunch.

Thanksgiving place setting with place card and menu card

Webelos Scout parent volunteers - carving the turkey — Webelos Scout parent volunteers – carving the turkey

Upon arrival, the kids attempted to fly their kites outside and played at the neighborhood playground, while the grown ups got everything set up inside. We had some snacks set out: roasted cashews, cinnamon spiced almonds, cheddar cheese, apple slices, green olives, and pita crackers. Some noshed while others carved the turkey, poured juice for the kiddos, and pulled the side dishes out of the oven.

When everything was ready, we gathered in the living room to quickly share our Thanksgiving traditions and the feast began!

We had roasted turkey, sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn pudding, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, green salad, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies.

The kids sat at the kids table in the family room. They were all so well behaved. They were adventurous in trying new foods, and they even put their plates in the kitchen when they were finished eating!

Enjoying the turkey after a busy morning making and flying kites

At the adult table, we took turns sharing a few things that we are thankful for. I think everyone was thankful for Cub Scouts – the opportunity to spend quality time with their children as well as having the opportunity to meet people outside of their normal/natural circle of friends.

Now that our second Thanksgiving in Indonesia is a wrap…I think it is time to put up the Christmas tree!

CELEBRATE, FOOD, PARTY

Halloween in Indonesia – 2023

What a fun time we had for our second Halloween in Indonesia – decorating, pumpkin carving, and trick or treating!

Halloween Decorations

Restraining myself, I waited until mid-October to pull out the Halloween decorations! I reused many of the items from our Harry Potter birthday party, taped paper bats to the windows, hung a black feather wreath on the front door, and pulled out my spider web door mat and skeleton dishes that I picked up at Kirklands last year, while I was in the U.S. (squeezing everything into my suitcases!)

rinted-Trick-or-Treat-invitation-to-the-neighborhood-Halloween-Gathering

We made a special trip to the fancy grocery store in search of a pumpkin for carving – and we felt so lucky when we found one! We took it home and carved it the very next day. My Indonesian colleague was so intrigued with this real pumpkin that looked just like my fake Halloween pumpkins!! I showed her how we scooped out the insides…this one was definitely real!

I even used an actual recipe to roast the pumpkin seeds. I’ve never added more than just oil and salt, but this time I added garlic powder, pepper, and some chili powder (I was out of the paprika that the recipe called for). They turned out quite nice.

Pumpkin Carving

umpkin-with-top-removed-and-seeds-and-pulp-scooped-out-onto-the-table

Seasoned-Pumpkin-Seeds-ready-for-Toasting

Carved-Jack-o-Lantern-with-Halloween-Decorations

Trick or Treating

The neighbors stopped in after the kids were done trick or treating and I whipped up a pitcher of my ‘go to’ red wine sangria – it really fit the Halloween theme, a Texas Sheet cake – enough chocolate cake for a crowd – with purple and orange confetti sprinkles on top! I love this butter toffee popcorn recipe. I made two batches. The first batch was crispy, buttery, and delicious. Unfortunately, it was late when I made the second batch. I took the tray out of the oven to cool, and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, the popcorn went soft – the humidity here was just too much. I did put the popcorn in a ziplock bag with a slice of bread, to see if that would help…but it didn’t.

Well, we couldn’t have ALL sweets, so we also had the Pioneer Woman’s Nachos. I made these for my dad for dinner last summer (I told him it was taco salad!) and he could not get enough of them! I had the same reaction here on Halloween. My neighbors gobbled them up! This recipe is definitely a keeper!

We also had the roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh watermelon slices, and ice-cold lemonade for the thirsty trick or treaters.

Dripping-Wax-Candles-on-wall-candelabra-

Halloween-Urli-Flower-bowl-with-flowers-and-candles

Texas-Sheet-Cake-with-Halloween-Sprinkles-and-Butter-Toffee-popcorn-in-a-glass-jar

Our second Halloween in Indonesia will be hard to top next year!!

CELEBRATE, FOOD

Promotions Celebration!

In my line of work, promotions are hard to come by – we compete against our peers to fill a designated number of spots at the next pay grade. Even if you have been recommended for promotion by the promotion boards, there might not be enough spots. In this instance, you miss out on the promotion, and start all over again the next year.

I should have been thrilled when the stars aligned and I was finally promoted. However, I learned that I had received a promotion on the same morning that I learned my mom’s passing was imminent. It was an awful morning, and I was certainly in no mood to celebrate.

Now that a few weeks have passed, I took advantage of the Columbus Day holiday and invited a few colleagues (who were also promoted!) over for lunch. We had the day off, but the kids had school, so we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon talking about how we got to where we are today, and the next steps – for our next promotions!

We started with a glass of champagne to toast our success.

I added fresh squeezed lime juice, lime wedges, and simple syrup to the tray. Then of course, I opened the champagne!

We had fresh lime sodas and mango juice to drink.

We had Italian wedding soup, Greek salad, fresh Italian bread, and baked ziti for lunch.

And for dessert we had tiramisu and pizzelles, served with hot tea and coffee.

I made the tiramisu using this recipe from All Recipes.

All of the tips I read insisted that I use real espresso. So, I had some delivered from Paul cafe!

I’ve tried this recipe before, cooking the eggs in the pan, and my eggs curdled. I now use a ‘double boiler’.

A friend gifted me her Kitchen Aid stand mixer when she received a new one. It is still running strong on the transformer! (Note the UHT (shelf stable) whipping cream.)

Most recipes call for Marsala wine. I didn’t have that, and I didn’t have any rum, so I used cognac.

I tried dipping the ladyfingers into the coffee on a shallow plate, but I ended up dunking them in the measuring cup with tongs. That worked best for me.

After they were chilled, and ready to be served, I sprinkled them each with a bit of unsweetened Hershey’s cocoa powder.

The table was set – ready for food and guests! I put each tiramisu cup on the little boards, with a fresh mint leaf – plucked from our herb garden.

I mentioned earlier that promotions are hard earned, oftentimes taking 6, 8, 10 years or more to achieve. Technically, I am competing against each of these ladies for future promotions, but this was a warm, friendly gathering – each of us sincere in celebrating each other and encouraging success.

CELEBRATE

Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Breakfast 2023

I volunteered to help with the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet this year.

It turns out that the banquet is actually a breakfast that we combine with the bi-annual awards ceremony, the Arrow of Light (AOL) ceremony, and the crossing over (to Boy Scouts) ceremony.

Collaborating with the scout leaders, I designed the program: Awards first, then crossover, and lastly, our Blue and Gold celebration. This program included blue, yellow, white, and green candles. I did not have colored candles, but I did have acrylic paint. I painted clear glass votive cups to match the required colors. The program also called for colored face paint. I could not get my hands on safe/quality face paints in time, so I used water-based/non-toxic paints mixed with zinc-based sunscreen. The colors were vibrant, did not stain the kids faces, and most importantly, were safe.

I then designed the coordinating e-invitation, welcome posters, thank you tags for the parent volunteers (these were attached to blue and yellow iced fleur-de-lis shaped sugar cookies), and personalized AOL photos of the kids crossing over to Boy Scouts.

Luckily, I had lots of help decorating: blowing up balloons, hanging streamers, setting up the awards tables. Everyone had a great time, and we’ve set the bar for next year!

Painting votive cups for the AOL crossover ceremony.

CELEBRATE

Flamingle

Administrative Professionals Day 2023 was on Wednesday, April 26 and I organized a team building ‘flamingle’!

We had a tropical theme, with lots of pineapples and flamingos.

We played a few games like Administrative Professionals MadLibs and Would you Rather.

We had tea, coffee, and lots of baked goodies like banana bread, raspberry white chocolate scones, and carrot cake.

The event was a huge success and everyone is looking forward to doing it again next year!

CELEBRATE

April Birthday

I have a nephew with a birthday coming up, so I created this card for him. I’m challenging myself to keep creating – the more I do, the easier it gets.

CELEBRATE, LOVE, PARTY

Harry Potter Birthday Party – Activities

Once everyone arrived and they changed into robes and selected a wand, we moved into Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where the kids decorated their treat boxes. We used paper gabled boxes and decorated them to look like luggage trunks. The had to glue on the Harry Potter stickers, use washi tape for the straps, and with some help, used brass fasteners for the finishing touch. (It was funny to see that many of the kids had not used the brass fasteners before and didn’t know they had to ‘open’ the backs of them to make them stay in place.) They tied a luggage tag to their trunk, so they could fill their box with goodies, and take them home at the end of the party.

We then moved outside for potions. I had three tables, set up in a U-shape. I put four kids on each side, with two helpers in the middle. I was at the head table.

We started by ‘hatching’ dragon eggs. I made the eggs in advance by forming balls of baking soda, water, and food coloring around plastic dragons, into an egg shape. I popped them into the freezer until party time.

We made glow in the dark slime. Mixing Elmers clear glue with a slime ‘reactor’, and then adding in the glow in the dark powder. The kids mixed everything up in black paper cups with tongue depressors, and once they had slime, they put it in a plastic jar with a lid to take home. I had printed labels for the jars, with everyone’s name on them, so they didn’t get mixed up.

We made popcorn to demonstrate another chemical reaction. I used an outside ‘camping’ stove with a clear glass lid, so the kids could watch the popcorn popping. They were suitably impressed, and enjoyed munching on the popcorn.

We next put vinegar into a plastic ziplock back, and then tossed in a tissue filled with baking soda, zipped the bag and tossed it out into the driveway. They kids got a kick out of watching the bags expand and then explode!

We made root beer floats. The American kids were like “ROOT BEER FLOATS – YEAH!!!” The other kids were like “don’t drink that!!! It tastes like medicine!”

We (attempted to) put mentos in Coke. Everyone had a bottle of Coke, and a stack of 6 mentos that I glued together, so that they would all go in at once. Well, the birthday boy put mentos into his Coke. I could only get my hands on seven 250ml bottles of Coke…the teeny tiny ones. I had to use one 350ml bottle, so the larger bottle went to the birthday boy. It turns out the cute little bottles were too small – and the mentos would not fit! The kids didn’t care. They shook their bottles and sprayed the foam, without the mentos. All in the name of science, of course!

I had one more activity up my sleeve, but I was nervous about it. I need industrial grade peroxide. The type you would get from Sally Beauty Supply. Unfortunately, there is no Sally here, so I ordered peroxide. Instead of getting 15% peroxide, I got 50%. Eek! As we were running out of time, we skipped this activity. The idea was to make ‘Hagrid’s toothpaste’, and mix the peroxide with baking soda, add some plastic spiders and watch it all explode from the recycled jam jars that I had collected from my neighbors. Oh well. Maybe next time!

After potions class, we headed to the Great Hall for cake and ice cream. The party was between meal times, so we had lots of healthy snacks out: cucumbers, tomatoes, hummus, cheese, almonds, etc.

We had lemonade and water to drink, and then a three-layered birthday cake, made to look just like the one Hagrid brought to Harry on his 11^th birthday. Pink frosting, with green lettering: Happee Birthdae, Jackson. With two layers of vanilla cake and a strawberry layer in between there was something for everyone, and the birthday boy was on cloud 9! We also had a choice of vanilla or strawberry ice cream.

Once everyone had finished eating, they headed to the trolley to fill their treat boxes with popcorn, chocolate frogs (that I made from Ghirardelli chocolate and plastic frog molds), jelly beans (Bertie Botts and the ‘nice’ Jelly Bellies), and gold coins. They also took home the dragons they hatched, the slime they made, and their robes and wands. It truly was a magical birthday!

Harry Potter Birthday Party: Invitations

Harry Potter Birthday Party – Early Planning

Harry Potter Birthday Party – Decorations

Harry Potter Birthday Party – Activities

CELEBRATE, PARTY

Harry Potter Birthday Party – Decorations

Platform 9 3/4 and Hogwarts Express: I had suitcases and trunks along with Hedwig (and cage), Scabbers, and Crookshanks at the front door. I also had a chalkboard with the message “Wizards Welcome – Muggles Tolerated”. Using a spring load rod and ring clips I hung backdrop with a brick design and the slit already cut – the for the kids to walk through. I made a Hogwarts Express sign with cardboard and paint. Once ‘aboard’, the kids changed into robes and selected a wand. I used graduation gowns and ironed on Gryffindor badges to make the robes and I used hot glue and paint on large chopsticks to make the wands. (include picture of sign, wands, robes)

Defense Against the Dark Art class: Brick patterned plastic sheeting that looked like castle stones to cover up the junk on my bookshelves. I set up Wizard’s Chess, keys with wings, greenery to represent Devil’s Snare, and a plush Fluffy – the three headed dog on this table. This is where the kids decorated their treat boxes, so I also set out glue, Harry Potter stickers, washi tape, luggage tags with their names, and brass fasteners.

Potions: Outside, I set up three folding tables. A head table for me and all the extra supplies. I had a cauldron, glass bottles with cork stoppers that were filled with colored water, and lots of vinegar, baking soda. I had brooms leaning up against a potions sign (add photo). The tables were set with gold paper trays holding all of the ingredients they would need. (Coke, mentos, Root beer, glow in the dark powder, Elmers glue, paper cups, glass jelly jars, tongue depressors, etc.)

Great Hall: I set up the dining room table with a tablecloth, cloth napkins, gold chargers, candelabra, stemmed (plastic) cups. Nearly Headless Nick was looking on. (a cardboard knight cutout taped to the door)

Bathroom: There’s a TROLL in the dungeon sign, with a picture of the troll – hung on the bathroom door.