For my daughter’s eighth birthday, I was thinking of something really nice the kids could do to enjoy the party. She had already outgrown clowns and Barney, so a cartoon-themed party was out of the question. She had asked for a Hawaiian-inspired party though, so I had to do something that’s along those lines.

And then it struck me: assemble a few items that could create beaded bracelets that the kids could make by themselves and place it in their loot bags. It was a hit — the kids eagerly started creating the bracelets as soon as they got their loot bags. The party stretched on longer than I expected it to be, but it didn’t matter, because everyone, boys and girls alike, enjoyed the beads.