Shirley's party advice thread part 2

[stealthsquiggle]

...can I take the liberty of starting another thread, since the other one filled up?

Oh stealth I'm past myself! We're having 7 nights doing the parks and stuff and then I'm driving down to the gulf coast for 7 nights in a hotel RIGHT ON THE CHUFFING BEACH.

the idea of a Chinese NY party - definitely best to do it on the Sunday. You could probably pick up some of those Chinese lanterney things quite cheap at the moment after our NY. Are you doing food and games?

probably just family, Shirley, so the focus will be on the food (the dragons (well, the bossiest one) have ordered "fireballs").

Food should be fairly easy - either just order it all in or make some bits yourself.

Red should feature quite highly as a colour as that's meant to be lucky. Isn't it traditional to give out the red envelopes on Chinese New Year? Could you tuck them each a fiver in a decorated envelope?

I think you're supposed to decorate one of those flying paper lanterns with a wish for the new year too, ready to be sent up into the sky when it's dark.

The holiday sounds amazing Shirl. I doubt we'll get to go away this year so I shall be wanting to hear all about it so I can live vicariously. We went to Vegas before the children were born and I've been to the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee but never to Florida or the parks. We're doing Legoland this year but only the Windsor one

"fireballs"?

YY to the red envelopes with a little bit of money in! Cor I want to have a Chinese NY party now

Blathers - God I'd love to go to Vegas. I have a phobia of flying, hence why I've never gone further than Turkey but...OH MY GOD WHAT AM I DOING!!!!...I'm just going to have to get over it. ARGYH!

Hypnosis I think

Thank you stealth and blathers. Feel much better after your stories. Only someone who hasnt had a c section could make you feel like its an easy/lazy choice. I might tell her that!!

Shirl, florida how amazing i bet the kids are soooo excited. How did you tell them at xmas?? Im scared of flying i went on holiday once to st lucia and had bad turbulance and shat myself. After that i took drugs to fly. We went to new york for our honeymoon and i took valium. Doc told me to take three in first hour but i took five!!! They were good at calmimg me but frankly next time im asking for sedative. Thats why i havent flown with dd yet, too young to understand that 'mummy is in a drug induced coma darling'. Well done for putting the holiday before yourself, ive turned down freebies because i cant face it.

Chinese new year- brilliant!!! Gotta have fortune cookies for some fun filled foresight and chinese astrology traits etc. Think i saw the lanterns etc in the works going cheap. Will you attempt the food yourself or go mad at the takeaway? In fact will takeaway be open. I should say you need the dragon dance really for good fortune, go on make a giant head and rope everyone in to give it a go!!

I am bidding on something on ebay which I will show you all if I win it... [best mysterious face]

Fireballs may turn out to be sweet and sour pork balls, or octopus dumplings, depending where I manage to shop between now and then. If I do get to a Chinese supermarket, then some lanterns and money envelopes may find their way into the trolley as well .

DrsW given that you have done an EMCS, the ELCS will, honestly, seem like a walk in the park. Yes it's major surgery blah, blah - but not major surgery after the stress and exhaustion of labour - that's what really knocks you out.

Stealth thats exactly what i pm'd to blathers. I had terrible 36 hour labour with dd and the exhaustion coupled with a cs recovery left me struggling to cope with 'little miss colic'. I dont want a trial of labour on top of a potential cs. Its like being in a car accident and handeda baby to care for after!!!!

Do you know, I saw fortune cookies in the supermarket today and totally didn't link it with the fact that it was Chinese New Year soon!!

I've had a bad day today though. I had to drive to the shops twice as I forgot my wallet the first time! I'd have given up only we really needed nappies for DD.

Las Vegas was great Shirl. We only stayed there for a few nights as we spent the rest of the time driving round and seeing the Hoover Dam and various canyons but we had a great time. I got so drunk in Coyote Ugly that I don't remember getting back to the hotel! We went on all of the rollercoasters too - even the one at the top of the Stratosphere. The steak we had in the Bellagio is still to this day the best steak I have ever had. It was amazing

Smug smug smug.

My mum had nagged to have my dd. I explained that shes very unsettled at night so often gets in our bed as she'll cry etc. Much tutting about 'rods for own back etc'. Anyway i relented after being accused of having issues about letting dd stay away. Picked dd up from my mum and she gushes
'dd was an angel slept though all night in her own bed'
To which my stepdad pipes up, 'well thats not true, she woke at 4am calling out for you and you had to get in bed with her til 7am.'

Hooooray for dd!! After being left so crap yesterday i came away doing the smug smug smug dance. Maybe i should have given her advice on making a rod for her own back. Even dh was gloating.

tee hee.

I bet your stepdad is in disgrace now, though

I've started a thread with this question, but then realised that this was probably 'the place to be' for party advice and support!

Just starting to plan a party for DS (will be 5) next month. Whole class + some other friends, so poss 28 kids (crossing fingers for less!) age range 4-8 with a couple of 2 year olds thrown in for good measure!

Bouncy castle/trad party games and food.

I'd been thinking 1130-1330 timeslot, but that's not very convenient for my bouncy castle man (friend of a friend), so what alternative time would you go for? 1-3, 2-4, 3-5?

Worrying that 1-3pm kids either won't be hungry (had lunch) and there'll be lots of food waste, or they'll be starving (no lunch), 2-4 seems a bit of an odd time, not lunch, not dinner IYSWIM...When I send my DC to a party I like to think of it as meaning I won;t have to bother cooking for one of those meals ! 3-5 works in principle, but worrying then that my 2 yo will be too tired (she's not a napper...) or that DS will be so wound up by waiting for his party all day he'll be too overwrought to enjoy it!

Yes, yes, I know I'm overthinking this, but that's what I do! Decide for me please .

3-5. That amount of time to get sorted on the day of the party will go like THAT!

You can get DS involved in 'helping' you to quash a bit of the mad excitement, and I'm sure the little one will be fine.

2 -4 has worked well for us in the past - especially with winter parties - they don't start hungry, IYSWIM, because they have just had lunch, and then what you are feeding them really is "party tea" - an extra meal, so you don't have to worry about shoe-horning anything actually nutritional into it (and I tend to assume that most DC except mine will then only need a small snack when they get home).

I got what I was bidding on for Chinese NY - here

Yeah i'd go for 3-5 then parents can assume that their dc's are getting an early tea etc. You can run them ragged and perhaps leave food til later in the slot. In fact i may do that next time!!

Stealth what on earth is it?? Like a motorised kite thing? Wow it sounds huge!!! What are you're plans with it, tether it in the garden? You must take photos. Come on tell us what other plans you have finalised?

Thanks all. Think I'm going to go for 230-430 (compromise!).

Will be back for advice and opinions once more planning gets underway.

Ooh, in the meantime, any tips on making a castle cake?

Thanks

Making it 2:2, I'd go for 2 till 4.

Food at the end of the party always works best and as Stealth says, you can concentrate on fun party food rather than anything actually nutritional and filling if you're not trying to replace a whole meal.

The kite looks amazing Stealth. You must take photos

2:30pm - 4:30pm is a good compromise! castle cake - any good? If you are interested I can check which book it came from (DrsW - this was the one I made 3 weeks post ELCS!)

I hope the kite is fun. Not quite sure what I am going to do with it yet - hang it the length of the house stairwell, I think. I have moved directly from worrying about someone out-bidding me on it to worrying about whether it will arrive on time

This is a fantastic thread, thank you all for inspirational ideas.

I am planning ahead for DS's birthday in march. The whole thing makes me feel very nervous for some reason .

I have one major decision to make- might sound silly but I am really uncomfortable with the thought of not inviting his whole class. I hate the thought of leaving anyone out- but it simply is not an option as there are 32 children in his class. Ideally I would like to ask 15-20 children from school (will be a few non school friends invited too. This feels like a manageable number (will be in village hall) would you agree?

However, this makes me feel very uncomfortable. Am I being silly? Can anyone offer advice?

32 is entirely impossible, I agree - unless you team up with one or more other parents and make it a joint party.

My personal rule of thumb is "less than half the class, or all the class" - that way, you are never leaving a minority out, IYSWIM.

I'm only posting tonight to agree with Stealth

Less than half or all is the best way to go. That way you get a 'chosen few' rather than just leaving out a few.

The most I've ever done was DD's party in December with 28 kids and that was crazy - I'm never going that big again if I can help it. 32 does seem too many. I'd stick with 15 max (10-12 tops would be better I think though for the reasons above) and your non school friends. Plenty to have fun with and not so many that it gets out of hand.

Thank you do much for your responses. Less than half does seem like a good plan. I don't want the hall to be too sparsely populated if that makes sense, but I think I will maybe aim for 12ish, welcome siblings and ask a few non school friends too.

It really does seem like a minefield!!

Thank you again

12 + a few siblings + a few family friends = more than 20 before you know it - that's why I said not all 32, because you would end up with 50!

Stealth, I can see where you are coming from. DS has been to a whole class party in the same hall that we would be hiring. Masses of work had gone into planning this party and in many ways it was brilliant.

However, the sheer amount of children was insane! Whole class + some siblings + most parents as few were comfortable leaving their DCs!!

Gah, that's another thing that makes me nervous- what to do with the parents who I don't really know who will all be around the sidelines 'watching' me trying to entertain their DC?

Am beginning to wonder if I am lacking in self confidence as this party is making me feel nervous already. I have until March to sort myself out.