My daughter is turning 9 in August. I am inviting about 13 kids. All girls. I made the invitations on my computer. First I printed all the information so it formed a 2" wide column down the center of light blue paper(card stock is needed).Then I used 1 of my daughters flip flop sandals( size 13 or 1 ) and traced around the writing. I cut out the shape of the flip flop, and added 3 holes with a paper punch. Next I pounded in eyelets to keep the holes from ripping.(eyelets available at craft stores in the card making section)Using 1/2 inch wide wire edge ribbon, I threaded it into the holes to form the straps of the sandals. They are super cute. They sell envelopes to match card stock. I made the straps long, so it looks like you could put the sandal on, then you press them flat to put it in the envelope.  Be sure to use a smaller flip flop, or it wont fit in an envelope.  We are going to swim, jump on a trampoline, and take rides in my daughters cart pulled by a miniature horse. We used to pay the owner to come out and give rides, but then purchased the horse and cart ourselves. You can find pony rides in your phone book yellow pages.     While they wait their turn on the horse, I have several crafts lined up to keep them busy. 1) We are going to make fridge magnets out of Perler fusible beads ( A great kids project) Available at Michael's Crafts. 2)Make hydro bracelets ( buy plastic tubing at the local hardware. You need 1/4" inside diameter, and then a small amount of 1/8" inside diameter(for stoppers) You cut the 1/4" to make a bracelet that will slip over your hand, fill it with glitter colored water etc, then use a 1 inch piece of the 1/8" to make a stopper. 3)We are also going to pain rocks (for paper weights). We will use acrylic paint and do it in our bathing suits, so we can hop in the pool to wash away the mess. Maybe Ill let them pain on each other and make tattoos.(If they are not too hyper at this stage)could get messy. But acrylic craft paints are water washable.   To decide who goes first in games or rides etc, I like to tape a number to each chair before the kids get there. Then tell them all to sit down. next they can reach under the seat the find their #. I like to make the seats farthest away from the Birthday girl, the best #'s. The kids that get the worst seats are usually the least aggressive, and this gives them a chance to be first.    I also think it is fun to hand out "Hello my name is" tags, and let them make up any name they want. It could be Cinderella, or Droopy, or Brittney, anything they want, then call them by their "chosen" name for the rest of the party. It makes the kids laugh.    We will cook hotdogs on the BBQ and have ladybug cupcakes. I throw a bunch of juice boxes into a cooler and let them help themselves.    For goodie bags, I made goldfish in a bag soaps. A small plastic fish floats in clear glycerin soap inside a plastic bag. It looks like you won him at a county fair. Very cute and easy to make. I also included some bubbles, playdoh, and  school supplies like cool pencils, crayons, note pads, erasers etc. During this time of year July/ Aug. you can get them very cheap.