How to Create a Candyland Theme

July 20th is National Lollipop Day.

Candy Land is a child's board game first produced by Hasbro in 1949. According to the company, over 40 million Candy Land games have been printed. Children like colorful candy-themed games, movies and parties. Movies like "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" gave children a glimpse of what a candy world could look like. Create a playful candy lover's world by using confection-inspired centerpieces, favors and yard decorations. Inexpensive and simple to make, these theme ideas will transform any room or area into a candyland.

Things You'll Need

• 4 to 6-inch wide foam discs
• 1/2 wide wooden dowels
• Colored cling wrap
• Silk ribbon
• Scissors
• Decorative pail
• Gingerbread image
• Cardboard or posterboard
• Pencil
• Hot glue
• Buttons
• Candy
• Colorful containers

Instructions

Focal Point

1. Choose an area of your room or yard to be display a lollipop forest focal point. For example, for an indoor party your focal point may be a tabletop. A good focal point for an outdoor party is a small section of the yard like a makeshift garden.

2. Skewer the thin band of 6-inch wide foam discs with 1/2-inch wide dowels. The length of the towels should be adjusted according to the focal point you've chosen. For a yard lollipop focal point, leave the dowels 2 to 3 feet long. For indoor displays, the discs should be 4-inches wide with 1-ft long dowels.

3. Cover foam disc shapes with colored cling wrap. The wrap should look like lollipop covers. Secure the colored wrap at the base of the disc with bright colored silk ribbon. Trim away the excess ribbon with scissors.

4. Poke the lollipops in the area of your yard that you previously selected. Arrange the lollipops a colorful pail to display on a table. You may need to weigh down the pail with a heavy stone or brick to keep it from falling over.

Gingerbread Men

1. Find an image of a simple gingerbread man from a coloring book or your favorite online graphic source. Cut the shape out with scissors.

2. Place the shape on cardboard or posterboard and trace the image. Trace 4 to 6 images then cut them out with scissors.

3. Decorate the ginger people with glued on buttons or eyes. Position them around the party area by gluing them wooden dowels or hanging them from chandeliers.

Tips & Warnings

• Arrange varieties of candies around the room in colorful dishes for a nice display.

• Play lollipop themed music at your gathering like "The Good Ship Lollipop."

• Offer some sugar-free candy to children and adults who are diabetic.

References

• Hasbro: The History of Candy Land
• National Confectionary Association: Fun Facts About Lollipops