Shirley's party advice part 6 - don't be afraid to interrupt us!

[Tinkerisdead]

Okay, this is shirley's party advice part 6. Shirley ducked out a while ago and you'll notice us chatting about all kinds of stuff whilst we wait for party planners to barge in.

So, don't lurk, jump in and chat. We'll give you any advice on parties from costumes to cakes....

Remind me of your numbers, Nonsense? I was thinking 9" bottom tier and 6" top tier.

Must admit stealth, that I do prefer the August birthday (even though it is now shared) to the January birthday. There is no chance of being outside at all in January and while you can adapt and the kids don't really care, it's lovely to hire a hall and ave the option of using the outside. And last years Gruffalo party (still talked about by DS) was a huge success being outside.
still refuse to be beaten by the Winter birthday though

I'll need it to (generously) feed just under 60 but I'd like some to take home and I'm more interested in it looking good and don't care about having too much

12" and 8" then, maybe?

Groovejet - Im looking to do hawaiian but for adults!

I am not sure I can do the hog roast - the man we were going to book is busy on the date but I dno't know what else to eat instead.

Am debating changing the date so he CAN do it

WHat sort of notice do you think you need to give for a sat night adults only party?

Am angsting about it all and want it to be fun

Are there no alternative hog roasters?

stealth I reeeeally need your help again re cake.

I have found this recipe, but how do I convert it to make it in 3 x 12" and 3 x 8" tins? And how long do I cook it for? I thought I could work it out but I'm getting really and

OK, Nonsense. I have looked at that recipe, and it doesn't actually say that you slice it to put layers in, but that is the implication.

So... I would split it between 2 shallower (not too shallow) 8" tins and that should be fine - cooked for a bit less (until it springs back when you press it gently in the middle).

For the 12" - I work on surface area for cake scaling, which means the proportions are those of radius squared (you knew the maths would come in handy one day...)

Apologies if I am teaching you to suck eggs here - but if 8" cake (4" radius) needs 5 eggs then for a 12" cakes you say 6" radius - square is 36, divided by 16 , is near enough to 2 to make no difference, so for 2 shallowish 12" tins you would double the recipe.

IIWY I would make one pair of each size and see if they are deep enough, bearing in mind that the filling will add a bit of depth as well. If not, make another pair of each and choose the best 3 - the remaining ones becoming what my DS lovingly refers to as "spare cake" (his favourite kind of cake) You can make them whenever and freeze them (probably before the syrup stage, although I guess after would be OK too) until you are ready, to take the pressure off a bit.

Does that make any sense at all?

these sort of tins would be my choice, although they can be had more cheaply from supermarkets IME.

Can I ask some advice on party food please? Party is for approximately 25 children ages between 18 months to 5 years.

The party is in local hall from 11.30 to 1.30 & we have an entertainer for the 2 hours with a 20 minute break for lunch.

The hall has no kitchen facilities so I will be preparing all the food beforehand & just wanted advice on how to package food & keep fresh - this is my first kids party so no experience!

I've decided to do all the plates ready made up to save time, each plate will have cheese & ham sandwich, crisps, carrot sticks, cucumber, cocktail sausages, grapes, strawberries & chocolate mini roll (or slight variation depending on my mood when I'm shopping)

I'm just really unsure how I can keep all food fresh. If I prepare all plates in morning then cover in cling film will this be ok? Food will be served about 12.30ish so possibly be on plates covered up for 2 hours.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

That makes loads of sense now! Thank you so so much!!

I had a look today for some tins but they were very expensive so I will keep looking. I keep reading to make the cakes 3 days prior. I want them on the Sunday, so should I make them Thursday, fill and ice them Saturday and decorate them Sunday, or should I make them Friday, ice Saturday, decorate Sunday?

Poppy, personally I wouldn't put everything onto the plates because I'm weird in case cucumber makes the sandwiches soggy or strawberries get squashed.
However, with no kitchen facilities I am at a loss as to what advice I can offer!
No help at all, am I?
Are they paper plates? Will they fold on themselves under the weight of the food?

To be fair, children don't care about the food prep as long as they get some so I think you'll be safe if you stick with your plan.
Perhaps keep sweet things in separate containers so that you can bring out a 'pudding' but like I said, I am weird and like to make things difficult for myself!

PoppyT - I think if you want to put everything out (which I get the logic of), boxes (like these) might be a better bet than plates. That way, you can wrap things / put them in little tubs (ebay pointer, please, DW!) and pack the boxes - then just keep them somewhere cool. If there is something in there that really doesn't want to get warm then you could pop it in at the last minute as you put them out.

You could do it on polystrene plates, but then how would you stack them - without stacking that many plates would take up a huge amount of space and be a nightmare to transport.

Thanks. I did consider party boxes but then thought I'd have to buy all the extra packaging & pots for everything so thought a plate was easier. I bought some cheap spare paper plates so was going to cover food in cling film then put another plate over top to protect it whilst transporting to venue. Haven't got lots of cash so worried that party boxes plus sandwich bags, pots for fruit & veg sticks will get expensive. Plus I didn't want loads of packaging for the kids to undo, parents will be staying at party but just trying to do it as simple as possible.

Nonsense - I would bring that all forward - make them on Wednesday (unless you opt for make and freeze, in which case make them any time) and have it all done by Saturday. The cake will keep absolutely fine, will benefit from some time for the icing to dry, and it will leave you to rescue your house from under the layer of icing sugar sort everything else out.

In that case, and taking the point about simple wrapping, I would pack everything separately (plate of sandwiches, bowl of sausages, etc) and plate it up (or, ideally, delegate and get someone else to if you tell them portions) at the venue. I think having it all plated up all morning, and transporting made up plates, has too much potential for disaster for my taste, personally.

That's what I was thinking, but its their actual birthday Saturday, so I'm sure I will be doing loads of other party prep Saturday night.
I am going to do a trial run of the cake so if it comes out well during a trial, I will freeze it and quit while I'm ahead. I am, a bit negatively, presuming it will all go wrong until the final go on the Wednesday!!

So bake (or defrost) Wednesday, fill and ice Thursday, decorate Friday and build it Sunday? That suits my week better really. Dh can do the other stuff that will need doing.

Also, am thinking of baking a '1' cake for DD so that she has her own cake. I feel like I'm giving myself too much to do, seeing as I don't bloody bake, but I'm going to this effort for the 'main' DS cake that the guilt will never leave me if I don't do the same for her. Am I totally bonkers?
I just don't want to look back at photos and say "this is the cake I slaved over for him and this is the cake I bought from the supermarket for her." The whole thing is very much DS orientated as it is so I want something special for her. Would a '1' cake really be much harder to make/decorate than a round one?

'1' cake would be as easy as a round one, and much better for the photos IMHO. Also, DS's cake would be fine finished on Friday if that is easier.

FWIW I always finish the cake before I start on the rest of the party catering, and I have yet to serve stale cake

Oh that's good to know, thank you. That will really reduce who am I kidding? my stress levels!

Thanks for advice. I think I need to rethink as dont want to spend half the party plating up & my 2 friends will both be heavily pregnant so can't really ask them. There's a small office that I can use to plate up food but it's tiny so can only fit one possibly two small people in.
Don't really know a lot of parents apart from to say hello at drop off so maybe one of them will take pity on me so I don't miss too much of the party. Has anyone done buffet style for young children? Don't want to do that as seems too messy & could take ages with them picking food & eating when we've only got 20 minutes. Do you just put all plates/bowls of food in centre of table & leave them to it? There are small childrens tables & chairs so there will be a party table set up for them all to sit round together. Any ideas if that will work or does it sound like a disaster?

Poppy - what age? Food on the table works fine from 5 up. Also - what is the norm on parents staying? Most will help make sure all DC are eating if they are there, IME.

Agree with Stealth - parents will ensure kids eat more food than just chocolate and will help keep it tidy.

I tend to do a buffet table of food and let the parents plate up their child's choices and then supervise them while they eat. I do this at every party, from 1 upwards. But my parties are full of family, so I cater for everyone, not just DC.
And most mothers will offer help, even if its just to be polite, so take them up on their offer!

DN had her party last month with lunch in boxes and it was such a faff. There were 3 of them in the kitchen filling the boxes and sorting the containers. Then there was all of the mess that went with it!
But I love the boxes idea and I'm sure it can be done much better and easier than in this scenario!
Everything in it's own bowl/server, paper plates and napkins is a much quicker, cleaner way IMO and leaves you out the front overseeing things and taking photos. (Plus parens can eat leftovers so you're not having to take it all home or throw it all out).

In other news: I purchased a No.1 cake tin from eBay last night.
Turns out its in China and will arrive at the end if the month! cheaper is not better.

Oops. Can you cancel it, Nonsense? If you contact the seller quickly they will usually be helpful. If you can find any sort of sugarcraft shop locally, they will generally hire tins out for about £3 (plus deposit)

DC are mainly under 3 with a couple of older ones.

I've only been to a few kids parties so struggling to see how it will work. So are you saying if I put everything on platters & in bowls on a table at side of room & let the adults get food for their kids? Is it worth having a table for kids to sit at or just letting them sit with parents/on floor/wherever they want...

Sorry I sound so pathetic, not the greatest at catering & tend to overthink & panic if I can't picture stuff in my head.