Plan Ahead
Up to 1 Month Before
- Make Critter Crunch; store tightly covered.
- Bake Rainbow Cookie Bars; wrap unfrosted bars airtight in aluminum foil or place in a zippered plastic freezer bag and store in freezer.
- Scoop sherbet into paper-lined muffin cups; freeze tightly covered.
The Day Before
- Prepare veggie "rainbow sticks"; wrap airtight and store in refrigerator.
- Frost and decorate Rainbow Cookie Bars; store covered at room temperature.
- Make Rainbow Cake; store loosely covered.
About 2 Hours Before Serving Meal
- Prepare Pizza Turnovers up to the point of baking; store covered in refrigerator. (The recipe makes 4 servings; cut turnovers in half after baking for child-size portions.)
About 15 Minutes Before Guests Arrive
- Make Banana-Orange Sunrise; refrigerate until serving.
When Guests Arrive
- Serve Banana-Orange Sunrise and Critter Crunch.
About 20 Minutes Before Serving Meal
Party Guide
Who wouldn't like to believe there's a pot of gold waiting at the end of a rainbow at a friend's house! Follow the ideas here for food and fun, and kids will surely believe they're so special and have found it all!
Pot-of-Gold Activities
For younger kids
- Find hidden coins.
- Hide gold coins (foil-wrapped chocolates) in a designated party area. Kids can search for them, collecting them in a gold or yellow paper bag. The chocolates become a take-home bonus.
- Play "toss the gold coins into the pot."
- Divide kids into two teams, and have them form separate lines behind marked spots. Give each child a bag of play coins. Kids try to toss their coins into a gold pot (spray paint two pots or pails, or wrap them in metallic paper) at the end of a rainbow (made with crepe paper or with chalk if playing outside on sidewalk or cement patio).
For older kids
- Seek a hidden treasure.
- Organize a treasure hunt with hidden clues. The last clue should lead to a hidden pot of gold coins or a gold pot filled with individually wrapped gifts for each child. Paper play money and coins or rainbow-themed favors are good options for prizes.
- Play a word memory game. The first child says he or she is going on a trip to the end of the rainbow to find a pot of gold and is going to take an "apple" for an "A" word. The second child continues the story, adding a "B" word and repeating the first child's word, and so on. The last child who can remember all the alphabetical words given wins a rainbow-themed prize.
Over-the-Rainbow Decorations
- Create unique, photo party invitations from Kodak Gallery!
- Buy a roll of crepe paper streamers (found at party stores) in each color of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet), and make a giant rainbow on a large wall of the party room. Or paint a rainbow with tempera paints on white butcher paper.
- Run streamers or ribbons across a plain tablecloth on the dining table. Tie streamers on kids' chairs.
- Purchase lots of helium balloons in all the rainbow colors, and give to kids to take home as they leave the party. Or splurge on a rainbow-colored helium balloon arch to set outside or inside the front door so kids are truly excited as they enter the party right through the rainbow! Talk with the balloon specialist at a party supply store for options.
Party Food Fun
- Serve Critter Crunch in rainbow-colored ice-cream cone cups or in small rainbow-colored paper bags.
- Place pots of gold (like the one on the Rainbow Cookie Bars) at each child's place setting. Shop candy stores to find candy sold by individual color.
- Serve sherbet in metallic gold or rainbow-colored paper cupcake liners found in kitchen stores or cake decorating stores.
Party Pictures