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

[BlatherskiteOfTheLivingDead]

New thread :) Everyone welcome.

The Costco comment made more sense than it looks - they do the world's cheapest lunch - huge slice of pizza to eat in for next to nothing shame I always end up spending a fortune while I am there

Multiple magic Playmobil tools does speed up assembly. I won't tell DD about your DD's now better equipped school - she only has a £10 WHSmith voucher from her birthday, which is a bit rubbish because we never go anywhere with a WHSmith .

To store Playmobil buildings, you will need (a) a larger house and (b) a handy grandparent to build a play table with huge pull out drawers.

Nope grandparents are all pretty useless hence shes had money thrown at her for birthday. (four sets and a great grandma).

I've had all my RSVPs after only the gentlest of nudges 15 kids. I'm definitely ditching pass the parcel. Bouncing, crown making and a bit of colouring will be enough right?

Blathers - bouncing and crown making fine.

DW - aforementioned play table is copied from one that GLTC sell, if collected grandparents wanted to throw money at Christmas.

I passed stealths bag and it was still bedlam. Kids held on to it, some took twice, some walked off. I hate pass the parcel. No i hate the new everyones a winner pass the parcel. We need to campaign for newspaper wrappings and only the odd prize thrown in like the old days.

Yes, it would be next to impossible to get them all sat down at once. I'm not going to bother.

I think I've got decorations sorted. I've got balloons and bunting. I'm going to get a huge piece of card from the scrap store to make a backdrop for the food table too I think.

The party is 2-4. I'm considering just doing pizza, cocktail sausages, chicken nuggets and crisps for the food table along with some rainbow fruit platters, the rainbow jellies and maybe some marshmallows (clouds) That's loads for a party that's not over a mealtime right? Should I do anything else?

Has anyone made a rainbow cake before? I'm planning 6 layers. Will regular sponge mix coloured with gels do it or do I need something more robust for a cake that tall?

Ive made one that was different colours of brown and caramel flavour and it was 5 layers...and wobbly. When and if i do mine im planning on dowels through it for stability. I know your planning buttercream but im thinking of doing two/three crumb coats then double sugarpaste cos im thinking it will look wobbly.

My concern is how the colours will develop in the sponge. Im worried they will muddy on cooking and i want vibrant e numbers!!

And thats made me laugh by the way "oh im just doing nibbles as mines not at a mealtime". You're serving more than i did in the same timeslot. See, you have the fear. Will it be enough? Will the games be enough? Will the room look bare? The fear. You have it.

Yes, it's got to be vibrant. It won't be a rainbow cake if it's just variations on brown/beige. I guess I need to do a test cake?

I definitely have the fear. I always have the fear!

Pass the parcel is hilarious. DD's friends are now so well flipping trained that they self-police - if it stops on someone who has already had it, they insist on passing it on until it reaches someone who hasn't - I had to tell them when everyone had had a go and it was genuinely up to DH chance who got it. You need one person to watch (me) and one to work the music (DH) and a distinctive wrapping on the centre parcel so that I know when to tell DH to choose his winner (anyone as long as it isn't one of our DC). The only time it didn't work was DS's 6th (I think) when I had 3 circles, and one managed to get about 3 layers ahead of the others - since then I have done one big circle with 2 parcels in order to get through it quicker, before they get bored.

Rainbow cake - I have never tried it, but with a really tall cake I would be tempted to use madeira or pound cake or something a bit more solid than sponge to stop it collapsing - and/or put in a board and scaffolding (straws) halfway up.

I need some gel colour recommendations that's for sure! I've done a mini test cake today and the colours are a bit lame.

Or should I go more pastel being as I'm feeding it to other people's 2 year olds?

you're feeding it to other people's 2yos just before you send them home, right?

What colours do you have? Most of mine are squires. You do have to over colour cake mix though, as it fades as it cooks. I put an unbelievable amount of colour into the icing for the pizza cake to achieve ketchup colour (ended up with a combination of red, purple and yellow). Cream cheese icing was a genius suggestion, BTW - my DM, who normally leaves the icing, ate hers and polished off DS's (he won't eat icing at all. His favourite sort of cake is "spare cake" (offcuts) ).

I've got Dr Oetker ones. Well, I did - I just used pretty much all of them trying to get these test cakes bright enough!

It means I'm in the market for a whole new set though

The only good thing about these colours is that they didn't fade much while cooking.

I love Hummingbird cream cheese frosting. I could eat it on it's own - no cake needed

Yes im going for madeira. I did dd's cake as maderia two cakes stacked for height but put dowels in the first and it stood up brilliantly. I've got two sandwich tins and i'm thinking of dowel/straws after three layers then a bloody great big one down the middle on 7! Its the fact that its so tall but narrow esp when buttercreamed layers they slide.

errr this is not good enough for me

this is upside down surely?

muddy!!

nailed it!

Dr O are officially rubbish. If you're in the market for a new set then you could get the one I have bought SIL for Christmas and am now desperately coveting

here

I want that!!!!!! I think my colours are all sugarflair.

Can't see your profile on shiny new android app . I will check on my PC.

I've seen them. It all good fab. I'd said that by text though!

I figure I can do the cake with just 3 colours - red, yellow and blue - as I can mix the rest.

I've made a test cake today. The cakes were quite thin but I'm still wondering if the cake-frosting ratio might be too much

Tell me this frosting recipe purlease?
Stealth- i just built the school gym!

300g icing sugar
50g unsalted butter at room temp
125g cream cheese, cold - I use Philly

Beat icing sugar and butter together in mixer (throw a towel over the top to stop you're ENTIRE kictchen getting covered in a fine layer of sugar) until well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until incorportated then whack the mixer up to max and leave for at least 5 minutes. They do then add that you shouldn't overmix as it can quickly become runny but I've never managed this yet.

According to the book, this is enough to frost 12 cupcakes but IMO it can do double that. It all depends on how thick you like your frosting I guess.

Both kids are ill now. I'm guessing DD has DS's ear infection. She's got a bright red cheek and a rash across her face. Cross everything we don't end up in hospital again.

Oh no!! That sounds terrible. Are you sure she hasnt got slapped cheek? X

Just got back from the Doctors. She suggested it might turn out to be slapped cheek. DS definitely has an ear infection but her ears look fine. She's got tiny little pimple-y spots over both cheeks and then one is bright red and hot - although it is fading now she's had some Nurofen and her temp is coming down. She's miserable too. Will keep a close eye on her after last time but hopefully it won't be that dramatic this time.

Ta daaaaa. Living up to my doctor name!

Where did you get that name from anyway? AFAIK, you're DH isn't a Doctor

Slap cheek generally not too bad, from what I hear (school went through phases of having it lots but we never got it) as long as you keep them doped up to suppress aches and pains. Rather that than an ear infection, given the choice. for the poorly Blathers household though.