What a fun and original book!
The ideas are great and it was not at all what I expected by the title. There are really creative and original ideas for everyday celebration and fun. This book is really creative and you can branch off to your own ideas. You will use this book often so keep it close at hand! :)

I bought this book because it had a firetruck party theme-- just what I was wanted for my son's 2nd birthday party. The party was a huge hit with kids and adults alike, especially the cake that looked like a fire truck (very easy, but looked professional). I've used this book countless times since, for my Halloween-themed playgroup, Christmas parties, and my daughter's first birthday. Everyone comments on how cute the decorations and snacks/cakes are, and everyone is surprised when I tell them how easy they are. This book is my "secret" to becoming the neighborhood Martha Stewart for kids. My children are just 2 1/2 and 1, but I know I will use this book again and again for years. There are even some great party ideas for teens.

Family Fun lays out numerous theme ideas and seasonal parties in this compreshensive guide. Anything from birthday parties to summer block parties to holiday parties become no-brainers for experienced crafters and the craft-challenged alike. The book provides color photos of cakes, invitations, decorated rooms, and game props to name a few.

Prefectionists will find this guide a youth entertainer's bible. Every detail is adressed and nothing left to chance. Each party theme is given party stats like age groups, number of children, duration of party, prep time, and cost per child. Party layouts are broken down into invitations, decorations, games, food, party favors, costumes, and even thank-yous.

I have the first edition and absolutely LOVE this book and refer to it for even the simplest family events. My friends often borrow it and I have given the book as a gift on several occasions. Any parent who delights in the joy of a child during a birhtday party MUST have this book.

Many of my family's favorite foods are "ethnic" so we thought we'd dive right in and discover what else the world is eating that we haven't tried yet. Just looking through the pages makes you want to start cooking! We'll be better prepared now, to dodge the familiar "What's for dinner?" with an enthusiastic response and a taste adventure. Children of all ages can prepare most of the dishes, and there are activities and trivia from several countries represented in the book. We decided to buy it after briefly looking through a library copy.

Ms. Cook obviously put a lot of effort into this compilation of recipes and facts. She interviewed children around the world to find out about the things they eat, and pictures of some of these children are shown throughout the book. The book is divided into regions of the world by continent, and the recipes are rated for difficulty with spoons- one spoon is the easiest, and three spoons requires at least moderate adult help and supervision. Many of the foods turn out to be familiar dishes with different names (like Sherpa Popcorn and Ox-Eye Eggs), and there are ideas for theme parties (after-ski breakfast, ice cream buffet, etc.) throughout the book. I originally bought this book for my then-10-year-old sister, who was just beginning to show an interest in cooking, and now that she is 13 she still uses this book. A lot of these recipes are easy and quick enough to be used in a classroom or school cooking club. I bought a copy of this book for myself and think it is truly neat!

I think I have all of the FamilyFun books now and Boredom Busters is just as great as the others. By using common items found around the house kids can find lots of fun things to make and do. I highly recommend all of the FamilyFun books and magazine as well. Neither you or your kids will be disappointed.

This book is a fantastic resource for those days when you are struggling to think of new ways to have fun with the kids. I liked the variety, for example some projects did not require a lot of advance preparation and can be done in under thirty minutes, while others look quite involved. And it's not all just a bunch of arts and crafts --this book includes tons of games and activities for everything from snowday fun to a day at the beach. There are also some fun with food projects (though this section doesn't offer much that's new if you already have any cooking with kids books). I've only had the book a week and I've already used several of the ideas -- my third grade son and I made the marshmallow snowman on page 129 for a school project and we used the backyard games section to plan party games for ten boys. That was a blast! This book reminded us of some old games we loved to play when we were kids and helped us think up some new games. The party was a big success and this is a great book to have on hand for those times you'd love to have the T.V. turned off and the kids tuned in to fun!

This is a great compilation of the projects that are in the Family Fun magazines. From outdoor fun to creative decorating for kid's rooms. I bought this for my wife as a present and she loves it and my 2 year old son packs it around with him constantly.

I have made it somewhat of a mission of mine to have as many wonderful craft ideas for my child as possible, so I have accumulated quite the craft and activity book library. I was introduced to this book by my aunt who has raised four children and has always been a big crafter with her kids. I was so impressed I found I needed to own one myself. I really like the fact that most of the crafts use common, everyday supplies. The crafts are such that younger children can do them in a basic form, and older kids can elaborate on each one to reach their very highest creative potential. If you only own one craft book for your children, I sincerely think that this one is the very best to have.

I love this book. I buy it for my friends who have children. Many, many, many great projects that are easy and fun for spending quality time with your kids. This is a great BOOK!!

This is a really good crafts for kids book, and I am a very experienced crafter. It satisfies readers who are used to the quality level of Family Fun magazine.

I love this cookbook and use it almost exclusively because the ideas in it are so creative and child-friendly, and it's so easy to sit down with this colorful book to plan meals. It's also great because it encourages you to cook from scratch and makes doing so a lot less intimidating! Although many recipes in it are wonderful, a lot of recipes are, in my opinion, very mediocre. In my house, for example, the broccoli soup and the Bat Wings chicken wings were flops, and I wondered how on earth they made it into the cookbook. Through much trial and error, I now prefer to use the recipes as general guidelines and make changes wherever things seem a little weird. It's forgivable because of the terrific emphasis on having your kids help in the kitchen, and the simple fact that the entire FamilyFun series, especially the magazine, is FANTASTIC! My family life has been greatly enriched by the ideas in FamilyFun magazine and the Parties book, and I think it's the best source of original and creative ideas for families available today. Enjoy :-)

Originally I picked up this cookbook to cook with my young sons, but quickly realized that there were wonderful grown-up recipes available in this book too. Hardcover, with a binding that lies flat on the counter, this book offers colorful graphics and pictures of the majority of the recipes presented. It is arranged in the following categories: Getting Ready, Breakfast: Rise & Shine, Lunch Specials, After-School Snacks, Soup's On, Breads we Love, Dinner's Ready, Side Dishes & Salads, Can I have Dessert, and Home for the Holidays.

Some of my family's favorite dishes include: Banana Split Waffles, PB & J Surprise Muffins, Strawberry Butter, Hummus, Falafel Flying Saucers, Nuke-able Nachos, Sneak-It-to-Em Broccoli Soup, Potato Chip Chicken Fingers, Baked Sweet Potatoes with Orange Sauce, Rock Candy, Leaning Tower of Oreos, Blueberry Fool, and Red, White, & Blueberry Freeze Pops. Also nicely included are some recipes for Play Doughs, with ideas on how to even make your own scented dough!

This was an excellent addition to my cookbook collection and my family has fun selecting and trying new recipes out of this extensive cookbook. If you want to teach your kids to cook, or want to find recipes sure to please even the finicky eater, then you should try this cookbook. Enjoy!

The recipes are simple and wonderful tasting. My kids eat fish now. What's up with that. I haven't been disappointed by anything I've tried. My kids now fight over who's going to help Mom or Dad in the kitchen. We used to eat out at least twice a week. Now we rarely eat out. I plan the menu over the weekend, do all my grocery shopping and we're set for the week. What great fun and even more fun because my 7 and 9 year old are eager to help cook and to try new things. This is a rarity for my 7 year old. I highly recommend this book!!

I made 4 recipes from the book, they all turned out perfectly. The chocolate crinkles were unbelievable. The sugar cookies with icing were also very good as well, and very easy to roll out.

I've made several of the cookies in this book for Christmas gifts in the last two years and I've had wonderful comments on the cookies. Good ideas for gifts, etc.

I subscribe to the Family Fun magazine which I truly love. When I saw they had a cook book I had to get it as fast as I could point and click. We use the recipes all of the time. It is our weekend project to bake something. I think cooking has so many values that it teaches children. Measuring, fractions, goal setting, completing a project and a great reward. A lot of the recipes I already have but how many different variations can there be? The pictures are great and the ideas I got from this book have made the money well spent.

This is a beautiful book with lots of color photographs, but it made me uncomfortable. It is a little too professional and too slick, and not at all the kind of parties that I would throw for my kids. I found the ideas and suggestions way too complex for the average mom to pull off. My time is limited and I can't spend hours on end preparing for each component of a birthday party. Plus, there were lots of ideas for decorating and setting the stage, but I would have liked more ideas for games and activites.

I love this book. I borrowed this book from a friend and did not want to give it back--so I had to buy my own. I used the barnyard bash and everyone there thought I was so creative. I am very limited in time, being a working mom, and I pulled this party off the night before. Great book, creative ideas, highly motivational pictures. Great book altogether--backyard parties are now new and different!!