Josh and Halle's Pumpkin Pizza Palace

It's Birthday Month at the Banks house!  We celebrate 2 of the 3 cutest kid in the world in Nov.  This year, as we asked the kids what they wanted for their birthday, this is what we got.  Josh: Ipod Touch! Halle: Ipad Mini!  Woah....those are some expensive birthday presents!  Rusty and I decided if they could come up with a way to earn at least $50, and both the grandparents pitched in, we could grant their birthday wish.  We started scheming ideas--sell books or DVDs or old toys?  Pet sit?  Finally we came up with the winner.  Sell pumpkin shaped pizzas with jack-o-lantern faces to our friends and neighbors.  And also offer our delicious sugar cookies as well.  

The kids sat down and made up a flyer which we put on all the neighbor's doors, as well as posted to Facebook.  We shopped for ingredients and figured out how much profit we would make from each pizza.  We sold the pizza's for $10 each, and figured we needed to sell about 13-15 to reach our goal. We sold 27 pizzas and 5 dozen sugar cookies :)  I had generously offered to make the pizza crusts, but the sheer number was intimidating!  I made a quick call to Papa Murphy's, and they sold us the crusts for $1 each.  Crisis averted!  

The kids helped with all the shopping for ingredients, and then, the day before Halloween, the real work began.  We created a pizza assembly line.  Someone measured cheese, someone spread sauce, someone sprinkled cheese, and then we all created the jack-o-lantern faces.  The kids had such a great attitude, and we whipped out those pizza's in no time.  We then loaded them up in the car and started our delivery route.  I think this was their favorite part. They had a great time delivering the pizzas and cookies and collecting their hard earned money.  Needless to say, we exceeded our goal by quite a bit, and the kids couldn't be more thrilled.  They are already thinking of ways to improve, and new products to add next year. :)  

I hope they learned that it feels good to work for what they want. I hope it makes them appreciate what they have, and not just expect that they will be given whatever they want.  Rusty is just as proud as punch to have such entrepreneurial minded kiddos :)