18454

Black Light Sleepover -14yr- Glow in the Dark

August 2008

Joy in Klamath Falls, OR, USA

Honorable Mention

My DDs are just on the cusp of being too old for BD parties, but they jumped at the chance to have a Black Light Sleepover. 

INVITATIONS:  I cut out a light bulb clip art and mounted it with foam dots to a piece of purple paper, which in turn was taped to a black cardstock card.  The caption read, We have a BRIGHT idea.  The inside of the card read, Come to our BD party!  with all the info.  I embellished the light bulb on the front with glow in the dark (GID) paint.  Another idea we considered was buying black-light bulbs that come individually in small boxes.  We would have used a white paint pen to write the party info on the bulb itself and then hand-delivered each invitation in its own box. 

DECORATIONS:  We decided on a purple and bright fluorescent color theme for the party, to represent the black lights and things that GID or under black light.  I bought two shop fixtures that used a regular cord to plug into the wall, rather than being wired to the electricity. 

I also purchased four black tube light bulbs at the same home store.  Amazingly, these are available all year round.  One light fixture was placed in the dining room and the other in the adjoining family room.  They provided more than enough black light for both rooms and more.  I also divided my office area in the family room from the party area by hanging Dollar Store purple tablecloths from the ceiling, fronted by 6-wide strips of Mylar.  This made a faux wall that undulated with every breze. 

With the addition of GID balloons and crepe paper strips taped hanging from the ceiling, this gave a sort of disco look to the room.  The dining room table was covered with a white tablecloth, and then partially covered over with a purple tablecloth at an angle. 

Finally, it was just a matter of looking around the house to find things that glowed in the dark:  Various troll dolls had fluorescent hair, GID plastic bugs, and even orange weed-eater string!  I punched out confetti from fluorescent paper, and discovered that certain craft feathers also glowed under black light.  I made a Happy Birthday sign using various squares the same fluorescent paper.  All these things decorated the table, walls, and other parts of the rooms. 

FOOD:  In keeping with the purple theme, I tinted mac & cheese, ranch dip, and salsa with purple food color.  We served purple tortilla chips, red grapes, grape juice, and even pickled beets (as a gag food, in more ways than one!).  I made a purple frosted cake in the shape of a light bulb, complete with an aluminum foil socket end.  The candles glowed under black light.  Even the pitcher to serve drinks had an insert with a bulb that phased through various colors, making the liquid glow.  We also had a bowl of various candies with wrappers that glowed under black light or were fluorescent colored. 

ACTIVITIES:  As each guest arrived, she was given a GID necklace and bracelet (flexible glow sticks with connectors), and had a GID wrist tattoo applied (from Dollar Store and Oriental Trading).  While the guests were more than content to sit around and listen to music or just talk, we did have a game printed out from the net (http://ravensblight.com/ToothAndClaw.html) which I embellished with GID  paint; paper boomerangs (http://www.ss42.com/pt/paperang/paperang.html) printed on white card stock, which happened to glow under black light; and GID beads and memory wire to make bracelets.  We had saved several fireworks from the 4th of July and set those off outside before 10pm.  The girls partied, danced, and talked until about 3:00 a.m. until they finally fell asleep. 

GOODIE BAGS:  I used small white bags from the Dollar Store for goodie bags.  They glowed very brightly under black light.  Each bag contained a black light pen from Oriental Trading, some fluorescent tops (Dollar Store), Pop Rocks candy (it's supposed to crackle like electricity in the mouth), and a GID pendant (Dollar Store).  I also decorated the covers of lined journals (Dollar Store) with various scrapbooking supplies I already had  they were decorated with paper, embellishments, GID paint, and glitter.  Each guest was allowed to pick the journal of her choice to take home as a party favor. 

THANK YOUS:  Each thank you card will be a cardstock frame embellished with GID paint, and will include a photo of the guest and BD girls at the party.

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