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.

I saw a loveky thing on pinterest yesterday where someone had put a sheet of fairy lights under a voile panel which looked lovely but you say you cant have wall drapes? Can you have fairy lights? My sil had heart shaped ones at the disco in hers, they were nice. Balloons fill a space for little money. You can buy helium and do them yourself, loads of tutorials on you tube. Flowers are difficult as you have no tables etc in there. My friends had a slideshow of special moments projected onto a wall but that may not be everyones cup of tea.

DW you could make the logs at cake-assembly time - that way they have no chance to break - similarly mouse's tail - wait until he is on the cake and then replace his tail in situ.

We are working our way towards murdering eating baby dragon (DS definitely views it as murder)

I don't think balloons are naff - big bunches of helium balloons weighted on the floor, with LEDs in some of them, would look fab.

Yes LEDs are inspired!

Yes stealth you're right about repairs to mouse. How long before birthday can i make the sponge cake? Usually i end up making cakes day before in a panic but this time dd's birthday is the fri, party at 12 on sat. Dh has requested choc sponge with choc buttercream. So when should i make it, then crumb coat etc, i dont want to spend dd's birthday on it because its also the christmas lights switch on that eve.

You could easily make cake on the Wednesday for Saturday party. I have been using a rich chocolate cake recipe which comes up nice and moist, but dense, so it takes the weight of icing well and lasts better than "normal" sponge.

Care to share the recipe? Purlease?

Of course - however I am in my (home) office just now and on a conference call, so I will try and remember to collect it when I go and raid the 'fridge in search of lunch

This thread has gone awfully quiet! Don't leave me now with a month to go to my party!!

Im still here. Made the owl and the fox today. Sorted all the party bags. Not long til mine now 26th. Then i'll be focused on christmas. How's the plans going blathers?

Oh, the 26th is my brother's birthday too! I'm going to be at the MN Christmas meet up that night :) Please upload pictures of the mouse, owl and fox, I'd love to see

I've got the table cloths, plates, cups etc, lots of bunting and balloons plus the fillings for the pass the parcel and the bags for the party bags. It seemed like a lot till I wrote it down! I guess a big chunk is the food and I can't do that until nearer to the time. Hmm, going to have to make a spreadsheet I think...

The owl and Fox are eyeless at the moment blathers, when DD goes to bed I'll give them the gift of sight. Then Upload.
I know what you mean about it seems like loads, i've got a box with printed characters, toadstools, a tree(DD and I made it for the wall) green balloons, rice cake topper papers, red and white spotty bunting and napkins, green plates and cups. Grass effect tablecloth and then the varying cake topper bits. Pass the parcel present but still need the layer gifts, gruffalo giant floor puzzle to hunt pieces and white paper carrier bags which are party bags. I got a julia donaldson set from the book people so each child has a julia donaldson book and then the party bag tat. Still need to buy some jellysnakes and white mice for the party bags. Then I have to buy the food and drink and paper plates etc for the adult minions who arent having the posh table.

I do have a dilemma though. I wanted the kids all sat at table in my kitchen diner, dining end all decorated woodland style. But that will take up 10 chairs whilst the kids eat and thats a lot to lose for the 30 adults. out of that we have me, preggers and huffing like a pig, Dh's decrepid nan, MIL who's had an op on fanjo and bumhole (dont ask) BIL who's on crutches with busted knee, Friend who's having gallstone removed this afternoon.

But I want my party table damn it! sob. tell me it'll be okay with two sofas and some garden chairs available for the invalids for the half hour of food surely? And as I'm catering for everyone I hoped it'd be okay to have one big buffet table and let the parents choose for the kids then let everyone loose on the buffet. Rather than kids reaching across the party table and doing two "spreads".

sorry it's long ramble, you know what its like when you want to get it right in your head. I've just had fab news though, DD's preschool is moving and will be in local woods in the new year. The new provision will be open for parties with bouncy castle etc so thats next year sorted ha ha.

Forgive me party planners for I have sinned - I bought the party invitations

Too much going on to do justice to the picture in my head.

Will be back later to tell all and catch up

Blathers thats is shameful to have purchased them. Can you do a link to them?

Right, I've uploaded the pics of cake toppers. I swear to god if I ever have to look at the gruffalo again it wont be too soon. My snake is F**ked. The first one was great, but he's snapped and too big. I made the second one coiled so he can support his own weight and DD said, what's that frog?

Owl is fine, fox is great. Mouse's tail remains broken but I'm too pee'd off to fix him til next week. I made the log pile house and its good but it looks better with broken snake than frog snake yet broken snake is too big scale wise. I just know I'll find myself making a third frigging snake. And you know what's worse, none of my friends would go to these lengths, I don't know why I'm torturing myself. Come back party planners. I think stealth is still stuck on her conference call.

un fortunately not.

Clintons (the shame) don't seem to have them on their website

I'm still here!

I've made my invitations - they were much better in my head, but having cut out 12 little rockets, all their accompanying windows/fins/fiery bits which come out the bottom, and 12 moons, they are staying. They look... Well, 'home-made' is probably the best way to describe them... Humph. Like accents - I can do them in my head, but a bit of an embarrassment when they come out.

TheDW definitely have your table. They are adults and will be fine for half an hour.

I realised today I hadn't got back to the bouncy castle hire people, and so I've left a message on the answer phone but now panicking I won't get one as its only two weeks to the party.

My rocket cake stand arrived. Not sure if that link will work because doing this on my phone. It looks fine though.

I've been experimenting cutting sandwiches in rocket shapes with a cutter and they look really sweet.

Now feeling quite nervous, but in a really 'what if no-one comes' sort of way. You know, something comes up, someone's ill, etc and suddenly there are only two other children there!

Blastoff i really laughed at 'like accents i can do them in my head'

Sounds like your going great guns. I know what you mean about panic over people not coming. My friend is ill with gallstones in hospital and whilst sympathetic i'm panicking that her two kids cant come next week. That takes me to 8 but 8 really little ones which changes the dynamics. Plus i wanted to offload xmas presents. And dh has come home saying he prefers snake 1, so do i but its massive and broken!!!

I'm still here but I think I've caught the children's tummy bug so I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself.

I did have an idea for the party today though - I wondered about making teddy party hats? I thought maybe if I cut long strips of card with a zig zag top edge we could fit and tape little teddy hats then give the children stickers to decorate them with... Sound good?

I'm not feeling particularly with it at the moment so I'd be surprised if that even made sense!

Do you mean like crowns Blatherskite?

What about putting teddy bear ears on the crowns/ hats?

And TheDW I am so in awe of your Gruffalo figures - they are amazing! But sorry they are giving you grief.

Yes. I figured zig zags would mean I'd only have to make 1 lot of cuts to get 2 crowns IYSWIM as I could use both sides but I like to ears idea too.

Good point re making two crowns with one cut. I think that having a table set up with some sort of crafty activity is a great idea. Maybe you could have an option of crowns or straight edged ones with teddy ears? Or maybe that's making it too complicated/ too much work?

Blathers crowns would work really well but may not be as good with ears, oddly i made dd and her teddy crowns three days ago and both are still wearing them. Maybe just stick to teddy stickers.

I made loads of pairs of furry teddy ears, circles of fake fur stitched with a hairband between. Or dare i say this, children in need will be over next week and you may be able to pick up tons of pairs of ears cheaper (sainsburys, b&q) i know thats not very charitable sorry. I must have lost my ears in our move as i cannot remember seeing them or maybe kids and my mum wore them home.

I thought about making ears. I was going to get a load of cheap hairbands then out ears out of circles of felt stuck on with my glue gun. Did they go down well?

Would fit nicely with the "you'd better go in disguise" line in the song too.

Then maybe just mini crowns for the bears themseves?

I need help! Knights and dragons party for 3 year old DS? So far my only ideas are balloon sword fights and scroll invitations

There were some really, really good ideas for a Knights and Dragons party further up the thread - made me want to do one. I remember party bags being cuddly dragons with chocolate eggs to protect I think... Have a search

Sorry sorry sorry. Thread dropped of my "threads I am on" and then RL ran away with me. Today is an entire nightmare, so unlikely to post anything much, but I have oodles of ideas for knights and dragons (dragons definitely a specialist subject in this household). Will come back as soon as I can, I promise.

Blathers - how long have you got til the big day now?

Dr'sWife - It's all looking amazing. You're really clever

BlastOff - Home made is the way forward. I'm sure they look better than you think!

Lovely Ideas here for Knights - Love, Love, LOVE those cake pops.