Groundhog Day Party

Last year, I hosted a Groundhog Day party for a couple of reasons. First, it was an excuse to have a party during the mid-winter blahs.

Second, it was DB's first year of elementary school and because of his early-September birthday we weren't able to invite the class to a party to get to know everyone.

Like I really needed an excuse! Anyway, as usual with my ideas I did not find one good source for the information I was looking for. I see a little more this year, but not much.

I also got a lot of good feedback about my creative ideas, which makes me think perhaps someone else will benefit from them.

So, I put together a 26-page ebook with ideas for food, activities, and games. It's available HERE.

It includes PDF's of my Groundhog Day poster -- all you need to do is print each page on regular, 8-1/2x11 sheets of paper and tape them side-by-side on the wall!


Here are two of the best URLs I found for this holiday. Honestly, many links at the bottom of the sites I visited last year were broken, so I'm trying to save you following dead trails in a fruitless search for stuff:

Punxsutawney, Pa's main Groundhog Day information site has activities, printables and facts. Go to the Teacher's Corner, then click "Activities for Kids."

If you print "Phil's Puzzle," here is a hint: The outside is not entirely square! In other words, put together the puzzle and draw an outline of the outside edges with a marker before you give it to little kids. You may be better off cutting up your own puzzle using a coloring page.

The "Lessons Plans" area has lots of games and even words to "Groundhog Carols" set to the tune of popular holiday songs.

Punxsutawney Phil's main site has some fun, brief interactive items which are really handy if you're trying to entertain your kids on this subject at the last minute.

This year I see a couple of Groundhog Day crafts to buy at the Oriental Trading website; I didn't see anything like that in 2008. That makes me think it's a growing trend, yah?

Finally, I even put together my very own Groundhog Day book list link.

I should have even more stuff to put in the 2010 edition, since I'm having a Groundhog Day party in DB's class this Friday!

Groundhog Hangover

Now that my Very First Post is out of the way, here's what I wanted to say that made me go through the laborious process (not) of starting a blog. If I'd known it was that easy I'd have started one a long time ago; why didn't anyone tell me? Sheesh. Anyhoo..

I was doing dishes after reading blogs this morning and had this thought but it sounded, not to flatter myself, like someone else. So, since that person is a better writer than I think myself to be, I thought I'd write the thought down!

And then I wondered, do women who blog and read one another's have writing styles that gradually move closer together, like that menstrual-cycle thing where women who live or work together have cycles that gradually happen at the same time each month? Ah, thank you Internet, I found the name for it: "synchronous menstruation." So I guess this would be "synchronous musings."

Which brings its own set of musings, as it would appear that the jury is out on whether that synchronous periods are a real phenomenon or not. With most of the critics being men, and most of the women being all, "Duh."

And now I've quite forgotten my original brilliant thought. Oh, yes. The party. So, I had this kickass party for Duckyboy on Saturday. We had a Groundhog Day party, complete with banners (with groundhogs), games (with groundhogs), and snacks (shaped like or reminiscent of groundhogs and/or their burrows). Everyone who wasn't feverish or contagious was there, toys were strewn everywhere, Duckyboy now likes to say "It's not a party until someone's in their underwear" (me and my big mouth) and, I thought, a good time was had by all.

Until this morning. Now, Monday morning is always a bummer at our house, coming as it does on the heels of 2 days that involve lots of Mommy and very little homework, not so many rules, and little need to sit still and quietly for long periods of time without a TV on. Today's bummer began, as usual, with coaxing the poor kid out of bed at 6:40 am, and proceeded to a stint at the still-partified kitchen table and this:

DB: Mommy? Can I make a groundhog? [One of the crafts I had lovingly handcreated for son and his little friends.] I didn't get a chance to make one at the party.

Me: Expose chest. Insert knife into heart! Dissolve into sobbing mass on floor. Oh, wait, still have to get the kid on the bus in 5 minutes and he's not dressed yet... Of course, sweetie! I didn't realize you didn't make one!

(We'd made a sample together a couple of days beforehand; frankly, at the party, I forgot.)

We made one then and there. Yes, even before I made him get dressed. How could I possibly have put him on the bus without having made a groundhog???

DB: I tried to tell you, but you were too busy helping S. make hers.

He didn't tell me. I'm perceptive like that. He may have also been sitting there and if I was Truly A Good Mother it would have occurred to me that he wanted to make one too. But honestly, I don't even remember him sitting there.

Am therefore spending part of today trying to figure out how to make it up to him when he gets home. Reliving the party, with him as special guest, is ranking high on the list. Without the bagels though, since I've eaten or frozen all the rest. I will make punch -- any excuse to make punch! -- and even have his very own ice ring in the Bundt pan in the freezer.

That was a big hit, let me tell ya --want to intrigue a bunch of 5-year-olds? Float an ice ring, preferably one made from juice that's a different color than your punch, in a gigantic bowl of punch. (Hint: Plastic punch bowl from party store preferable.)

What? Punch-phobic? Pfft. Obviously you didn't grow up Methodist. Punch rules! Can't believe I haven't used my punch bowl since Duckyboy's first birthday party in '03 -- now I don't want to put it away. Again thank you, Internet, for the ideas for this punch:

• 1 container orange juice (No Pulp! "X Pulp! We don't drink no stinkin' pulp," say my son and his sensory-issue-challenged friends. OK, so they don't use those words. Though he might say the "X pulp" part.) If it makes you feel any better, buy the calcium-added version. I felt a tad better about feeding it to my friends' kids that way.
  
• 1 2-liter container of lemon-lime soda. The more store-brand, the better.
• 1 ring of ice --water mixed with purple grape juice makes the orange pulp turn brown as it melts. (Which is good for Groundhog Day, even though I found that out by accident.)

Purple grape juice, you ask? Who buys that stain-producing stuff anymore, don't we all use the white nowadays? Well, yes. Except that Communion hasn't made the switch yet, for that the purple stuff still rules. And since I just stopped doing the setup (long story there), I had half a bottle in my fridge. Which I don't let Duckyboy drink due to the stain factor. Except when he wants some from the little communion cup I saved for him.

Oh, and now in case someone's got something to say about that: My view is, at his age, I'd rather have him have a positive view of The Lord's Supper as something that is for him, as opposed to seeing it as something that he's not allowed to have, which is NOT, trust me, going to have a wistful, dreamy-eyed, "Gee, I hope I can have that someday" effect that it might on someone else's kid. I also let him eat the leftover matzoh. Well, not ALL of it since he'd never have a bm again. Whatever else is left we save to feed to the ducks in Kissena Park. Did you know that ducks like matzoh?

Well, I've written a paragraph that includes both my faith and ducks; I think my work here is done.