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

[BlatherskiteOfTheLivingDead]

New thread :) Everyone welcome.

Sugar paste through a sieve!! Why? No idea on how either I'm afraid. I've got a Food mill that might do it but that doesn't help you

Ooh, but I bought one for Sis! You could borrow perhaps?

I only came on to post this How cute would they be for a girly party :)

Food mill/Mouli

They're really handy for weaning

To make bushes/grass!! Duh!

Im gonna try trex when dd1 goes to bed. God i love her but honestly she will not shut up wittering on at me and i cant concentrate on anything. Its either question, question, whine, whine, whine or pucking dd2 up making her cry. I cannot wait for 7pm today!!

Those cakes are fab. Ive got a group of girly mates and try to make them all cakes for birthdays but two of the five havent had one. I may do those for all of them next time! Whats the heel etc made from?

Oh, of course! Bushes. Why did I not think of that

I can ask Sis about the mouli? It crushes potatoes and carrots easily so I don't see why it wouldn't work with sugar paste you'd just need the bigger of the meshes.

By the looks of it, those heels are made from ice cream wafers. I'd guess you'd make the sole from biscuit?

Definitely trex. Or you could grate it and then squidge it back together?

Trex worked brilliantly. Im almost done. Im fighting thevurge to get out if bed and do more to it but i need to sleep as dd2 is bound to get me up at dawn.

Have to finish the cake, shop for party food and then make up the food for lunchboxes tomorrow. My mind is buzzing and i cant settle at all.

How did it go, DW?

It's today I think. The cake looks awesome. I'm sure she'll report back later

Helllloooo rapunzel fans!!

Well, im here, i survived it. 14 kids and 7 babies. My cake first of all was bloody great (polishes halo) it looked like a lilliput lane cottage. I'll upload photos to my profile but not today as im on my phone.

Decirations, balloons, bunting, purple tablecoverings and i forgot i'd bought a maaasssive yellow vinyl tablecovering. About 50 mtres so i draped that around the stage area and it looked brill.

Crafts: they all loved making pascal blowers, lanterns and every sungle girl got plaited and the hairdresser colour coordinated all my glued flowers to each childs dress. To top it all four different people asked where i'd got the flower slides so more pride when i said i'd made them.

Food: lunchboxes went down brilliantly. Less wastage, no bickering and far easier for me. They made the table look far nicer too. I made individual fairy cakes with each childs initial in too. The cake i put up on the stage behind dd so at the end of the food we got her up to blow out the candles and she had to be lifted for the one at the tower top. To top it all the little lantern stealth suggested glowed/flickered the whole party.

Games: we ran out of time for pin the nose on flynn after pass the flynn bag and musical statues where dd threw a strop cos she was out. She took a massive swig if her drink knocking her head back but apparently drinking a drink doesnt count as moving!!

At the end of the party we all went outside with our lanterns, there were a group of teens loitering outside so i was a bit apprehensive. but we released four flying lanterns into the dark and the kids loved it. The teenagers then piped up, you should have written a message on like "im sophie, im 4 today" and i got choked up. I felt so bad that i'd judged these lads and they were so sweet, when one lantern faltered one lad gingerly edged it into the sky!

So thats it, dd2 somehow poo'd without any of us noticing and its burned her little bum. But she wasnt bothered. She spent all day dressed as pascal and rapunzel had a fantastic day.

But ive not eaten all day and im that tired i feel sick. Oh and dd got a canvas with acrylic paints set and i spied them thinking "they'll be handy when i make dd2's peg dolly!"

Hooray for another successful party - well done DW. I have to say I had never really considered lunch boxes, and I think mine are both too old now, but it's clearly a good solution for littlies.

Sounds fab DW. Well done!

And it's not a birthday party if the birthday boy/girl doesn't have a strop and cry!

It's sounds so good DW. So glad it all went well and that cake really did look amazing.

Is it me next? 3 weeks yesterday to DD's party!

Lunchboxes sound ace but I'm not really feeding them as our party is between 2 and 4 so I'm just sticking nibbles out.

Plus, I really want my white table with brightly coloured plates on

Mine was 2-4 but i felt like i had to feed them. Not one kid grumbled but my mum moaned she hadnt eaten all day. I laid on coffee and cake for adults!

But yep, its you next. No pressure!

I should add blastoff that dd not only cried/stropped but this morning she was also monumentally sick...whilst i was making sandwiches!! She'd got over excited then had a coughing fit and threw up. The problem was shes never really been properly sick so she was shocked but couldnt talk so i rushes forward and caught it in my hands but it was all over the kurchen floor. It felt very very wrong to wash my hands (three times) and just resume sandwich making!!

I'm going to get huge Costco pizzas and bags of sausages I think. I want a big tray of fruit laid out like a rainbow, plus the rainbow jellies* and rainbow cake of course and I'm considering getting a load of skittles and sorting them into individual colours.

I've got bunting and balloons and will go to the scrap store this week to buy a huge piece of card to make a rainbow on to act as the backdrop for the food table. I can get cheap crayons from there too and print out some colouring sheets. Will colouring and crowns be enough with the bouncy castles do you think? I'm considering a pass the parcel...

Need to finish the dragon and the peg dolly too.

OK, enough of a brain dump. I could be here for pages!

• Rainbow jellies issue - the plastic wine glasses I have, have a hollow stem which will need filling. I think filling it with purple jelly will a) be a waste of jelly and b) spoil them effect a bit. I'm considering making up some plain gelatin to fill the stem. Maybe with some gold glitter added. It will be next to impossible to get out as the stem is too narrow to get a spoon down. Does that sound OK?

That sounds brilliant!!

Ive got my blue jelly from amazon, its a piddly amount for the money i dont think i'll have enough at all so be glad you didnt do it.

I've just remembered I've got some edible (just in case) gold stars in the cupboard. They'd look good suspended in the stem right? Or would they just dissolve?

If you chilled it fast they'd prob survive it i reckon.

Yikes
Feel I am out of my depth with all of this, you lot all sound amazing.

Right, drinks party
Maybe 20-30 guests
Timings?? Don't want people to bring their DC but also don't want them to stay too long and drink us dry...
What to eat? That is more than kettle chips and sausage rolls but isn't going to bring me out in a rash trying to cook...

Hello chums

Have not read the whole thread but am doing a bit of advance planning for DS's 5th birthday. It will be a whole class affair, jointly with his little friend whose birthday is the same day.

I am after some tips on party bags. Don't really want to fill them with random plastic Pound Shop tat. Would rather get one gift in each which is fairly decent, plus a few sweets to pad it out. Eg went to a party today where all the boys got plastic dinosaurs and all the girls tiaras.

Any good ideas? I'm not crafty at all, and I did the Bookpeople thing last year, so after something different.

Fromhere - when is the party? My DC went to a party today and got chocolate advent calendars instead of party bags, which they were thrilled with.

Whiskey, not being the proud possessor of a social life other than through my DC, I am a little out of my depth on drinks parties.

However - timing - 8-10pm sounds late enough to deter people from bringing DC. I will think about food. Not proper meal type food, I take it? Only I would tend to do something like a vat of chilli with bread and/or jacket potatoes.

I once did a bath time pack with expandable flannels, bath bombs and flashing toothbrushes.

Today i gave out paint palletts.

Books or the trusty cone of sweets is a winner. Esp if you do something like blathers layering rainbow colours in the cones.

Those punchball balloons are good or a craft item that they make andctake home like a t shirt, crown, sword, apron. Look on baker ross and you'll find tons of cheap craft kits. Mine all made a lantern with a flashing tealight inside.

Whiskey, just flick back a couple of pages and blathers and i were talking about nigella recipes for your snacks, shes offered to copy out recipes you may want and they are all eaaassyy

DS went to a party last year where all the boys got mini footballs. He loved it. I can't remember what the girls were given unfortunately.

They've been given those Mr Maker craft kits before too and they went down well.

The sweet cones we gave out at DD's party last year were very popular and cheap too.

Whiskey stealth's chilli idea is good. If you wanted pre made you could go for pizzas or the shops will be stuffed with party food nibbles at the moment, usually on 3 for 2 type deals too.

I don't like gender - specific presents, so I would look for something that they would all like.