What you need:

• 1 Balloon

Directions:

1. Before the party, blow air into the balloon. (Do not fill it with helium as you do not want to the balloon to fly up.)

How to play:

1. Have children split up into two teams.
2. Have a grown-up throw the balloon in the air to start the game.
3. Children should hit the balloon back and forth without letting the balloon hit the floor.
4. For added fun, have children count how many times the balloon passes back and forth between teams.

What you need:

• 20 balloons (10 each of two different colors)
• 4 baskets

Directions:

1. Before the party, blow air into all the balloons. (Do not fill them with helium as you do not want to the balloons to fly up.)
2. Put 10 same-colored balloons in one basket.
3. Put the other 10 balloons in one basket.
4. Place the two baskets full of balloons next to one another on one side of the room.
5. Place the two empty baskets next to one another directly across the room.

How to play:

1. Have children split into two teams with each team standing next to a basket full of balloons. One team will be known as Donald's Team and the other team will be known as Daisy's Team.
2. The race begins with the first child in each line grabbing a balloon from the basket, running to the other side of the room and dropping it into the empty basket that is directly across the room. That child then runs back to their team and tags the next person in line.
3. The first team to fill their basket wins!

(Adjust the number of balloons accordingly as per the number of party guests.)

What you need:

• 1 Balloon
• Radio or CD player

Directions:

1. Before the party, blow air into the balloon. (Do not fill it with helium as you do not want to the balloon to fly up).

How to play:

1. Have children sit in a circle on the floor.
2. When the music starts, have the children pass the balloon behind their backs.
3. When the music stops, the child with the balloon is out.
4. The last child left in the circle wins!

What you need:

• Basketball
• 10 empty plastic soda bottles
• Water
• Blue food coloring
• Silver glitter

Directions:

1. Before the party, fill the empty soda bottles with water.
2. Drop some of the blue food coloring into the water to turn the water blue.
3. Drop some silver glitter into the bottles.

How to play:

1. Break the group into two or more equal teams.
2. On one side of the room, set up the 10 soda bottles in the shape of a triangle to mimic the formation of bowling pins.
3. Have the teams line up on the other side of the room.
4. Have each child take turns rolling the basketball at the soda bottles.
5. Have a parent keep score of each round.

Safety note: Make sure bottles are tightly capped after filling with water, food coloring, and glitter.

Can you guess how much is in the jar? The child who guesses the closest wins the whole jar!

What you need:

• Clear glass jar or vase
• Coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters)

Directions:

1. Fill a container with change. A fun suggestion would be to fill it up with exactly $20.09 at your 2009 New Year's party, $20.10 for your 2010 New Year's party, and so on.

How to play:

1. Have children line up.
2. Have the children take turns guessing how much money is in the jar.
3. The child who guesses the closest to the amount wins the jar and all of the money in it!

What you need:

• Hole puncher
• Glue
• String or ribbon
• Supplies that will encourage kids' creativity and allow them to decorate the calendar: crayons, markers, stickers, glitter, fuzzy balls, sequins, etc.

Directions:

1. Download the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse calendar here.
2. Assemble the calendars before the party.
3. During the party, have children follow the instructions on the calendar to put together.
4. Fill in dates and holidays with crayons or markers, and have children decorate their calendars however they like.

Helping your preschooler create New Year's resolutions is a great way to introduce the concept of "goals" to your child. Here are some suggestions:

1. Explain to children that a "New Year's resolution" is about setting a goal for the year. Some examples to illustrate to children simply could be:
   • "I will try to clean up more."
   • "I will try to eat my veggies every day."
   • "I will brush my teeth twice a day every day."
   • "I will try to always say please and thank you."
   You can also share some of the resolutions that Mickey and the gang have made:
   • Mickey resolves to do lots of Mousekersize.
   • Minnie resolves to organize her pretty bows.
   • Daisy resolves to plant more daisies.
   • Pete resolves to try not to be so sneaky.
   • Chip and Dale resolve to share their nuts.
2. To start the activity, you can tell the children what your own "New Year's resolution" is. Share more than one if you'd like.
3. Give the children a few minutes to come up with their own resolutions.
4. One by one, go around the room and have the children say out loud what their "New Year's resolution" will be. Remember to give words of encouragement, such as "good thinking!" or "that is a great resolution."

   For those kids who may be shy, remember to also support them with encouraging words like:

   • "Give it a go."
   • "I know you can do it."

What you need:

• Silver cookie tin or other container
• Markers or paint
• Pens or pencils
• Magazines and newspaper clippings
• Glue
• Glitter and/or other decoration items
• Instant-photo camera (optional)
• Stapler (optional)

Directions to set up:

1. Before the party
   • Print out template fact sheets for each child attending here.
   • Cut out news clippings or magazine clippings that are relevant to the year that has passed such as presidential elections, movies that came out, sports news, fashion looks, or entertainment news like their favorite actors/actresses or TV shows.
2. Optional: As children arrive at the party, you can snap an instant-photo of each child and attach the photo to each Fact Sheet with a stapler.
3. During the party, have the children fill out their fact sheets.
4. Children can also go through magazines and newspaper clipping and create collages on the back side of their Fact Sheets.
5. Insert everything (Fact Sheets, instant photos, and clippings) into the time capsule and seal for undisclosed amount of time.
6. Once sealed, have children decorate it together and label it Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Time Capsule 2008.
7. Let the children know they can open this time capsule anytime they want to in the future.