Batter up! Stop by The Cage and get five (5) FREE tokens with proof of birth date! It’s the only outdoor baseball/softball batting cage in Anchorage, Alaska.

This fun, free birthday offer is open to kids of all ages (including adults), however be aware that the facility is seasonal and depending on weather, it’s generally open from April through August.

The Cage also offers several birthday party packages ranging in price from $100 – $225.  All parties include: tables, blankets, plates, napkins, cups, utensils, drinks, cake, cage rental time and even a gift basket for the birthday person!

You can follow The Cage on Twitter – @akcage and “like” them on Facebook – facebook.com/akcage to learn about special promotions and upcoming events.

The Cage is also running a promotion through April for 10% off individual or team punchcards, which is a great birthday gift idea! See their Facebook page for more info.

To see this birthday freebie listing and more, visit FreeBirthdayTreats.com, then simply select your state.

Enjoy!

Celebrate your birthday in style…even on a tight budget!

Visit FreeBirthdayTreats.com‘s today to find out what you can get free for your birthday!

A great summertime dessert that the kids are bound to love at your beach party is a Beach Pail—and it is easy to make too! This is also a treat you could send in to school with your child to celebrate the end of the year and beginning of summer.

Take a clear cup and fill it with banana pudding, vanilla pudding mixed with bananas, and wafer cookies. Top it off with some crushed Wafer cookies (for sand), gummy sea life, and a paper umbrella.

Enjoy this simple and yummy treat – at your birthday parties and beyond!

~ Lisa Kothari is the creator of Peppers and Pollywogs, a Party Expert and author of Dear Peppers and Pollywogs – What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties.

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“Some Pig,” “Terrific,” “Radiant,” “Humble”: all words Charlotte spun in her special web to describe dear little Wilbur, the runty pig a little girl stood up for and cared for. This sweet and classic childhood story takes Wilbur through an entire year, as he is born a “spring pig” and wants to see the snow and not the smoke house! It recently came to life beautifully at the movies and is sure to be a favorite story to base a special kids party on.

For the Invitation:

Send out a red barn invitation with flaps that open, and provide the party details inside. If you are hand delivering your invitations, purchase chocolate carrots and attach them to the cards for added festivity.

For the Decorations:

When decorating, make up a barnyard scene. Put some bales of hay on the path leading to your front door, and cut out large farm animals from poster board, such as geese, cows, sheep, pigs, and don’t forget the rat!

Post signs stating “Somerset County” and “Welcome to Zuckerman Farm!” Make sure to hang spider webs throughout the party area.

Charlotte’s Web uses lots of different colors. The storybook has mainly pastel colors, such as blues, greens, pinks, and creams. If you are celebrating a first birthday, this may be the color scheme you choose. Wilbur is also taken off to the Somerset County Fair where carnival colors pop. Bright blues, greens, yellows, and reds would be very appropriate if you build a Charlotte’s Web party around the county fair scene.

For the Games and Activities:

When the children enter the party, have a large piece of butcher paper spread across a table. Have them draw a barnyard scene of their own. Provide crayons, finger paints, glitter glue, etc. When the paper dries, hang it up as an additional decoration.

Provide each kid with their own “netting” for a spider web, and give them different words, such as “pretty,” “happy,” “unique,” etc. Have the kids try to make their webs reflect these words. Discuss how hard it must have been for Charlotte to embed words into her web! The children can take these webs home at the end of the party.

Play Hot Wilbur just like Hot Potato with a small stuffed pig.

Play Wilbur Says as you’d play Simon Says. Have Wilbur ask the kids to act like pigs, grunting, rolling in the mud, eating their food quickly, etc.

Enjoy a barnyard obstacle course, and help Wilbur get out of his barn. Set up a maze either in your basement or backyard, and have the kids run through while holding a little stuffed pig. Each child can take a turn walking around chairs, climbing through tables, jumping over footstools, etc. Whatever is fun!

Play Charades. Have the kids act out different barnyard animals.

For the Party Menu

• Make “pig slop” by cutting up vegetables and fruits and serving them with Ranch or caramel dip.

• Use piggy cookie cutters to cut out little sandwiches.

• Make a batch of piggy sugar cookies, and decorate them with pink frosting for an added treat

For the Party Favors:

Make each guest a T-shirt with an iron-on from the official movie site and send them home with their handmade webs too.

~ Lisa Kothari is the creator of Peppers and Pollywogs, a Party Expert and author of Dear Peppers and Pollywogs – What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties.

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On May 12, 2010, Oriental Trading rolled out their new and free Oriental Trading Rewards program. Basically members earn points based on how much they spend and will receive a $5 Rewards Certificate for every 1,000 points earned. These certificates can be used to purchase party supplies, crafts, party decorations and toys through Oriental Trading. I’ve used them numerous times for birthday party favors and birthday crafts.

They also have a special offer for members’ during their birthday month. Probably a birthday discount of some kind. Hopefully they’ll respond soon to my requests so I can provide more information about it.

Points can also be gifted to your family, friends, teachers or special organization, which I think is pretty cool. I’m sure teachers would really appreciate it considering so many spend their own money on birthday and holiday crafts.

To learn more and join, visit: Oriental Trading Rewards

Enjoy and Happy Birthday!

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Francois Duhamel/Marvel Entertainment

This weekend Iron Man 2 opens in movie theaters across the nation – another action-packed Marvel comic movie that is bound to be a hit.  As with many super hero comic book characters that take to the screen, you may find your kids asking for an Iron Man party soon enough.

Tony Stark is Iron Man who creates a powerful iron suit full of technological advances to combat crime and do good.  When the kids arrive to your party, invite them to make an iron mask and armor using cardboard and tin foil for them to wear through the activities of the party.  The kids can put on iron man temporary tattoos for added fun!

Once the kids have their masks and armor on, organize a series of relay races around Iron Man Stunts.  Iron Man flies through the air with speed.  Organize a relay race where the kids must race from one end of the yard to the other and back as fast as they can.

Hide an item that you have designated as dangerous and time the kids to find it as quickly as possible to secure the scene.  First child to find the item wins!

Use red beanbags to represent lava.  The kids must pass these bags to each other using something other than hands – otherwise they will get burned!  First team finished wins – watch them get creative!

Have a Disc Throwing Contest.  Using a Frisbee, see who can throw it the furthest!

Play Flashlight Tag.

Make a batch of cupcakes and frost them with red icing.

The kids can take home their masks and armor, along with a small Frisbee as party goodies.

Enjoy watching Iron Man 2 and celebrating the theme with your children.

~ Lisa Kothari is the creator of Peppers and Pollywogs, a Party Expert and author of  Dear Peppers and Pollywogs – What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties.

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Ok so here’s the deal, around here we consider ourselves Go-Gurt connoisseurs. When it starts warming up, Go-Gurt is a staple in our fridge so we stock up with a few 32 count boxes from Sam’s or Costco. They really are the perfect snack size for lunches, hikes, birthday parties or frozen treats on a hot summer day. In fact, my son’s 12th birthday is coming up this week and the New Simply Go-Gurts are already on the birthday snack list.

From a mom’s perspective, I prefer offering the family more wholesome snacks. Of course, convincing the kids and even my husband to eat more healthy can be quite a challenge, so I give kudos to Yoplait for coming out with their New Simply Go-Gurts free from high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. We put the New Strawberry and Mixed Berry Simply Go-Gurts to the test and, as self-proclaimed Go-Gurt connoisseurs, we found them just as tasty as the original Go-Gurts.

Yoplait also stands behind their product. A few months ago, we purchased a Go-Gurt package that was a mess inside. Apparently a Go-Gurt tube had burst inside and their was Go-Gurt everywhere. I contacted Yoplait via their website and a few weeks later we received a letter saying they were looking into the matter and enclosed two Go-Gurt coupons.

FREE PACKAGE OFFER:

The first 30 readers that click on the “Try It Free” tab will receive a coupon for a free package of Simply…Go-Gurt! These will go fast, but not to worry, you can still save some money with the $1.10 printable coupon. Keep in mind that these are new, so it can take a little time for them to arrive in your local grocery stores. That happened with me. I finally found them at Wal-mart.

*This coupon offer for free Simply… Go-Gurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Tennessee.

In addition to the great Yoplait savings, they are also sponsoring a Go-Gurt “Simplify Your Life” prize pack (as shown below) that includes a pocket Etch a Sketch, weekly planner and a seat back organizer. 

The picture of the weekly planner just doesn’t do it justice so I had to take one of my own…

Here’s How to Enter:

• In your comment, share a fun yet healthy snack you’ve served or plan to serve at a birthday party. For instance, something like ants on a log (peanut butter stuffed celery with raisins on top).

For additional entries:

• Follow Yoplait on Twitter – leave a comment w/your Twitter ID that you are.
• Follow FreeBdayTreats on Twitter – leave a comment w/your Twitter ID that you did or already do.
• Fan (like) FreeBirthdayTreats on FaceBook – leave a comment that you did or already do.
• Subscribe to FreeBirthdayTreats Blog to receive RSS updates via reader or email (will verify) – leave a comment that you did or already do.

Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Deadline: Midnight, Sunday, May 9, 2010.

The winner will be announced on Monday, May 10, 2010. Please make sure you provide a valid email address. Winners have 48 hour to respond, otherwise new winners will be chosen.

Good luck!

Disclosure: Through My Blog Spark, Yoplait provided me with a free package of Yoplait Simply… Go-Gurt and a“Simplify Your Life” prize pack.  No monetary compensation was received and all thoughts and opinions are mine. Other opinions may vary. If applicable, images other than my own and quotes were taken directly from My Blog Spark or Yoplait’s websites.

To find local businesses offering birthday freebies and birthday discounts visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Guest Post by Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs – All About Kids Parties

Laser Tag is one of the most popular birthday party ideas for school age and tween boys.  It’s also popular with the parents in that usually this party is held at an outside venue that provides all of the equipment, entertainment, and fun for the duration of the party.

Keep these top tips in mind when planning a Laser Tag Birthday Party:

1. There is often a minimum age for a laser tag party. Due to safety concerns this minimum age will range from 7 to 10 years-old.

2. When signing up for your laser tag party package, make sure to inquire what is and is not included. Decorations may not be so important, but hydration is during this game.  Make sure that either the facility provides drinks or you have them on hand.

3. Assure guests’ parents of safety precautions. In your party invitation you may want to note that lasers are actually beams of light like in a TV remote, and not actual lasers. Also, you may want to include a brochure of the venue that outlines their other safety measures.

4. Request a dress code for your guests. Most places will request that the kids are dressed in long pants and sensible shoes.

5. Hand out T-shirts and assign code names to the laser tag teams. This is a team sport party and two ways to distinguish the teams is with T-shirts (which can also serve as the party favor) and team code names.

Finally, for a menu, pizza and drinks will do along with a birthday cake to top it off.

Have a great Laser Tag Birthday Party.

Side note from Julie

In addition to Lisa’s great tips, I’d suggest asking the laser tag facility if they offer a birthday club or perhaps if you book a party there, is the birthday boy or girl free or do they offer a discount to them.

For example, QZAR Laser Tag in Atlanta, Georgia offers the Birthday Child a one year Birthday Club Membership good for Buy 1 Get 1 Free Laser Tag Games for a year and if you book the birthday party on a Friday, the kids can play an additional game for free.

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Guest Post by Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs – All About Kids Parties

Getting ready to celebrate your child’s very first party?  If this is the first time you are planning a child’s birthday party, it’s helpful to keep a few tips in mind to plan the perfect first birthday party.

1. This party is about you. Actually the first birthday party is for your child, but she will never remember it and so it’s a party for you and your spouse to celebrate your child’s first year of life.  Plan the party that you want to have.

2. Schedule it around the birthday child’s nap time. Take in consideration your child’s schedule and plan around when she will feel her best.  It will make it so much easier to have a happy, rested birthday child during the first party.

3. Plan an activity that relates directly to the birthday child. One of the best ideas is to create a Time Capsule. It’s all about the child and a memory holder for a birthday many years later is perfect.

4. Smash Cake is a must. The most important part of the first birthday party is that picture with your child and her first birthday cake.  This precious memory is the highlight of a first birthday party.  Make sure the camera is charged and that someone is there to capture that picture.

5. Plan activities and favors for older kids who are attending. This party is often one where other families and their kids attend the party.  Yes, you must feed the adults, but don’t forget to plan some activities and party favors for the older kids who will be attending.  It is a birthday party and it’s important to keep them entertained too.

Happy First Birthday Party Planning!

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Often parents want to know when do the kids’ parties end?  You are pretty safe after the age of 13 as teenagers often want to celebrate their party with their friends in their own way, and usually it does not include a party with Pin the Tail on the Donkey!  So, parents need to prepare to organize birthday parties through the tween years – ages 9-13 years old.  However, as your kids become tweens often the types of parties change and for the better in many ways.  Keep the following top 5 party tips in mind when planning your tween birthday parties:

1. Let them limit the guest list. Often tweens know who they want at their parties and it may be quite a limited number as they have a certain group they hang around with.  Keeping the guest list small will help with the birthday party budget and may be just what your tween wants.

2. Embrace the age of slumber parties. Tweens love to spend the night and they are at the age where this is truly fun, and not scary.  This is the perfect time to suggest an overnight party – as long as the parents are up for it too.

3. Reality TV makes great tween party themes.  Whether it is Fear Factor, Amazing Race, or American Idol, these shows provide loads of creative ideas to build a cool tween party theme around.

4. Embrace charitable party themes.  Tweens may be interested in raising money for a good cause to there celebrate birthday.  Perhaps it will be a car wash party or a book drive to donate books to a local shelter.  Introduce the concept and/or be receptive if your tween comes up with it herself.

5. No need to plan it to the minute – or even the hour. Many times tweens want to party together, but with loads of time to play video games, watch a video, eat pizza, and generally hang out.  Don’t over plan parties for your tweens, and let them have plenty of say in the party plan too.

Have fun planning your tween birthday parties with these top 5 tips.

By Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs

Once again Lisa Kothari dazzles us with her awesome party tips. What some of you might not know is she was also a guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio Morning Living segment on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. Congratulations Lisa!

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Hero Hugs is a very special non-profit organization not only because it was founded by one child’s passion to tell troops “Thank You!”, but also because it is run by kids who have sent over 48,000 appreciation packages to deployed troops. Another example of how one person, no matter the age, can make a difference in this world.

Bailey Reese the founder of Hero Hugs and Angela Riseden who is the “honorary” Vice-President are celebrating their 14th birthday’s this month. Bailey’s birthday was on April 3rd and Angela’s is on April 21st and their special birthday wish is to receive 500,000 birthday cards with a $1 donation for Hero Hugs so they can send out 100,000 packages to deployed troops by their 15th birthdays.

According to Bailey:

“We get emails all the time, but people just do not send stamped mail anymore. Kids love getting mail so I think the best birthday present ever would be getting buried in cards. We’d have an awesome birthday, be able to send more thanks to our troops and it would help us reach our goal of 100,000 packages mailed!”

Let’s help make their wish come true! Send a birthday card and $1 donation to:

Bailey Reese -or- Angela Riseden
c/o Hero Hugs
P.O. Box 27
Niceville, FL 32588

Happy Birthday Bailey and Angela! You’re both amazing young ladies!

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