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.

Oh how sweet, stealthsquiggle! DS has decided that anything he doesn't like, such as monsters or dragons, quite rightly, don't exist - which is handy. Bu not sure how that fits in with 'Leah' who he has just told me has a moustache, and lives in his wardrobe

And thanks, I know I shouldn't be nervous, and I am looking forward to it. But I'm just worried because, whereas with adults parties people would act politely if they weren't enjoying themselves and I can ply them with copious amounts of alcohol, you know when children are bored! They may even - horrors - tell you

I'm going to think of an excuse to have an adult party next, as I have really enjoyed this. Before the DSs we used to have people over all the time: suppers, murder mystery parties (crap I know, but fun dressing up), various themes. And I've stopped doing it because it's hard for people to get baby sitters and I'm just too bloody exhausted a lot of the time (baby and toddler). But this has inspired me to pull my finger out!

I wish my DS thought like that BlastOff! He had earache at dinner time so we've given him a warm bath and some Nurofen and put him to bed. He's just woken up in hysterics because he's scared of being sick again!

We all had D&V last week and he was sick but I hadn't realised it had scared him so much!

19 days 'til DD's party now. Beginning to panic! We can't fit a bouncy castle in the hall and I'm worried I don't have enough else for them to do!

Blatherskite - they and their bears can play endless impromptu games, I am sure - you have the ulimate get out in "let's teach the bears to........"

Blathers - Poor little one.

What's the activity plan so far? (thread SO long now hard to go back and look! )

So far I've got:

Balloons for kicking round
A pass the parcel - but only for about a dozen of the kids then I'm going to give out spare packs of sweets to the "losers"
Decorating Gingerbread Bears
Colouring in and "Thready Bears" plastic bears with holes in and some string
Eating

possibly creating party hats for the bears too...

I've got 2 hours to fill.

Honestly? That sounds enough!

There'll be time needed for them just to "Be" as well!

Blatherskite I think that will be fine. They run round shouting and playing with balloons for hours at that age. And at the parties I've been to where there are too many 'everyone join in' type things for children that age, it has been like herding cats. They really are happy to just potter. If you're really worried perhaps take along a ball pool or kitchen or something? But really I don't think you need to. It will be great.

How did the BYOB invitations go in the end?

Sorry, pressed post too soon. I'm sorry to hear your ds isn't well - I hope he's better today.

Love the idea of taking a kitchen

Genius!

Hi all. Sorry for poorly ds blathers. We've all got some awful cold. Playschool raised an eyebrow at me that dd is coughing a lot. I cant keep her off for a cough im still catching up on my work and now focused on xmas.

Just wanted to say dont panic about filling 2 hours blathers. I had mask making and songs/dancing planned in and wasnt time. As blast off said it was like herding cats so i did hunt the jigsaw with older kids and then gruffalo story and pass the parcel. Food took ages cos the older ones ate and got down to play the little ones sat painstakingly picking through their sandwiches. It was truly madness. I wanted to do poncetastic xmas but birthday has zapped me dry. I now have an xmas tree that resembles a feather duster stood meekly in the corner although i did do ponce wrapping in brown paper and candy canes. But thats it now, im in a heap!

So I'm on countdown now to the rocket party. I've made all the lists, bought everything, but haven't actually done anything. I think I might make the party bags up tonight, and make the mince pies for parents.

Tomorrow I have to: make cake, make cup cakes, decorate cakes, make gingerbread rockets. Whilst juggling a toddler and baby. Dh coming home for his lunch break to give me an hour, and will help in the evening, and my dm will help with the ds.

On Saturday I have to do everything else, but it's just a case of 'setting up' and I have the hall for an hour and a quarter before any guests arrive.

Biggest headache is that one Internet order hasn't arrived, even though it says it has dispatched, and it has the table cloth, sparkly candles etc in it. Arrrgh.

I may have left things a bit late. Maybe I'll do some other baking other than the mince pies tonight.

ARRRRRGH!

Have you a back up plan if the order doesn't arrive? (I'm sure it will )

Listen - If it's going to get too stressful for you (your list of baking is making me itch!) then ditch something - it's only the "plans" - if you can't make the gingerbread rocket for example, then it doesn't matter because no one KNEW you were going to make them IYKWIM?

Crossing everything that your parcel arrives tomorrow BlastOff. Is there a shop you go panic shopping in if it doesn't?

My Brother visited tonight and has dropped off the cheap aprons I got from the shop near DW, they're fab. I need to make a jobs list but am getting quite scared of exactly how I'm going to manage it all!

Good luck BlastOff! It all sounds fab!

Aaargh about the internet order, Blastoff - can you contact them for tracking details?

I find assembling party bags and wrapping pass to parcel to be quite soothing things to do in front of the TV with a large glass of wine

I'll phone them in the morning. I thought they'd possibly come this evening as I had a John Lewis order arrive at about 8 pm earlier this week, but no show. I live in quite a rural and small market town hence the Internet shopping (that and the fact shopping with the ds is bloody painful no fun at all), but I'm sure I can get some of the things if not all. I just not sure how easy it will be to shop along with everything else on my to do list.

Yes, you're quite right about ditching things actually Shirley. I might prioritise what I'd be gutted if I didn't get round to, and work down the list like that.

And great idea re wine and pass the parcel stealthsquiggle - I didn't get round to the party bags either tonight, so that will definitely be tomorrow nights plan.

Blast off hope your order turns up. Are the gingerbreads for decorating at the party? Is so i'd keep them in as key activity and ditch cupcakes as you'll have a main cutting cake. If your worried bout mince pies for adults, buy some!

Hope you manage to get it all done.

Oh bollocks.

I phoned the party company, who said they'd had some trouble with the courier and they'd phone me back. They didn't, so 1.5 hours later I phoned them again and they said they had no record of my previous conversation, but they'd phone me back. They didn't, so I phoned them again, and apparently the couriers have lost my parcel and they could try and get it here by 12 tomorrow... but the party is at 1030 - so they have cancelled my order.

Anyway, so far I've made the gingerbread dough but not cooked them yet, and the cupcakes but not iced them.... Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

That's it!

Dm has just taken ds1 out, but ds2 won't be put down - shouts a lot whenever I try so I'm somewhat limited. I think it might be a very late night, and some shop bought mince pies.

And I need to go shopping and try and find a navy tablecloth, some napkins, and sparkling candles (ds particularly asked for them ). The candles might just have to be normal ones, and the party bags will just have one less thing in than they were meant to...

Fuck it BlastOff.

Name and shame them - wankers.

Right. How can we help?

Don't worry about the party bags too much - that'll be fine.

Shop bought mince pies - FINE!

Icing the cupcakes will take 20 minutes, so don't worry about that - get the gingerbread done first.

Bottom line is if the cupcakes don't get iced then sod it! they're still cakes!

Any idea where you're going to try and get your tablecloth and stuff from?

Yes blast off lets see how we can help first where us this party company? Tossers.

So what are we looking for? A navy tablecloth sparkly plates and candles? Where are you just in case one of us is local and can help a bit.

Rockets - first batch in the oven. Look quite fab. But just tasted one - rather umm gingery . I doubled up on all the ingredients including the ginger. Oh well, that is way more about sticking on eating as they go along the smarties as windows etc, than eating the rockets per se.

And speaking of smarties, I made school boy error with the online supermarket shop, and instead of the smarties I thought I'd ordered, I had somehow ordered smartie ice-cream, so will just add that to the shopping list!

I'm going to do a supermarket crawl, and try my luck that way. I have googled party shop, party supplies etc near me and the only places I can find just do costumes. What other shops sell that type of thing?

Thank you both for support and joining in my swearing at delights

not-so delights will not be getting my custom again that's for sure. I paid a premium to have a named day they would deliver, and stayed in all day yesterday. Just so frustrating. It may well be their couriers at fault, but they provided pretty shoddy customer service in the meantime.

Right onward and upwards.

Right we'll come back to those party place pricks later. You dont say where you are. If you are near peterborough loughborough or leicester i can point you to the right places. Right lets see if we can source stuff on the high street do you have someone who can fetch and carry whilst you keep cooking?

I'm in Shrewsbury. And yes, DH just got home to help.

m.tesco.com/mt/www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=261241758

Have you got a big tescos near you? They have a table cover. Im sure you'd find silver cups etc napkins in the xmas section. If not maybe buy silver wrapping paper and tape it to the table top?