Looking for a unique birthday party idea with a cool take-away for the kiddies? Make soap. My girl turned five a few weeks ago and we had Megan Green from Stinkybomb Soap come and make soap with each of our little guests. All the kids loved it – it was hands-on and they used their own creativity.
If you aren’t familiar with Stinkybomb Soap, they are indie crafters with a huge reputation in Columbus for the best bar of soap ever. Their signature product is a WWII hand grenade that only goes off if you are really, really dirty. They do a ton of other stuff too, such as baby doll heads (perfect for a baby shower gift!), retro cassette tapes, batteries, and even soap in the shape of the state of Ohio! Megan’s husband hand-crafts each mold and each bar is hand-poured by Megan and her minions. Megan also hosts soap making tutorials at The Candle Lab, which is where my kids made their first signature bar of Stinkybomb Soap, and Wholly Craft. It is fun and easy to do.
Book a Stinkybomb Soap party for yourself! Here’s the nitty-gritty…
How does it work?
All Megan needs is a large table with an outlet nearby. Don’t put a table cloth down, because the soap is hot it could damage plastic and it may be difficult to get soap out of cloth. I had the kids sit at my kitchen table and then Megan cleaned the whole thing up. She needs a place big enough for 
groups of four to five make soap and then also a place for the soap to cool.
A pot melts the soap, which is very hot and kids need to stay away from it. Soaps to choose from: aloe and olive oil, goats milk, or coconut oil. The aloe and olive oil and the coconut oil make vibrant clear soaps, and the goats milk makes pastel colors. I chose the coconut oil and also has Squinkies for the kids to put in their bars. Any little toy would work, and makes the bar of soap more novel and special for each kid.
After the soap has melted groups can come to the table and choose from three bar shapes, fragrances (from spearmint to chocolate to sandlewood and many more), and their favorite color (blue was very popular at our party). Megan puts the soap in the mold, and then the children put their chosen fragrance and color in and mix. Each child makes a label for their own bar so there are no mix ups.
Megan prefers to do the soap at the beginning of the party and then the soap is ready when the kids leave.
How much?
$30 deposit to hold your date and this goes towards final payment. She takes cash, check, or credit card.
$8/bar made at the party (moms & dads can make a bar too!)
We ended up making 17 bars of soap at our party, and that included some adults.
How long?
Allow an hour to an hour and a half. Of course, that depends on size of your party. Megan prefers four to five guests at a time making soap, and it takes about 10 minutes per group. Time also needs to be allotted for set up and clean up.
*please note: the soap is hot! Children four and under need assistance from an adult. With younger children, it may take longer than 10 minutes per group.
How far in advance should I book?
Megan needs two to three weeks notice, but email her as soon as you have the date for the party. Megan Green: soapbombs@yahoo.com.
This is what you should include in your email: phone number, date and time of the party, how many guests, location, and any questions.
Other details?
Maybe you don’t want a party but want to do soap as a take-away for the kids. Custom soap can be ordered by emailing Megan: soapbombs@yahoo.com
Stinkybomb Soaps‘ sudsy products in stores at places such as Wholly Craft, What the Rock, and indie craft shows here in Columbus. Ordering online is great too and can be done directly from them at Stinkybombsoap.com. Follow Stinkybomb on Facebook and Twitter.
