Here it is at last - Dash's 12th birthday Hunger Games party which has consumed my imagination (and creative energies) for months. As a total Hunger Games fan (the books AND the movies) this was a party I got so excited about creating. Right from the start I knew just what I wanted it to be: a water battle in our backyard arena (complete with cardboard cornucopia) and then hanging out in our very own Hob where we would indulge in delights from Mellark's Bakery and cook fresh rabbit (AKA chicken) over the fire...
Here's how it went.
Creating the Atmosphere (decorating)
The Hob (for the uninitiated) is the place in District 12 where Katniss first finds her Mockingjay pin. It's where she goes to sell the squirrel/birds/rabbit she shoots; it's the Black Market where people from the district trade illegally. It's grotty and dingy... and fun to recreate in our carport with the help of pallets from the dump, coffee sacks from Geoff's Emporium ($2 a pop) and a bit of graffiti/stencilling...
The lemonade stand was reworked into a rustic version of itself, with the drink dispenser sitting pretty on a log I found under the deck and the extra straws in a clean-but-rusty tin can. The "refreshments" sign ("no tesserae required") was a piece of leftover rotten decking, swiftly hand-lettered with old housepaint, to match the one I threw together for "The Hob".
I individualised my mini milk bottles with printable labels from each district, to make it easy for kids to keep track of their bottle. (Printables here; paper Straws from KiwiCakes).
The Mockingjay symbol was stencilled onto sacking using housepaint and an old rag; I used an old door and stapled-up black building paper as the background for yet more graffiti: the ironic rebels slogan, "The odds are NEVER in our favor" (from Catching Fire when Katniss spots the symbol and words flashing by the train).
On the other side of the carport we have Mellark Bakery - you know, the one belonging to Peeta's family? Peeta Mellark??? (printable sign and and bread wrappers here)
The Plan
Such a simple Plan. The tributes arrive dressed in black (if they read their invitation), and hang out in the Hob until all are assembled.
Then we have a Reaping to determine which Tribute represents which District (actually predetermined with names written on District slips ahead of time). Each tribute receives a wristband with a hand-stamped District tag. This represents their life in the Games. It also helps them keep track of which drink bottle is theirs.
The idea is that when the Games (water battle) begins you have to preserve/protect your own "life" while collecting other Tributes' lives on your other arm. Once your "life" is gone you are out of the games. And a cannon will sound (a sound effect I found on iTunes). The tally of points will be recorded on the blackboard (more points for staying in longer, extra points for collecting "lives"); the Victors will be determined by the points and receive a handy stencilled Mockingjay gear bag filled with treats.
We'd invited twelve Tributes, one for each of the Districts (appropriate since Dash was turning twelve), but on the day we were one Tribute short... so I came up with a cute plan. We wrote Scrag's name down on the slip for District Twelve and when his name was reaped, he pretended to quake with fear and his brave big sister stepped forward and said: "I volunteer as tribute!" Sound familiar? Haha.
To help the tributes battle it out I prepared a cardboard box cornucopia - what else? - with gear bags, water guns, water bombs etc spilling out...
The Tributes waited on their pedestals (foil plates, in circle) until the gun went off and then... let the Games begin (and may the odds be EVER in your favor!)...
The Action
Once the start cannon sounded, it was all on. Water water everywhere. It proved pretty hard to take people's lives off them: the kids must have actually listened to the pep talk the Gamemaker (Mr G) had given them about "no kicking, no punching, no dangerous tackling..."
So mostly they just threw water at each other and had a blast...
If things got a bit crazy the Gamemaker intervened with his hose... (no lives were lost)
Did I mention that we spent all of Friday afternoon and evening putting up a 16-foot pool in our backyard? 19,000 litres of water and all day/night to fill. But it was worth the sting on our water bill.
Even though it was freezing (because our spring has been PATHETIC and the sun was not shining) the kids did not care...
Luckily I'd also told them to bring a change of clothes... (luckily most of them actually read their invitations).
What can I say? It was EPIC. Not quite to plan because they all played super nice and were therefore hard to "kill" but in the end it didn't matter because they all had FUN and got super duper wet.
Which was a good thing we had a nice fire going in the Hob to get them all warmed up aye?
Food and Drink
Hungry, thirsty twelve-year-old tributes need a lot of sustenance. On offer we had...
"Burning coal" chocolate cupcakes and Nightlock berry bites
(a mini version of my favourite blueberry muffin recipe; gorgeous iridescent black cupcake papers from Kiwicakes; orange foil cupcake papers from KiwiCakes)
TO DRINK: delicious green tea sugar-free nightlock berry punch...
and Capitol WATER... (until someone stole the supplies for the water battle)...
Delicious crusty loaves from Mellark Bakery...
A gratuitous fruit offering in the form of orange segments, and some Cola Rollers (from Kiwicakes) in a cool-as metal gumball machine...
And of course, we served up fresh rabbit (shot by Katniss this morning)...
We cooked our "rabbit" skewers over the fire...
And also sizzled sausages...
... to munch on with Mellark's finest bread...
...and finished off our feast by toasting marshmallows.
You just can't beat toasting marshmallows.
Back to the party (which by now is winding down); there was an attempt to light the candles before the wind blew them out... the birthday song was sung and some very sweet speeches were made by the birthday boy and his friends to each other.
Parents arrived, tributes received their "Thank you for coming" Mockingjay pendants (which I found on this awesome Etsy shop; you can contact the owner directly for supplies) and we waved goodbye...
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| [I stencilled the bags with a Mockingjay - how to's here] |
The party was over. We survived the Hunger Games with no loss of life or limb. It was crazy, it was wet, it was noisy, it was EPIC.
And the birthday boy called it "an unforgettable day" (on his IG birthday selfie). Which is what matters most after all.
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*** Haymitch actually says this to Katniss in Catching Fire. "Nobody WINS the Hunger Games. You SURVIVE the Hunger Games..." Ironic much?)
MORE HUNGER GAMES PARTY STUFF:
- Hunger Games Party How to's and Free printables (including how to make a cardboard box cornucopia)
- Hunger Games Mockingjay Birthday cake tutorial (do's and don'ts)
- Nightlock berry bites recipe (refined sugar and gluten free)
- Sugar free nightlock berry punch recipe
- I have a 12 year old: Is this my last theme party ever for my tween?
