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

[BlatherskiteOfTheLivingDead]

New thread :) Everyone welcome.

for lack of sleep.

That was the rainbow stripe fleece. this one

Thanks stealth. I'm still thinking i'll forfeit them for the immoral books. We're pretty skint at the moment as had to pay solicitor/court for dh's bankruptcy ive gotta buy a present, paint for dolly, tutu tulle to make tutu for dolly, the cake and dd, the hall and the music group and food. I do really like the bibs but no-one will know i missed them out will they?

After i was awake last night. Got back off at 2. Dd2 woke at 3 crying as her burst ear was weeping. She slept til 5 and been awake all day so far crying. I feel like a zombie. I wish i could jump on a plane to sunshine just to see if we got well but im scared of flying, i'd need injecting, dh has started a new contact up north and dd's got a burst eardrum. I am determind to get well and make this year brilliant!!

No one will even slightly notice and the books will be great - if you happen to find rainbow-ish paper (in Poundland or the like) then so much the better. It's easy to underestimate how much "DIY" parties cost, especially if you spend the money over a number of months. There is no way I could justify any of my DC's parties as the cheap option.

I keep looking at holidays we can't afford too - it would be so nice to go somewhere warm and sunny - and I am not even ill. It would also be nice not to be in a flat panic about work, or worrying about why DS is so stressed about going back to school, or wishing he would stop grumping at DD as a result.
Sigh.

Why is he worried? That must be gut wrenching.

I wish I knew . He is an overachiever, which sounds like a stealth boast, but is actually a problem, as he puts enormous pressure on himself with his own expectations (anything less than first in every test is a failure in his eyes, no matter what we tell him to the contrary ) - added to which he is a year young for his year group, which is right for him in almost every way, but his relative emotional immaturity shows occasionally .

Worrying just comes with the territory, I guess.

My Sister was like that Stealth. She would rip up perfectly good work and redo again and again until she was out of time, panicked and stressed. It was awful to watch sometimes :(

Ooh, you guys are the people to ask about this.... I've just been invited to a 'bring and share'/potluck type meal. What do I take?

Have they specified at all, Blathers? If you could take pudding, then I have done an Angela Hartnett pear and frangipane tart a couple of times which is easy and looks impressive?

Not at all. The invite asks us to "suggest a dish" so I suppose if they get 20 offers of potato salad, they'll ask people to make something else.

Pear and Frangipane tart sounds good though

DW, I posted your party bits this morning and have just mailed over the thank you notes too :)

recipe here. I did a 30cm one for New Year (on the left in this photo next to the gateau which took hours and ended up looking like it came from Iceland - 30cm is roughly double the recipe, although I couldn't cram that many pears onto it.

Hello everyone, posted probably last year, but it's that party time again and wondering whether in your collective wisdom you have come across any ideas for Egyptian themed food. I have bought a silicone pyramid mould and am going to make potato croquette pyramids, with mummified sausages, however struggling with the veg. I could stack some carrots up in a pyramid shape, or wondered if I could call baked beans pharoah brains, might put them off though. It is a lunch time party, will also make some triangle sandwiches, pizza triangles and doritos.

Only 5 invitees, two I know will eat anything, plus my 3 who eat most things, can run the topic of food past the other parents. I was wondering about crocodiles(though my dd don't like cucumber) or camel but don't know how to attempt that. Any ideas of any egyptian theme veg (not that many of them will eat it but feel I should show willing).

Pudding is rainbow pyramid jelly, pyramid cakes (getting my moneys worth), chocolate scarab beetles and a big pyramid cake, with the nile, crocodiles and a camel.

Jelly snakes..cobras
Errrr i'm done.

Blathers you're good at food themes...

Oh good idea about jelly snakes, can put those in their sweet pyramids boxes with chocolate coins and chocolate mummies.

Wonder if I could do some julliene veg as snakes.

Erm, you could 'peel' cucumber (or courgette if you're doing savoury) with a potato peeler to make 'bandages'? Pasta would work the same way if you bought a strip shape.

Devilled Eggs for Mummy Eyes?

I'll go searching for some more....

Mini plum tomato scarab beetles?

Mummy juice boxes are fun

Those are great

You could do traditional Egyptian food if the kids are adventurous? or label normal foods with cartouches?

Cous cous for sand maybe?

I forgot to add the link to the Egyptian recipes

Thanks, I love the mummy drinks cartons. The cous cous is inspired too. I'm not sure how adventurous they will be with actual Egyptiann food, hence my plan to do a landscape instead. Dd2 eats most things as long as they aren't spicey, so potatoes, sausages, cous cous and veg will bee great. The sausages will be wrapped in puff pastry strips to look like mummies. Think will go with jullienne carrots and corgette snake nest for veg and scarab tomatoes. Thanks for all the help.

Dd2 now asking why I'm spending more time planning dd2's party, trouble is how complex can I make stuff a bear and watch a DVD? For dd2 we are making pyramid sweet boxes, decoupage sarcophagi, muslin mummies and treasure for the sarcophagi, much more labour intensive but more fun . Will maybe see if dd1 can be shaken from her wish for 'normal party food'!!

hello, am in need of some help please. doing a mermaid/pirate theme party for DD (6) & was thinking instead of doing party bags that I would get the children to decorate a mug or plant pot whilst at the party, then I could fill it with sweets/stickers for them to take home (they would write their name on the bottom so that we knew which was which).

So, my questions are

1. do you think this is a good idea?
2. how can I adapt this into the seaside theme? Was thinking the plant pots look like sandcastles when upside down...(but they're white..)

thank you

Alternative party bags always go down well. Even small kids get fed up of the plastic tat occasionally

Plant pots could work. Why not mix some play sand with some PVA glue and some yellow-y paint and pre-paint them so they have a more sandy look and feel and then give the children shells and flags to decorate their pots with?

Or maybe look on ebay for cheap mini plastic buckets and then buy in some mermaid and pirate stickers to decorate them with? These are cute. Here are some cute little sandcastle flags that might look nice stuck in with some sweets. Kids love flags.

You could pop a mermaid cookie cutter in a little cellophane bag with some sweeties for another simple option? If you go for blue/green sweets and maybe a few jelly fishes and blow some air in before you seal them, she'd look like she was swimming fish-from-the-fair style :)

Or get some of the make-your-own-snow-globe kits from Baker Ross/Yellow Moon and give them little mermaid pictures to colour to put in them? You could then pop them in their party bags to take home.

There are loads of seaside themed party bag ideas on pinterest. I've seen some lovely little bags with fish soaps in them but I can't find them right now

Here are the fish soap bags. Having looked at them properly for the first time, they are maybe a bit involved for anyone but them most hardened party organiser