October 23 - November 21

Young Scorpios have strong personalities. They know what they want and will go out and get it. Very loving and loyal to family and friends, Scorpios can, however, be wary of strangers. Your child may develop a trait of keeping his thoughts secret, but at same time will be adept at finding out everyone else's secrets. Scorpios can often bear pain well so parents should learn to recognise small signs of discomfort from their babies.

At play a Scorpio baby will learn from people seen as being stronger than themselves. If anyone should break one of his toys, Scorpio will seek revenge. Scorpio children enjoy a good fight, and they intend to win.

Every kid birthday party is different.

Indoors, outdoors, five guests, fifty-five guests, boys, girls, Army theme, Princess Theme. But one thing's for sure - at some point they'll be playing birthday GAMES. Now, I'll decorate, I'll bake, I'll wrap all gifts and hand-deliver all invitations. Heck, I'll even clean up after everyone leaves.

Just don't put me in front of a throng of kids when it comes time to entertain them!

At least that was my initial reaction when first faced with BIG question - how am I going to survive an entire hour (at least) trying to entertain a mob of children at my daughter's birthday party?

I had two options:

Either PAY an arm and a leg and have a professional entertainer do it for you.

Or, take a deep breath, prepare myself as best I could and do it myself (and risk loss of an arm and a leg in process.).

If you're a devout adventurer and choose latter (like I did), here are a few observations (e.g., survival tips) that may come in handy next time you take on challenge:

Prepare in Advance

During party you'll have so much on your mind that it's best to prepare as much as possible in advance. Make a list of birthday games and write them down in order you plan to play them. If any of birthday games involve music (like musical chairs, hot potato, etc.), prepare music ahead of time with stops so that you don't have to deal with it during party.

At www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties you’ll find BIG list of Kid Birthday Games with over 200 birthday game ideas (way more than you'll ever need) organized into easy-to-find categories and themes, but...

Not Too Many Birthday Games

Don't be tempted to play fifty birthday games in sixty minutes. Kids'll usually become bored quickly if they are asked to play too many games. You'll need only a handful of birthday games, so choose those that fit your party theme, and.

Stick to Classic Birthday Games

Creative and original birthday games are fun, but they may also be a bit risky because kids are required to learn something new. I'm not saying DON'T play new games, just make sure there are a few classics in your arsenal. Musical Chairs, Hot Potato, Pass Present, etc., were around when we were children. And they work. So don't be concerned that you'll "bore" kids with "usual" birthday games. You can always add a special twist to make them look and sound more attractive.

Now that you've got a list of birthday games and music is ready, how do you make sure kids participate and have fun?

It's a Birthday Party, Not a Democracy