Shirley's party advice thread part 2

[stealthsquiggle]

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

Also no help with the labour thing. I got Pre eclampsia with DS so was induced then given a EMCS when that didn't work and DD was an ELCS 10 days early because of a lack of dates around Christmas and me showing signs of PE again! Hope everything is OK DW.

I've never had fruit roll ups so no idea what they look like in RL but they look very pepperoni-esque in the photo - they have that shine that cooked pepperoni gets... I may have to add some to next weeks shopping list for research purposes I was only thinking sugarpaste for the toppings because I have all of the Play doh moulds which would make life easier. If something looks better, I'm happy to use that instead. I've seen marshmallow mushrooms that looked good.

girliefriend biscuit decorating is easy. All I did for DD's party was bake loads of gingerbread bears (2 per child worked well and obvisouly you can make different shapes depending on what your DD would like/what cutters you have) and then I put little bowls of icing on the table (I just made the powdered stuff up into a thick-ish paste) and provided spoons to spread it on the biscuits with. I'd gone slightly crazy in the Home Baking aisle at the Supermarket and had Jelly diamonds, hundreds and thousands, pinky sparkly glitter, mini smarties, chocolate buttons etc - whatever takes your fancy really - and put them out in DW's teddy shaped jelly moulds bowls and let the children loose. I did put out some icing tubes too but they were much to tough for all but the biggest kids to use which I why we did the runny icing too. I'd provided aprons as I got a load cheap from a shop near my sister and I got everyone to decorate the biscuits on some cheap paper plates as it stopped the majority of the mess from falling onto the floor and also meant we could write names on the plates so we knew who's was who's at the end of the party - for those that weren't immediately eaten anyway :)

My Mum carefully repackaged all of the leftover decorations back into their tubs for me at the end of the party but to be honest, I binned them all. The thought of all of those mucky little fingers touching them really put me off using them again!

If you'd like to borrow the aprons (I have 8) just let me know.

Thats great thanks, is there any chance you can let me know the recipe as when I have attempted to make biscuits before they have always been too soft!!!

No problem. This is a recipe I got from the BBC website but it was a little bland even for the children so I've increased some of the spice amounts....

75g softened butter
50g muscovado sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50g treacle
2 egg yolks
250g plain flour
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
and, if you're feeling a little poncey, the zest of one clementine.

This will make lovely dark biscuits. If you want to lighten them up a little, change the sugar to Caster and the treacle for Golden Syrup.

Cream together the butter and sugar until the mix has lightened.

Stir in Bicarb of Soda, treacle and egg yolks.

Sift in the plain flour and spices and add zest if using.

Bring together with a wooden spoon then shape into 2 balls and chill for 30 minutes before rolling out and cutting out your shapes.

If you roll out to about 8mm (2 £1 coins-ish) you'll get firm biscuits with a nice soft centre.

They'll take about 10-15 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees but keep an eye on them as perfect to burning seems to take milliseconds!

ooh blathers think I'll steal this recipe for mine too
Can I do half caster & half muscovado doyou think? and half treacle/half golden syrup?

Also, what's the earliest I can make them? If I made them on thursday night would be they be ok for Sat party? Or how about making it e.g. tonight and freezing the mixture til friday?

And how many biscuits will it make (10cm)?

btw DW hope all is well and that you now have a baby in your arms

Half and half should work fine. We found them too pale when using Caster and Golden Syrup, the darker ingredients give them that proper gingerbread colour.

They should keep for anything up to a week in an airtight container but they do get softer the longer you leave them. Thursday night would be fine.

I tend to get about 10-12 biscuits out of each batch if I'm using an average sized cutter. I made multiple batches when I did DD's party.

Any news DW?

Thankyou will attempt tomos as a practice run and let you know!!!

Hello. Nope sorry still pregnant!! My brother came to visit/stay and dh has just suggested he stop on to help me out over next few days. But im having to make food/drinks/idle chit chat and i want my own space.

Gonna take dd to playschool, him to station then hospital for blood tests ready for monday. I have lost hope of anything happening before then!

Got another parcel full of stuff for DS's party today.

The party is booked and I've now got the invites, the party bags (they sent 11 by mistake so even more of a bargain), the aprons and the badge making bits.

All I need now is a cheap set of felt tips to do the badges with (I've avoided having any at home so far), the jelly pizzas and the iron on transfer paper. I'm in no rush for that though as I'm not adding names to the invites, party bags and aprons until the last minute as DS changes his mind about who's coming almost daily! I've got a 5th birthday banner to decorate the table with and I will pick up the traditional helium birthday balloon on the day.

I'll make the chocolate pizza at the last minute too. I already have the cellophane cones left over from DD's party.

The sticker books should be on their way so hopefully they'll be here soon too.

Then I'll be all sorted with over a month to go

I think I may be more excited than him!

Blathers if its in a restaurant will parents drop off or linger?

Going on recent parties and the parents I know, I'd guess most will stay. My plan is to order a couple of big pizzas and a drink for the grown ups to munch on while the kids are occupied.

Even if they all leave though, I think we'll be OK. I've got DH to book the day off work though so I'll have him to help and MIL can be called in if we think we needs more, there are only 6 children plus our own so it's not crazy numbers like DD's party and I've picked the restaurant because this particular branch is usually pretty much deserted in the early evening. When we went to a party there at the same time on the same day of the week a few months ago, we were the only ones in the restaurant! The staff took over and were encouraging the adults to sit back with a drink while they did all the hard work too.

And if it's a nightmare - then the party is only an hour and a half long so it'll soon be over

Hi all

After a little inspiration !

It is my (Student) sons 21st Birthday at the end of the month - I have made him promise that he will come home for the weekend of his Birthday.

I wanted to do something special for him like paint balling, go karting, jumping out a plane etc- but my ideas went down like a lead balloon with him. He is just not that type of person and prefers pizza and computers!!

I want to do something (not necessarily a party) for him with family and MY friends ( i am/was a young mum - so he is very close to a fair amount of my friends & their kids and sees them as aunts/uncles & cousins etc - he will be doing his own thing on the previous weekend with his own mates)

So any ideas ??? Please help !! (we are in N London if thats any help) and the budget could be sizeable if needed.

Thank you !!

We really, really need Shirley for this one. I'll try to find her....

My first thoughts - given you said the budget could be sizeable - is could you look into hiring out a cinema screen? Pick his favourite movie and get that played? I know Cineworld do them if you have one close to you...

I got this from their website - "A birthday party at Cineworld is guaranteed to mark the occasion. Pick the latest movie or an old favourite, add popcorn and friends to the mix and you have the perfect recipe for a great atmosphere and an unforgettable experience. Prices from £400 for up to 75 people."

Obviously not cheap but it could be really special.

Or could you book a private room at his favourite pizza restaurant?

Thanks for the reply Blather ... Cinema is out because of the age range of the kids (21 to 9) ... I had thought of the pizza idea and thought about a party at home with pizzas ordered in because that way the older ones can chat/play games/drink while the kids play/run riot ....i guess i just wanted something ... a little ...more special/out of the ordinary.

Any other ideas gratefully received !

London eye followed by pizza nearby?

ooo now thats not a bad idea

End of this month - so outside options not really on, then?

Hire a venue and get someone (I am sure there must be people) to bring along every game machine known to mankind + selection of games - and maybe pinball machine(s) / table football / table hockey - giant pizza buffet, adult and children's bars - away you go???

Yes, I am sure there are lorries which will come to your house, and inside are lots of gaming / driving computer games.

like this one, you mean?

or these people?

Yes like the techzone truck, that would probably keep a computer gamer happy for a while, and then pizza back in the house afterwards. Minimal hassle, but definitely memorable, and a bit less than the eye. Have no experience of them, my son is still perfectly happy with some knights, batman and a few dinosaurs!

oh love the techzone truck !!! Just booked it - thank you all xxx

OK, so planning for DS's party rather fell by the wayside for a little while due to family emergencies, my being unwell (still), and now my being stuck on a run of 7 night shifts (only 2 more to do...)

But now I am back, and begging for a little bit more help! The party is in 7 days, but I've got all of next week off so would like to think it will be ok (provided we don't get any of this nasty snow that keeps being talked about!)

Hall and bouncy castle are booked. Invites have gone out, hoping everyone will have RSVP's by the specified date (monday) but not holding my breath. I've got a load of knight/dragon tablewear from Ebay and silver platters from Home Bargains (at about a quarter of the cost of the ones in the supermarkets ) My friend, who's a teacher, has just finished a theme of castles/knights and will be finished with her display by then so she has said she will bring along a big dragon that they used to put up on the wall.

I've invited 26 (but with requests for siblings to attend as well that's turned into 30) and so far had 18 acceptances and only 2 refusals

Food, I'm thinking
Sandwiches (ham, cheese, jam)
Hula Hoops or similar
mini sausages
marshmallows
strawberries/grapes (maybe on cocktail sticks, maybe not.)
Chocolate fingers / party rings
rice krispie cakes
maybe mini pizzas or tomato & cheese puff pastry twirls?
squash/water to drink

Tin of biscuits & tea/coffee for parents

Anything else for food/tables/decoration?

Now for my main questions... (also known as 'the stuff I've barely given a thought to yet)

Stealth I'm going to make that castle cake you linked to before, from 50 easy party cakes. How many would you say that would serve? Should I consider doing x2 square cakes and making a rectangle cake castle, maybe with a few more turrets. I've only got an 8" square pan at the moment, trying to decide whether to splashing out on a 10" is necessary. Also, any advice as to how long can I make the maderia in advance of decorating it, without freezing it?

Party bags - I got some brown paper bag in Home Bargains (89p for 10!) would it be rubbish to just use them? Maybe encourage some bag decorating as an activity? Although, if I do that isn't it then a pain to fill them at the end? Maybe I should just get some of those cellophane bags?

I was thinking about doing decorate a sword activity (45p each at baker ross) but then, without knowing how many children are going to be there that could get pricey, and will anyone even be interested with the bouncy castle there?

Pass the parcel, thinking about having it going in 3 circles. Is that madness? What do people put in the middle of a pass/parcel these days? I've got a load of colouring/sticker books that were in the sale, that I was thinking I might put in party bags, but now I'm not sure there'll be enough, depending on numbers so might now keep most for presents/dd's birthday. Also have some ink stamps/chalkboard/paint set things - would that sort of thing be OK? Or maybe skip pass the parcel and do a musical statues/bumps with a prize at the end instead? What do you do with the children that are 'out'?

Music - What do we do about music? FIL is bringing his amp & speakers, which we'll plug the MP3 into, but WHAT to play??? Anyone recommend a 'party' CD without any dodgy lyrics on it that I'd have to worry about!

Anything I've missed or haven't thought about?

Thanks

Apologies for massively long post - It helps to get things clear in my head though and makes me think about what I have & haven't done. (Although why I can't just do that on a piece of paper rather than on MN is beyond me!)

I wouldn't bother with pizzas for that number, unless planning to serve them cold. Likewise I just offer parents soft drink, wine or beer, as will be too busy to take tea/ coffee orders.

For cake, in my opinion I would make a fairly smallish castle, but ice up another cake, cut that one before the party and wrap in napkins, ready for the party bags, as cutting and wrapping up cake for that number will take at least 10 mins. Take other cake home, give to grandparents etc and freeze the rest for lunch bags!

Pass the parcel is hassle, I have done two circles when they had a joint 4 + 6 yr old party with age appropriate middles, but not 3 circles, the trouble is trying to time the music. The other option is to have one big circle but three prizes going round, is a bit easier to monitor, or a short pass parcel and then sweets for the losers.

For musical statues I am planning to have toadstool circle (fairy party); once out they can dance outside the circle, prize for those left in ciircle, not sure if it will work though.