Archive for the ‘Parties’ Category
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16
Jan
2012
Three Robins and a lot of superheroes
I have a son who is very original. For example, he enjoys making car noises, pretending to be a robot, and reading about dinosaurs. Particularly pirate dinosaurs. I know – unheard of for a four year old boy. Clearly dressing him in pink tee-shirts and encouraging dancing has done NOTHING in the battle against gender stereotyping. But more than dinosaurs and cars and trains, above all other things he wants to be a superhero (his special power would apparently be ‘running faster than daddy’ – I never said he was a genius). And so, for his birthday all he wanted in the world was a superhero party. Which causes some distress for a mother who is ambivalent about superheroes and character-based parties in general. So I turned to my friend da Internet – and discovered a lovely world of non-Pixar superhero parties. And thus a superhero party that suited both mother and son was initiated.
A few years ago when I cut teddy bear shapes out of sandwiches and laid out red and white gingham fabric and called it a teddy bear’s picnic, I thought I was SO clever. And then I started looking for accessories for the next party. THE HORROR. I was RUBBISH at parties. (see also Mouse Party) In a world of people with more styling skills, more DIY ability, more money, more attention to detail and more originality, I had sunk to rank amateur status. Depression set it. Until I realised I had one skill up my sleeve – I’m nothing if not a skilled Internet researcher (some my husband may call it d*cking around on the computer, I call it research). However, having just come off the back of way too much time invested in a mouse party, not to mention a 40th celebration, this was the low-key small party of the season. So see below for the not-fancy-but-I’m-trying-OK superhero party. Can we also bear in mind that it was over 30 degrees in October in London which is UNHEARD of and we were all dying of heat. If you want to see some truly decent superhero parties – there are some links at the end. Also, check out our pinterest site – it is super cool. Boom boom.
Super table. I believe I NEED to invest in a proper back drop. My husband thinks NEED is overdoing it. His expression was actually a little stronger.
So these were my attempt at batman coloured jellies. They looked ace for about five minutes . A small tip for would-be jelly makers - if it's over 30 degrees, a layered yellow and black jelly quickly becomes brown. Even four year olds not too keen on warm brown jelly slush.
I know - lollies in a bowl. Genius. Tutorial to come.
Black bat juice at the birthday boy's request. On a scale of 1-10, how bad would it be just to add massive amounts of food colouring to normal water to make it go black? I would never do that.
Jeez, there really wasn't a shedload of effort in this was there? No, I didn't make the cookies. I didn't even ice them. I did however draw the letter T in icing. And I did stamp out stars and put yellow sprinkles on them. I'd give that a C+ for effort. Reminds me of year seven chemistry comments to be honest.
Now that those batmans have p*ssed off....
Some far more impressive superhero parties:
Spiderman party from Smita at The Party Wall.
Very cute comic superhero party from Chelsea at Life Frosting.
Gorgeous superhero party from Ma’ Cake.
And our pinterest site for many many more….
27
Oct
2011
Kids Halloween Party Inspiration
I didn’t throw a party for my son’s first or second birthday. I don’t mean I didn’t do much. We literally just let it slip by. No balloons, no banners, no cake and not even presents. I didn’t feel too bad about the no presents thing for the first birthday but I feel slightly evil about the second birthday. We were travelling and rather than haul gifts around we decided he would be none the wiser if we gave him his gifts when we arrived home. It’s true he didn’t note the passing of his birthday on the calendar, but I was quite disappointed. It’s not as much fun giving presents on a random day when you haven’t whipped your child up in to a frenzy of excitement and confusion (wtf is going on? Why they all grinning at me like madmen? Oh PRESENTS!).
All this is my way of pointing out that you won’t be getting anything nearly as lovely as Kate’s mouse party from my party styling any time in the near future. However I have put quite a lot of time in to looking for other people’s Halloween Party inspiration this week, hoping to bring you someone else’s beautiful party. Although I haven’t managed to put together a full party collection, here are some of my favourite Halloween party accessories – should you be thinking of pulling all this together before Monday.
15
Oct
2011
A mouse party for our little mouse
The invitation that started the magic. Or - the neverending birthday pain in the ar*se, as husband so charmlingly puts it.
We’ve been spending a lot of time recently talking about children’s birthday parties. Well, I have been talking, Jacqui has been doing some head shaking. And some muttering under her breath. But I think secretly she is obsessed as I am. Because I am a little bit. I think it’s the cake. And maybe the idea of bunting – I do love a bit of bunting. But mostly the cake. Oh, and umm of course, the delight on small children’s faces.
17
Oct
2010
HERDING CATS. OR HOW TO THROW A KID’S PARTY – PART 3. THE GAMES.
probably not for a 2 year old's party.
OK, this will be my last one on parties I promise. Anyway, I’ve done the planning of the party and the all-important party cake, but I think it is necessary to cover the final essential bits of the party – namely the games. Oh, and I forgot the food – ok, maybe this is the second last.
Firstly, can I highly recommend you find a really dodgy game that involves something slightly humiliating for the compere to do? Say running around a garden holding up signs whilst wearing a train driver’s uniform trying to corral a large number of three year olds in a straight line behind them? And ensure that any husband who might not have been of huge assistance with arranging party becomes the aforementioned compere? Just a suggestion.
In other tips:
1. If they’re under 3, don’t bother, just load ‘em up on cake and watch them run round the garden hopped up on chocolate and juice.
31
Aug
2010
Herding cats. Or how to throw a kid’s party – part 2
So – part one was about the basics – planning the party. But every kid knows that planning the party is secondary. The venue can be ace, the games fun, the fire thrower awesome, but if you don’t get the main event right then all else may as well be thrown out with the pass the parcel.
Yes, I am of course referring to The Cake. Big, small, cupcake, multi-layered behemoth, store-bought, ice-cream, homemade – The Cake is the big kahuna of the party day. You have to have one.
If you’re Australian it is likely that you spent some time in your childhood pouring over the Cake Bible – second only to choosing your showbags from the newspaper lift-out (if you’re not from Australia, you just had to be there I’m sorry, but believe me, the day that lift-out came out was the BEST DAY OF THE YEAR) was the choosing of the cake from the Australian Women’s Weekly Kid’s Birthday Cakes Book. And if you don’t believe me, then see someone far more amusing than me…
Anyway – here are other top tips about cake preparation:
17
Aug
2010
Herding cats. Or how to throw a kid’s party – part 1
Not appropriate for a three year old. And frankly, a little bit disturbing at any age?
I have been planning my son’s 3rd birthday party basically since his 2nd birthday. I know – what a nerd. But that won’t be news to anyone who knows me – I do love a drink good shindig. And as I have the most amazing memories of parties thrown by my mum, I guess I’m just trying to make sure my children have the same sort of memories. Of course, emulating my mother’s parties is a slippery slope. It’s only a hop step and a jump from similar parties to bridge games four times a week and antique shopping. Before we know it I’ll be posting about ten ways to improve your family tree (sorry Mum – I really am dying to see the results of the three thousand years of research you’ve done.)
Where was I? Oh yes – parties. Seriously, how can you not like kid’s parties? The mess, the screams, the tears – there’s something for everyone. Personally, I’m in it for the cake and the champagne. And the fairy bread – which I have discovered today is an Australian thing. Who knew? And if you are unaware of the JOYS of fairy bread – see here. In the meantime, here are my top tips:
