I need birthday party decorations that are quick and easy to put up and take down, suggestions please

[bran]

I have booked the local city farm for ds's 4th birthday party next month. I'm fundamentally very lazy so it will suit me down to the ground as the rather fab farm cafe will do the catering and the farm will do an animal handling session for entertainment.

The small barn that they hire out for parties is clean and practical but very bare so I will need to decorate it. I only have half an hour before the party starts to get everything up, so what can I do/buy to make a reasonably big impact in quite a short time? If I can buy stuff online that would be even better as I hate shopping.

DS loves fish and all things oceanic, and also Spiderman/Power Rangers.

TIA

oh, we went to a party there a couple of months ago. it was fab. i have a great picture of dd cuddling a baby goat . the hosts didn't really bother with decoration, & none of the children seemed to notice, though they were 2 year olds. could you just go for themed plates? am i wuss though...?! we had a pinata at ds's 6th party (at our local farm) which was very popular.

tbh, I wouldn't bother with much on walls, but would concentrate on the tables, unless they do it for you? Themed tablecloth etc.

some bunting just draped about ?

Spiderman tableware?

we got some plastic flag / bunting stuff, i got it mail order so will see if i can find it online for you, maybe stick it to garden canes and decorate the area by poking the canes into the ground?
Also...

big banners - happy birthday / age / name etc

get sea-theme table covers - some for the tables and some more for the walls?

lots of balloons, blow up in advance and take in bin-bags!

Was the food good HC? I've only eaten in the cafe a few times, but I've enjoyed it.

(own thread hijack: HC what do you do about Metformin if you're not eating? I forgot to ask gp/nurse about that, thought it wouldn't be a problem as I hardly ever have a tummy bug, but then got a tummy bug. I finally managed to hold down a banana and took it with that, but would have preferred not to have to eat if I didn't have to.)

Ocean theme stuff.

fairy lights and balloons?

hmmm, i think i'd take it if i ate anything the least bit carby, & a banana would qualify. how do you feel? has it made your tummy worse?

the food was great, but not enormously child friendly. a big pasta dish with salad & bread. dd was ok as she's a glutton, but some of the pickier children were unimpressed. the bread was delicious though, & homemade. and they had that brilliant lemonade they make. the hosts had also brought lots of drinks & stuff like ricecakes. and the cafe did a big plate of cakes for pudding. not sure how much input you can have, or whether they decide for you. watch out for the ferret .

I got a 4pack of hanging stars at asda for a quid, they dangled down and were really effective.

it's here!

ok, don't eat if you don't want to. but take metformin if you do eat, does that make sense? you're not on insulin are you, so it's not going to mess you up to miss a meal. might make your blood sugar levels a bit funny, but they're messed up when you're ill anyway.

I'm over the tummy bug now, and feeling much better, thanks HC. But normally I would stop eating when I start throwing up/having the runs and not eat anything for 24 hours by which time I'm usually perfectly alright. This time I forced myself to eat just enough to take the Metformin and I felt ill for nearly 3 days, although I wasn't throwing up after the first day. I think next time I will just stop for 24 hours, but I'll double check if I see the gp before then. Still, the weightloss is bloody amazing which is good.

That website is really cool, thanks everyone. I can do themed party favours and everything, fab!

glad you're better. and that spiderman will rule ds's party .

Blow up a load of balloons and just have them lying around the place (don't bother tying them or pinning them up). Then give one to each child as he or she leaves - voila, nothing to clear up.