A Mix CD is an easy, fun, and long-lasting idea for a party favour for a child's birthday. A CD mix of your child's favourite songs from the past year is much better than toys, balloons, stickers, and other typical party favours from the dollar store that are quickly forgotten or broken. A mix CD is long-lasting, fun, and interactive, and it's a great way to record your child's year in music. When put together every year, it becomes a record of your child's musical tastes (both kid and adult), and a collection of mix CDs, one for each year of his or her life, will be as cherished as a Crayola masterpiece or a growth chart.
Mix CDs are easy to make if you have a computer with a CD-RW drive, the internet or iTunes, and a printer.
For a party with 25 kids, here is what you will need and how much it will cost:
- Cases for jewels. We think that the slim cases would work best for this project. You could be even more creative by making paper sleeves and stamping or stencilling the album information on the cover.
- Labels. Most packs come with easy-to-use software that lets you design and print your own labels for the front, back, and spine of the Jewel Case and the CD.
- Of course, music! See the list below for some ideas. If you don't already have any of the songs on this CD (which seems odd, since your child has probably already been listening to his or her favourite songs), you'll have to pay. Each song on iTunes costs 99 cents, but you only have to buy it once!
- CD-Rs.
Costs
- Slim Jewel Cases: $18 (for a pack of 25)
- The Music: $12 for a mix CD with 12 songs, which is a good length.
- CD-Rs: $15 for a 50-pack, so you'll have enough for next year's party!
- $15 for labels and software (for 40 complete sets of CD labels)
Total: $60. Or a little more than $2 for each of 25 children at a party.
Here are some suggestions for "adult" music that can be downloaded from iTunes (or most other digital download services) and shared with kids of any age. The suggestions are divided into "Louder" and "Softer" categories. Don't worry, neither the loud nor the soft will hurt your ears or put you to sleep.
Bright Eyes: Speak Up "True Blue" from "Motion Sickness: Live Recordings" (their "Lua" EP has a studio version of "True Blue"). "Motion Sickness," which came out more recently, was only sold at independent record stores. Both are good, but our daughter likes the live version better because it is louder.
"Snow is Gone" by Josh Ritter is from the song "Hello Starling" (a terrific song about the magical period between end of Winter and the dawn of Springtime)
"Hoodoo Voodoo" by Wilco and Billy Bragg is from "Mermaid Avenue," which was written by Woody Guthrie for his children. Woody's lyrics are a lot of fun to listen to because he makes up a lot of funny words and phrases. The performance by Wilco and Bragg is a lot of fun.
"The World May Never Know" by Dr. Dog from "Easy Beat" was once our daughter's favourite song. The beat is so catchy that it's hard not to start dancing or at least swaying back and forth when you hear the first note.
"Ain't Got No Home" by The Band, from "Moondog Matinee" (The Band took Clarence "Frogman" Henry's classic 1956 song "Ain't Got No Home" and made it their own. Your kids will love the part where Levon Helm sings like a frog. Check out the original by Clarence Henry as well)
"Surfin' USA" by The Beach Boys is a classic summer song. This song is so catchy that no child or adult can help but sing along. If your child is like mine, he or she will soon make the knees-bent, arms-out surfing move into a new dance that will become an instant classic. charge and prepare your video camera!)
Softer:
"Here Comes the Sun Again" by M. Ward from "Transistor Radio" is a beautiful song about the big ball of heat in the sky. It was written by this great "old-soul" singer/songwriter.
"Wop-A-Din-Din" by Red House Painters from "Old Ramon" is a touching song about a cat. If you and your family have a cat, you'll love this song. If you don't have a cat, you might want to go get one right away!)
Archer Prewitt's "I'll Be Waiting" from "White Sky" could be a love song from a parent to a child based on the words. Archer has one of the best voices of the last 10 years.
The Gilroys' "Martin Candy" is on their self-titled CD. Kids will love the instruments, and parents who like old comedy movies will get the joke in the song's title and refrain. full disclosure: this song was put out by my old record label.)
"Northern Sky" by Nick Drake is on the album "Bryter Layter" (simply one of the prettiest love songs ever written)
Make sure there's a good mix of your child's favourite "adult" songs and their favourite kids' songs. This suggested playlist has been put together as a "OWTK Volume 1" iMix on iTunes, which makes it easy to download.
Enjoy the music and the birthday party for your child.
