Then we quickly realized that it is very hard to come up with an original idea that is still easy enough for kids to participate in. Every kind of animal came to mind, most had been done before.
Finally I thought about what we first doodled as kids. That little doodle with the long-nosed dude peeking over the wall, often paired with the words "Kilroy Was Here".
Suddenly inspired, and having the added excitement from our neighbour's child, we drew out a sketch.
Much like this guy, but more watermelony.
We made melon balls with the insides and put them in the fridge. The rest we scraped out and blended to drink. Very refreshing! (Adults can add vodka, if so desired.)
The top 1/3 was used to cut out the head and nose that droops over the base. Eyes were carved out and grape halves were used as pupils, stuck on with toothpicks.
His hands and hair are also cut out of the top 1/3 piece and stuck on with toothpicks.
When he was done we filled him up with the cold melon balls. What a fun way to serve refreshing watermelon!
How much your kids can do depends on their age. In our case - the kids approved the design and made the melon balls. Also - they helped eat!
Kilroy was here is an American popular culture expression, often seen in graffiti. Its origins are debated, but the phrase and the distinctive accompanying doodle—a bald-headed man (possibly with a few hairs) with a prominent nose peeking over a wall with the fingers of each hand clutching the wall—is widely known among U.S. residents who lived during World War II.
In Britain, the graffito is known as "Mr Chad" or just "Chad", and the Australian equivalent to the phrase is "Foo was here". "Foo was here" might date from World War I, and the character of Chad may have derived from a British cartoonist in 1938, possibly pre-dating "Kilroy was here". A Quincy, Massachusetts shipyard inspector named J.J. Kilroy may have been the origin of the phrase "Kilroy was here" in World War II. Etymologist Dave Wilton wrote that "Some time during the war, Chad and Kilroy met, and in the spirit of Allied unity merged, with the British drawing appearing over the American phrase." "Foo was here" became popular amongst Australian schoolchildren of post-war generations. Other names for the character include Smoe, Clem, Flywheel, Private Snoops, Overby, The Jeep, and Sapo.
Author Charles Panati says that in the United States "the mischievous face and the phrase became a national joke... The outrageousness of the graffiti was not so much what it said, but where it turned up." The major Kilroy graffiti fad ended in the 1950s, but today people all over the world still scribble the character and "Kilroy was here" in schools, trains, and other similar public areas.
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