Shirley's party advice part 5 - Here to Help - come and say Hi

[Blatherskite]

Didn't notice we'd gotten to the end of the thread!

How about this Pop up play tent for them to go nuts in? I've linked to the first one I found, I bet you could get it cheaper.

If you could get some big hessian sacks, you could spray "Post" across the front and then use them for sack races? Doing an easter egg hunt style find-the-envelopes sounds like fun too

I adore the brown paper parcels instead of party bag ideas and the decorating a postcard to post back to them one too!

Erm, food. Apart from the sandwiches, I'm a bit stuck to be honest! How about some small brown rolls to go with the sandwiches and then tie them up with cooked spaghetti to look like parcels? Clever names might be your answer - lovely cupcakes with a lovely tag (a postage tag on one of those clippy photo/place name stands?) saying "Mrs Goggins homemade cupcakes", erm, Ted Glen's sausage rolls? Peter Fogg's Pasties?

or...do them a packed lunch in a little box, wrap those up in more brown paper and have Postman pat deliver them on one of his rounds?

Did you google those character names blathers or was that from memory?

The first 2 I knew but I had to google for Peter Fogg

I was mightly impressed except im annoyed now that i keep singing the new fangled " special delivery service..." Instead of the proper postman pat and his black and white cat!

Oh wow, these ideas are great thanks. Sorry for the delayed reply, have been laid up with d&v.

DH is on board and suggested getting a huge box from a storage place. His task is to build a van.

I'm definitely going to look into the stationary and do some arty/crafty type postcard decoration thing. I live the idea of getting a real postie to come. Will think about the best way to sweet talk Royal Mail. And the brown parcels with a little toy in are definitely in!

Food ideas are great. Envelope sandwiches, then the usual crisp and sausage fare. I was thinking of making some envelope biscuits as well, which should be easy. Or maybe some cat/Jess ones. The cake looks amazing, I'm not sure I'm talented enough but will have a look for that book in the library and see if I could pinch bits of it.

Thank you!

P.s. what could I use to make the stamp for the sarnies?

Stamps.. I'd say the easy option would be little rectangles of tomato/cucumber/pepper.

Middle option would be something stamp-ish painted onto rice paper, cut out and stuck on with a little water.

Best option would be getting someone on ebay to print you a sheet of actual stamps onto a rice paper cake topper and again, cutting and sticking.

Even better if you could design something with a picture of the birthday child on and add the age in a stamp-like price and white edge and then getting them printed. You can buy stamp edge scissors/shears that would give you the perfect edge to make personalised stamps.

I'd probably end up tying myself in knots to do the latter and they'd be ooh-ed at for all of a second before getting scoffed :)

Rice paper stamps I bet they'd do a whole set of just the 1st class ones if you asked.

Re cake - her books have pretty good step by step guides - just reckon on about three times as long as she says as her timings are on cloud cuckoo land.

If you pm me your details i'll happily photocopy you the pages n post. I'd offer to scan n email but my scanner has let me down many a time on this thread. Then you can see the step by step instructions.

I love love love rice paper stamps. I used to work for bt and we shared the same union (cwu) with royal mail because of the old GPO days, anyway we used to get s magazine from the union and the posties get up to lots of fun stuff. I'm sure you could persuade them esp if it was a sat afternoon or better a sunday when theres no deliveries.

Sorry about the d&v thats a sicky face

Rice paper stamps are amazing.

By times I mean time to decorate, not time to bake - don't triple those (although her cake recipes are not especially inspiring)

Who was doing seaside parties? My Baker Ross catalogue just arrived, and there is a whole new seaside range, including some sand art magnets - DD and I played with the Easter range of those at a church craft morning, and they are suprisingly effective (if messy)

Bumping this before it falls off my threads I'm on. Are there really no parties happening right now?

Hello all- I need your help and ideas!!

I have planned a monster high party for my dd next weekend. Its at my house, I have Halloween decs, Halloween cupcakes, food all planned, a lady doing scary nail art and a monster/pop play list- however, im really stuck for games!! I've got ideas for bowls with peeled grapes/goo in and somebody has suggested a mummy wrapping game with toilet roll but what else can I do? Didn't want to go down the route of pass the parcel or musical.statues as the kids are all aged 8-11. I have 10 coming and mostly girls but a couple of boys.

Do feel I need some very good, out there games as a.couple of the girls are a bit...erm....cynical? They tend to try and put in their own game requests. highly annoying.

Erm....yes......me,me!! Im having a party!!!

I had to go and find this.

Tricky, Tattershall. I know exactly what you mean about "assertive" girls - they drive me nuts. I will have a think.

Gah. I have no idea where "tattershall" came from (I would hit my phone, but it is still traumatised from DD trying to hack into it and managing to wipe is completely )

Anyway, Monster High is a whole world of which I know nothing, but there are some good ideas here - "fearleading practice" (Simon Says) and whatever she branded the Mummy game as both sound good to me.

It's a shame you have "too cool" girls involved, as that age group get quite nostalgic about playing "traditional" party games, IME.

Sorry i think we're in the midst of second lot of chicken pox.

I have no idea on monsterhigh either. It may be worth trying to locate shirley cos she did some amazing halloween parties with her older kids. Im not sure if she's around is she Stealth?

Tametortie what's your party? Anything we can help with?

CP again? . Or is it DD2 this time?

Dd2 this time. But im not certain. Dd1 was terrible, hallicinating, fever and they were absolutely everywhere. This time dd2 has only a handful of spots and shes fine so i cant be sure its that.

Could well be - CP was an annoyance rather than a trauma for both my DC

Party is monster high themed but Halloween style games will be fab. X

Tametortie (ha! Forced my phone to write it this time ) what do you think of the ideas on that blog? If you can face it, then some sort of making things activity (as she suggests, or bead threading/friendship bracelets, or cake decorating, or maybe t-shirt painting?) should be absorbing enough to keep the alpha girls quiet

I had CP more than once. As did my Sisters. #justsayin'

tametortie I'm afraid I'm also not entirely sure what Monster High is but I'm getting ready to go to the goth festival this weekend so am in a very Halloween'y frame of mind. I'll find you some games

How about renaming 'Duck, Duck, Goose' into 'Ghoul, Ghoul, Monster'? Dim the lights, put a cauldron in the middle and ask the person doing the chasing to do their best monster growl as they run round.

How about suck races but mark the bags up as "body bags"?

What games are the bossy girls likely to suggest? Maybe we could tweak them for you?

I always wanted to do a halloween party with drinks decanted into funny shaped bottles with spooky names and cocktail recipes written out in a 'spell book' so that people could mix their own cocktails. You could do a virgin version? Lemonade becomes 'dragons tears', strawberry smoothie could be 'troll blood', orange juice is 'zombie juice'. Make it as gross as you think the kids will cope with.