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

[BlatherskiteOfTheLivingDead]

New thread :) Everyone welcome.

It's all gone very quiet. How are your party plans going DW?

Sorry, snow, teething and the mystery cough have taken over here.

Oh that and dd2 walked today!! I cried. She toddled from dh to me. Think i cried as he was there whereas dd1 i was alone with her. She's so teeny its weird to see her walk. I'd just taken her out in the snow in a 3-6 month snow suit that fit!!!

I finished cake dolly today but her hands look lost.. She needs a balloon so thats my next job. And a tutu for the cake. They should be done by sunday. Ive paid all the deposits and invites went out. So i think its just the food to sort out really.

Not yet obviously.

Oh and wrap the stolen books up.

Aw, walking babies! I still can't believe that DD is 3! Sounds like party plans are all going well. How are you feeling?

I've made that Pear and Frangipane tart this morning. The pastry looks quite dark but then it does on the picture too. I'm hoping it tastes OK. I usually buy pastry rather than make it so I'll be upset if it's horrid.

The red T-shirt I ordered for DS's World Book Day outfit has arrived and has been washed and ironed. I need to dig out my orange paint for the stripes now.

Also getting there with the dinner party plans too. I've got a lovely piece of driftwood that I need to scrub and seal with mineral oil to use as my anti pasti platter and I need to go back to Tesco to get Rapidough. I went on Friday but was so busy running round to make sure I gave myself plenty of time to drive back through the snow to get both DC from school at 12 that I forgot all about it!

How did the party go DW?

I'm having party planning withdrawal and am actually considering making a book shaped cake for DS to take in and share on WBD while he's in his Book Eating Boy outfit! I blame school. They sent out an email today asking for parents to volunteer for "Book Picnics" where you take a book in and read to a group of children. In the past we've been allowed to take in a special snack for our own child but this year they've decided that the children might like to share a snack so we can take in enough for a small group of children. It's almost too good to pass up

Oh yes do that!!!

Party isnt until the 3rd. I paid the hall by putting the cash in their secure box but they havent confirmed. I better call them later. I've made a tutu for the cake, dolly is finished complete with balloon but i need a little plinth/plaque to put her on. I wrapped all the books yesterday in their rainbow paper and im going to order some if those giant rainbow whirly lollies instead of separating skittles. Ive ordered coloured helium balloons and i'm going to attempt to string them into a balloon arch.

Im now debating whether to make a rainbow ribbon garland for the highchair and printing photos over the year mounted onto rainbow coloured papers and put them up like a timelinewall.

I also realised that i could be making the cakes couldnt I? Theres no need for a mad dash i could be making and freezing and then i wouldnt be panicking over the colours as i'd have time to re-make them.

So, what shall i tackle first? Where can i get a 10cm (ish) wooden circle to paint? And did you do cream cheese frosting? The recipe you sent me had vanilla buttercream? I'm starting to get "the fear".

I did the Vanilla frosting. It was really nice.

What do you need the wooden circle for?

Right ive ordered a circle on ebay. I need it for dolly to stand on cos she's a bit wobbly on her peg stand holding balloon and tutu. Im gonna glue her to the circle and then put her in top of the cake. I'm starting to panic because i want to sugarpaste the cake and i'm worried it'll look like ferrets fighting under a bedsheet. Reckon i'd have to do two layers.

Ah, I have an oval that I bought for the exact same reason (remember that text conversation in Hobbycraft?) but I ended up wedging a wooden BBQ skewer between her legs instead and using that to hold her up. You could have had that.

The lumpy sides issue was why I went for frosting over sugarpaste. It's a lot more forgiving of multiple layers.

I'm panicking because we're having our big dinner party tomorrow and I'm worried it's all going to be rubbish. I've done the Key Lime Pie today and am tempted to do the bread sticks too but I might as well wait until I'm doing the Focaccia tomorrow morning after Parkrun and do all the bread at once right?

If all else fails, I have the most monumental stash of booze to feed them so they may not notice the food anyway :)

Oh see you're asking the wrong person because i think everything i cook is make ahead stuff. I cant stand the stress of last minute cooking with clans if people waiting on the results. Me, i'd be making the breadsticks four years ago.

If sugarpaste looks shite i can always peel it off and re-frost it surely?

Just posted a thread in this section, but is it ok to ask here? I am holding a party for 20 4 year olds, in a church hall. Theme is Superheros - all ideas welcome please! I got some amazing ideas from you guys for my daughters Mad Hatters Tea Party :) (Look here if you would like to see how great it turned out).

For the super hero party, it will be on a budget and I dont mind making/doing crafty things. All ideas welcome!

Wow!! That all looks brilliant.

Superheroes we did some ideas on this before let think and come back...

backdrop for photos

mask idea for crafts, make from paper?

Set up games/obstacle course like going under a camo net for invisibility, make walls from cardboard boxes to punch down, make buildings out of boxes for them to jump over etc.

Blathers'll come along in a minute to theme food for you. Bunting made from comic pages? Can you sew? Make capes for all as party bag gifts to wear throughout the party?

I cant sew sadly :( I love the comic book bunting idea. Think Im also going to let them decorate their own superhero masks. Could make them out of card & let them go crazy with coloured pencils and stickers?

Love the idea of making boxes into buildings! Definitely going to do that.

Your Mat Hatters Tea party looks amazing! So Glad we could help.

Superheroes sounds like fun too. Nicely unisex too. DS has this book which might have some ideas in it. I'll have a look for you later. Could you make some papier mache weights from balloons and kitchen roll tubes that they could lift easily? I'm fairly sure Baker Ross do card masks which you could put out to decorate too

It seems like I have found my niche party wise so I'll have a think of food things for you :) You could quite easily so batman cookies using an oval and a bat shaped cutter. Superman cutters all seem to be the easy pentagon shape but then leave you with the complicated S to do all by yourself which is a bit rubbish. Oooh, what about Superhero drinks? Print out a variety of chest logo things (superman, batman, green lantern, wonder woman ect) and stick it to a little bottle of pop and then give each a cape! They'd look suitably super hero-y I think :) Someone on ebay is bound to do sheets of superhero themed rice paper toppers to make some simple cupcakes fit the bill too.

this is a lovely craft idea!

Someone has already done my weights idea!

Love this party bag idea You could do something similar with plain white or coloured paper bags if you wanted easier/cheaper.

These are brilliant!

I remember why I came on here now! DS school is having a "reading picnic" on Wednesday. We're supposed to go in and take a book and some snacks to share. I'm not sure I've got time to do the book cake so I was going to test out my Letter cutters seeing as they've been sat in a cupboard since my birthday last year! Can anyone suggest a good biscuit recipe that's not going to rise too much and obliterate the letters? Would shortbread work do you think?

Steeeaaaaaaalllllttthhhhh

Shouts out the front door...

Blathers wants biscuit help!!

I've tweeted her too :)

I also tweeted Holly Bell from GBBO and she's suggested Peggy Porschen butter biscuits chilled before baking. AFAIK, Holly knows a thing or two about baking so I'm tempted to trust her

Wow Blathers, some amazing ideas there! I want to do them all

I found these balloons too which would be easy to do.

craft activity/party bag filler?

Blathers..

Come and do my thinking for me.. Dd2 is teething, awake 9-1am and this morning cried non stop. Im almost crying myself cos normally i'd chuck her in the buggy n pound the streets but ive gotta wait in fir a new computer!! Anyway, help, food for sunday party. 21 kids inc babies and about 40 adults. What food shall i do if i want to avoid making sandwiches at 6am? Im gonna have to feed everyone as its grandparents etc prob spending the day all having travelled to see her.

All i can think of is pizza!

Pizzas work and would replace sandwiches nicely. Mini sausages/sausage rolls are always v. popular and can be bought in big party sized bags from most supermarkets. Ditto chicken nuggets. Bulk out with a few bowls of crisps and add some fruit and veg to healthy things up a little. For DD's party, I got SIL and DBro's GF to make up some fruit rainbows that looked ace. We had strawberries, orange segments, mango (as it's DS current fave but Pineapple would work well too) green grapes, and blueberries laid out on a couple of trays in an arc with white marshmallow clouds at each end. They didn't take ages and looked really good - really fitted in with the theme. There wasn't much of them left by the end either. I can probably find you a photo if you like?

Are you doing the jellies? It occurred to me yesterday for some reason that lemonade with a few drops of blue colouring and set with gelatine would have worked just as well as blue jelly and been a fraction of the cost. Otherwise, party rings are really colourful and would look good and you'll have tonnes of cake with 6 layers too.