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.

Ooooh i've been thinking of having a rainbow party but think i'm saving it for new dc now. Isnt even born and i keep planning its christening and birthday party themes in my head.

The balloons you could do what im doing, pin them from string upside down so they hang like a pendulum. Weight them with playdoh it seems ha ha. I cant link a picture but there is one on pinterest entitled inverted balloons if anyone can find it? Im on my ipod struggling. Some fab ideas on here overnight.
Blathers my dd's invite said you and your bear are invited to...

Right cakey sorts gather round for team huddle. I'm taking dd to playschool at 9.30 then i have 5 hours to make the gruffalo. He's chunky and i wanna get him right. So im thinking of making the head body etc in sections with spaghetti in the joints so assemble as each piece comes together. That'll work right? Gumpaste dries quick but it'll give me enough grace to assemble wont it or should i just glue him once his bits are dry(?!)

All the other creatures are small so i'll be moulding them in one piece. And i'm thinking of sitting gruffalo on a log so he doesnt tower over the cake. Anyone there?? Stealth? Blathers? Im usually quite okay at cakes but the pressure is on!

TheDoctorsWife daft question but I am correct in thinking you put the playdoh in and then blow? How much playdough for each balloon do you think?

Thanks Shirley for the link of the homemade balloon arch - not sure if I could pull it off though!

How do you stick balloons to the wall?

How far in advance can I make those rainbow cupcakes? Party is on Saturday, if I made them today could I store them in an airtight tin and ice on the morning?

Blastoff I know nothing about cakes but you invitations sound beautiful

wow so many ideas - not had chance to read all the posts but could do with some ideas for a very small party for ds2 who will be 4.

Just invited 7 of his friends over one Saturday morning to have a play at our house but feel I need to have some games or something... for ds1 I did the same thing but with 10 children (it was summer and our house is tiny so I could throw them outside) ds1 wanted to make pizza and hats and play about 6 different games - I have to say only about 2 children were interested in making anything at all (although ds1 loved it!) and I felt like I was dragging them away from playing to do any games so I need to have rethink...

Lunch is going to be in those party boxes (think McD's happy meal style ) and we'll obviously have cake. ds wants pass the parcel, am I crazy to do treasure hunt finding puzzle pieces and they bring them all back to make one big picture? and he wants to make something but its all boys and after ds1's friends not being too interested I'm wondering if they'll even want to do it, any really exciting ideas I can do?
Its december so if its snowing again then we'll do snowman building and play in garden but if its just wet and grey I think it'll be based indoors although I half thought about doing a bug hunt in the garden?

any ideas gratefully received! the party if for 2 hours 10.30-12.30

although its so close to Christmas I might not get too many children anyway...

I'm back from the School run DW and have half an hour before DD's dance class - are you still struggling?

Is the Gruffalo being made out of cake or entirely out of gumpaste? I think i'd try assembling him as I went and making him in as few pieces as possible. If he does come apart, it'll be down those joints after all :)

Good luck DW but I am no help whatsoever!

bythemoonlight inverted balloons

sticking balloons to a wall Interesting ideas in that one!

verybusy - I like the idea of a jigsaw treasure hunt. I think the thing with children this age is to guage what's going on. So if they're happily playing try not to think "I've got so and so to get done.." and instead leave them to it until they start getting bored - DYKWIM?

So of your two hours - pass the parcel, jigsaw treasure hunt...look upthread for more game ideas - there are tons on this thread. Have about 6 games up your sleeve. Food will take up a bit of time as well don't forget!

Arghhh dd sobbed on the drop off so i promised to have the gruffalo waiting. Imsuch a dick! Now i' ve gotta get cracking. He's all gumpaste so i can just chuck him on the cake in three weeks.

You'll have him done in 5 hours and she'll be thrilled.

Got to go but I'll be back at lunchtime and DD will be napping this afternoon so I'll be more help then

Good luck!

Post pictures!

Verybusyspider - how about some active games to start to burn off some energy (or hype them up even more!) - my DS who is 4 soon loves musical statues and you can change it around to a theme like musical animals (shout out an animal they all have to pretend to be until the music stops). That is normally good for a few games. Blind man's bluff can be fun but it didn't work at our halloween party - not enough space. But maybe outside? Have you every done the hula hoops on a string game? Another one for outside defo. String a load of hula hoops onto two lengths of string. Get some grown ups to hold up the strings. Kids in two teams with hands behind their backs then someone shouts go and they have to try and eat or at least bite the hula hoops off the strings - first team to have a clear string wins. Have you got a theme?

SHIT! Forgot to say about those rainbow cupcakes earlier.

I wouldn't bother with that dead fancy frosting either...I would do:

vanilla cake batter. Vanilla buttercream frosting - flat if that's the only way you can do it and then make the rainbows out of these or sprinkle with these

TheDW - PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

Thanks Shirley! How far in advance can I make those cakes?

I'm thinking of making them and freezing. Is that ok with the food colouring?

Well, I would probably do the day before - make cakes, ice cakes and then add the rainbows at the last minute.

Tomorrow I am working so it's going to be really tricky. But I guess I could do them tomorrow night when the girls are in bed.

I tend to make cakes in the evening anyway - you could make the cake part tonight (is it Saturday the party? just remind me?) wait til they are totally cold and put ion cake tin/airtight container - then ice them tomorrow evening, back in the tin (try and keep them in one layer while iced OBV) and then decorate Saturday morning.

Or today if you're home - yep deffo get the cake part done but make sure they're in a really good air tight container.

DoctorsWife - sorry, I was trying to get cakes baked so that I can start on Noah's Ark and hatching dragon this afternoon.

The larger figures I have done have been people, which means you can hide the imperfections with clothes - that said, definitely a spaghetti spine, make his head separately, and maybe spaghetti to attach arms and legs. Make glue out of your coloured gumpaste mixed with a tiny bit of (hot is easier) water - it is really useful for 'blending' the joins. I would be inclined to try and get him assembled onto his log before he dries completely - that way you can texture his fur over the joins.

I've decided to do them Friday night. Which leaves me twiddling my thumbs today.

I have nothing to do and it's driving me wild!!!!!

I just have a go at inverted balloons with playdoh and it has just blocked the hole of the balloon so no air can pass! What am I doing wrong?

Smaller piece of playdoh? Let it dry out a bit before putting it in?

Try plastacine (sp?)

Would you like to help me?

Party for an 8 year old girl.

She wants to go swimming at our local "fun" pool (flumes and waves stuff).

So that's pretty easy, will take them there and then back to ours for tea.

Just need to work out a theme for food etc.

Help...

Hmm. Tricky one. Smaller ball of playdoh, coat it in cornflour and/or let it dry out a bit, but mainly (I think - I have never tried this) you need a tube of some sort to drop it through - so stretch neck of balloon over tube, drop playdoh "marble" through, take out tube and then inflate balloon - does that make sense?

bythemoonlight - if in doubt, make lists

That makes sense stealth but I'd already given up and tried it with marbles.

Two marbles with each balloon seems to be enough, they look great!!