Shirley's Party Advice Part 7 - how did they all get so big...

[stealthsquiggle]

Part 7 - link to previous one to follow!

Happy New Year party planners :)

Whose party is up first then?

Not mine, that's for sure. All I have to worry about is the cake which I offered in an auction of premises, which is going to be a super hero cake for a 6yo.

I seem to remember that one of you had a twelfth night party one year. If so can you remember what you did for the main course? Thanks.

Wasn't me. Sounds like fun though. Are you doing Sunday or Monday?

I think if I were doing it, I'd try for a leftover Christmas lunch sort of theme... Maybe Turkey curry/stew and sprout bubble and squeak with Christmas Pudding strudel

That would be us - we always do twelfth night. We are doing it today for various logistical reasons. Main course varies year by year (fajitas for 9 today!) and depends on numbers - I have done a big chilli con carne and baked potatoes, or a buffet with cold roast beef and a side of salmon.

Always galette des rois afterwards though.

How many are you catering for?

Yes planning to do galette des rois, it will be Monday lunchtime - some school friends and parents. About 10 in total. Planning to send them off to make up a mummers play, maybe make star decorations. The research I have done so far seems to say little about main courses - have read sausages, food from different countries or from the East, spicy food. Wondered about laying on a buffet. More dh's background than mine and he can't remember what they had.

If there is a traditional main course, no one has ever told me... So I think you just go with what works. Buffet sounds good if they are going to be busy with mummers play etc

Lamb tagine would be a good "from the east" option

Hi Shirley. Will you help me please? DS will be 5 soon. I wanted a circus party but he has other ideas and wants a jungle party. We have 24 children invited- mostly four year old boys apart from 5 older cousins and three 2 year olds. It will be in a church hall with good indoor and outdoor spaces. Does this plan sound okay?

1.30- 1.50 arrive with a choice of three things to do- jelly dig to find plastic snakes, make jungle necklace or play with bubbles

1.50- 2.30 - entertainer ( cannot change this )

2.30-2.50 (ish) party tea

2.50- 3.20 - jungle themed games

3.20-3.30- cake and give out party bags

Does anyone have ideas for jungle themed games and a lion cake? Also, I am after some easy but eye catching and tasty recipes.

Thanks

Hi barefoot Shirley left us a few threads ago abut we cab help. I did a Jungle party for DD's 2nd, I'll try to find some pictures of the party to remind me what we did. I think there is a picture of her cake on my profile already though.

I'd say your timings look OK but I would probably leave more time for eating and would maybe avoid indoor bubbles right at the beginning as they can make the floor very slippery. We did necklace making at DD's party last month and it went down very well with everyone - even the boys. My tip is to tie 1 bead about an inch from the end of the elastic to stop all of the other beads from falling off when they inevitably lose hold of one end - this saved loads of tears at our party! The spare inch is then used to tie it up once they're done. Instead of the bubbles, I'd be tempted to offer colouring instead. You can print themed sheets from the internet for free and a couple of packs of crayons from the pound shop will work perfectly.

We did a similar party - had what's the time Mr Lion (I.e. What's the time Mr Wolf - let them take turns), sleeping lions, pretend to be ... call out different animals and they have to move like that animal. I find that on the whole they still don't manage to lose graciously at that age so steer clear of too many win/loose games.

With 24 children I would steer away from pass the parcel - or do 2 or 3 parcels with extra layers so you don't need to worry too much about who has won as long as everyone gets one.

I agree don't bother with winners as such, but musical animals (when the music stops you have to be whatever animal is called out) and musical leaves (musical chairs but with big sugar paper leaves) worked well at DD's jungle party. Other than that, I got some jungle-themed craft sets from Baker Ross, and we had a brilliant face painter who painted them all as whatever animal they asked for. We decorated the hall by hanging a camouflage net across the ceiling and tying on big leaves and our considerable collection of cuddly jungle animals. I can't remember how themed the food was, other than the cake.

Hi everyone.

I posted on here a while ago under a different name asking for some decorations advice for a party I'm having (so thank you for that!).

I am booking the catering tomorrow but am still unsure what to go for... The party is at a pub and they have standard buffet menus but they're all a bit bland. I know I want cheese but am stumped for other ideas... While the standard buffet suggestions (priced £7 to £15 pp) are bland the pub itself does great food in its restaurant. Any suggestions please? It's for about 55 people.

And if anyone can recommend a good cake supplier I'd be grateful! Was thinking about an M&S cake if anyone has an opinion on those. Thanks!

hiphip one of my friends did extensive taste testing and went with M&S fruit cakes (if that is what you are after), which they covered with fresh flowers at a fraction of the cost of a made to order wedding cake. I don't know about sponge cakes - harder to get nice shop bought ones I'm but you could have fun trying lots .

Not sure what to suggest about bland buffet menus. If the pub has good food, maybe you could ask to meet with the chef and see if they can come up with something more interesting? It could be that the bland menus are a reaction to what they are asked for, and they might welcome the opportunity to let rip [hopeful]

Thanks! Will look at the M&S fruit cake. Yes, we are meeting the chef tomorrow. In reality we'll probably have a few days to think about it but would like to get sorted ASAP. Thank you

Thank you for the great advice. I was in two minds about the pass the parcel so will give it a miss. Also, excellent tip about the bead making.

Just to be awkward - I have done PtheP with 20+ DC - 2 parcels and a sharp eye (and occasional interference) to make sure everyone gets a turn. This can be made easier by putting stickers in each layer that they stick on themselves when they open it - so you can see at a glance who has had a go.

Sorry, another catering Q!

Anyone know somewhere other than M&S that does wedding cakes online? Or any nice looking cakes really... I don't like the smaller ones on M&S and the bigger ones are too big and at £200-250 quite expensive and serve 100+. Or is that ok?! Waitrose cakes look really disappointing unfortunately. Need it in 5 wks

Hi all, sorry i havent been on my phone keeps showing me as not logged in and so i couldnt view "threads im on".

Cakes: tesco do a plain range of sponge and fruit cakes but you'll need a big superstore to get the full sizes. You could of course ask a local bakery to provide plain iced cakes and check the cost. If you stack/decorate them yourself you'll save a fortune. If you could get away with two tiers tell them its for an anniversary or christening as the second you say wedding cake they'll ramp up the charges.

I see lots of great birthday tips.

Ive booked dd2's party venue and had to hastily send out text messages to advise of the date/time in a months time and im already getting a fair few rejections. Gonna wait on dd2's best friend and if she cant come i'll change the slot!

Doing messy play:
Playdoh - making playdoh cakes/sweets etc
Puffy paint pictures. Have to microwave the paint to get it to puff up but wanted to try for ages with dd2.
Colouring- got a colour in tablecloth(not as fancy as yours stealth)thinking of getting crowns to decorate too
Cooking- decorate a fairy cake

Sensory play:
Spaghetti with bugs in
Cloud dough - beach theme with shells to dig, sand moulds, buckets etc
Water - washing up theme with soapflakes in, whisks, colander funnels etc with play crockery to wash
Foam- shaving foam mixed with cottonwool to make it mouldable with icecream scoops and pretend icecream cones etc.
Crunchy- cereal, rice, pebbles and stones with dinosaurs to roam amongst it.

Partybags- i stumbled across some £5.00 art sets in a shop for £1.49 and brought the lot!! They are in little briefcases so i can just hand out!!

Now...do i need games? They're only 2, and ive invited older siblings but im conscious that even pass the parcel requires lots of intervention with 2yr olds. Maybe they'd prefer to just do messy play cos with eating too its a fair lot of activity?

Can i get away with a bit of singing time ending with the cake and a rendition of happy birthday? I just dont know if i have the balls to start singing wind the bobbin up!

Thanks thedoctorswife. Where were your arty party bags from? A friend is looking for some party bags for her son.

I think we might actually have a cake table and get smaller bits rather than one big cake. There are some great bakeries near us and I've seen two cakes I like the look of that will in total serve 38-50 and then was thinking of ordering smaller bits to go with it, bitesize cheesecake, millionaires shortbread etc, all with lots of fruit. Does that sound OK?

On decorations I'd love some fairy lights, or other string lights, as a canopy across the top of the room so need to email a company about that tomorrow.

For table decorations, I've found a good website that sells herbs in 12cm pots so was thinking rosemary and lavender pots with candles in glass jars on each table. They come in black plastic pots so need to think about how to present them though without spending a fortune on ceramic ones!

Please can I ask for some party advice. Dd1 will be 10 in a week or so. It's the first year she hasn't wanted a big party (sob - I love party games). She'd like 2 friends to come for a sleepover. I was going to do a fox theme as she has had a fox obsession for a couple of years.
She wanted to do something crafty and then watch a film. I thought it would be fun if it was linked to foxes. I can only think of The Fox and the Hound or Fantastic Mr Fox to watch - any others?? Any fox craft ideas?

Schilke - could they cope with something like this, do you think?

more expensive, but easier?

foxes as part of a group of woodland animals?

Sainsburys do plain iced fruit cakes in 3 sizes - here (that's the largest one)