DIY Chocolate Birthday Party

It's an unspoken fact that kids love chocolate. A birthday party with a chocolate theme is both cheap and easy, making it great for a DIY project. Granted, the sugar content in milk chocolate helps counteract the health benefits (mood elevation, high antioxidant level), so unless you want toddlers running around crazy, you may wish to throw this party for older children.

Invitations: Invitations for a chocolate party are easy, and they require you to eat the chocolate before you make them (hey, adults love chocolate, too). Write party details on backside of a Hershey bar or other chocolate bar wrapper, fold it back up and put in an envelope.

Decorations: If your party is for a girl, buy party supplies, such as cups, plates, napkins, and silverware in a combination of brown and pink. For a boy, choose brown and blue. Use a glue stick or tape to cover a plain tablecloth with different types of chocolate candy bar wrappers. Spread miniature chocolate bars on the table. For a centerpiece, enlarge a chocolate wrapper to many times its size and cover a rectangle of Styrofoam to look like a huge candy bar. Or, make your own larger-than-life Hershey kiss by cutting Styrofoam into a kiss shape and covering it with aluminum foil.

Food: Bake a rectangle cake and frost with chocolate icing. Use a silver icing pen or silver fondant to write HERSHEY'S in the middle of the cake to look like a huge candy bar. Or, you can bake a round cake and use green, yellow, orange red or brown frosting and a white icing pen to decorate it like an M&M. If a cake isn't your thing, make chocolate chip cookies or brownies instead. If it's in the budget, rent a chocolate fountain or have a fondue pot with melted chocolate. Then, if you need to add something healthy, put out a fruit tray with strawberries, grapes, etc. to dip in the chocolate. Serve chocolate milk or chocolate Yoo-hoo to drink.

Games: Hang a pinata in the shape of an M&M or Hershey kiss (filled with chocolate, of course), and let the kids go to town on it. Then, give each guest a spoon and an M&M or Hershey kiss. Have the kids race holding the candy on the spoon.

Goodie Bags: In all actuality, you don't have to send goodie bags after being at a party with nothing but goodies. However, if you feel you need to, pack them with individual sugar free pudding cups, chocolate covered raisins, and a variety of chocolate bars.

There are numerous kinds of chocolate, so the options for decoration and food for this party are endless. Tailor it to your child's favorite kind, or mix it up with semi-dark and dark chocolate to give the guests something new to try. Whatever you decide will still add up to a delicious DIY party!