Shirley's party advice part 4 - Better at party planning than Pippa Middleton

[BlatherskiteOfTheLivingDead]

New thread :) Everyone welcome.

I was being restrained and only suggesting tails for toddlers

hello awesome people -
I wonder if anyone can help? or whether i should start my own thread but
I am looking for ways to do a drinks party on the cheap but doesn't look like it?
Want to do some kind of nibbley food too?
Thanks in advance and do tell me to beggar orf if am in wrong place

Not the wrong place at all as mjb says we're awesome!! Puck our brains

we need more details in order to help though. Who's it for? Whats the occassion? Wheres the venue and age ranges?

Then we'll let loose on you!

We've been here over a year now doing this thread. We're very dedicated to parties and i love it that blastoff came back for more!

Sorry mbj i got your name wrong way round in haste x

Blather, Dw and squiggle* - I'm on awe!

There is no way I'm going to do any most of the stuff myself... But tails... How do you do them? To be fair my DD is not into dressing up that much and the other toddler is very girly so not sure she'd appreciate being made fun of the tail but the babies... the babies can't run away .

I need to re-read all your suggestions and make a plan.

Sandwiches, eggs and burgers are all doable but I am not blessed with the gift of bake. Will buy the cake and any other sugar-orientated items. Although DD is on egg and diary free diet due to her eczema, which is now 90% gone so I feel I should make an appropriate cake myself and not give her chocolate one I found from M&S. Is baking your own birthday cake really cheaper? Argh...

No i dont find it cheaper!

Definitely not cheaper. More smug points, and quite a lot of satisfaction in retrospect don't ask DW about that for a few weeks, but not cheaper

Ladies - this thread is amazing!

I really need your help. I have DS's 3rd birthday in 4 weeks time. About 15 3 year olds coming. Haven't a clue what to do with them all.

Have hired a hall, and DH is going to dress up as Santa and hand out gifts instead of party bags.

Having a picnic style lunch for them.

But what do I do with them for 2 hours?

HELP!!

Buy a cake and get the Wishosaurus drinkfeck It'll look amazing.

Got to run and do the school run but will be back for the other parties in a bit.

whiskeytangofoxtrot I guess the way to do a drinks party on the cheap is to plan your cocktails carefully. If you can find a lot of drinks that use similar ingredients then you won't need to buy as many. Places like Aldi do some very good and highly recommended wines and spirits but at a much lower price that the branded ones. I keep meaning to try their Prosecco and Baileys copy both of which I've heard raved about on here and by friends.

Or, If you think your friends would go for it, I'd try to make it a 'bring a bottle' party. You choose the cocktails, make a list of all the drinks you'll need and then request that everyone brings a single bottle. You can then provide the glasses, mixers, lemons, olives, umbrellas and nibbles...?

Erm, what sort of nibbly food did you fancy? The shops will be full of that sort of stuff now Christmas is approaching if you wanted to buy it ready done? I can have a search through a few cookbooks if you wanted to make your own?

Would second the made cake not being cheaper. I have been known to buy a huge sheet cake from Costco for £12 and just decorate it to get the best of both worlds :)

Egg/Dairy free would definitely put the price up too ime. DBro is egg/dairy/wheat/gluten intolerant so I've tried those cakes in the past too and would definitely not call them an easy bake either.

midnightinmoscow It's my DD's 3rd birthday in about 3 weeks time and I've booked a bouncy castle for them. I'll do some colouring and crown making for the tired ones but apart from that I'm just leaving them to run around.

If you want games though, keep them simple for little ones. Musical bumps works well at this age, as does pass the parcel (with adults watching to oversee any fights when the music stops ), maybe some sort of egg and spoon (bauble and spoon) race or sack race in big santa sacks if you're embracing the christmas element? 3 years olds are quite easy to amuse to be honest. If you get a bubble machine and put some music on and you'll keep them busy for a good 20 minutes and just chasing balloons or a soft ball round will go down well too.

I know I annoyed everyone with my party bag picky-ness but the windmills arrived this morning and they are sooo cute :)

Crowns look good too although I think I might need lots more stick on gems. 126 don't look like many when they actually arrive! I do have glittery foam stickers too to bulk them out but you can guarantee they'll all want 20 gems each!

Blathers - windmills what windmills last time you were on animal letters. Show me these windmills.

Midnightinmoscow- my dd was three last year and games didnt realky work. Pass the parcel is good. I did craft stuff and a hunt the jigsaw pieces for all the kids to make a big floor puzzle. If you can get a bouncy castle they really will just jump around and eat!

Drinks party - ive tried quite a few of aldi's copycat drinks and they are great. If you can get a copy of nigellas christmas from the library she has loads of classy nibbles that are easy to do. Spiced nuts, glazed sausages etc and in the back are tons of cocktails because last year i made all her mocktails. I was massively pregnant and sulking.

Agree with bring a bottle but make a cocktail menu and bar area and let people choose off the menu if you want a classy affair rather than a big boozy house party stylie. The thing with parties is the setting makes a lot if difference. If you can get people to wear cocktail dresses/suits already your setting the scene. Get big pitchers of decent cocktails and platters of nibbles. Sorted. Honestly get the nigella book it will give you tons of ideas.

Stealth- text me cos ive deleted your no by accident and i'll sneak preview the cake tower

I'm sure I mentioned the windmills upthread These ones

I'm going to get the animal letters too I think, just waiting for the RSVPs so I can buy the right letters.

I've got the Nigella Christmas book if you need any recipes copying out.

The cake tower is amazing. You are very clever DW

Ahh yes sorry you did post those before. Ive dine more to the tower today added the greenery around the window etc and up the tower but the roof is not holding up well some tiles have come loose and one has cracked but im leaving well alone until sunday.

Im feeling the pressure as everyone is telling me how excited their kids are what costumes they've been buying etc etc. im worried about games but im not sure i can articulate it.

Ive got tons of sweets (i feel i should get more)

Games are:
Pin the nose on flynn rider (should i give a prize to all that take part?) each kid will have a different nose and aim to get it in the right place. Different noses because in the film they can never get his nose right. So should i reward them all (15 kids) or the one that gets the closest?

Pass the flynn rider satchel. Sit thy backside down open bag for lucky dip.

Musical statues. Dd has already told me if shes out she's still playing so thinking im gonna give a sticker to each "out" so i can still see who the winner is.

Dd wants to build towers. Ive got shed liads of duplo. Now i can leave them to it(boys and littlies will gravitate to it over haur plaiting!!) or should i turn it into a contest? Who has built the tallest?

Im scared. In gonna have to do the hosting because dh will be dressed as flynn rider hiding with shame in the corner.

Jesus ignore my typos honestly i cannot mn on my phone!!

I think your games sound brilliant DW. Pin the nose on flynn rider is inspired :)

I'd maybe give a small sweet or a sticker to everyone who takes part and a slightly bigger prize to the winner just like you're doing with the musical statues. There has to be a point to winning after all.

For the tower building, I'd be tempted to just leave it as an unrewarded activity. You could end up with floods of tears if someone thought they were winning and then it falls (or gets pushed) over.

I always get more confident when dressed up so you might find that DH comes into his own when he has his costume on.

eek what kinda prize shall i give to the winner? Im all partied out already. X

Maybe a mini packet of haribo for the runners up and a bigger packet of buttons for the winner?

Or a lolly for the runners up and a lolly and a little packet of sweets for the winner?

Yep i can do that!!

I will reply properly later but I don't bother with prizes at all, apart from pass the parcel, any more. DC seem quite happy with winning being it's own reward and there are no tears from non-winners.

Thanks for all the advice and assurance that I can let them run wild for most of it!!

I'll go easy on the party games, just some simple stuff.

Thank the lord for bouncy castles!

How can i get sugarpaste through a sieve? I dont have an extruder/shaper. Its not goung through. Do i need to loosen it with trex and knead it loads or am i missing a trick somewhere?