How to Throw a Fear Factor Themed Birthday Party

Are you looking for ideas for a Fear Factor themed birthday party? Well look no further! Throwing a birthday party for 20 boys aged 6-12 requires a little extra planning (and that WOW factor!) but with a few basic tips, your party will go off without a hitch.

To Begin
Though most parents have seen the television show "Fear Factor," many kids have not. So, to prepare, you can either a) watch a few episodes with your kids at www.hulu.com or you can b) just call it a "Gross" or "Challenge" birthday party.

Invitations
Invitations are pretty important. Obviously, you need to give the date and time, but you should also let the parents know that their children will get messy, and to wear clothing that is appropriate. Additionally, make sure you know about any allergies. You'll want to tailor the rules or the challenges to accomodate these children - because you don't want any child to have to sit out of a game.

Setting the Scene
Obviously, for a Fear Factor party, you're going to want to have it outside. Where you have it really depends on the activities you choose to do. If they require a lot of set up, or refridgeration, you'll probably want to do it at your house, or the house of a relative, where you can access a kitchen. You could choose to hold the party at a park, but rememberr that you may create a big mess, and you'll need to schedule extra time for clean up.

For decorations, think simple. Balloons and a few streamers in bright colors (black and yellow for Fear Factor, or orange, green, and purple for a generic party) should be all you need. Really, the kids come to have fun, not look at all the hard work you put into decorations.

You'll also want to plan where to keep score. A dry erase board is an easy option.

Games
This is where you can get really creative! You'll want to have thinking challenges, physical challenges, and eating challenges (of course). Here are some ideas to get you started:

*Baby food identification - Gather multiple jars of baby food, remove the labels, and have the kids identify the fruit or vegetable using any means necessary. It's helpful to have plastic spoons on hand, and also a list of potential fruits and vegetables. Make sure the ones you have are listed, but also list a few extra to throw people off.

*Cow part identification - it's amazing how many pieces of a cow can be found in the grocery store! Tongues, liver, stomach....just make sure that the pieces are in a baggie, so the kids don't come in contact with bacteria.

*Tennis Balls - Divide the kids into teams and give each team a bucket and a pile of tennis balls. Have them try to get as many tennis balls into the bucket in a set amount of time (say, 1 minute). The catch is that the balls can't touch any part of their clothing, and they can't use their hands.

*Spit Balls - Give one team member a piece of paper and a straw, and the other team member a bowl. The goal is to make spit balls and catch them in the bowl. It's amazing how many kids don't know how to make a spit ball - and you get instant points for being the parent that LET'S them spit!

*Eggs - give each team 6 raw eggs and two bowls. They must crack the eggs into the first bowl, and then transfer the egg yolks into the second bowl, without lifting either bowl. Teams earn points for each yolk that remains intact. Make sure the kids wash their hands very well after this challenge.

*Whipped Cream Pies - Put yogurt covered raisins and one piece of bubble gum at the bottom of each pie plate, and then cover completely with whipped cream. Using only their mouths, they must find the bubble gum and blow a bubble. For this one, make sure they can't see the gum. Also, make sure you can blow a bubble with it. Some gum just doesn't work. And be aware that many of the kids will not know how to blow a bubble, so you might want to practice ahead of time with the birthday child! *note - whipped cream doesn't come up as easily as you think from decks - even with a pressure washer, because of the oil inside. Just add a little soap to the deck, though, and you shouldn't have any problems.

*Food Challenge - No Fear Factor party is complete without making the kids eat something gross! You can either have each kid eat the same gross food, or you can have each kid eat a different food. If you do it the second way, assign the foods to a number, put one number in a balloon, and have the kids pop the balloon to see what they have to eat. Make a rule that if they do not want to participate, they can elect not to. BUT, they must make that decision before they know what they have to eat. Some foods to use that can be found at any grocery store: eel, octopus, squid, chicken hearts, chicken livers, chicken gizzards, beef liver, creamed spinach, liverwurst, snails, spam, okra, raw oysters, pig foot, caviar, blue cheese, and sardines. Make sure you cook everything first (except if it's supposed to be raw). You can also purchase edible crickets, larvets, and chocolate covered ants at www.hotlix.com. You'll be surprised, but the grossest things (like the crickets!) are the first to go! Make sure you have a bucket for kids to throw up in!

Food
After all of that eating, you'll want to keep the food simple. Pizza is good, and then a sandwich platter too, and some chips are about all you need. A cooler of gatorade and water bottles is essential, too. For ice cream, keep it simple and get either freezer pops or ice cream sandwiches. You don't want to have to scoop when you're busy! And finally the cake - which is always the fun part! If you do a search online for gross cakes, you'll find all kinds with eyeballs and toilets, and bugs. But a favorite is a kitty litter cake! Bake a chocolate cake and a vanilla cake, and crumble them both up. Mix the cake crumbs with some butterscotch pudding, and press into the bottom of a new kitty litter pan. Crush up vanilla cookies and sprinkle the crumbs over the top. You can add some green sprinkles, too, to make the kitty litter look realistic. Then, microwave some tootsie rolls until they're soft, and squish them into realist kitty poo shapes. Serve using a real (new) kitty litter scoop! Even when they know it's cake, the whole scene will be disgusting.

Final Thoughts
For all parties, decide whether or not you want to open presents. This tends to be a chaotic time. For the children in our family, who get overwhelmed easily, waiting to open presents later is the way to go. Just make sure that you label who the gift is from as the kids walk into the door. Missing cards are common and you can't ask "who brought this?" if they aren't there. Also, it's always fun to have points and then a prize at the end. For 20 kids, I got 6 prizes - the top two teams of two got a prize. Additionally, one extra child got a prize at the end for working the hardest at clean up! (Yes, it's ok to con the kids into cleaning up!) The last prize I kept for the birthday boy. I didn't want him to feel like he had to win at the party, but wanted him to feel special too. Also, even if you're organized, you will need help. Have a team of parents participate in the games so the kids can see tips and tricks of how to be successful. Also, have a couple parents on the sidelines to help organize....washing hands, passing out paper towels, and filling up pie pans. The more help, the better. And don't forget to assign someone to take pictures. Don't think you'll be able to do it all by yourself!

Overall, this day will be a fun time for everyone, and will definitely be the talk of the school for weeks!