Calvin & Hobbes Birthday Party Activities
Calvin and Hobbes is a comic strip about a precocious young boy named Calvin and a stuffed tiger named Hobbes. Created by Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes ran from 1985 to 1995 and lives on in reissue book collections, calendars and other memorabilia. The strip centers on Calvin, who imagines Hobbes is alive, and the two of them have adventures based on the boy's wild imagination. This sense of adventure can be used to liven up any young Calvin fan's birthday party with activities and make-believe, right out of Calvin and Hobbes's world. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
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Coloring
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Print a bunch of Calvin and Hobbes coloring pages and have young partiers color them. Supply a colorful selection of crayons and let the guests have at it. When finished, have everyone write their names on them and hang them in the party area. When it's time for the party to end, have everybody take down their artwork to bring home. Printable coloring pages are available for free on sites such as My-Coloring (see Resource 1).
Newspaper Hats
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In many of their adventures, Calvin and Hobbes often wore newspaper sailor hats. Making the same hat is easy, as long as you have enough newspaper pages for the guests. For each hat, use a half sheet of newspaper, folding it in half horizontally. Then fold the top two corners down, making a point in the middle. Fold one bottom flap up, then fold the other bottom flap. If necessary, use scotch tape to hold it together. Have the children make their own, and if anybody needs help, they can help each other.
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Games
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Have a Calvin and Hobbes trivia session. Come up with some trivia questions to ask everyone when they are gathered together. Examples of Calvin and Hobbes questions to ask can be found on the Andrews McMeel's website, or look through some of the strips to make your own. Another fun idea is to have the guests collectively create a Calvin and Hobbes story line and even have them act it out. Classic Calvin and Hobbes strips can be acted out as well; have the children choose a favorite and put on a little show.
Other Activities
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If the weather is cold and snow is available, have a Calvin and Hobbes snowman-building session. Calvin often made unconventional and imaginative snowmen; have guests team up to build a Calvinesque snowman together. Another fun activity is to face-paint tiger faces on those who want to be Hobbes, and those who prefer Calvin can have their hair done Calvin style, making it stick up in points with stiff hair gel.
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References
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