Invention Convention – Provide your guests with stuff to make their own inventions. You can go two ways with this one. Offer any of the following: boxes, paper towel rolls, glue, wire, toilet paper rolls, aluminum foil, lids from milk jugs and other drinks for buttons, pipe cleaners, phone wire, electrical tape, clean yogurt containers, small pie tins, old CDs, nuts, bolts and washers. You may also want to include some extra masking tape, duct tape, white glue and have a hot glue gun available. Paint the boxes or other items with silver, black or blue paint before the party—just because it looks neat. You can even get old electrical equipment from a thrift store—just cut the electrical cords off before using. Be sure to allow plenty of time and plenty of materials for this activity.

 
Yellow Jell-o – Make yellow jell-o jigglers on a cookie sheet (spray with oil, first). Give your guests cookie cutters and allow them to make their own scenes with the jigglers.

 
Meatball Cupcakes – It is absolutely necessary to serve meatballs at a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs party. Bake whatever kind of cupcakes you want. Top the cupcakes with white frosting so that it looks like a mess of spaghetti noodles. Put the frosting in a plastic baggie and cut a small tip off the corner and squeeze through the hole to put it on the cupcakes. Add a couple of malt balls or truffles or some round chocolate that looks like meatballs. Thin some strawberry or raspberry jelly with a bit of corn syrup and spoon some on top as spaghetti sauce.

 
Ice Cream Snowmen – Serve snowmen made of three scoops of ice cream. Use chocolate chips for eyes and buttons. Use stick pretzels for arms. Make them the day before. Let the ice cream soften a bit before scooping it. Then scoop them on small squares of wax paper. Put the snowmen on a cookie sheet and place in a freezer. When they’re firm, cover with plastic wrap.

 
Ready, Aim, Smear! – A sandwich was speared on the Eiffel tower. Try throwing different foods on a target. You don’t have to use sandwiches or an Eiffel tower. You can use meatballs or jelly beans or popcorn or cookies and toss them in a basket or on a target you’ve drawn on a piece of paper.

 
Food Fight – Prepare a table outside with dishes of food for a food fight. Try foods that are smearable like jell-o jigglers, mashed potatoes, or even cooked peas. If you want a traditional food fight, warn the guests on the invitation to dress appropriately. Another option is to provide each guest with a large piece of paper to paint with the food provided. This is a great game for your Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs party.

 
Placemats
Color and decorate a large piece of cardstock or an open manila folder. Cover with clear contact paper and use as a placemat for ice cream sundaes. Then you're ready for almost anything at your Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs party.

 
Paper Plate Ice Cream
Give each guest a paper plate and ask them to decorate it like a scoop of ice cream. Use markers or crayons. Have scissors, glue and colored paper available to make fruit bits or sprinkles. Then tape the scoops together to build a giant ice cream cone—on a cone made from a posterboard. 

 
Pizza Match – I loved it when the giant pizza broke into separate slices and chased Flint. Try a pizza match game with different pizzas. Print up two sets of cards, cut on the dotted line. Mix the cards and place face down and take turns flipping over the cards to find a matching set.