10 Wizard of Oz Game Ideas

You've got your Wizard of Oz party decorations planned but now it's time to think about what to DO at your birthday or graduation party.  Here are 10 fun game ideas to get you and your guests moving and having fun.

1. Yellow Brick Road Maze by Education.com

2. Pin the Heart on the Tin man by Home Made Mimi

3. Melt the Witch Water Balloon Game by Following in my Shoes

4. Feed Toto Bean Bag Toss Game by Easy Party Ideas & Games.

5. Cowardly Lion Obstacle Course by You Are In Good Company.

6. Wizard of Oz Scavenger Hunt Game by B.Nute Productions.

7. Witch Broom Ring Toss by Double Fun Parties.

8. Beat the Scarecrow Pinata Game by Mama Mia Mama.

9. Wizard of Oz Matching Game by Ann H.

10. Wizard of Oz Tic Tac Toe Game.

Wizard of Oz Yellow Brick Road Table Runner Plastic Canvas Pattern

When planning our Wizard of Oz party, I couldn't leave out the Yellow Brick Road from our party decorations.  But I wanted something a little more than a fabric table runner.  So I decided to sew my own plastic canvas yellow brick road table runner for the dinner table.

It was pretty easy too.  If you don't have much plastic canvas sewing experience, this is a good project to begin with since it's simple squares and rectangles with an easy stitch.

Start by cutting out 2 10x10 hole squares and 5 10x20 squares from plastic canvas.  Sew them with an easy slanted stitch in yellow yarn.

Using black yarn, place the right sides of the rectangles together and join the pieces in a brick pattern.  Use 3 rectangles on one line and 2 rectangles with a square piece on each end for another line.

Now sew the lines together making sure you alternate the brick pattern.  You can sew as many of these sections together as you like to make sure you get a runner long enough for your needs.

Here's the pattern if you want to try your own:

I can't wait to set this in the center of my table and follow the yellow brick road to a yummy dinner!

Wizard of Oz Party Backdrop

In looking at Wizard of Oz party ideas, I came across this fun Wizard of Oz party backdrop by Julie B. I just love how simple but amazing this backdrop is.  I think it would be really simple to make this too.  

If I were going to make it, I would start with our PVC pipe photo booth backdrop  and hang blue gingham curtains from the top of the frame and tie them back with red ribbon.

The green wall and window could be made from a piece of wood and paint.  The picture could be done with  this (12x36) Wizard of Oz Movie Emerald City Poster Print.  Now just add a yellow table cloth with a red tablecloth pinned to the front, and there you go!

Would you try this? 

Wizard of Oz Party Game: Tic Tac Toe Printable

When Dorothy's house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, I don't imagine she had any idea of the  battle between herself and the Wicked Witch of the East that would begin over a simple pair of Ruby Red Slippers.  And I don't imagine that she had any idea, that it would continue on into our Wizard of Oz party and beyond.

When thinking of fun party favors to give our guests, I decided to try and make a game where the fight for the red slippers would continue.  So this Wizard of Oz Tic Tac Toe game was born.  And it's a simple and cheap party favor idea which makes the battle all the more enjoyable.

Originally I had planned to make these tic tac toe boards from a 4x4 ceramic tile, but I began to debate on the wisdom of giving kids breakable ceramic tile as party favors.  So when I found these foam sheets at Dollar Tree, I decided to go with them instead.  Plus, 32 sheets for a dollar is more than great for my budget.  I also picked up a bag of Accent Gems for the game pieces at Dollar Tree.

I printed out my game pieces onto card stock.  The foam sheets are pretty thin, so I thought that the strength of card stock would help with the durability of the game.

The game board is 3 3/4 inches square and each of the Dorothy and Witch pieces are 1 inches, so that was easy to cut with a circle hole punch.

This design contains artwork that is © 2006-2008 FunDraw.Com

I absolutely LOVE my Xyron sticker machine and have several different sizes.  I used the Xyron 510 and the Laminate/Permanent Sticker cartridge to make the pieces into stickers.

I ran the game board through right side up, but rotated all the circle pieces so that they would shine through the gem accents when placed on each of the accent gems.

The foam pieces were 4x6 inches, so I cut them into a 4x4 square.  I finished the game by placing the game board sticker on the front.

Then I realized that I needed a way to send these home with the kids, so I bagged them into 4x6 inch bags and added a bag topper.

If you want to make these yourself, here is the printable including the bag topper:

and just in case you don't need it, here it is without the bag topper:

Good luck! May the shoes be ever in your favor...oh wait (wrong movie)..may the shoes be with you...(nope...that's Star Wars...) oh well...Live Long and Prosper.

Earn Money Online: Plink

You know it's hard, and sometimes expensive to throw a good party.  The little things like party favors, cupcakes, decorations, and games all add up after a while.  So sometimes, when a new idea to help you make a little extra "party money" comes along, I try and share it with you.  That's how our "Earn Money Online" Series came to be.  It's been a little while since I shared anything new, but I'm going to try and share a little more to help you as Summertime Party Season swings into gear.

Here's where Plink comes in.  

Plink is a credit card reward type company that allows you to earn points at certain online and brick and mortar retailers such as Taco Bell, Kmart, and Regal Cinemas.  You simply sign up with your credit or debit card and shop as normal at your favorite stores.  For each qualifying purchase (each store has a minimum amount needed to be bought during each transaction), you receive Plink Points which you can turn around and redeem for gift certificates.

 

To receive the promotional $10 for purchasing at McDonalds that Plink has going on right now, simply sign up with Plink and register a valid credit card with there service.  Then go into your account and add up to 3 different stores to your Plink wallet.  This will allow you to earn rewards at these stores when you shop with them.  When you make a $10 purchase from McDonalds by this Sunday, you will receive 1000 bonus points into your Plink wallet (within 7 days) which you can redeem for a Gift Certificate to Walmart, ITunes, or other great stores.

 

I admit, I was a little leery to give them access to my banking information at first so I started with an old account that I rarely used and just used that card when I shopped at qualifying stores, but after having been a member for a while now, I have not had any problems with the service so switched to my main bank account where I spend the most money.

The kids are pretty excited since now I don't "whine" quite so much when we go to fast food places to eat (I REALLY HATE FAST FOOD!)  since I know I'm earning gift certificates as we eat out.  This makes them happy since they love Arby's, Taco Bell, and McDonalds almost more than my home cooking.

Check out Plink today and start making your purchases count!

10 Wizard of Oz Birthday Cakes

How about a little eye candy for your Wizard of Oz party?  Here are 10 amazing and fun birthday cakes perfect for Dorothy and friends to celebrate with.

1. Emerald Ball Cake by Prettycake.

2. Wizard of Oz cake by Layers of Love.

3. Surrender Dorothy Wizard of Oz Cake by Tara E.

4. Wizard of Oz and Throne Room Cake by Mikes Amazing Cakes.

5. Wizard of Oz cake by Rebecca L.

6. Wizard of Oz Dorothy Cake by Missy.

7. Wizard of Oz Tornado Cake by Intricate Icings.

8. Emerald City Wizard of Oz cake by Celebrate with Cake.

9. Wizard of Oz cake by Buschfambly.

10. Wizard of Oz Book Cake by Cake Doctor.

I think I'd better take a few cake decorating classes before I try any of these...but it sure is fun to dream and enjoy the amazing talents of these cake decorators!

Wizard of Oz Ruby Red Slipper and Printable Tag

You can't have a Wizard of Oz Party without including Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers!  And what better way to add them to your Wizard of Oz party than to use the famous red shoes to hold yummy candy?  And not just any candy, but the new Jelly Belly Jewel jelly beans!  Have you seen these yet? Talk about a beautiful shimmer on the best jelly beans on the planet!

These Ruby Red Slippers a win-win situation for your Wizard of Oz party guests to enjoy a sweet party favor and you to be the most amazing party hostess ever.

To make it even better, we have added a fun tag to the candy to send each guest "off to see the wizard" in style with our "You're Off To See the Wizard" Cupcake Topper or Candy Tag showing Glinda the good witch.

And really, these are pretty easy to make...who doesn't need that?

To start, print off and cut out this paper Shoe Template I found LOONNNGG ago from Creative Choice Designs by Pam Curtis.  I can't even find her on the internet anymore, so if anyone knows where to find this pattern currently, please let me know so I can forward you to her!

I didn't want the flower and extra stuff on my Ruby Red Slipper, so I just used the main shoe pattern and cut that out.

I found some red glitter card stock at my local scrapbook store and traced the shoe pattern to the back of the paper.

Cut around the outside of the pattern and then along the heel to free it from the sole of the shoe.  Then be sure to score along all the dotted edges in the pattern to make it easy to fold the shoe up correctly.  I used a ruler and just did my best to freehand the pattern.  The heel was the only part that I measured to make sure they were even.

Fold along the score lines and use a little glue to put the Ruby Red Slipper together.  

I used the new Jewel Cream Soda Jelly Beans from Jelly Belly to add more shimmer to my ruby red slipper and then printed out our "You're Off To See The Wizard" cupcake tag and added it to the top of the bag of candy to finish off this beautiful party favor.

Don't you wish that shoes were this easy to make all the time? It would save me a lot of money the way Drama Queen loves THE shoes and my boys tear through theirs!