I love giving parties, do you need some ideas?

[ShirleyKnot]

Hello!

If you don't know me I'm Shirley and I'm a great lover of planning parties. I do a blog about it (which I'm not going to link here, but if you look on the bloggers network for PartySpanner you'll find me)

ANYWAY

If you're chucking a do, I might be able to help - I'm not a business, I don't charge for my ideas or owt, I just love to trawl the internet find good invite ideas, games and food.

Jump in and I'll see if I can help.

just bookmarking for the halloween party tips - cheers shirley!

DoctorsWife, we had 30-odd and most were adults as it was DN's 1st birthday so there's plenty of room. They did all the food too, baked potatoes and panini mostly, all we did was bring cakes. The children were pretty much all too small to paint anything but we had fun :)

Fluffy, I was going to suggest DVD's, Wii, Pizza and popcorn too. A friends 11 year old did that recently and it went down well.

I saw some fab bottle covers in Hawkin Bazaar last week that turned bottles of coke/sprite etc into something a little spookier. They'd be fun for a birthday party. Can't find them on the website though.

Thought of another one DW - there is a shop near you somewhere that sells ELC craft packs for pence! My Sister gets loads. Would be great for party crafts - in fact, I've been trying to organise a trip to her so she can take me there for ages. More complicated now DS is at School though as they only open on weekdays. I'll find out where it is

Ah yes i frequent that shop weekly. Get there if you can cos they have some hawkins bazar stuff too.

I got per party bag, a jumping squirrel 30p, five woodland stencils 50p, woodland note book 20p, wooden woodland animal construction kit 25p.

For xmas i made all dd's little friends (the close ones) a craft tub each. In hobbycraft they cost between 7 and 10 quid. I made each one at easter as all the xmas stuff was literally a penny. Each tub cost me about 2.20 and that includes the tub. Im giving them after dd's birthday party as they will be far better for advent. You truly have to make a trip.

Im seriously thinking of holding a playdoh party at some point as they have aprons, cutters etc for peanuts. I got dd an apron for 25p and a gardening set for 99p. They told me to help myself to as many packets of seeds as i wanted.

where is this magical shop, then ?

I have finished aprons for cooking party, acknowledged the impossibility of making bags and ordered lovely white paper carrier bags, and made lots of bits of decoration for cake. Now all I have to deal with is cakes for school on Tuesday, family birthday tea for Tuesday evening (as well as the assembly of birthday presents etc) and party catering and organisation for Sunday. Oh and I do have a full time job.

Help. Panic. Why do I do this apart from the fact that I love it?

What cake are you doing stealth?

The shop is in melton. They do have a website but it hasnt got all the real bargains on it. Craftplay its called. Only does craft stuff for kids.

I am pondering the trade-off between fuel costs and savings - I think I would have to shop for every party and Christmas for ever more to make it worth it, though...

DD's cake is - um - complicated - I have a clear vision in my head, but couldn't find anything comparable to copy so I can't show you a photo.... I will post photos when it is done, but suffice to say I have been making kitchen utensils out of gum paste for the last few evenings .

Right, that's it, I have to come up before the party. I'll be able to kit out the party bags and craft tables for next to nothing! Half term is coming up...

She's gotten back to me about toddler groups but has only told me days not times D'oh! She is on the committee for the one closest to you though. Hmmm, I'm going to get outed aren't I!?

Ive met colditz and mirage before not outed them! Ha ha.

You really should make a trip whilst their xmas stuff is so cheap. Stealth im hoping to start making gruffalo characters in gumpaste either this week or half term. They'll keep til nov wont they are more time to get it right.

Bloody birthday plans are getting in the way of my poncetastic xmas. Altho i do have nigellas ham in coke in the slow cooker as a trial run.

Yes, gumpaste figures will keep indefinitely as long as they are kept dry. Are they going to be in scale? We have 2 gruffalos and a mouse in our household, and a constant dispute as to who should be afraid of whom, particularly as the mouse is more or less the same size as the gruffalos.

Nigella's Ham in coke is yum! Didn't think much to the Red cabbage suggestion with the leftover cooking liquer though and neither did anyone else.

I don't mind being outed to other MNers so much - I'm going to the Xmas meet-up after all and went to the Spring one too - but for some reason, being outed to my Sister seems a whole lot worse :)

DD's birthday is putting a serious dent in my poncetastic Christmas. I've got to get my head round it though as her birthday is the Saturday before and there is no way I can do full ponce in 7 days!! Christmas cake this week I think.

But before we get to DD's Birthday, I need to ponce-up Hallowe'en a bit. Do you like my name change

Blatherskite I think time-slicing between Christmas poncery and birthday poncery is required - whose week is it this week?

Oh yes i see about being outed to your sister. No problem. In real life i always tell people i read it on netmums!!!

Stealth im gonna try really hard to make it to scale but think i'll have to do seated gruffalo or he'll tower over the cake. Now ive taken delivery of party bits im gonna print invites tomorrow and try to focus more on christmas this week.

I think as long as Gruffalo is a bit taller than mouse you will be OK - unless you go to this extreme - in which case the Gruffalo would be the cake...?

That made me laugh out loud.

bookmarking.

I'm hiring a hall and entertainer for DS's 5th birthday soon. I need a big list of things to do / buy / organise so will go through this thread .

Today has been a Halloween poncery day. I've just bought a fab cake stand from M&S for the cupcakes I'm going to make for the party my friend is having and the sash for DS's Pirate outfit turned up too.

Will try and organise trip to Sister's now for cheapo party bag shopping and therefore squeeze in a bit of Birthday poncery too

Oh, and I've ordered Sarah Raven's christmas book and a book for DS's Christmas Eve parcel (Christmas book and new PJ's to make the night before Christmas even more exciting:) ) so I guess today is a full house

Ive printed activity sheets out from gruffalo.com including masks to colour in at the party. Printed out the gruffalo pic that my dad photoshopped, stuck it on some paper carrier bags as party bags, i got one of the julia donaldson book sets from book people so giving one of those in each.

Also printed up some invites ready to post tomorrow. Then i set about writing christmas tags in nice swirly writing ready for when my xmas twine arrives for wrapping. Tomorrow im going to cut leaf shapes out of sponges and make the big trees with dd.

DoctorsWife - given that you have the resource of a photo-shop literate father, could you get him to amend a picture and then print it large enough that you could play "pin the poisonous wart on the Gruffalo's nose?" (worryingly, that thought occurred to me whilst driving to work this morning

Yesterday was DD's actual b'day, so DH and I did some crazy version of changing rooms to get her presents (new bed, toy basket and curtains) installed (and in the case of the curtains, made) while she was at school, and then did family "birthday tea" (yet another cake). All in all, the only party progress I made was to wrap pass the parcel presents last night. Help. Wibble. List is growing and time is shrinking.

Thats a great idea stealth. Theres a pin the tail on.. That you can buy but its like a big scene thats too busy for little kids. Your idea is way better because my dad works in the print and my fil has a giant printer that can do huge canvas so i could get one to design and the other to print.

Pass the parcel is the bane of my life. Think my dd is too little cos they either all sit there looking at it or my dd tries to go through all layers. Your room makeover sounds brilliant!! What has dd said to it?

Im thinking of doing the gruffalo story, mask making and then bit of circle time with copious instruments like old macdonald had gruffalo with a grrr grrr here.. Spent this morning stamping leaf shapes all over green paper to make a deep dark wood. I want to make a canopy in the room and can only think crepe streamers may work best for cheap but its not that cheap!

You could print poisonous wart stickers so that they each stick theirs on and you just label it - I found that worked really well with other themes as they all liked going back to giggle at the silly places that things got stuck.

DD liked her room makeover (I wrapped up the bed, the basket, etc) but was a bit stuck as to what present she could take to school to show everyone this morning - fortunately her favourite doll got some new clothes too.

We bought camofluage (I can't spell that!) netting and slung it across the ceiling for jungle theme - that could work for deep dark woods too? - try army surplus stores for "seconds" (ours was cheap because it was supposedly dusty/dirty - it was fine after a couple of days hung on the washing line)

I got 2 big, fat pumpkins while out shopping today. I'm going to let DS have a go at carving with me this year I think (the other one is just for me :) ) He's going to be so excited, he's been asking if it's hallowe'en yet for days!

That sound brill blathers. Im gonna do diwali stuff with my dd in half term as she's going to an indian restaurant to taste foods etc at playschool. Dd hasnt ever experienced halloween yet and was freaked out by stuff in the shops so i thought diwali might be good as she adores my indian friend and her sari's etc.

Stealth you are a genius. Stick on warts would be brill and one of my best friends is a cadet leader for the TA. I know shes got some net!

hi all I found this thread last night and read it all! Feeling very inadequate in the party giving stakes but also inspired by some of your halloween ideas so thank you! I am very jealous of the Gruffalo party. My DS was Gruffalo obsessed earlier this year but no longer sadly. Have you seen the musical TheDoctorsWife? My DS has it on DVD and loves all the songs.

My DS (soon to be 4 - how did that happen?!) is football mad and is having a party at the local stadium so it is pretty much all done for you apart from the food so does anyone have some ideas for football inspired food? I went to Sainsburys today and they had all the football plates, cups, napkins etc. so I have sorted that. I have also seen a great football cake on the Waitrose website but if you have any ideas for a homemade one I might be brave and have a bash.

Thanks!