Pokemon Party Ideas!

Pokemon is back with a vengeance! Or did it really ever go away? Designware has finally released its new Pokemon party supplies line and with that we need an amazing party plan! So here goes.

Decorations: Make a Pokemon Character Wall. This will be a wonderful conversation piece for the guests and will also look great as decoration. Choose at least 10 pokemon and download their enlarged images right from http://www.pokemon.com/ - the official Pokemon website. Print out as large as possible using coloured ink. Using details found online or right on their card, write out each pokemon's biography. Their health, powers, their weaknesses etc. on a separate sheet of paper in a large print. What you should end up with is 10 large coloured photos and 10 corresponding bios. Display all pictures with bios beside or underneath on one central wall. Use licensed Pokemon party decorations or coordinating coloured balloons and streamers to accent the Character wall and make it the focal point of the party room.

Activities: "Are You Smarter then a Pokemon Trainer?" Play a Pokemon Trivia game based on the Pokedex also found at Pokemon.com. Prepare 5 questions ranking from easiest to hardest for each quiz player. Write the set of 5 questions on individual index cards and have the players choose their own set of questions out of a hat. Each question should get progressively a little harder so inform the players that they can stop at any time. Questions like "Who is Green?", "Who has Wings?" and "Who can Shed their Skin?". Everyone gets a prize for playing of course, but the prizes you can win with each question gets progressively a little better too! If you get an answer correct you advance, if you get it wrong you loose it all! Well, maybe not all, have a basic prize that everyone wins with question 1. Make sure to offer 3 possible answers to help the kids and gear the difficulty of the questions to the age group attending.

Extra Activity: I found this adorable website where you put in your full name and favourite colour and it gives you your official Pokemon name and your pretend stats. Its more for fun - mine says that I live in Antarctica and eat Meatballs. The direct link to check out this website is http://pizza.sandwich.net/poke/pokemon.html - Perhaps you can make one for each child that's coming to the party as a name tag, placemat, loot bag item or seating card. They are really short and really quite funny!

Games: Pokemon Toss - This is a fun challenge, and a challenging it is! Turn an average pack of ping pong balls into Pokeballs with a red and a black sharpie marker. Sharpie's are the best because they do not rub off. Colour half the ping pong red with a thin black band through the middle. Voila! A Pokeball. Set up a series of 6 pails or boxes of some sort. It is your choice whether to have them horizontally, diagonally, in 2 rows of 3 or clustered together. Whichever you choose, just make sure the pails are close together, about 2-3 centimetres apart. Purchase some Pokemon trading cards, enough for each guest to win 5 or 6 each. Mark a line about 5 or 6 feet back. Line the bottom of each pail with 1 trading card-make sure they are face down so the players cannot see them. With the birthday child going first, give him 6 balls and challenge him to toss them one by one into the pails. The more balls he lands into different buckets, the more cards he wins. When all 6 balls are thrown, the player may then collect his winning cards. Finding out which cards they won will be very exciting! Replace the cards, gather the balls and have the next child in line have a go! Keep playing until the cards run out or everyone has their equal share. Its not as easy as you might think! This may take 3 or 4 rounds - those Pokeballs are hard to tame!

Pokemon Pinata: Since they have not come out with any Pokemon themed Pinata lets make our own. A really simple way is to purchase a round beach ball pinata or even a round but flat drum Pinata and paint it half red and half white with a black band through the middle. Pokeballs are traditionally red, but in this new series they also come in blue and white. Another option is to paper mache a beach ball. Make sure to cover the beach ball with a thin coat of Vaseline so it is easy to separate and remove. Another option is to use a punch balloon. That way, you have a built in hanger with the elastic handle - just make sure to blow the punch ball up until its completely round. The key is to use several layers of newspaper and glue to make the pinata very sturdy and give yourself several days of drying time. A good glue ratio is 1 part water to 3 parts white glue. The newspaper strips should be about 2 inches wide and about 9 inches long. When the ball is absolutely dry, use an exacto knife and cut a flap about 4 inches x 4 inches. Just enough room to pull out the beach ball or pop the balloon. Paint and decorate your Pinata , fill with candy and treats and reseal.

Menu: So much work is involved with the setup of this party, go for the favourite food of Pokemon Trainers - Pizza of course! Its simple and easy - especially if you order out. A really neat drink idea is to make a Pokemon Power Punch. All you need is a punch bowl filled with Mountain Dew and some Strawberry or Raspberry Sorbet. Just before you are about to serve, add the sorbet and the kids can watch it fizz and froth. It tastes amazing too! For dessert you can make Pokeball cupcakes with red, white and black icing and a white gumball for the center. If you prefer a cake, use some Pokemon figurines to create a scene just like those expensive decopac sets sold in specialty stores. Now go and conquer!