Engineer recently turned 6 and really wanted a Skylander birthday party. Keep in mind, this is a very new obsession interest of his, which means I knew hardly anything about it! While I was “researching” some ideas for his party, I came across a variety of Skylanders party games and birthday ideas. One of my favorites was Plucking Daisies’ Slam Bam’s Ice Prison Smash. Amy of Plucking Daisies did an amazing job with this game, but I wanted to go with something a lot simpler (mainly because I’m not as crafty as she is). That’s how my “Frozen Jewels” were born!
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Materials for the Skylanders Game
When the children were finished with the pizza and cake we had for Engineer’s birthday party, I got to work setting out the materials for the game. Here’s what we used (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Ice cube trays
- Fully expanded large blue water beads
- Water
- Salt
- Plastic bins
- Mixing bowls
Skylanders Sensory Game
Since it was raining at the time, we couldn’t do this activity outside like I’d originally planned. So I threw some towels on the floor of the living room and placed the ice cubes into a plastic container. I told the kids that there were sapphires frozen inside each ice cube; that it was their mission to get as many sapphires out of the ice as possible. Many of the children didn’t know what sapphires were, so I explained they are a kind of jewel from the Skylanders games. It was easier to call them “frozen jewels” at that point, although some of the kids called them “frozen pacifiers”.
The kiddos were really into this activity!! They asked for bowls of water to help unfreeze the jewels, and a lot of time was spent scooping water onto the ice cubes. Of course, then many of the kids decided just to dump the ice cubes into the bowls of water. Pretty smart on their parts!
After a bit, Engineer asked, “Mama, what’s that white stuff? That makes the ice melt faster? Pepper?” To which I replied, “do you mean salt?” “YES! We need some of that right now . . . pleeeeease!?” So I brought them little bowls of salt to use on the ice cubes. Some of the children added the salt to the bowls of water that had ice cubes floating in them. Others just buried ice cubes in the salt.
Each child was ecstatic when (s)he freed a jewel from its frozen jail. They’d shout, “I got one!” They all wanted to take their jewels home, which isn’t something I’d considered. I ended up grabbing plastic baggies for each child so the water beads could go home with them. I also gave them some extra water beads from the seemingly never-ending stash we have. This brought a lot of smiles my way!
Once all of the “jewels” had been rescued, some of the children wanted to do this activity again. Since I was all out of frozen jewels, we decided to freeze batches of water beads. They looked really cool as they emerged from the freezer! The boys and girls enjoyed the feel of the frozen water beads — ice cold and bumpy. They redid the game using these frozen jewels, which was even more exciting. I’m definitely going to try this again later as a summertime sensory activity!
After the kids were completely done with the frozen jewels, we moved onto a few more Skylanders party games. I’ll share more of them in the next day or two, as I’ve rambled long enough! Before I go, I wanted to share some of the Skylanders-themed birthday party ideas I found. I was inspired by Plucking Daisies, but it’s always nice to have other ideas to come back to:
- Plucking Daisies’ “Skylanders Giants Party Games, Part 1”
- Plucking Daisies’ “Skylanders Giants Party Games, Part 2”
- Wine & Glue’s “Skylander Party Candy Table”
- Geeky Crafty’s “Skylanders Party Planning Part 1 – Dollar Store Finds and Paper Straws”
- Kara’s Party Ideas’ “Skylanders Birthday Party”
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Oh what fun! Looks like the kids had a blast ! Love your take on the ice prison smash 🙂
Thanks for the link love!
Amy*
Amy, I’m all atwitter that you stopped by to comment! 🙂 I LOVED reading your ideas and activities. They were soooo well thought out and executed!! Yes, my son and his buds really did enjoy this take on the ice prison smash. They’re still talking about it this week. 🙂
Doesn’t that make all the hard work worth it? I’m sure your son will treasure the memory of that party for years. Now wear your “cool Mom” badge with pride 🙂
Amy*
Awww, thanks Amy! I will — oooh, too bad it’s not a real badge to wear!
Awesome. Looks like fun.
I would love it if you would come link up on our Artsy Play Wednesday linky,
Thanks so much for invite, Kristen. I will have to pop over and check it out shortly. 🙂 These really were a lot of fun for the kiddos (and me too)!
We just discovered water beads, now I will try freezing them. Definitely going to pin!
Thanks so much, Mama H! They were SO into freezing the water beads, and I know we’ll be doing more of this as it gets warmer around here. Let me know how it goes if you try it this summer. 🙂
What a fun activity! I am featuring this on Tuesday Tots today 🙂
Thanks so much, Crystal!! 🙂 So excited — I love checking out Tuesday Tots every week! 🙂
What a cute idea! Sounds like it was a big hit! We had a blast at our Skylanders party too! Love for you to check it out: http://amyspartyideas.com/2012/06/skylanders-adventure-party-real-parties-ive-styled/
Wow, Amy!! Your party was just beautifully done! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and sharing it with me. I’m going to have to pin it — it’s just awesome!!
I was planning on this activity for my daughter’s upcoming frozen party. Unfortunately my frozen water beads are not coming out as described. Mine are falling apart. Any suggestions? I “grew” my water beads first. Was I suppose to just put them in the ice tray before it “grew” as a tiny “egg?”The party is on Saturday. Please help!
Oh no, Jennifer! I’m so sorry that you’re having some trouble with the “frozen jewels” . When we did this, we “grew” the water beads first. Then I put them into ice cube trays with some water. Are you freezing the jewels without any water in the trays? That might cause them to fall apart. So that’s my main suggestion – make sure there’s at least some water in the ice cube trays with the water beads. I hope that helps!! And I can’t wait to hear about the birthday party. 🙂
Looks like an amazing activity for kids! Awesome idea, Mary!
Thanks so much. The kids definitely enjoyed it! 🙂
Brilliant idea! And the water beads weren’t damaged by freezing them? Did you freeze them when they were already grown or when they were tiny? I’m going to reuse this for a Frozen birthday party.
Thanks, Stacey! I need to update this post and share more information! We ended up freezing them when the beads were already grown (and had been played with for a while). Freezing can damage some of the beads, but honestly we didn’t really notice or care that much. It was such a fun new way to play with the water beads. Let me know how the Frozen birthday party goes!