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.

Yep busy Saturday...gotta get cracking on the gumpaste gruffalo now that stealth has raised the bar with her cake!!

DoctorsWife - I have a whole Noah's Ark of animals to get done next, for DGodDaughter - not to mention a hawk/dragon/both themed cake for DS to plan

I do enjoy doing cakes but I dont dare make one for someone else. The pressure would be immense! I'm seriously thinking of doing my DC2's christening cake when they are born though as I seriously fancy making some bootees out of pastillage or the like. I want to make a cake topper too for it like DD had on her cake but I'm thinking that must be closer to jewellery making??!! Hark at me. I'm mental. Child isnt even born. I dont know what flavour it is and I'm planning its christening cake. I'm so sad. I'm supposed to be making xmas cake, gruffalo figures and being poncetastic for xmas. Instead I've been doing Diwali stuff with DD to surprise my friend with. tragic.

It is (immense pressure) - but on the plus side, you have no responsibility for other aspects of the event which means you can focus on the cake and walk out of the house leaving it coated in icing sugar. I have done cakes for god-daughters birthdays + 1 christening (bear cake topper), family, and PIL's Golden Wedding (I was so nervous about that one) - I have never done one which I was being paid for, which would further increase the pressure.

Oh, you ladies are good. I am seriously impressed at how creative and party-savvy you are. I hear and submit to the overwhelming vote AGAINST a treasure hunt and FOR craft activities. I will save my treasure hunt for the end as a just-in-case activity.

Many thanks for the links, Blathers - I'm going to go back and study them now.

Thanks again, everyone

Update: I've just taken the wimp's way out and placed an order with Yellow Moon . They're going to be decorating their own party bags and making scratch art badges. If there is empty time, they can use their bags to find treasure, then they can Pinata.

I will be in the toilets drinking gin...

Good plan hester. I was going to suggest yellow moon but wasnt sure you'd have time for delivery. Gin will help.

Yellow Moon is not the cowards's way out at all (she says, justifying her serious bakerross habit to herself ....) - it sounds fun, Hester, and party bag decorating will tie in nciely with pinata/treasure hunt.

I remain fascinated by the whole Chocolate adventure thing - you must report back.

Minnie - how are the star wars plans going? Did you work out the fabric?

I am currently sitting on my hands to stop myself going in search of fabric to make DD a pink-lined cloak to go with the £6 witch outfit she found in a shop and twisted my arm into buying - she has one definite halloween party and one school one which I know she wants to go to, but I am stalling.

Hello all. Just caught up with the thread.

What a lot of fab parties there must have been lately!

I have, reluctantly, decided to forego the Halloween party this year. (First time that's happened in YEARS) The DS's can have 3 mates round each and I'll throw some pizza at them all and let them get on with it!

I'm getting in line to hear about the chocolate adventure too.

One missed halloween party certainly isn't the end of the world, Shirley - just think how many ideas you will have stored up when you next decide to do one.

Cooking party went well, BTW, Shirley (chaos, as ever, but fun chaos) - and I was reminded why I do it (apart from the fact that I love it, of course) when a sleepy, snuggled into bed DD said, completely unprompted, "Thank you for the party, Mummy" [sniff]

Oh god, I've invited 7 five year old boys round, plus ds, for a Halloween party. I'm a single mum and have just moved to the area. Don't know anyone, or the boys invited (whose names ds gave me, although I did enquire as to whether any of them had had a 'red card' (some time out system they use at school) - all no, apart from one who ds insists has had five!). Party is weekend after next, two hours long. Please help!

WHOO! Stealth. That is the best reward. and the wine afterwards

Are there pics on your flickr yet?

wellthatsdoneit - Firstly, DO NOT PANIC you'll be fine! 7 year old boys are ripest of all for a good Halloween bash. What do you need? Some games? Food help?

cake pictures are on flickr, Shirley (well, so are some others, but only I can see them )

They're 5 years old (and there'll be eight if them altogether with my ds), and one of them has had five red cards!

I'm guessing that the parents might also want to stay as they don't know me and might not be comfortable leaving their little charges with a stranger. Fair enough, although that's going to feel like more work iyswim. I think what I need are games/activities which will keep the boys occupied, need minimal input from me on the day, and not involve anything that can be liberally splattered all over the Walls, carpets, selves (ie no paint/glue/glitter).

What am I left with?!

Ulp!

Gluesticks are your friend.

LOL at 5-red-card boy - he'll probably be the one firmly attached to a parent's leg .

You need helpers. Any friends you can recruit or, best of all, teenage babysitters you could pay (they make the best party helpers, IME - Shirley, you should hire out your well-trained pair and take a cut)?

I'll check your pics out later (stupid bosses are in today and so I'm stealth mumsnetting) stealth.

Wellthats - OK.

Activities. I would FORGET crafty stuff completely. Put it out of your mind!

Games - Is 7 too old for pass the parcel type games? (I can't remember) I give instructions further up thread about our Halloween version of this game - but in short, hollow out a small pumpkin, leave it to dry out for a few days, stuff with little bags of sweets/small toys (those packs you can buy for party bags - cheap in Wilkinson's for example or the pound shop!). Pop the "lid" back on and play PTP in the usual way except when the music stops they get to open the pumpkin and pick a "prize"

Bobbing Apples - best tip is to make this the last game of the party. Get a couple of bags of apples (whichever is on offer), fill a large waship up bowl with TEPID water, have plenty of towels to hand and plastic covering for floor/table and let them at it. In our house this game lasts a STUPID amount of time!

Nelson's Eye - FAVOURITE game EVER! Make up a small amount of jelly (If you're making Jelly for the party - which you totally should do BTW, I'll give you some ideas on that a bit later - just siphon a bit off) You will also need:

A Person to be Nelson (a grown up)
Blindfold
Chair
"Sling" (we use a tea towel)

So get the kids into a separate room (we line them up in the hall) and put the sling onto "Nelson"

Get the first child blindfolded and lead them into the room. Take their hand and run it along "Nelson's" arm saying "This is Nelson's good arm"

Then run it along the arm with the sling saying "This is nelson's bad arm"

Then run their hand down the BOTTOM HALF OF THE PERSON'S LEG! Saying "This is nelson's good leg"

(by now the kids are squirming )

Take the childs hand and run it gently across Nelson's Eyelid saying "This is Nelson's good eye"

then get Nelso to hold up the little pot of jelly, take the childs fingers and plunge it into the jelly saying "This is Nelson's BAD EYE!"

MWAHAHAHAH!

The first year I had to explain who Nelson was to the children, but this also eats up 5 minutes of time

Mega post.

The mummy game (split into teams, make one child the mummy and give the rest a roll of toilet tissue to wrap the mummy up in first team to the end of the roll wins)

um, I'll come back with some more later

Fuck missed a bit out of the Nelson's eye game. TUT.

AFter you've done the good leg, you need to run the childs hand down the leg of the chair (wooden leg innit?) and say...yes, you guessed it..."This is Nelson's bad leg"

Failed to sit on hands. Now have black cotton and pink lining en route for cloak Damn you ebay. DH will kill me make a face at me.

Hahaha! I have become horribly obsessed interested in making felt cushions with stuff on them lately. I can't stop BUYING STUFF.

And I really can't afford it!

ShirleyKnot can I distract you from the felt with the conundrum of DS's birthday? He will be 9, and has opted for a day's falconry in lieu of party - but we are having a "family lunch" on the day after his actual b'day. Cake ideas needed, but also brilliant inspiration as to what I could do to make it a little bit more than "just" lunch (for - um - 10 - eek) - no DC involved other than DS and DD.

Hmmm. That does sound like a bit of a poser.

I presume you're having a proper sit down lunch? Let me have a little think...

Has DS got favourite foods you could adapt and zhuzz up a bit?

(I've got a yearning to do a lovely big Morrocan feast - so so easy to cook - and you could make DS the Arabic prince and still provide lots of lovely food and drinks while keeping him feeling involved and important)

Thank you for the suggestions! Pass the parcel not too old at all. Was thinking also musical bumps/ musical scary statues to Halloween music - will your common garden 4/5 year old know that game? I've recently moved from a country where party games are unheard of so my ds is not well versed in such matters!

Was also thinking of doing some relay team games like egg and spoon (got some gruesome ping pong eyes for this) - will that be too old for 5 year olds? (especially five-red-cards-boy who I can imagine might be bouncing off the Walls rather than waiting patientlynin line).

I need to do something which doesn't involve me being horribly bossy and stressed and making an arse of myself in case the parents decide to stay.

Am hoping to get a friend to come and help, but other than that will just be my elderly parents as don't know anyone in the area. Was really hoping to get my two incredibly bossy and wonderfully unselfconscious teenage nieces to run the party games but they can't make it!

Yes, sit down lunch - DS has ordered Lasagne. He wants "afternoon tea" (translation - all the things he would want for party tea, at smaller scale) as well, though, so I was hoping to fill the gap with something other than showing his GPs photos of falconry day.

Shit, they're 5 not 7. Sorry, sorry, sorry - see this is why I shouldn't be back on this thread yet!

Musical statues and bumps are PERFECT!

You're going to have to be a bit bossy I'm afraid. I always dress up as a witch and that seems to help with keeping the children in line (strange as that sounds)

2 hours will honestly go Like THAT.

Right forget nelson's eye, it might be a bit much for 5 year olds.

Have a look here