Shirley's party advice part 3 - in which Shirley may make a guest appearance

[stealthsquiggle]

We appear to have filled another thread

Hi all. Think we've caught the blatherskite lurgy. Fevers and then we all have terrible cold but me the worst. Loving this blow by blow account of these costumes blathers. Does it actually say 'dress up' or is this your attention to detail packing the kids off in suitable garb?

We've got the princess party in a few weeks. Dd has picked some fairy dress out of the dressing up box but is refusing the wings on it. Im gonna have to unpick the whacking great bit of velcro on the back, and find a tiara and some shoes. No doubt niece will be in 3inch heels.

And i love that bag stealth. Does your machine do embroidery?

Sometimes when we visit my mil she'll say oh im just busy sewing and then sit on the sofa, the machine is going mad in the corner on its own having been programmed and shes sat drinking tea. We tell her, thats not you sewing!!!!

cheap ballet shoes (like these) would be my answer to "princess shoes" without resorting to silver high heels..

LOL - my machine does some embroidery stitches - but not the whole pre-programmed design thing. I did look at some machines that did that but they would have added another zero on the end of what already looked like lots of money to me (and to DH, who was paying). I make a lot of use of the "blanket stitch" for applique, and have used the satin stitch for some stuff, but previous bags with grass on have been done by hand with embroidery silks which I was given decades years ago.

Those shoes are brill i'd never have thought of it. Do u think they'd arrive before the 10th?

Oh i know mil's machine was 4.5k!!! We just let rip each time it comes out. We all start yelling, here it is the machine doing your sewing for you that cost more than a car!!

I wouldnt mind but she sells stuff at craft fairs, well no cos it dont sell, tissue box covers, felt pencil toppers, felt badges... Shite.

It says 11 - 23 working days - so touch and go, I guess - but probably OK. There are slightly more expensive options (~£6) from UK sellers as well. I need to get DD some more ballet shoes at some point (but hopefully I can continue to ignore forget to check them for the rest of this term and get some in September - after all, she only wears them for 45mins a week... ). As DC get bigger, all the angst about the cost of one pair of shoes becomes irrelevant - when DS's feet grow, that means school shoes, 2 pairs of trainers, football boots, home shoes, crocs, wellies (school and home)..... DD has less sports shoes at the moment (will change in a couple of years) but does have ballet shoes, and tries to insist she needs party shoes (but rarely gets them).

Sorry - totally off at a tangent there. IME, shipments from China/Far East take pretty much the time they say, so it might be safer to pay a bit more for a UK seller...

Oh my god.i never considered that about shoes! With dd is a case of one main pair, wellies, trainers and cheap party shoes.

If they arrive at all! I ordered some egg/rice moulds from China a few weeks ago which have yet to arrive!

Ballet flats very princess-y though so worth paying for a UK seller I think.

Managed to fit in Teaks headband and Barnacles belt between the school run/DS's swimming lesson and my eyebrow threading. Have just inhaled dinner so will see what I can get on with next...

My machine does stitches. Nothing fancy at all - and it still confuses me! The light is going/loose i think and it's flashing like a strobe as I sew at the moment!

Oh and yes, it's definitely a costume party and at you have the lurgy. It does sound very similar to what DD had.

I'm actually impressed at how much I've got done today!

Tweak -
Done -
dyed baby grow green (badly but well enough for this I think),
Bought ears and tail,
Made felt carrot,
Found toy spanner.
Sewn collar to baby grow
Made a belt and add loops/velcro for carrot and spanner.
Created blue headband for ears.

Need to do -
Finish boot covers - shape of foot bit needs fixing and I need to make leg bits and sew the lot to now footless baby grow.
Add elastic underneath boot covers.

If I have time -
Find, print, transfer and sew on Octonaut badges to boots and to cover "Mummy's cheeky Monkey" logo on babygrow.
Add darts to collar - going to buy some blue fabric paint tomorrow I think to make this job easier.

Captain Barnacles
Done -
Sewn collar to pyjama top
Added zip with fabric paint
Make boot covers - Just need to sew them on at the right height on PJ legs now
Made compass holder in yellow felt
Made belt and added compass holder and yellow stripes

Need to do -
Sew on boots.
Make hat.
Add elastic underneath boot covers.

If I have time -
Add darts to collar.
Find, print, transfer and sew on Octonaut badges to boots.

I am very impressed, Blathers. I am looking at the cut out (mostly) bits of a bag and thinking I really must do something with it - but then I remember that (a) I am working (b) I need a piece of black felt and (c) we are going out tonight and I forgot to tell DS who will no doubt have a grumpy fit at me when he finds out that I am picking him up only to immediately dump him with a babysitter and (d) OMG said babysitter is going to have to go into the DC's rooms and I haven't done even the most basic slum clearance and, oh shit, (a).

Not having a very productive morning, so far...

Hello All

Oh. My. God.
I happened upon the first thread and between an incredibly slow internet connection and two whiney brats, it took me days, actual DAYS, to read it all. And now I find there are THREE threads!!! I can't go through all that again to read all the posts. I just can't!

So now I have missed the Gruffalo party that I started reading the thing for in the first fecking place and I am hooked, hooked I tell you, on the party tips!

I will try to go through the second thread and find the party, but in the meantime, could you all help me a little?

I am doing DS1 a Gruffalo party for his 3rd birthday. It's not until August, but baby no3 is due then too so I need to be bloody well organised. Not my strong point!
I think I am set with food but I need help with finding transportable decorations!
Here's the plan:
Hire a BBQ in a local-ish park and let the kids run wild. As we will, in effect, actually BE in the deep, dark woods, there will be no need for decorations! Aha! Clever, no?
However, it will probably rain. In which case we will have to come home and have it here. So I need really cheap decorations that I can put up quickly IF (when) it rains to turn my living room into the wood! I must confess that I will only have about 6 children here, ranging from 1yo to 5yo so I reckon I am making a lot of effort just for myself, but I want it to look gooood. But I need it to be cheeeeeap.
Any ideas?
Oh. I am crap at art. Super duper crap. I can't draw trees. It will look like I have painted turds onto my walls.

I was going to say the same thing - as long as we are out of deep midwinter spring by then, I would be tempted to go for "a mouse put up a gazebo in the deep dark wood" - you could even declare it to be owl's/fox's/snake's house although that might slightly freak out any child with the imagination to think that they are going to be eaten and do the party outside anyway - you could always tell people to come equipped with wellies and coats for deep dark wood strolling whatever the weather...

otherwise, I know it's not very deep or dark, but how about this?

"buy August"

You know, I'm seriously becoming worried about my brain! It doesn't seem to be on my side any more when it comes to typing.

I forget what DW did for her party. I was going to suggest the same grass look table clothes I used for DD's Teddy bears picnic party...

I'm here i'm here! Look on my profile and you'll see mine. Hold on whilst i bollock dd1 and put dd2 down to type...

Well, it is a house and grounds thing, they have a park and lake and tea shop plus a field with BBQ's that they hire out and they are very keen to not let one group take over the whole field, so the rules are 1 small gazebo. That'll be for the food! I'm hoping we could brave the weather regardless, but his first birthday was a total washout. Didn't stop hammering down ALL day so I would like to be mentally (mental) prepared for any outcome really.
I'm loving the wall thing Stealth. As the kids are so small and only interested in the food and running riot, I don't think they'll care as long as they see a tree. I could always print off some pictures for them to colour and stick on it should we be at home. I snuck a peek at DW's photos and I love the inverted balloons! I was thinking I might get a camo net thing to hang from the ceiling and dangle things kids from, but just the balloons look really good. And I plan on putting some up outside and on the gazebo, so they wouldn't be a wasted expense, unlike the netting should the weather be dry....
I am sorry, I know I am waffling, but DH just doesn't GET it when I talk about little details etc. He hears "roasted fox" mumble mumble "BBQ" and that's all he needs to know!! I am excited at finding like-minded people! geek :o

Blathers - I was thinking a grass tablecloth too, but if we DO manage to keep it outside I'm thinking it'd be a bit overkill and kind of a waste. But I am going to think about it proper, because I could either use it for another party or, sod it, go overkill!

Right i'm here.

Firstly i was gonna do mine outside as our local woods had a function room but it was nov and they'd only cater for kids i thought no. However, had it been outside i was going to do nature trail sheets/scavenger hunt with prizes at the end.

If you look on the woodland trust website they gave heaps if activities for kids and free printable sheets. Job done.
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/learning-kids/Pages/children.aspx#.T7JiTrd5mc0

Inside the house i hung green balloons from the ceiling like a canopy. I themed it around woodland. I collected loads of dried leaves and fir cones. I know that sounds tricky at this time if year but ive got two fir trees on my road this week dropping fircones so you should find some. I got a grass effect tablecloth and tiny toadstool decirations. I bought potted herbs from the supermarket and put them on the table with tiny toadstools scattered about. Green plates/cups/bowls but red and white spotty napkins and bunting to match the toadstools.

I did make a huge tree which was pretty easy actually and dd liked helping and i got the gruffalo characters blown up for the walls. Photocopy shop/printers should do this for peanuts.

My dad photoshopped a gruffalo invite so it had three candles on a cake with dd's name in and i just had to print them off. If you want them with your ds' name pm me and i'll get him to change them for you then you just print.

For games we made gruffalo masks/mouses from the gruffalo website. We also did a hunt for giant floor puzzle pieces and the kids all put it together. Dh of course read the gruffalo. We had scrambled snake jelly with owl icecream.

Party bags i got papertakeaway bags and glued the image my dad made to the front. Then i got a julia donaldson pack of books from the book people. One book each, then woodland stencils, woodland notepad, squirrel jumping toy thing, a sugar mouse and jelly snakes.

I think thats it. There is a gruffalo.com website with free party stuff on it. Do not be fooled into buying the party book. Much of it you can download off the site. The didnt get to do pin the wart on the gruffalo.

That help at all?

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/learning-kids/Pages/children.aspx#.T7JiTrd5mc0

Nonsense - where in the country are you - I have a small-village-hall-sized camofluage net...

I am in Oxfordshire.
That all sounds pretty darn amazing DW. I vaguely remember someone having about 20 kids though. Was that you? I will have about 6. (I'm not going to be very nice here) There will be DS1 and 2 girls, one 3yo and one 4yo who will be the only ones interested in doing proper games and using their heads. The rest, unfortunately, are DS's cousins and are too excitable uncontrollable to try any kind of treasure hunt or anything with! Which is a total shame, because I was hoping to send them down to the lake to find the 'gruffalo cake' etc etc. while the fox was roasting! (Unfortunately, my sister would be too interested in drinking her wine and talking to our other sister to worry about the welfare of the children)! There is a really good playground there so I imagined that that would be the main thing the kids would want. It is a way from the BBQ field though, so I would love some proper games. I just don't know how I'd manage it. It's a really stressful dynamic for me to work with as I know the type of party I want, but I also know the type of co-operation I will get!
Also, I am worried that my 'treasure' would get nicked or unsuspecting people would join in thinking it was something being put on by the grounds! I can just imagine being some kind of demented pied piper of random children, marching down to the lake too embarrssed to tell them to naff off!!

Oooh ooh oooh!!
ORRRRRRR
The invites include/are masks of the characters (seeing as I will have so few guests - sniff) and then they can wear their masks while on the treasure/gruffalo hunt so that any observers/gawkers know that we are a seperate party!
I tend to worry about random stuff that doesn't need worrying about!
I'm also thinking that just any kind of outside games would be fine, no need to keep up with the woodland theme too much. Although it would be perfect if I could!
I do think I can rope in a teenage neice or two to help. But aforementioned sister usually uses them as babysitters..... I'll just have to get to them first! I really like the idea of the puzzle. I was also thinking of maybe getting a game of gruffalo pairs and whoever matches a pair gets a prize. That way, we can keep them in our vicinity. But that works with the treasure hunt too.
I'm waffling again...............