Bell Out of Order

One of the funniest lines in The Wizard of Oz film is the guard answering the door bell only  to show  Dorothy and her friends the sign declaring “Bell out of Order, Please Knock.”

This was my jumping off point for creating Wizard of Oz Party Decorations. Before I had been introduced to the magic of a Cricut, I hand cut paper letters for a sign and hung it outside our front door.

Ironically, our party guests thought this was an actual notice and that our doorbell really was out of service. My own private joke I guess.

With more green glitter paper to spare, I transformed the bathroom into a Wash & Brush Up Co. powder room. A framed quote reminded guests, “We can dye your eyes to match your dress.”

“We can dye your eyes to match your dress.”

As the guest of honor was approaching her third birthday she began dressing in monochrome. Her outfits were so silly and colorful I photographed them for posterity. It did not take long to realize Sophie was becoming the rainbow. I matted the photographs onto coordinating card-stock and attached a different verse from the lyrics to Some Where Over The Rainbow to each card. These cards dangled from the ceiling as a make shift mobile for guests to look at on their way to the buffet.

Sophie over the rainbow.

I like my party decorations to do double duty so I created a paper Tin Man to lead the guests out side toward the obstacle course. We then kicked off the party games with ” Pin the Heart on the Tin Man.”

Pin the heart on the Tin Man. Facial Illustrations by 4 year old Ava.

Across our lanai we transformed cardboard boxes and left over bedroom paint into the yellow brick road. The wicked witches legs were place into the corner for a bit of Hollywood flair.

The yellow brick road was a must!

Signs dangling from the ceiling encouraged our guests to “Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow The Yellow Brick Road.” 

The games continued in our backyard with a movie inspired obstacle course.

The kids walked across a balance beam, just as Dorothy did before she fell into the pig pen. Then they crawled through a tunnel to escape from the flying monkeys. A bubble station gave the kids an opportunity to conjure Glenda the Good Witch. Then it was off to gather “apples” and toss them into the basket.

Dorothy takes down the rainbow.

The party wrapped up with the ever popular pinata. I had wanted to make a hot air balloon pinata but time was not on my side. I found a fantastic rainbow pinata at Party All Ready that worked just fine.

Wizard of Oz Party Decorations don’t have to break the bank. Most of our decorations were created from supplies we already had on hand. By not using licensed decorations we were able to personalize the party to our daughter’s individual imagination.

Related posts:

Google+

jessica hehir